Orbital phase in inspiralling compact binaries

We derive the rate of change of the mean motion up to the second post-Newtonian order for inspiralling compact binaries with spin, mass quadrupole and magnetic dipole moments on eccentric orbits. We give this result in terms of orbital elements. We also present the related orbital phase for circular orbits.Comment: to appear in the Proceedings of the Eleventh Marcel Grossmann Meeting 2006, World Scientific, Singapore (2007

Psammotettix fajok (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) összehasonlító autökológiai vizsgálata = Comparative study on the autecology of common Psammotettix spp (Homoptera: Cicadellidae)

A csíkos gabonakabóca (Psammotettix alienus) a búza törpülés vírus vektoraként a gabonafélék jelentős kártevője, a gyepekben tömeges egyéb Psammotettix fajok ugyanakkor a gabonatáblákon alig találhatók meg. Kutatásunk célja olyan tényezők feltárása volt, melyek szerepet játszanak a P. alienus kiemelkedő szántóföldi sikerességében, illetve melyek hozzájárulhatnak hatékony védekezési módszerek kidolgozásához. A vizsgált életmenet-jellemzőkben (fenológia, fejlődési sebesség, áttelelés) nem találtunk alapvető különbséget a P. alienus és a gyepekhez kötődő fajok között, viszont csak a P. alienus esetében tapasztaltunk jelentős nyári migrációt. A vizsgált fajok mindegyike (P. alienus, P. confinis, P. kolosvarensis) képes volt több nemzedéken át búza, árpa és zab növényeken kifejlődni, az egyéb pázsitfű-félék vonatkozásában azonban a P. alienus tápnövényköre a többiekénél szélesebbnek bizonyult. Nem pázsitfűfélékhez tartozó növényen egyik faj sem volt képes tartósan életben maradni. Elektropenetrográfos (EPG) vizsgálattal kimutattuk, hogy a P. alienus imágók a túlélésüket nem biztosító kétszikű növényen is elérik a szállító edénynyalábokat, ezeken azonban a tápnövényekhez képest rövidebb szívási szakaszok jellemzőek. Megállapítottuk, hogy P. confinis és a P. kolosvarensis fajok nem képesek a búza törpülés vírus átvitelére. A P. alienus faj esetében az egészséges növény megfertőzéséhez négy óránál hosszabb táplálkozás szükséges. | Psammotettix alienus, the vector of Wheat dwarf virus, is an important pest of cereals in Europe. Congeneric species, being abundant in grasslands, are only rarely found within cereal fields. The aim of the study was to reveal factors which may have a role in the success of P. alienus in invading cereals and which may contribute to work out more effective plant protection methods. We have not found basic differences in life history parameters (phenology, overwintering, development rate) between P. alienus and other species living in permanent grasses. Intensive summer migration was shown only in case of P. alienus. Each tested species (P. alienus, P. confinis, P. kolosvarensis) was able to develop through generations on barley, wheat and oat plants. Concerning other grasses (Poaceae), the host plant range of P. alienus was proved to be wider than that of its congenerics. None of the Psammotettix species was able to survive for longer term on plants not belonging to Poaceae family. It has been shown by electrical penetration graph method, that P. alienus imagoes are able to reach the vascular system of unsuitable host plant species, including dicotyledons. In case of non-host plants, the feeding periods are shorter. It has been shown that neither P. confinis nor P. kolosvarensis are able to transmit Wheat dwarf virus. In case of virus carrying P. alienus imagoes more than 4 hours of feeding activity was needed for infecting new plants

Non-linear relationship of cell hit and transformation probabilities in a low dose of inhaled radon progenies

Cellular hit probabilities of alpha particles emitted by inhaled radon progenies in sensitive bronchial epithelial cell nuclei were simulated at low exposure levels to obtain useful data for the rejection or support of the linear-non-threshold (LNT) hypothesis. In this study, local distributions of deposited inhaled radon progenies in airway bifurcation models were computed at exposure conditions characteristic of homes and uranium mines. Then, maximum local deposition enhancement factors at bronchial airway bifurcations, expressed as the ratio of local to average deposition densities, were determined to characterise the inhomogeneity of deposition and to elucidate their effect on resulting hit probabilities. The results obtained suggest that in the vicinity of the carinal regions of the central airways the probability of multiple hits can be quite high, even at low average doses. Assuming a uniform distribution of activity there are practically no multiple hits and the hit probability as a function of dose exhibits a linear shape in the low dose range. The results are quite the opposite in the case of hot spots revealed by realistic deposition calculations, where practically all cells receive multiple hits and the hit probability as a function of dose is non-linear in the average dose range of 10–100 mGy

Credit Growth in Central and Eastern Europe: Convergence or Boom?

Credit to the private sector has been growing very rapidly in a number of Central and Eastern European countries in recent years. The main question is whether this dynamics is an equilibrium convergence process or may rather pose stability risks. Using panel econometric techniques, this paper attempts to identify the equilibrium credit/GDP levels of the new EU countries, disentangling the observed growth into an equilibrium trend and an excess (boom) component. In the paper the pooled mean group estimator was used for its flexibility and efficiency. Using instrumental variable technique we tested whether long run endogeneity affects the consistency. The estimations show that large part of the credit growth in new member states can be explained by the catching-up process, and, in general, credit/GDP ratios are below the levels consistent with macroeconomic fundamentals. However, in Latvia and Estonia credit growth is found to be significantly faster than what would be justified along the equilibrium path.financial deepening, credit growth, transition economies, panel econometrics, endogeneity bias.

The role of bronchial mucus layer thickness in radon dosimetry.

Abstract Radon is considered to be the second most important cause of lung cancer after smoking. Several investigations proved that at radon inhalation the most exposed parts are the central airways especially the carinal regions of these bifurcations. The radon progenies induced lung tumours show similar spatial distribution as the deposition density distribution of inhaled radon progenies. The bronchial mucus layer absorbs a significant part of the energy of the ionizing alpha-particles. Since the mucus layer thickness is not constant in the different airway generations, the microdosimetric parameters can be significantly influenced by the mucus thickness. Hence, it may be quite important to investigate the role of mucus layer thickness in radon microdosimetry, what is the main objective of this research. The major conclusions of this research are that the thickness of the mucus layer can basically influence the risk of inhaled radon progenies and the relationship between risk and exposure is slightly under linear in the analysed dose range applying an Initiation-Promotion Approach on a three-dimensional epithelium model. The effect of mucus thickness can be observed in every analysed microdosimetric quantities, hence mucus layer thickness cannot be neglected in radon dosimetry in the central airways