The growth and erosion of cinder cones in Guatemala and El Salvador: Models and statistics

Morphologic data for 147 cinder cones in southern Guatemala andwestern El Salvador are comparedwith data from the San Francisco volcanic field, Arizona (USA), Cima volcanic field, California (USA), Michoácan–Guanajuato volcanic field, Mexico, and the Lamongan volcanic field, East Java. The Guatemala cones have an average height of 110+/-50 m, an average basal diameter of 660+/-230 m and an average top diameter of 180+/-150 m. The generalmorphology of these cones can be described by their average cone angle of slope (24+/-7), average heightto- radius ratio (0.33+/-0.09) and their flatness (0.24+/-0.18). Although the mean values for the Guatemalan cones are similar to those for other volcanic fields (e.g., San Francisco volcanic field, Arizona; Cima volcanic field, California; Michoácan–Guanajuato volcanic field, Mexico; and Lamongan volcanic field, East Java), the range of morphologies encompasses almost all of those observed worldwide for cinder cones. Three new 40Ar/39Ar age dates are combined with 19 previously published dates for cones in Guatemala and El Salvador. There is no indication that the morphologies of these cones have changed over the last 500–1000 ka. Furthermore, a re-analysis of published data for other volcanic fields suggests that only in the Cima volcanic field (of those studied) is there clear evidence of degradation with age. Preliminary results of a numerical model of cinder cone growth are used to show that the range of morphologies observed in the Guatemalan cinder cones could all be primary, that is, due to processes occurring at the time of eruption

The growth and erosion of cinder cones in Guatemala and El Salvador: Models and statistics

Morphologic data for 147 cinder cones in southern Guatemala andwestern El Salvador are comparedwith data from the San Francisco volcanic field, Arizona (USA), Cima volcanic field, California (USA), Michoácan–Guanajuato volcanic field, Mexico, and the Lamongan volcanic field, East Java. The Guatemala cones have an average height of 110+/-50 m, an average basal diameter of 660+/-230 m and an average top diameter of 180+/-150 m. The generalmorphology of these cones can be described by their average cone angle of slope (24+/-7), average heightto- radius ratio (0.33+/-0.09) and their flatness (0.24+/-0.18). Although the mean values for the Guatemalan cones are similar to those for other volcanic fields (e.g., San Francisco volcanic field, Arizona; Cima volcanic field, California; Michoácan–Guanajuato volcanic field, Mexico; and Lamongan volcanic field, East Java), the range of morphologies encompasses almost all of those observed worldwide for cinder cones. Three new 40Ar/39Ar age dates are combined with 19 previously published dates for cones in Guatemala and El Salvador. There is no indication that the morphologies of these cones have changed over the last 500–1000 ka. Furthermore, a re-analysis of published data for other volcanic fields suggests that only in the Cima volcanic field (of those studied) is there clear evidence of degradation with age. Preliminary results of a numerical model of cinder cone growth are used to show that the range of morphologies observed in the Guatemalan cinder cones could all be primary, that is, due to processes occurring at the time of eruption

HIV subtype and drug resistance patterns among drug naïve persons in Jos, Nigeria

To determine HIV-1 subtypes and antiretroviral drug resistance mutations for 16 infected, pregnant women in Jos, Nigeria, part of pol (1040 bp) was amplified from patient PBMC DNA, sequenced andanalyzed. Eight of the samples were subtype G, three were CRF02_AG and 2 were unique recombinant forms (URF) between G and CRF02_AG. The remaining consisted of 3 different strains: one was subtypeC, and the other 2 were unrelated URF. Nearly full-length genome sequences were completed for 6 of the strains: 4 subtype G and 2 CRF02_AG. In the 14 drug-naïve subjects, no primary resistance-associated mutations were found, but secondary mutations were identified in 7 different codons of the gene coding for protease: PR K20I, M36I, L63A/P/V, V82I, L10M/I and I93L. In addition, the K238R mutation was identified in the reverse transcriptase gene of 3 viruses. The PR K20I and M36I mutations occurred in all of the strains, and the L10M and V82I mutations occurred only in subtype G. The mutation, I93L, was carried by subtype C viruses. Two of the women that had prior niverapine treatment, had primary resistance-associated mutations, RT M184V and K103N, archived in their proviral DNA several months after treatment cessation. The study reports a predominance of clade G and CRF02_AG, and provides many more examples of nearly full-length genome sequences for subtype G viruses from Nigeria. The ubiquitous presence of PI secondary resistance-associated mutations, as well as primary resistanceassociatedmutations in 2 previously treated women, underscores the need to ensure adherence compliance to treatment

