1,281 research outputs found
Excavation at Aguas Buenas, Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile, of a gunpowder magazine and the supposed campsite of Alexander Selkirk, together with an account of early navigational dividers
Excavations were undertaken of a ruined building at Aguas Buenas, identified as an 18th-century Spanish gunpowder magazine. Evidence was also found for the campsite of an early European occupant of the island. A case is made that this was Alexander Selkirk, a castaway here from 1704 to 1709. Selkirk was the model for Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. A detailed discussion is given of a fragment of copper alloy identifi ed as being from a pair of navigational dividers
An ansatz for the nonlinear Demkov-Kunike problem for cold molecule formation
We study nonlinear mean-field dynamics of ultracold molecule formation in the
case when the external field configuration is defined by the level-crossing
Demkov-Kunike model, characterized by a bell-shaped coupling and finite
variation of the detuning. Analyzing the fast sweep rate regime of the strong
interaction limit, which models a situation when the peak value of the coupling
is large enough and the resonance crossing is sufficiently fast, we construct a
highly accurate ansatz to describe the temporal dynamics of the molecule
formation in the mentioned interaction regime. The absolute error of the
constructed approximation is less than 3*10^-6 for the final transition
probability while at certain time points it might increase up to 10^-3.
Examining the role of the different terms in the constructed approximation, we
prove that in the fast sweep rate regime of the strong interaction limit the
temporal dynamics of the atom-molecule conversion effectively consists of the
process of resonance crossing, which is governed by a nonlinear equation,
followed by atom-molecular coherent oscillations which are basically described
by a solution of the linear problem, associated with the considered nonlinear
one.Comment: Accepted for publication in J. Contemp. Phys. (Armenian National
Academy of Sciences) 8 pages, 4 figure
Forage quality, mineral constituents, and performance of beef yearlings grazing two crested wheatgrasses
In the central Great Plains, crested wheatgrasses (Agropyron cristatum
(L.) Gaetner and A. desertorium (Fischer ex Link) Schultes] are
best utilized for early spring and late fall grazing. The principal objective
of this study was to determine if beef (Bos taurus L.) yearlings
grazing 'Ruff' (A. cristatum) during the spring grazing season had
higher average daily gains and gains per hectare than cattle grazing
`Nordan' (A. desertorum). These cultivars were evaluated in grazing
trials (four replications) in eastern Nebraska in 1985, 1986, and 1987.
The 0.8-ha pastures were seeded in the fall of 1983 on a Typic Argiudoll
soil and were fertilized annually with 68 to 90 kg N ha-1. Grazing
was for 6 wk each spring by yearling steers with a beginning average
weight of 250 kg. Averaged over 3 yr, Ruff produced higher gains
per hectare than Nordan (272 vs 245 kg ha-1) probably because it
produced more herbage because of its better persistence. At the end
of the trial, the averge basal cover of Ruff and Nordan were 21 and
6%, respectively. Three-year mean average daily gains were Ruff =
1.28 vs. Nordan = 1.34 kg d-1, which were unexpected, because Ruff
generally had higher forage quality as measured by an array of parameters.
Ruff forage had a higher, less desirable grass tetany ratio
[K/(Mg +Ca)) than Nordan (2.6 vs. 2.3) averaged over 3 yr. Cattle
grazing Ruff had lower blood serum Mg levels than cattle grazing
Nordan (15.4 vs. 16.2 mg L-1, both of which were below the hypomagnesemia
threshold of 18 mg L-1. This condition may have reduced
intake and animal gains. These results indicate the need for evaluating
pasture and range grass cultivars under grazing conditions
Vacuum polarization of a scalar field in wormhole spacetimes
An analitical approximation of for a scalar field in a static
spherically symmetric wormhole spacetime is obtained. The scalar field is
assumed to be both massive and massless, with an arbitrary coupling to
the scalar curvature, and in a zero temperature vacuum state.Comment: 10 pages, RevTeX, two eps figure
Shell-model calculations of neutrino scattering from 12C
Neutrino reaction cross-sections, , ,
-capture and photoabsorption rates on C are computed within a
large-basis shell-model framework, which included excitations up to
. When ground-state correlations are included with an open
-shell the predictions of the calculations are in reasonable agreement with
most of the experimental results for these reactions. Woods-Saxon radial wave
functions are used, with their asymptotic forms matched to the experimental
separation energies for bound states, and matched to a binding energy of 0.01
MeV for unbound states. For comparison purposes, some results are given for
harmonic oscillator radial functions. Closest agreement between theory and
experiment is achieved with unrestricted shell-model configurations and
Woods-Saxon radial functions. We obtain for the neutrino-absorption inclusive
cross sections: cm for the
decay-in-flight flux in agreement with the LSND datum of
cm; and cm for the decay-at-rest flux, less than the
experimental result of cm.Comment: 19 pages. ReVTeX. No figure
Feedback-control of quantum systems using continuous state-estimation
We present a formulation of feedback in quantum systems in which the best
estimates of the dynamical variables are obtained continuously from the
measurement record, and fed back to control the system. We apply this method to
the problem of cooling and confining a single quantum degree of freedom, and
compare it to current schemes in which the measurement signal is fed back
directly in the manner usually considered in existing treatments of quantum
feedback. Direct feedback may be combined with feedback by estimation, and the
resulting combination, performed on a linear system, is closely analogous to
classical LQG control theory with residual feedback.Comment: 12 pages, multicol revtex, revised and extende
To wet or not to wet: that is the question
Wetting transitions have been predicted and observed to occur for various
combinations of fluids and surfaces. This paper describes the origin of such
transitions, for liquid films on solid surfaces, in terms of the gas-surface
interaction potentials V(r), which depend on the specific adsorption system.
