Macroscopic Traversable Wormholes: Minimum Requirements

While wormholes are just as good a prediction of Einstein’s theory as black holes, they are subject to severe restrictions from quantum field theory. To allow for the possibility of interstellar travel, a macroscopic wormhole would need to maintain sufficiently low radial tidal forces. It is proposed in this paper that the assumption of zero tidal forces, i.e., the limiting case, is sufficient for overcoming the restrictions from quantum field theory. The feasibility of this approach is subsequently discussed by 1) introducing the additional conditions needed to ensure that the radial tidal forces can indeed be sufficiently low and 2) by viewing traversable wormholes as emergent phenomena, thereby increasing the likelihood of their existence.

Estimating the minimum in-stream flow requirements via wetted perimeter method based on curvature and slope techniques

Under the assumptions of triangular cross section channel and uniform stable flow, an analytical solution of the minimum ecological in-stream flow requirement （MEIFR） is deduced. Based on the analytical solution, the uncertainty of the wetted perimeter method is analyzed by comparing the two techniques for the determination of the critical point on the relationship curve between wetted perimeter, P and discharge, Q. It is clearly shown that the results of MEIFR based on curvature technique （corresponding to the maximum curvature） and slope technique （slope being 1） are significantly different. On the P-Q curve, the slope of the critical point with the maximum curvature is 0.39 and the MEIFR varied prominently with the change of the slope threshold. This indicates that if a certain value of the slope threshold is not available for slope technique, curvature technique may be a better choice. By applying the analytical solution of MEIFR in the losing rivers of the Western Route South-to-North Water Transfer Project in China, the MEIFR value via curvature technique is 2.5%-23.7% of the multi-year average annual discharge, while that for slope technique is 11%-105.7%. General conclusions would rely on the more detailed research for all kinds of cross-sections.

Estimating minimum ecological water required of the western route first stage project of China＇s south-to-north water transfer scheme for water exporting rivers

It is well known that there is abundant water resources in basin of the Yangtze River, the first largest river in China, which is mainly located in Southern China. However, water resources is very scarce in the basin of the Yellow River, which is mainly located in Northern China. So the western route project of south-north water transfer scheme （WRP-SNWTS） aims to transfer water from the Yangtze River to the Yellow River. The area of WRP-SNWT, located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the main areas of Sichuan and the marginal areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has sufficient water resources but fragile ecology and environment. Therefore, it is necessary for WRP-SNWT to analyze the ecology water required. Based on the planning principles of from low elevation to high elevation, from small to large, from short to long and from easy to difficulty, the WRP-SNWT will be constructed through three stage projects. The western route first stage project of the south-north water transfer scheme （WRFST-SNWTS） is planned to transfer 4×10^9m^3/a from six tributaries of the Yalong river and from Dadu river to Jiaqu of Yellow River.. Daqu river and Niqu river are the branches of Xianshui river. Sequ river, Duke river, Make river and Ake river are the branches of Dadu river, which account for 65-70% of the total river run-off. It need more research and the rest run-off can satisfy channel ecology water required. According to analysis ecological water required which mainly satisfy for aquicolous biology in water-exporting region, such as low air temperature. Fish and aquicolous biology main living from May to August, and rivers are iced up from December to March of next year, ecology water required mainly for fish and aquicolous biology. The flow criterion of Tennant method is modified. The ecology water required of WRFSP-SNWTS is estimated by the flow data of Zhuwo gauging station, Zhuba gauging station, Chuosijia gauging station and Zumuzu gauging station. The result show that the ecology water required calculated by modified Tennant less 1 l percent than that of Tennant. This estimating result can supply more water resources for transferring to Yellow River. Meanwhile, this can supply gist for research transferring water of WRFSP-SNWTS.

