Spectral lag of gamma‐ray bursts caused by the intrinsic spectral evolution and the curvature effect

Assuming an intrinsic ‘Band’ shape spectrum and an intrinsic energy‐independent emission profile we have investigated the connection between the evolution of the rest‐frame spectral parameters and the spectral lags measured in gamma‐ray burst (GRB) pulses by using a pulse model. We first focus our attention on the evolution of the peak energy, E_0,p, and neglect the effect of the curvature effect. It is found that the evolution of E_0,p alone can produce the observed lags. When E_0,p varies from hard to soft only the positive lags can be observed. The negative lags would occur in the case of E_0,p varying from soft to hard. When the evolution of E_0,p and the low‐energy spectral index α₀ varying from soft to hard then to soft we can find the aforesaid two sorts of lags. We then examine the combined case of the spectral evolution and the curvature effect of fireball and find the observed spectral lags would increase. A sample including 15 single pulses whose spectral evolution follows hard to soft has been investigated. All the lags of these pulses are positive, which is in good agreement with our theoretical predictions. Our analysis shows that only the intrinsic spectral evolution can produce the spectral lags and the observed lags should be contributed by the intrinsic spectral evolution and the curvature effect. But it is still unclear what cause the spectral evolution (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Experimental investigation of spatially varying effect of ground motions on bridge pounding

Pounding between adjacent bridge structures with insufficient separation distance has been identified as one of the primary causes of damage in many major earthquakes. It takes place because the closing relative movement is larger than the structural gap provided between the structures. This relative structural response is controlled not only by the dynamic properties of the participating structures but also by the characteristics of the ground excitations. The consequence of the spatial variation of ground motions has been studied by researchers; however, most of these studies were performed numerically. The objective of the present research is to experimentally evaluate the influence of spatial variation of ground motions on the pounding behaviour of three adjacent bridge segments. The investigation is performed using three shake tables. The input spatially varying ground excitations are simulated based on the New Zealand design spectra for soft soil, shallow soil and strong rock using an empirical coherency loss function. Results confirm that the spatially nonniform ground motions increase the relative displacement of adjacent bridge girders and pounding forces. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Screening of Emerging Volatile Organic Contaminants in Shallow Groundwater in East China

In order to collect baseline information on the environmental occurrence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in groundwater in East China, shallow groundwater samples were collected from five alluvial plains in East China in 2008 to 2009. All samples were analyzed for 54 VOCs representing a wide variety of uses and origins. Sampling sites were mainly selected in the areas to be susceptible to contamination from human activities in terms of previous hydrogeological survey. The data of all samples showed a variety of different hydrogeological systems with potential sources of VOCs, with 36 of the 54 VOCs being found. The most frequently detected compounds include naphthalene (56.9%), chloroform (16.9%), 1,2‐dichloroethane (16.2%), 1,2‐dichloropropane (13.1%), and 1,2,3‐trichlorobenzene (12.3%). The concentrations of methylene chloride, 1,2‐dichloroethane, carbon tetrachloride, trichloroethene, 1,2‐dichloropropane, and tetrachloroethene exceeded the relating drinking water standards. Future work will be needed to identify those factors that are most important in determining the occurrence and concentrations of VOCs in groundwater in China.     

重大建设工程基本自振周期估算方法探讨

在对规范和文献资料的研究和分析的基础上,本文探讨了(超)高层建筑、巨型储油罐、大跨桥梁工程等重大建设工程基本自振周期的估算方法.在工程场地地震安全性评价工作中,可采用本文提供的重大建设工程基本自振周期估算的公式.同时,本文为长周期地震动对工程结构作用的相关参数的合理确定提供了依据.     

UHTCC新型梁柱节点抗震性能试验研究

为研究超高韧性水泥基材料新型梁柱节点的抗震性能,进行了6榀缩尺比例为1/2的框架中节点的低周反复载荷试验,对不同轴压比和体积配箍率下梁柱节点的受力特点、裂缝开展形式、滞回特性进行了研究。结果表明,超高韧性水泥基材料能明显改善节点核心区的抗裂性能和剪切延性,具有更好的耗能能力,可部分或全部替代节点处箍筋的抗剪作用,具有良好的经济效益。     

Measurement of aerosol effective density by single particle mass spectrometry

Single particle mass spectrometry has been widely used to determine the size and chemical compositions of atmospheric aerosols; however, it is still rarely used for the microphysical properties measurement. In this study, two methods were developed for determining aerosol effective density by a single particle aerosol mass spectrometer (SPAMS). Method I retrieved effective density through comparison between measured light scattering intensities and Mie theoretical modelled partial scattering cross section. Method II coupled a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) with SPAMS to simultaneously determine the electric mobility and vacuum aerodynamic diameter, and thus the effective density. Polystyrene latex spheres, ammonium sulfate and sodium nitrate were tested by these methods to help validate their effectiveness for determining the aerosol effective density. This study effectively extends SPAMS measurements to include particle size, chemical composition, light scattering, and effective density, and thus helps us better understand the environment and climate effects of aerosols.     