The transitions of light inert gases and H2 molecules on alkali metal surfaces
have been explored extensively and are relatively well understood in terms of
the least attractive adsorption interactions in nature. Much less thoroughly
investigated are wetting transitions of Hg, water, heavy inert gases and other
molecular films. The basic idea is that nonwetting occurs, for energetic
reasons, if the adsorption potential's well-depth D is smaller than, or
comparable to, the well-depth of the adsorbate-adsorbate mutual interaction. At
the wetting temperature, Tw, the transition to wetting occurs, for entropic
reasons, when the liquid's surface tension is sufficiently small that the free
energy cost in forming a thick film is sufficiently compensated by the fluid-
surface interaction energy. Guidelines useful for exploring wetting transitions
of other systems are analyzed, in terms of generic criteria involving the
"simple model", which yields results in terms of gas-surface interaction
parameters and thermodynamic properties of the bulk adsorbate.Comment: Article accepted for publication in J. Low Temp. Phy
Hypogene Calcitization: Evaporite Diagenesis in the Western Delaware Basin
Evaporite calcitization within the Castile Formation of the Delaware Basin is more widespread and diverse than originally recognized. Coupled field and GIS studies have identified more than 1000 individual occurrences of calcitization within the Castile Formation outcrop area, which includes both calcitized masses (limestone buttes) and laterally extensive calcitized horizons (limestone sheets). Both limestone buttes and sheets commonly contain a central brecciated zone that we attribute to hypogene dissolution. Lithologic fabric of calcitized zones ranges from little alteration of original varved laminae to fabrics showing extensive laminae distortion as well as extensive vuggy and open cavernous porosity. Calcitization is most abundant in the western portion of the Castile outcrop region where surface denudation has been greatest. Calcitization often forms linear trends, indicating fluid migration along fractures, but also occurs as dense clusters indicating focused, ascending, hydrocarbon-rich fluids. Native sulfur, secondary tabular gypsum (i.e. selenite) and hypogene caves are commonly associated with clusters of calcitization. This assemblage suggests that calcium sulfate diagenesis within the Castile Formation is dominated by hypogene speleogemesis
Retargeting azithromycin analogues to have dual-modality antimalarial activity
Background: Resistance to front-line antimalarials (artemisinin combination therapies) is spreading, and development of new drug treatment strategies to rapidly kill Plasmodium spp. malaria parasites is urgently needed. Azithromycin is a clinically used macrolide antibiotic proposed as a partner drug for combination therapy in malaria, which has also been tested as monotherapy. However, its slow-killing 'delayed-death' activity against the parasite's apicoplast organelle and suboptimal activity as monotherapy limit its application as a potential malaria treatment. Here, we explore a panel of azithromycin analogues and demonstrate that chemical modifications can be used to greatly improve the speed and potency of antimalarial action. Results: Investigation of 84 azithromycin analogues revealed nanomolar quick-killing potency directed against the very earliest stage of parasite development within red blood cells. Indeed, the best analogue exhibited 1600-fold higher potency than azithromycin with less than 48 hrs treatment in vitro. Analogues were effective against zoonotic Plasmodium knowlesi malaria parasites and against both multi-drug and artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum lines. Metabolomic profiles of azithromycin analogue-treated parasites suggested activity in the parasite food vacuole and mitochondria were disrupted. Moreover, unlike the food vacuole-targeting drug chloroquine, azithromycin and analogues were active across blood-stage development, including merozoite invasion, suggesting that these macrolides have a multi-factorial mechanism of quick-killing activity. The positioning of functional groups added to azithromycin and its quick-killing analogues altered their activity against bacterial-like ribosomes but had minimal change on 'quick-killing' activity. Apicoplast minus parasites remained susceptible to both azithromycin and its analogues, further demonstrating that quick-killing is independent of apicoplast-targeting, delayed-death activity. Conclusion: We show that azithromycin and analogues can rapidly kill malaria parasite asexual blood stages via a fast action mechanism. Development of azithromycin and analogues as antimalarials offers the possibility of targeting parasites through both a quick-killing and delayed-death mechanism of action in a single, multifactorial chemotype.Amy L. Burns, Brad E. Sleebs, Ghizal Siddiqui, Amanda E. De Paoli, Dovile Anderson, Benjamin Liffner, Richard Harvey, James G. Beeson, Darren J. Creek, Christopher D. Goodman, Geoffrey I. McFadden, and Danny W. Wilso
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