4,091 research outputs found
Enhanced free vibration analysis of composite wing-box structures by one-dimensional Component-wise and dynamic stiffness formulations
Free vibration analysis is an important aspect of aeronautical engineering. The availability of enhanced models for accurate modal analysis is therefore of primary interest. This work deals with advanced 1D formulations able to foresee higher-order phenomena, such as elastic bending/shear coupling, restrained torsional warping and 3D strain effects. The proposed beam models are developed in the framework of the Carrera Unified Formulation (CUF), whose hierarchical capability allows the analyst to implement automatically refined models with arbitrarily rich kinematics. The capabilities of the resulting 1D theories are assessed by both weak- and strong-form solutions and the results from free vibration analyses of wing-like composite structures are compared to those from the literature, experiments and commercial FEM software
Tomato floral induction and flower development are orchestrated by the interplay between gibberellin and two unrelated microRNA-controlled modules
[EN] Age-regulated microRNA156 (miR156) and targets similarly control the competence to flower in diverse species. By contrast, the diterpene hormone gibberellin (GA) and the microRNA319-regulated TEOSINTE BRANCHED/CYCLOIDEA/PCF (TCP) transcription factors promote flowering in the facultative long-day Arabidopsis thaliana, but suppress it in the day-neutral tomato (Solanum lycopersicum).
We combined genetic and molecular studies and described a new interplay between GA and two unrelated miRNA-associated pathways that modulates tomato transition to flowering.
Tomato PROCERA/DELLA activity is required to promote flowering along with the miR156-targeted SQUAMOSA PROMOTER BINDING-LIKE (SPL/SBP) transcription factors by activating SINGLE FLOWER TRUSS (SFT) in the leaves and the MADS-Boxgene APETALA1(AP1)/MC at the shoot apex. Conversely, miR319-targeted LANCEOLATE represses floral transition by increasing GA concentrations and inactivating SFT in the leaves and AP1/MC at the shoot apex. Importantly, the combination of high GA concentrations/responses with the loss of SPL/SPB function impaired canonical meristem maturation and flower initiation in tomato.
Our results reveal a cooperative regulation of tomato floral induction and flower development, integrating age cues (miR156 module) with GA responses and miR319-controlled pathways. Importantly, this study contributes to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the effects of GA in controlling flowering time in a day-neutral species.We thank Dr C. Schommer for kindly providing tcp4-soj8/+ seeds, and Carlos Rojas for Arabidopsis flowering time analyses. This work was supported by FAPESP (grant no. 15/17892-7 and fellowships nos 15/23826-7 and 13/16949-0). The authors declare no conflict of interest.Silva, G.; Silva, E.; Correa, J.; Vicente, M.; Jiang, N.; Notini, M.; Junior, A.... (2018). Tomato floral induction and flower development are orchestrated by the interplay between gibberellin and two unrelated microRNA-controlled modules. New Phytologist. 221(3):1328-1344. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.15492S132813442213Andrés, F., & Coupland, G. (2012). 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Environmentally friendly analysis of emerging contaminants by pressurized hot water extraction-stir bar sorptive extraction-derivatization and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry
This work describes the development, optimiza-
tion, and validation of a new method for the simultaneous
determination of a wide range of pharmaceuticals (beta-
blockers, lipid regulators
...
) and personal care products
(fragrances, UV filters, phthalates
...
) in both aqueous and
solid environmental matrices. Target compounds were
extracted from sediments using pressurized hot water ex-
traction followed by stir bar sorptive extraction. The first
stage was performed at 1,500 psi during three static extrac-
tion cycles of 5 min each after optimizing the extraction
temperature (50
–
150 °C) and addition of organic modifiers
(% methanol) to water, the extraction solvent. Next, aqueous
extracts and water samples were processed using polydime-
thylsiloxane bars. Several parameters were optimized for
this technique, including extraction and desorption time,
ionic strength, presence of organic modifiers, and pH. Fi-
nally, analytes were extracted from the bars by ultrasonic
irradiation using a reduced amount of solvent (0.2 mL) prior
to derivatization and gas chromatography
–
mass spectrome-
try analysis. The optimized protocol uses minimal amounts
of organic solvents (<10 mL/sample) and time (
≈
8 h/sam-
ple) compared to previous ex
isting methodologies. Low
standard deviation (usually below 10 %) and limits of de-
tection (sub-ppb) vouch for the applicability of the method-
ology for the analysis of target compounds at trace levels.
Once developed, the method was applied to determin
Demographic connectivity of sardine in the Bay of Biscay and Iberian coast region
Demographic connectivity in sardine populatio
Otolith microchemistry approach to determine connectivity of anchovy populations (Engraulis encrasicolus) along the Atlantic Coast of Iberian Peninsula.
