239,979 research outputs found
Higher order clustering coefficients in Barabasi-Albert networks
Higher order clustering coefficients are introduced for random
networks. The coefficients express probabilities that the shortest distance
between any two nearest neighbours of a certain vertex equals , when one
neglects all paths crossing the node . Using we found that in the
Barab\'{a}si-Albert (BA) model the average shortest path length in a node's
neighbourhood is smaller than the equivalent quantity of the whole network and
the remainder depends only on the network parameter . Our results show that
small values of the standard clustering coefficient in large BA networks are
due to random character of the nearest neighbourhood of vertices in such
networks.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Chemical composition of modern and fossil hippopotamid teeth and implications for paleoenvironmental reconstructions and enamel formation : part 2, alkaline earth elements as tracers of watershed hydrochemistry and provenance
This study demonstrates that alkaline earth elements in enamel of hippopotamids, in particular Ba and Sr, are tracers for water provenance and hydrochemistry in terrestrial settings. The studied specimens are permanent premolar and molar teeth found in modern and fossil lacustrine sediments of the Western Branch of the East African Rift system (Lake Kikorongo, Lake Albert, and Lake Malawi) and from modern fluvial environments of the Nile River.
Concentrations in enamel vary by two orders of magnitude for Ba (120–9336 μg g−1) as well as for Sr (9–2150 μg g−1). The variations are partially induced during post-mortem alteration and during amelogenesis, but the major contribution originates ultimately from the variable water chemistry in the habitats of the hippopotamids which is controlled by the lithologies and weathering processes in the watershed areas. Amelogenesis causes a distinct distribution of MgO, Ba and Sr in modern and fossil enamel, in that element concentrations increase along profiles from the outer rim towards the enamel–dentin junction by a factor of 1.3–1.9. These elements are well correlated in single specimens, thus suggesting that their distribution is determined by a common, single process, which can be described by closed system Rayleigh crystallization of bioapatite in vivo.
Enamel from most hippopotamid specimens has Sr/Ca and Ba/Ca which are typical for herbivores. However, Ba/Sr ranges from 0.1 to 3 and varies on spatial and temporal scales. Thus, Sr concentrations and Ba/Sr in enamel differentiate between habitats having basaltic mantle rocks or Archean crustal rocks as the ultimate sources of Sr and Ba. This provenance signal is modulated by climate change. In Miocene to Pleistocene enamel from the Lake Albert region, Ba/Sr decreases systematically with time from 2 to 0.5. This trend can be correlated with changes in climate from humid to arid, in vegetation from C3 to C4 biomass as well as with increasing evaporation of the lake water. The most plausible explanation is that Ba mobility decreased with increasing aridification due to preferential deposition with clay and Fe-oxide-hydroxide or barite on the watershed of Lake Albert
Is the bulbus arteriosus of fish homologous to the mamalian intrapericardial thoracic arteries?
El resumen aparece en el Program & Abstracts of the 10th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, Barcelona 2013.Anatomical Record, Volume 296, Special Feature — 1: P-089.Two major findings have significantly improved our understanding of the
embryology and evolution of the arterial pole of the vertebrate heart (APVH): 1) a
new embryonic presumptive cardiac tissue, named second heart field (SHF), forms
the myocardium of the outflow tract, and the walls of the ascending aorta (AA) and
the pulmonary trunk (PT) in mammals and birds; 2) the bulbus arteriosus (BA),
previously thought to be an actinopterygian apomorphy, is present in all basal
Vertebrates, and probably derives from the SHF. We hypothesized that the
intrapericardial portions of the AA and the PT of mammals are homologous to the
BA of basal vertebrates. To test this, we performed 1) a literature review of the
anatomy and embryology of the APVH; 2) novel anatomical, histomorphological,
and embryological analyses of the APVH, comparing basal (Galeus atlanticus), with
apical (Mus musculus and Mesocricetus auratus) vertrebrates. Evidence obtained:
1) Anatomically, BA, AA, and PT are muscular tubes into the pericardial cavity,
which connect the distal myocardial outflow tracts with the aortic arch system.
Coronary arteries run through or originate at these anatomical structures; 2)
Histologically, BA, AA, and PT show an inner layer of endothelium covered by
circumferentially oriented smooth muscle cells, collagen fibers, and lamellar
elastin. The histomorphological differences between the BA and the ventral aorta
parallel those between intrapericardial and extrapericardial great arteries; 3)
Embryologically, BA, AA, and PT are composed of smooth muscle cells derived
from the SHF. They show a similar mechanism of development: incorporation of
SHF‐derived cells into the pericardial cavity, and distal‐to‐proximal differentiation
into an elastogenic cell linage.
