762 research outputs found
Penetration of human skin by the cercariae of Schistosoma mansoni : an investigation of the effect of multiple cercarial applications
It has previously been postulated that L-arginine emitted by penetrating Schistosoma mansoni cercariae serves as an intraspecific signal guiding other cercariae to the penetration site. It was suggested that penetrating in groups offers a selective advantage. If this hypothesis is correct and group penetration at one site on the host offers an advantage, it would follow that at such a site, successive groups of cercariae would be able to penetrate skin in either greater numbers or at a faster rate. This prediction was tested by the use of an in vitro model of cercarial penetration based on the Franz cell and using human skin. It was demonstrated that there was no increase in the percentage of cercariae able to penetrate the skin with subsequent exposures. Consequently, it seems unlikely that the release of L-arginine by cercariae during penetration could have evolved as a specific orientation system based on a selective advantage offered by group penetration.Peer reviewe
Redescription of Rhabdochona (Rhabdochona) acuminata (Nematoda: habdochonidae) from freshwater fishes from Patagonia (Argentina), the geographical implications
Rhabdochona (Rhabdochona) acuminata is redescribed from specimens parasitizing Diplomystes mesembrinus (Siluriformes: Diplomystidae) and Percichthys trucha (Perciformes: Percichthyidae) from the Chubut River, Patagonia, Argentina. The present report is the first record of this nematode in D. mesembrinus; it also confirms P. trucha as host and Patagonia as a region of distribution for R. (R.) acuminata. Morphological features of the species were described using light and scanning electron microscopy. Compared with previous descriptions from Brazil, a very similar morphology is observed. However, a large morphometric variability is found, mainly in body size, spicule ratio, and number and arrangement of pre- and postcloacal papillae.Fil: Cremonte, Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Navone, Graciela Teresa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; ArgentinaFil: Gosztonyi, Atila Esteban. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Kuba, Luisa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Centro Nacional Patagónico; Argentin
A light-front coupled cluster method
A new method for the nonperturbative solution of quantum field theories is
described. The method adapts the exponential-operator technique of the standard
many-body coupled-cluster method to the Fock-space eigenvalue problem for
light-front Hamiltonians. This leads to an effective eigenvalue problem in the
valence Fock sector and a set of nonlinear integral equations for the functions
that define the exponential operator. The approach avoids at least some of the
difficulties associated with the Fock-space truncation usually used.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure; to appear in the proceedings of LIGHTCONE 2011,
23-27 May 2011, Dalla
An extension of the coupled-cluster method: A variational formalism
A general quantum many-body theory in configuration space is developed by
extending the traditional coupled cluter method (CCM) to a variational
formalism. Two independent sets of distribution functions are introduced to
evaluate the Hamiltonian expectation. An algebraic technique for calculating
these distribution functions via two self-consistent sets of equations is
given. By comparing with the traditional CCM and with Arponen's extension, it
is shown that the former is equivalent to a linear approximation to one set of
distribution functions and the later is equivalent to a random-phase
approximation to it. In additional to these two approximations, other
higher-order approximation schemes within the new formalism are also discussed.
As a demonstration, we apply this technique to a quantum antiferromagnetic spin
model.Comment: 15 pages. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Evaluation of the Water Film Weber Number in Glaze Icing Scaling
Icing scaling tests were performed in the NASA Glenn Icing Research Tunnel to evaluate a new scaling method, developed and proposed by Feo for glaze icing, in which the scale liquid water content and velocity were found by matching reference and scale values of the nondimensional water-film thickness expression and the film Weber number. For comparison purpose, tests were also conducted using the constant We(sub L) method for velocity scaling. The reference tests used a full-span, fiberglass, 91.4-cm-chord NACA 0012 model with velocities of 76 and 100 knot and MVD sizes of 150 and 195 microns. Scale-to-reference model size ratio was 1:2.6. All tests were made at 0deg AOA. Results will be presented for stagnation point freezing fractions of 0.3 and 0.5
Computational Nuclear Physics and Post Hartree-Fock Methods
We present a computational approach to infinite nuclear matter employing
Hartree-Fock theory, many-body perturbation theory and coupled cluster theory.
These lectures are closely linked with those of chapters 9, 10 and 11 and serve
as input for the correlation functions employed in Monte Carlo calculations in
chapter 9, the in-medium similarity renormalization group theory of dense
fermionic systems of chapter 10 and the Green's function approach in chapter
11. We provide extensive code examples and benchmark calculations, allowing
thereby an eventual reader to start writing her/his own codes. We start with an
object-oriented serial code and end with discussions on strategies for porting
the code to present and planned high-performance computing facilities.Comment: 82 pages, to appear in Lecture Notes in Physics (Springer), "An
advanced course in computational nuclear physics: Bridging the scales from
quarks to neutron stars", M. Hjorth-Jensen, M. P. Lombardo, U. van Kolck,
Editor
The Extended Coupled Cluster Treatment of Correlations in Quantum Magnets
The spin-half XXZ model on the linear chain and the square lattice are
examined with the extended coupled cluster method (ECCM) of quantum many-body
theory. We are able to describe both the Ising-Heisenberg phase and the
XY-Heisenberg phase, starting from known wave functions in the Ising limit and
at the phase transition point between the XY-Heisenberg and ferromagnetic
phases, respectively, and by systematically incorporating correlations on top
of them. The ECCM yields good numerical results via a diagrammatic approach,
which makes the numerical implementation of higher-order truncation schemes
feasible. In particular, the best non-extrapolated coupled cluster result for
the sublattice magnetization is obtained, which indicates the employment of an
improved wave function. Furthermore, the ECCM finds the expected qualitatively
different behaviours of the linear chain and the square lattice cases.Comment: 22 pages, 3 tables, and 15 figure
A Delphi Study to Strengthen Research-Methods Training in Undergraduate Psychology Programs
Psychology programs often emphasize inferential statistical tests over a solid understanding of data and research design. This imbalance may leave graduates underequipped to effectively interpret research and employ data to answer questions. We conducted a two-round modified Delphi to identify the research-methods skills that the UK psychology community deems essential for undergraduates to learn. Participants included 103 research-methods instructors, academics, students, and nonacademic psychologists. Of 78 items included in the consensus process, 34 reached consensus. We coupled these results with a qualitative analysis of 707 open-ended text responses to develop nine recommendations for organizations that accredit undergraduate psychology programs—such as the British Psychological Society. We recommend that accreditation standards emphasize (1) data skills, (2) research design, (3) descriptive statistics, (4) critical analysis, (5) qualitative methods, and (6) both parameter estimation and significance testing; as well as (7) give precedence to foundational skills, (8) promote transferable skills, and (9) create space in curricula to enable these recommendations. Our data and findings can inform modernized accreditation standards to include clearly defined, assessable, and widely encouraged skills that foster a competent graduate body for the contemporary world
Toward ab initio density functional theory for nuclei
We survey approaches to nonrelativistic density functional theory (DFT) for
nuclei using progress toward ab initio DFT for Coulomb systems as a guide. Ab
initio DFT starts with a microscopic Hamiltonian and is naturally formulated
using orbital-based functionals, which generalize the conventional
local-density-plus-gradients form. The orbitals satisfy single-particle
equations with multiplicative (local) potentials. The DFT functionals can be
developed starting from internucleon forces using wave-function based methods
or by Legendre transform via effective actions. We describe known and
unresolved issues for applying these formulations to the nuclear many-body
problem and discuss how ab initio approaches can help improve empirical energy
density functionals.Comment: 69 pages, 16 figures, many revisions based on feedback. To appear in
Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physic
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