Directed percolation near a wall

Series expansion methods are used to study directed bond percolation clusters on the square lattice whose lateral growth is restricted by a wall parallel to the growth direction. The percolation threshold $p_c$ is found to be the same as that for the bulk. However the values of the critical exponents for the percolation probability and mean cluster size are quite different from those for the bulk and are estimated by $\beta_1 = 0.7338 \pm 0.0001$ and $\gamma_1 = 1.8207 \pm 0.0004$ respectively. On the other hand the exponent $\Delta_1=\beta_1 +\gamma_1$ characterising the scale of the cluster size distribution is found to be unchanged by the presence of the wall. The parallel connectedness length, which is the scale for the cluster length distribution, has an exponent which we estimate to be $\nu_{1\parallel} = 1.7337 \pm 0.0004$ and is also unchanged. The exponent $\tau_1$ of the mean cluster length is related to $\beta_1$ and $\nu_{1\parallel}$ by the scaling relation $\nu_{1\parallel} = \beta_1 + \tau_1$ and using the above estimates yields $\tau_1 = 1$ to within the accuracy of our results. We conjecture that this value of $\tau_1$ is exact and further support for the conjecture is provided by the direct series expansion estimate $\tau_1= 1.0002 \pm 0.0003$.Comment: 12pages LaTeX, ioplppt.sty, to appear in J. Phys.

CCD BVRI and 2MASS Photometry of the Poorly Studied Open Cluster NGC 6631

Here we have obtained the {\it BVRI CCD} photometry down to a limiting magnitude of $V \sim$ 20 for the southern poorly studied open cluster NGC 6631. It is observed from the {\it 1.88 m} Telescope of Kottamia Observatory in Egypt. About 3300 stars have been observed in an area of $\sim 10^{\prime} \times 10^{\prime}$ around the cluster center. The main photometric parameters have been estimated and compared with the results that determined for the cluster using {\it JHKs 2MASS} photometric database. The cluster's diameter is estimated to be 10 arcmin; the reddening E(B-V)= 0.68 $\pm$ 0.10 mag, E(J-H)= 0.21 $\pm$ 0.10 mag, the true modulus (m-M)$_{o}$= 12.16 $\pm$ 0.10 mag, which corresponds to a distance of 2700 $\pm$125 pc and age of 500 $\pm$ 50 Myr.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Influence of calcium-binding salts on heat stability and fouling of whey protein isolate dispersions

peer-reviewedThe effect of the calcium-binding salts (CBS), trisodium citrate (TSC), tripotassium citrate (TPC) and disodium hydrogen phosphate (DSHP) at concentrations of 1–45 mm on the heat stability and fouling of whey protein isolate (WPI) dispersions (3%, w/v, protein) was investigated. The WPI dispersions were assessed for heat stability in an oil bath at 95 °C for 30 min, viscosity changes during simulated high-temperature short-time (HTST) and fouling behaviour using a lab-scale fouling rig. Adding CBS at levels of 5–30 mm for TSC and TPC and 25–35 mm for DSHP improved thermal stability of WPI dispersions by decreasing the ionic calcium (Ca2+) concentration; however, lower or higher concentrations destabilised the systems on heating. Adding CBS improved heat transfer during thermal processing, and resulted in lower viscosity and fouling. This study demonstrates that adding CBS is an effective means of increasing WPI protein stability during HTST thermal processing

Low-density series expansions for directed percolation III. Some two-dimensional lattices

We use very efficient algorithms to calculate low-density series for bond and site percolation on the directed triangular, honeycomb, kagom\'e, and $(4.8^2)$ lattices. Analysis of the series yields accurate estimates of the critical point $p_c$ and various critical exponents. The exponent estimates differ only in the $5^{th}$ digit, thus providing strong numerical evidence for the expected universality of the critical exponents for directed percolation problems. In addition we also study the non-physical singularities of the series.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figure

Subcentimeter-size particle distribution functions in planetary rings from Voyager radio and photopolarimeter occultation data

Analysis of measurements of the scattered and direct components of Voyager 1 radio occultation signals at 3.5 and 13 cm wavelengths yield estimates of the distribution functions of supracentimeter-size particles and thickness of relatively broad regions in Saturn's rings. If mearurements of signal amplitude at a shorter wavelength are combined with the previously analyzed data, the shape of the distribution functions characterizing the smaller particles can be constrained. If size distributions of arbitrary form were considered, many solutions are found that are consistent with the three available observations of signal amplitude. The best-fit power law was calculated to the three observations at three wavelengths for several of the embedded Saturn ringlets. Mie scattering theory predicts that the measured phase of the radio occultation signal is highly sensitive to particles ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 wavelengths in size, thus additional constraints on the subcentimeter-size distribution functions for both the Saturn and Uranus rings can in principle be derived from radio phase measurements

Plant retroviruses: structure, evolution and future applications

Retroelements, which replicate by reverse transcription, have been detected in higher plants, higher animals, fungi, insects and bacteria. They have been classified into viral retroelements, eukaryotic chromosomal non-viral retroelements and bacterial chromosomal retroelements. Until recently, retroviruses were thought to be restricted to vertebrates.  Plant sequencing projects revealed that plant genomes contain retroviral-like sequences. This review aims to address the structure and evolution of plant retroviruses. In addition, it proposes future applications for these important key components of plant genomes. (African Journal of Biotechnology: 2003 2(6): 136-139

COMPUTATIONAL MODELING OF CIRCULATING FLUIDIZED BED REACTORS

Details of numerical simulations of two-phase gas-solid turbulent flow in the riser section of Circulating Fluidized Bed Reactor (CFBR) using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) technique are reported. Two CFBR riser configurations are considered and modeled. Each of these two riser models consist of inlet, exit, connecting elbows and a main pipe. Both riser configurations are cylindrical and have the same diameter but differ in their inlet lengths and main pipe height to enable investigation of riser geometrical scaling effects. In addition, two types of solid particles are exploited in the solid phase of the two-phase gas-solid riser flow simulations to study the influence of solid loading ratio on flow patterns. The gaseous phase in the two-phase flow is represented by standard atmospheric air. The CFD-based FLUENT software is employed to obtain steady state and transient solutions for flow modulations in the riser. The physical dimensions, types and numbers of computation meshes, and solution methodology utilized in the present work are stated. Flow parameters, such as static and dynamic pressure, species velocity, and volume fractions are monitored and analyzed. The differences in the computational results between the two models, under steady and transient conditions, are compared, contrasted, and discussed

Simple Asymmetric Exclusion Model and Lattice Paths: Bijections and Involutions

We study the combinatorics of the change of basis of three representations of the stationary state algebra of the two parameter simple asymmetric exclusion process. Each of the representations considered correspond to a different set of weighted lattice paths which, when summed over, give the stationary state probability distribution. We show that all three sets of paths are combinatorially related via sequences of bijections and sign reversing involutions.Comment: 28 page