In conclusion, anatomical, histological and embryological evidence supports the
hypothesis that SHF is a developmental unit responsible for the formation of the
APVH. The BA and the intrapericardial portions of the great arteries must be
considered homologous structures.Proyecto P10-CTS-6068 (Junta de Andalucía); proyecto CGL-16417 (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación); Fondos FEDER
Possible link of a structurally driven spin flip transition and the insulator-metal transition in the perovskite LaBaCoO
The complex nature of the magnetic ground state in LaACoO
(A = Ca, Sr, Ba) has been investigated via neutron scattering. It was
previously observed that ferromagnetic (FM) as well as antiferromagnetic (AFM)
correlations can coexist prior to the insulator-metal transition (IMT). We
focused on a unique region in the Ba phase diagram, from x = 0.17 - 0.22, in
which a commensurate AFM phase appears first with a propagation vector, k = (0,
-0.5, 0.5), and the Co moment in the (001) plane of the rhombohedral
lattice. With increasing x, the AFM component weakens while an FM order appears
with the FM Co moment directed along the (001) (=(111)) axis. By x
= 0.22, a spin flip to new FM component appears as the crystal fully transforms
to an orthorhombic (Pnma) structure, with the Co moments pointing along a new
direction, (001) (=(110)). It is the emergence of the magnetic Pnma
phase that leads to IMT.Comment: 5 page
Electronic Structure of Superconducting Ba6c60
We report the results of first-principles electronic-structure calculations
for superconducting Ba6C60. Unlike the A3C60 superconductors, this new compound
shows strong Ba-C hybridization in the valence and conduction regions, mixed
covalent/ionic bonding character, partial charge transfer, and insulating
zero-gap band structure.Comment: 11 pages + 4 figures (1 appended, others on request), LaTeX with
REVTE
Identification of group B respiratory syncytial viruses that lack the 60-nucleotide duplication after six consecutive epidemics of total BA dominance at coastal Kenya
Respiratory syncytial virus BA genotype has reportedly replaced other group B genotypes worldwide. We report the observation of three group B viruses, all identical in G sequence but lacking the BA duplication, at a coastal district hospital in Kenya in early 2012. This follows a period of six consecutive respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) epidemics with 100% BA dominance among group B isolates. The new strains appear only distantly related to BA variants and to previously circulating SAB1 viruses last seen in the district in 2005, suggesting that they were circulating elsewhere undetected. These results are of relevance to an understanding of RSV persistence
s-Processing in the Galactic Disk. I. Super-Solar Abundances of Y, Zr, La, Ce in Young Open Clusters
In a recent study, based on homogeneous barium abundance measurements in open
clusters, a trend of increasing [Ba/Fe] ratios for decreasing cluster age was
reported. We present here further abundance determinations, relative to four
other elements hav- ing important s-process contributions, with the aim of
investigating whether the growth found for [Ba/Fe] is or not indicative of a
general property, shared also by the other heavy elements formed by slow
neutron captures. In particular, we derived abundances for yttrium, zirconium,
lanthanum and cerium, using equivalent widths measurements and the MOOG code.
Our sample includes 19 open clusters of different ages, for which the spectra
were obtained at the ESO VLT telescope, using the UVES spectrometer. The growth
previously suggested for Ba is confirmed for all the elements analyzed in our
study. This fact implies significant changes in our views of the Galactic
chemical evolution for elements beyond iron. Our results necessarily require
that very low-mass AGB stars (M < 1.5M\odot) produce larger amounts of
s-process elements (hence acti- vate the 13 C-neutron source more effectively)
than previously expected. Their role in producing neutron-rich elements in the
Galactic disk has been so far underestimated and their evolution and
neutron-capture nucleosynthesis should now be reconsidered.Comment: ApJ accepte
The El Dorado Promise: Impacts on Postsecondary Enrollment and Completion
The El Dorado Promise has offered scholarships to almost 3,000 students since its creation in 2007. In this brief, we examine the impact of the placebased scholarship on postsecondary enrollment and completion for all students and for certain subgroups. Our results indicate that the Promise has significantly increased overall postsecondary enrollment and BA completion
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