基体差异对电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定过程中Ba氧化物产率的影响及其对Eu测定结果校正的研究

电感耦合等离子体质谱（ICP-MS） 测定地质样品中稀土元素的过程中,尤其对于高Ba基体的地质样品,由Ba形成 的氧化物和氢氧化物离子对Eu元素会产生质谱峰的重叠干扰,严重影响Eu测定结果的准确度和精确度。通过标准溶液的 条件实验,测定Ba干扰项相对Ba总量的比例（干扰率） 并进行相应的Eu扣除,是一种解决干扰导致Eu测定结果偏高的思 路。然而该干扰率在不同基质溶液中是否一致,且随着Ba含量变化是否稳定目前尚不明确。本文通过对不同基体溶液中Ba 对Eu干扰率的测定（低分辨模式测定）,发现随着溶液中Ba浓度的变化,同一基体溶液中该干扰率较为恒定,而不同基体 溶液中干扰率有明显的差别。这说明在对Eu测定结果进行干扰扣除时,需要利用匹配的基体溶液来获取准确的Ba干扰 率。应用这种方法扣除得到的Eu结果与质谱的高分辨模式（R=10000） 下的测定结果较为一致,数据的重现性也较为理 想。因此,利用基体匹配的方式来进行Ba对Eu的数学扣除是一种可行的方法。     

A Voronoi neighborhood-based search heuristic for distance/capacity constrained very large vehicle routing problems

Local search heuristics for very large-scale vehicle routing problems (VRPs) have made remarkable advances in recent years. However, few local search heuristics have focused on the use of the spatial neighborhood in Voronoi diagrams to improve local searches. Based on the concept of a k-ring shaped Voronoi neighbor, we propose a Voronoi spatial neighborhood-based search heuristic and algorithm to solve very large-scale VRPs. In this algorithm, k-ring Voronoi neighbors of a customer are limited to building and updating local routings, and rearranging local routings with improper links. This algorithm was evaluated using four sets of benchmark tests for 200–8683 customers. Solutions were compared with specific examples in the literature, such as the one-depot VRP. This algorithm produced better solutions than some of the best-known benchmark VRP solutions and requires less computational time. The algorithm outperformed previous methods used to solve very large-scale, real-world distance constrained capacitated VRP.     

Tendances et ruptures au niveau des pluies journalières extrêmes en Côte d'Ivoire (Afrique de l'Ouest)

Résumé

Le changement climatique est une réalité qui affecte plusieurs variables climatiques dont les précipitations. Néanmoins, son impact sur les évènements extrêmes et en particulier sur les pluies journalières extrêmes n'est pas encore certain car peu de travaux y ont été consacrés en Afrique de l'Ouest. Dans ce contexte, il a été proposé de détecter d'éventuels tendances et ruptures dans les propriétés statistiques (moyenne, variance) des pluies journalières extrêmes à l'aide de tests statistiques locaux et régionaux. Pour détecter ces changements, les indices caractérisant la pluie maximale journalière annuelle (PJmaxan), le nombre annuel de jours de pluie dépassant 50 mm (NJsup50) et la contribution des pluies dépassant 50 mm dans les cumuls annuels (R(PJsup50/Pan)) ont été définis. L'analyse de 44 postes pluviométriques en Côte d'Ivoire sur la période 1942–2002 ne montre pas de changement généralisé ni en moyenne, ni en variance. Toutefois, en subdivisant la Côte d'Ivoire en régions climatiques homogènes, des tendances à la baisse ont été observées dans les régions IV (au Nord) et II (au Sud-Est).

Editeur Z.W. Kundzewicz; Assistant editeur G. Mahé

Citation Goula, A.B.T., Gneneyougo Soro, E., Kouassi, W. et Srohourou, B., 2012. Tendances et ruptures au niveau des pluies journalières extrêmes en Côte d'Ivoire (Afrique de l'Ouest). Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (6), 1067–1080.     

A mechanism for formation of the western North Pacific monsoon trough: nonlinear upscale cascade

Linear and nonlinear barotropic vorticity model frameworks are constructed to understand the formation of the monsoon trough in boreal summer over the western North Pacific. The governing equation is written with respect to specified zonal background flows, and a wave perturbation is prescribed in the eastern boundary. Whereas a uniform background mean flow leads no scale contraction, a confluent background zonal flow causes the contraction of zonal wavelength. Under linear dynamics, the wave contraction leads to the development of smaller scale vorticity perturbations. As a result, there is no upscale cascade. Under nonlinear dynamics, cyclonic (anticyclonic) wave disturbances shift northward (southward) away from the central latitude due to the vorticity segregation process. The merging of small-scale cyclonic and anticyclonic perturbations finally leads to the generation of a pair of large-scale cyclonic and anti-cyclonic vorticity gyres, straddling across the central latitude. The large-scale cyclonic circulation due to nonlinear upscale cascade can be further strengthened through a positive convection-circulation feedback.