498 research outputs found
The vegetation of the Rheban Spit, Tasmania
The vegetation of the Rheban spit, Tasmania is described and discussed. The vegetation on the frontal dunes, which have largely been developed in the last twenty years, can be divided into three zones, one dominated by Ammophila arenaria, one dominated by small herbs, and one dominated by Pteridium esculentum and Banksia marginata. The beach ridge vegetation cannot be divided so clearly into zones, but continuous variation is demonstrated through the use of polar ordination. The saltmarsh vegetation is briefly described, and the case for the preservation of the vegetation of the spit outlined
Local versus Nonlocal Order Parameter Field Theories for Quantum Phase Transitions
General conditions are formulated that allow to determine which quantum phase
transitions in itinerant electron systems can be described by a local
Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson or LGW theory solely in terms of the order parameter. A
crucial question is the degree to which the order parameter fluctuations couple
to other soft modes. Three general classes of zero-wavenumber order parameters,
in the particle-hole spin-singlet and spin-triplet channels, and in the
particle-particle channel, respectively, are considered. It is shown that the
particle-hole spin-singlet class does allow for a local LGW theory, while the
other two classes do not. The implications of this result for the critical
behavior at various quantum phase transitions are discussed, as is the
connection with nonanalyticities in the wavenumber dependence of order
parameter susceptibilities in the disordered phase.Comment: 9 pp., LaTeX, no figs, final version as publishe
SPECULOOS exoplanet search and its prototype on TRAPPIST
One of the most significant goals of modern science is establishing whether
life exists around other suns. The most direct path towards its achievement is
the detection and atmospheric characterization of terrestrial exoplanets with
potentially habitable surface conditions. The nearest ultracool dwarfs (UCDs),
i.e. very-low-mass stars and brown dwarfs with effective temperatures lower
than 2700 K, represent a unique opportunity to reach this goal within the next
decade. The potential of the transit method for detecting potentially habitable
Earth-sized planets around these objects is drastically increased compared to
Earth-Sun analogs. Furthermore, only a terrestrial planet transiting a nearby
UCD would be amenable for a thorough atmospheric characterization, including
the search for possible biosignatures, with near-future facilities such as the
James Webb Space Telescope. In this chapter, we first describe the physical
properties of UCDs as well as the unique potential they offer for the detection
of potentially habitable Earth-sized planets suitable for atmospheric
characterization. Then, we present the SPECULOOS ground-based transit survey,
that will search for Earth-sized planets transiting the nearest UCDs, as well
as its prototype survey on the TRAPPIST telescopes. We conclude by discussing
the prospects offered by the recent detection by this prototype survey of a
system of seven temperate Earth-sized planets transiting a nearby UCD,
TRAPPIST-1.Comment: Submitted as a chapter in the "Handbook of Exoplanets" (editors: H.
Deeg & J.A. Belmonte; Section Editor: N. Narita). 16 pages, 4 figure
A clinician’s guide to management of intra-abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome in critically ill patients
This article is one of ten reviews selected from the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2020. Other selected articles can be found online at . Further information about the Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine is available from http://www.springer.com/series/8901
Nanostructured 3D Constructs Based on Chitosan and Chondroitin Sulphate Multilayers for Cartilage Tissue Engineering
Nanostructured three-dimensional constructs combining layer-by-layer technology (LbL) and template leaching were processed and evaluated as possible support structures for cartilage tissue engineering. Multilayered constructs were formed by depositing the polyelectrolytes chitosan (CHT) and chondroitin sulphate (CS) on either bidimensional glass surfaces or 3D packet of paraffin spheres. 2D CHT/CS multi-layered constructs proved to support the attachment and proliferation of bovine chondrocytes (BCH). The technology was transposed to 3D level and CHT/CS multi-layered hierarchical scaffolds were retrieved after paraffin leaching. The obtained nanostructured 3D constructs had a high porosity and water uptake capacity of about 300%. Dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA) showed the viscoelastic nature of the scaffolds. Cellular tests were performed with the culture of BCH and multipotent bone marrow derived stromal cells (hMSCs) up to 21 days in chondrogenic differentiation media. Together with scanning electronic microscopy analysis, viability tests and DNA quantification, our results clearly showed that cells attached, proliferated and were metabolically active over the entire scaffold. Cartilaginous extracellular matrix (ECM) formation was further assessed and results showed that GAG secretion occurred indicating the maintenance of the chondrogenic phenotype and the chondrogenic differentiation of hMSCs