Selective extinction and habitat nestedness are the main drivers of lizard nestedness in the Zhoushan Archipelago

Nested subset pattern(nestedness)is an important part of the theoretical framework of island biogeography and community ecology.However,most previous studies often used nestedness metrics or randomization algorithms that are vulnerable to type I error.In this study,we inves-tigated the nestedness of lizard assemblages on 37 islands in the Zhoushan Archipelago,China.We used the line-transect method to survey species occurrence,abundance,and habitat types of lizards on 37 islands during 2 breeding seasons in 2021 and 2022.We applied the nested metric WNODF and the conservative rc null model to control for type I error and quantify the significance of nestedness.Spearman rank cor relations were used to evaluate the role of 4 habitat variables(island area,2 isolation indices,and habitat diversity)and 4 ecological traits(body size,geographic range size,clutch size,and minimum area requirement)in generating nestedness.The results of WNODF analyses showed that lizard assemblages were significantly nested.The habitat-by-site matrix estimated by the program NODF was also significantly nested,support-ing the habitat nestedness hypothesis.The nestedness of lizard assemblages were significantly correlated with island area,habitat diversity.clutch size,and minimum area requirement.Overall,our results suggest that selective extinction and habitat nestedness were the main drivers of lizard nestedness in our system.In contrast,the nestedness of lizard assemblages was not due to passive sampling or selective colonization.To maximize the number of species preserved,our results indicate that we should protect both large islands with diverse habitats and species with largearea requirement and clutch size.

Dense packing properties of mineral admixtures in cementitious material

The effect of ultra-fine fly ash （UFFA）, steel slag （SS） and silica fume （SF） on packing density of binary, ternary and quaternary cementitious materials was studied in this paper in terms of minimum water requirement of cement. The influence of mineral admixtures on the relative density of pastes with low water/hinder ratios was analyzed and the relationship between paste density and compressive strength of the corresponding hardened mortars was discussed. The results indicate that the incorporation of mineral admixtures can effectively improve the packing density ofcementitious materials; the increase in packing density of a composite with incorporation of two or three kinds of mineral admixtures is even more obvious than that with only one mineral admixture. Moreover, an optimal amount of mineral admixture imparts to the mixture maximum packing density. The dense packing effect of a mineral admixture can increase the packing density of the resulting cementitious material and also the density of paste with low water/binder ratio, which evidently enhances the compressive strength of the hardened mortar.

Nestedness and underlying processes of bird assemblages in Nanjing urban parks

Nestedness is an important pattern frequently reported for species assemblages on islands or fragmented systems.However,to date,there are few studies that comprehensively investigated faunal nestedness and underlying processes in urbanized landscapes.In this study,we examined the nestedness of bird assemblages and its underlying causal mechanisms in 37 urban parks in Nanjing,China.We used the line-transect method to survey birds from April 2019 to January 2020.We used the Weighted Nestedness metric based on Overlap and Decreasing Fill(WNODF)to estimate the nestedness of bird assemblages.We applied spearman partial correlation test to examine the relationships between nestedness ranks of sites and park characteristics(area,isolation,anthropogenic noise,number of habitat types,and building index),as well as between nestedness ranks of species and their ecological traits(body size,geographic range size,clutch size,minimum area requirement,dispersal ratio,and habitat specificity).We found that bird assemblages in urban parks were significantly nested.Park area,habitat diversity,building index,habitat specificity,and minimum area requirement of birds were significantly correlated with nestedness.Therefore,the nestedness of bird assemblages was caused by selective extinction,habitat nestedness,and urbanization.However,the nestedness of bird assemblages did not result from passive sampling,selective colonization,or human disturbance.Overall,to maximize the number of species preserved in our system,conservation priority should be given to parks with large area,rich habitat diversity,and less building index.From a species perspective,we should focus on species with large area requirement and high habitat specificity for their effective conservation.

Planning VANET infrastructures to improve safety awareness in curved roads

We analyze the effect of using a vehicular ad-hoc network(VANET) on accident avoidance.As shown in our analysis,a higher frequency of safety packets can prevent accidents,even for high speed vehicles and dense roads.To overcome connectivity problems in blind crossing situations,a genetic algorithm(GA) based method is presented for VANET infrastructure planning.The proposed approach tries to remove coverage sight holes in low sight distance cases in a traveling path in the road.In such places,drivers might not have enough sight for proper action and also environmental obstacles prevent direct communication between vehicles.Furthermore,curved roads affect mobility.Simulation results show that the density of vehicles is increased right before a curve and is decreased after that.Therefore,in this kind of road,a high frequency of packet generation may not act well in accident avoidance.The method proposed in this paper tries to cover such places considering the lowest safety distances according to traffic theory.For this,the road must be covered directly by infrastructure.Therefore,the problem is to find the best number and also positions of road side units.Using GA,the algorithm minimizes the summation of total uncovered and overlapped points in the roads which are covered by more than one antenna.Simulation on a real road map confirmed the capabilities of the proposed approach.