Importance of TLR2 on Hepatic Immune and Non-Immune Cells to Attenuate the Strong Inflammatory Liver Response During Trypanosoma cruzi Acute Infection
Trypanosoma cruzi, an obligate intracellular protozoan, is the etiological agent of Chagas Disease that represents an important public health burden in Latin America. The infection with this parasite can lead to severe complications in cardiac, liver and gastrointestinal tissue depending on the strain of parasite and host genetics. Recently, we reported a fatal liver injury in T. cruzi infected B6 mice. However, the local immune response against this parasite is poorly understood. This work highlights some of the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in liver pathology during the acute phase of infection. Using two mouse strains with different genetic backgrounds and responses to infection, B6 and BALB/c, we found that infected B6 mice develop a strong pro-inflammatory environment associated with high TLR9 expression. Conversely, infected BALB/c mice showed a more balanced inflammatory response in liver. Moreover, higher TLR2 and TLR4 expression were found only in hepatocytes from BALB/c. These data emphasize the importance of an adequate integration of signalling between immune and non-immune cells to define the outcome of infection. In addition, the pre-treatment with TLR2-agonist reverts the strong pro-inflammatory environment in T. cruzi infected B6 mice. These results could be useful in the understanding and design of novel immune strategies in controlling liver pathologies
Mining the Herschel-astrophysical terahertz large area survey : Submillimetre-selected blazars in equatorial fields
The Herschel-Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey (H-ATLAS) provides an unprecedented opportunity to search for blazars at sub-mm wavelengths. We cross-matched the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-cm (FIRST) radio source catalogue with the 11 655 sources brighter than 35 mJy at 500 μm in the ∼135 deg2 of the sky covered by the H-ATLAS equatorial fields at 9h and 15h, plus half of the field at 12h. We found that 379 of the H-ATLAS sources have a FIRST counterpart within 10 arcsec, including eight catalogued blazars (plus one known blazar that was found at the edge of one of the H-ATLAS maps). To search for additional blazar candidates we have devised new diagnostic diagrams and found that known blazars occupy a region of the log(S500μm/S350μm) versus log(S500μm/S1.4 GHz) plane separated from that of sub-mm sources with radio emission powered by star formation, but shared with radio galaxies and steep-spectrum radio quasars. Using this diagnostic we have selected 12 further possible candidates that turn out to be scattered in the (r-z) versus (u-r) plane or in the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer colour-colour diagram, where known blazars are concentrated in well defined strips. This suggests that the majority of them are not blazars. Based on an inspection of all the available photometric data, including unpublished VISTA Kilo-degree Infrared Galaxy survey photometry and new radio observations, we found that the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of only one out of the 12 newly selected sources are compatible with being synchrotron dominated at least up to 500 μm, i.e. with being a blazar. Another object may consist of a faint blazar nucleus inside a bright star-forming galaxy. The possibility that some blazar hosts are endowed with active star formation is supported by our analysis of the SEDs of Planck Early Release Compact Source Catalogue blazars detected at both 545 and 857 GHz. The estimated rest-frame synchrotron peak frequencies of H-ATLAS blazars are in the range 11.5 ≤ log (νpeak, Hz) ≤ 13.7, implying that these objects are low synchrotron peak. Six of them also show evidence of an ultraviolet excess that can be attributed to emission from the accretion disc. Allowing for the possibility of misidentifications and of contamination of the 500 μm flux density by the dusty torus or by the host galaxy, we estimate that there are seven or eight pure synchrotron sources brighter than S500μm = 35 mJy over the studied area, a result that sets important constraints on blazar evolutionary models.Peer reviewe
Measurements of differential cross sections of Z/gamma*+jets+X events in proton anti-proton collisions at sqrt{s}=1.96 TeV
We present cross section measurements for Z/gamma*+jets+X production,
differential in the transverse momenta of the three leading jets. The data
sample was collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron proton
anti-proton collider at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96 TeV and corresponds to
an integrated luminosity of 1 fb-1. Leading and next-to-leading order
perturbative QCD predictions are compared with the measurements, and agreement
is found within the theoretical and experimental uncertainties. We also make
comparisons with the predictions of four event generators. Two
parton-shower-based generators show significant shape and normalization
differences with respect to the data. In contrast, two generators combining
tree-level matrix elements with a parton shower give a reasonable description
of the the shapes observed in data, but the predicted normalizations show
significant differences with respect to the data, reflecting large scale
uncertainties. For specific choices of scales, the normalizations for either
generator can be made to agree with the measurements.Comment: Published in PLB. 11 pages, 3 figure
Intercalibration of the barrel electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment at start-up
Calibration of the relative response of the individual channels of the barrel electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS detector was accomplished, before installation, with cosmic ray muons and test beams. One fourth of the calorimeter was exposed to a beam of high energy electrons and the relative calibration of the channels, the intercalibration, was found to be reproducible to a precision of about 0.3%. Additionally, data were collected with cosmic rays for the entire ECAL barrel during the commissioning phase. By comparing the intercalibration constants obtained with the electron beam data with those from the cosmic ray data, it is demonstrated that the latter provide an intercalibration precision of 1.5% over most of the barrel ECAL. The best intercalibration precision is expected to come from the analysis of events collected in situ during the LHC operation. Using data collected with both electrons and pion beams, several aspects of the intercalibration procedures based on electrons or neutral pions were investigated
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