On spin-flip radiation from an electron moving with a helical path in a magnetized plasma

We study certain features of radiation arising from spin flipping of an electron or positron gyrating with a general pitch in a magneto-active plasma. Numerical analysis of the power spectrum is carried out, and a comparison is made between this radiation and the normal synchrotron radiation. The essential idea of application to astrophysical radiation in the electromagnetic -wave range is also discussed.     

Viscous Fluid Cosmological Models in a Bianchi Type I Universe

Exact solutions of the gravitational field equations for a Bianchi type I anisotropic space-time, filled with a viscous cosmological fluid obeying an equation of state of the form p = , 0 1, are obtained. We investigate both the viscous Zeldovich ( = 1) and < 1 fluid cases, with constant and time varying (proportional to the mean Hubble factor) shear and bulk viscosity coefficients. It is shown that independently of the matter content, the equation of state and the time dependence of the shear and bulk viscosity coefficients, a viscous Bianchi type I universe experiences a transition to an inflationary era. Due to dissipative processes, the mean anisotropy and the shear of the Bianchi type I universe tend very rapidly to zero.     

Determination of Rare Earth Elements in Geological Reference Materials: A Comparative Study by INAA and ICP-MS

Data was obtained for the rare earth elements (REE) by instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) in twenty geological reference materials. In general, the precision obtained by ICP-MS is better for the light REE, decreasing with increasing atomic number. This is partly a result of the occurrence of the heavy REE at low concentrations. The precision of the data obtained by INAA is good (5% RSD). The data obtained also showed that for the elements determined by both methods, the accuracy is similar for the light REE and better for the middle and heavy REEs by INAA. Higher uncertainty is achieved by ICP-MS mainly for elements at very low concentrations, occurring at about ten times the chondritic values.     

Trace organic contamination in biota collected from the Pearl River Estuary, China: a preliminary risk assessment

The marine ecosystem of the Pearl River Delta, located on the southern coast of China, has been heavily exploited following the rapid economic growth that has occurred since the 1980s. This investigation aimed to elucidate trace organic contamination in marine biota inhabiting the Pearl River Delta area. Biota samples, including green-lipped mussels (Perna viridis), oysters (Crassostrea rivularis) and shrimp (Penaeus orientalis) were sampled from 16 stations fringing the Estuary. Elevated concentrations (on a dry weight basis) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (27.8–1041.0 ng/g), petroleum hydrocarbons (1.7–2345.4 μg/g), polychlorinated biphenyls (2.1–108.8 ng/g), DDTs (1.9–79.0 ng/g), and hexachlorocyclohexanes (n.d.–38.4 ng/g) were recorded. A human health risk assessment was conducted to estimate the risk to local residents associated with the consumption of biota collected from the Pearl River Estuary. The results indicated that PCBs were at levels that may cause deleterious health effects in populations that consume large amounts of seafood. However, it would be instructive to establish health criteria for trace organic contaminants that are specific to the local populations, in order to derive a more accurate and relevant health risk assessment.     

Regional modeling of climate change impacts on smallholder agriculture and ecosystems in Central America

Climate change will have serious repercussions for agriculture, ecosystems, and farmer livelihoods in Central America. Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable due to their reliance on agriculture and ecosystem services for their livelihoods. There is an urgent need to develop national and local adaptation responses to reduce these impacts, yet evidence from historical climate change is fragmentary. Modeling efforts help bridge this gap. Here, we review the past decade of research on agricultural and ecological climate change impact models for Central America. The results of this review provide insights into the expected impacts of climate change and suggest policy actions that can help minimize these impacts. Modeling indicates future climate-driven changes, often declines, in suitability for Central American crops. Declines in suitability for coffee, a central crop in the regional economy, are noteworthy. Ecosystem models suggest that climate-driven changes are likely at low- and high-elevation montane forest transitions. Modeling of vulnerability suggests that smallholders in many parts of the region have one or more vulnerability factors that put them at risk. Initial adaptation policies can be guided by these existing modeling results. At the same time, improved modeling is being developed that will allow policy action specifically targeted to vulnerable groups, crops, and locations. We suggest that more robust modeling of ecological responses to climate change, improved representation of the region in climate models, and simulation of climate influences on crop yields and diseases (especially coffee leaf rust) are key priorities for future research.     

A rough set approach to the discovery of classification rules in spatial data

This paper proposes a novel rough set approach to discover classification rules in real‐valued spatial data in general and remotely sensed data in particular. A knowledge induction process is formulated to select optimal decision rules with a minimal set of features necessary and sufficient for a remote sensing classification task. The approach first converts a real‐valued or integer‐valued decision system into an interval‐valued information system. A knowledge induction procedure is then formulated to discover all classification rules hidden in the information system. Two real‐life applications are made to verify and substantiate the conceptual arguments. It demonstrates that the proposed approach can effectively discover in remotely sensed data the optimal spectral bands and optimal rule set for a classification task. It is also capable of unraveling critical spectral band(s) discerning certain classes. The framework paves the road for data mining in mixed spatial databases consisting of qualitative and quantitative data.     

The equation of polarization transfer in an inhomogeneous magnetized plasma

Recently we have derived the equation of polarization transfer in an inhomogeneous magnetized plasma in the case where absorption is so weak that the characteristic modes can be considered to be orthogonal. We extend this investigation to the study of polarization transfer in a plasma where the characteristic polarizations need not be orthogonal. We obtain explicit expressions for the Faraday rotation tensor, the absorption tensor, the mode-coupling tensor and the tensor describing the explicit spatial variation of characteristic polarizations due to plasma inhomogeneity.     

Reply to comments on ‘the equation of polarization transfer in an inhomogeneous magnetized plasma. I. Formalism’

Recently D. B. Melrose (1978) has raised some points in the above mentioned paper (referred to as Paper I) concerning the meaning of some terms in our equation of polarization transfer. These points are very interesting and we would like to analyze his comments in our reply.     

Soliton solutions to the Einstein gravitational field equations in the presence of a spherically-symmetric static background field

Using a differential geometry approach, we have found two sets of new solutions to Einstein's equation of gravity in the presence of a spherically-symmetrical gravitational background, like the Earth. The transverse and longitudinal components of the metric tensor representing the gravity waves are all soliton solutions, propagating towards the origin of the Earth. If we consider the situation where the static background field is absent, the solutions still remain soliton-like in nature. The difference between our result and Einstein's is attributed to the two approximations taken previously — weak field and harmonic condition.On study leave of absence from Zhong Shan University, China     

Structure of the chromosphere-corona transition region

The structure and energy balance of the chromosphere-corona transition region is investigated by means of a static, planar model which is compared with the results of XUV-resonance-line observations. In this model, the transition region is heated by thermal conduction from the corona and cooled by radiative losses. Comparison of the model with observational results implies that this is the dominant process in the energy balance of the transition region, and that the base of the transition region is inherently non-static and/or non-planar. The model explains the observational finding of Noyes et al. (1970) that the number density and the downward heat flux both increase by the same factor from quiet regions to active regions. The implications of these results are discussed with regard to spicules.