Numerical approximations for the tempered fractional Laplacian: Error analysis and applications
In this paper, we propose an accurate finite difference method to discretize
the -dimensional (for ) tempered integral fractional Laplacian and
apply it to study the tempered effects on the solution of problems arising in
various applications. Compared to other existing methods, our method has higher
accuracy and simpler implementation. Our numerical method has an accuracy of
, for if (or if ) with
, suggesting the minimum consistency conditions. The accuracy can
be improved to , for if
(or if ). Numerical experiments confirm our analytical results and provide
insights in solving the tempered fractional Poisson problem. It suggests that
to achieve the second order of accuracy, our method only requires the solution
for any . Moreover, if the solution
of tempered fractional Poisson problems satisfies for and , our method has the accuracy
of . Since our method yields a (multilevel) Toeplitz stiffness
matrix, one can design fast algorithms via the fast Fourier transform for
efficient simulations. Finally, we apply it together with fast algorithms to
study the tempered effects on the solutions of various tempered fractional
PDEs, including the Allen-Cahn equation and Gray-Scott equations.Comment: 21 pages, 11 figures, 3 table
Quantum phase transitions
In recent years, quantum phase transitions have attracted the interest of
both theorists and experimentalists in condensed matter physics. These
transitions, which are accessed at zero temperature by variation of a
non-thermal control parameter, can influence the behavior of electronic systems
over a wide range of the phase diagram. Quantum phase transitions occur as a
result of competing ground state phases. The cuprate superconductors which can
be tuned from a Mott insulating to a d-wave superconducting phase by carrier
doping are a paradigmatic example. This review introduces important concepts of
phase transitions and discusses the interplay of quantum and classical
fluctuations near criticality. The main part of the article is devoted to bulk
quantum phase transitions in condensed matter systems. Several classes of
transitions will be briefly reviewed, pointing out, e.g., conceptual
differences between ordering transitions in metallic and insulating systems. An
interesting separate class of transitions are boundary phase transitions where
only degrees of freedom of a subsystem become critical; this will be
illustrated in a few examples. The article is aimed on bridging the gap between
high-level theoretical presentations and research papers specialized in certain
classes of materials. It will give an overview over a variety of different
quantum transitions, critically discuss open theoretical questions, and
frequently make contact with recent experiments in condensed matter physics.Comment: 50 pages, 7 figs; (v2) final version as publishe
Successful outcome of six-level cervicothoracic corpectomy and circumferential reconstruction: case report and review of literature on multilevel cervicothoracic corpectomy
The authors report the successful outcome of a six-level corpectomy across the cervico-thoracic spine with circumferential reconstruction in a patient with extensive osteomyelitis of the cervical and upper thoracic spine. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of a corpectomy extending across six levels of the cervico-thoracic spine. Clinical relevance: the authors recommend anterior cage and plate-assisted reconstruction and additional posterior instrumentation using modern spinal surgical techniques and implants
A mathematical and computational review of Hartree-Fock SCF methods in Quantum Chemistry
We present here a review of the fundamental topics of Hartree-Fock theory in
Quantum Chemistry. From the molecular Hamiltonian, using and discussing the
Born-Oppenheimer approximation, we arrive to the Hartree and Hartree-Fock
equations for the electronic problem. Special emphasis is placed in the most
relevant mathematical aspects of the theoretical derivation of the final
equations, as well as in the results regarding the existence and uniqueness of
their solutions. All Hartree-Fock versions with different spin restrictions are
systematically extracted from the general case, thus providing a unifying
framework. Then, the discretization of the one-electron orbitals space is
reviewed and the Roothaan-Hall formalism introduced. This leads to a exposition
of the basic underlying concepts related to the construction and selection of
Gaussian basis sets, focusing in algorithmic efficiency issues. Finally, we
close the review with a section in which the most relevant modern developments
(specially those related to the design of linear-scaling methods) are commented
and linked to the issues discussed. The whole work is intentionally
introductory and rather self-contained, so that it may be useful for non
experts that aim to use quantum chemical methods in interdisciplinary
applications. Moreover, much material that is found scattered in the literature
has been put together here to facilitate comprehension and to serve as a handy
reference.Comment: 64 pages, 3 figures, tMPH2e.cls style file, doublesp, mathbbol and
subeqn package
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