ATLASGAL: 3-mm class I methanol masers in high-mass star formation regions

We analyzed the 3-mm wavelength spectral line survey of 408 ATLASGAL clumps observed with the IRAM 30m-telescope, focusing on the class I methanol masers with frequencies near 84, 95 and 104.3 GHz. We detect narrow, maser-like features towards 54, 100 and 4 sources in the maser lines near 84, 95 and 104.3 GHz, respectively. Among them, fifty 84 GHz masers, twenty nine 95 GHz masers and four rare 104.3 GHz masers are new discoveries. The new detections increase the number of known 104.3 GHz masers from 5 to 9. The 95 GHz class I methanol maser is generally stronger than the 84 GHz maser counterpart. We find 9 sources showing class I methanol masers but no SiO emission, indicating that class I methanol masers might be the only signpost of protostellar outflow activity in extremely embedded objects at the earliest evolutionary stage. Class I methanol masers that are associated with sources that show SiO line wings are more numerous and stronger than those without such wings. The total integrated intensity of class I methanol masers is well correlated with the integrated intensity and velocity coverage of the SiO (2--1) emission. The properties of class I methanol masers are positively correlated with the bolometric luminosity, clump mass, peak H$_2$ column density of their associated clumps but uncorrelated with the luminosity-to-mass ratio, dust temperature, and mean H$_2$ volume density. We suggest that the properties of class I masers are related to shocks traced by SiO. Based on our observations, we conclude that class I methanol masers at 84 and 95 GHz can trace a similar evolutionary stage as H$_2$O maser, and appear prior to 6.7 and 12.2 GHz methanol and OH masers. Despite their small number, the 104.3 GHz class I masers appear to trace a short and more evolved stage compared to the other class I masers. [abridged]Comment: 23 pages, 27 figures, 8 tables, accepted for publication in A&

Fission barriers and asymmetric ground states in the relativistic mean field theory

The symmetric and asymmetric fission path for 240Pu, 232Th, and 226Ra is investigated within the relativistic mean field model. Standard parametrizations which are well fitted to nuclear ground state properties are found to deliver reasonable qualitative and quantitative features of fission, comparable to similar nonrelativstic calculations. Furthermore, stable octupole deformations in the ground states of Radium isotopes are investigated. They are found in a series of isotopes, qualitatively in agreement with nonrelativistic models. But the quantitative details differ amongst the models and between the various relativsitic parametrizations.Comment: 30 pages RevTeX, 7 tables, 12 low resolution Gif figures (high resolution PostScript versions are available at http://www.th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/~bender/nucl_struct_publications.html or at ftp://th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/pub/bender

Evaluation of a Bayesian inference network for ligand-based virtual screening

Background Bayesian inference networks enable the computation of the probability that an event will occur. They have been used previously to rank textual documents in order of decreasing relevance to a user-defined query. Here, we modify the approach to enable a Bayesian inference network to be used for chemical similarity searching, where a database is ranked in order of decreasing probability of bioactivity. Results Bayesian inference networks were implemented using two different types of network and four different types of belief function. Experiments with the MDDR and WOMBAT databases show that a Bayesian inference network can be used to provide effective ligand-based screening, especially when the active molecules being sought have a high degree of structural homogeneity; in such cases, the network substantially out-performs a conventional, Tanimoto-based similarity searching system. However, the effectiveness of the network is much less when structurally heterogeneous sets of actives are being sought. Conclusion A Bayesian inference network provides an interesting alternative to existing tools for ligand-based virtual screening