766 research outputs found
Reactions forming C(0,+)n=2,10, Cn=2,4H(0,+) and C3H(0,+) in the gas phase: semi empirical branching ratios
The aim of this paper is to provide a new set of branching ratios for
interstellar and planetary chemical networks based on a semi empirical model.
We applied, instead of zero order theory (i.e. only the most exoergic decaying
channel is considered), a statistical microcanonical model based on the
construction of breakdown curves and using experimental high velocity collision
branching ratios for their parametriza- tion. We applied the model to
ion-molecule, neutral-neutral, and ion-pair reactions implemented in the few
popular databases for astrochemistry such as KIDA, OSU and UMIST. We studied
the reactions of carbon and hydrocarbon species with electrons, He+, H+, CH+,
CH, C, and C+ leading to intermediate complexes of the type Cn=2,10, Cn=2,4 H,
C3 H2, C+n=2,10, Cn=2,4 H+, or C3 H+2 . Comparison of predictions with
measurements supports the validity of the model. Huge deviations with respect
to database values are often obtained. Effects of the new branching ratios in
time dependant chemistry for dark clouds and for photodissociation region
chemistry with conditions similar to those found in the Horsehead Nebula are
discussed
Demonstrating the model nature of the high-temperature superconductor HgBaCuO
The compound HgBaCuO (Hg1201) exhibits a simple tetragonal
crystal structure and the highest superconducting transition temperature
(T) among all single Cu-O layer cuprates, with T = 97 K (onset) at
optimal doping. Due to a lack of sizable single crystals, experimental work on
this very attractive system has been significantly limited. Thanks to a recent
breakthrough in crystal growth, such crystals have now become available. Here,
we demonstrate that it is possible to identify suitable heat treatment
conditions to systematically and uniformly tune the hole concentration of
Hg1201 crystals over a wide range, from very underdoped (T = 47 K, hole
concentration p ~ 0.08) to overdoped (T = 64 K, p ~ 0.22). We then present
quantitative magnetic susceptibility and DC charge transport results that
reveal the very high-quality nature of the studied crystals. Using XPS on
cleaved samples, we furthermore demonstrate that it is possible to obtain large
surfaces of good quality. These characterization measurements demonstrate that
Hg1201 should be viewed as a model high-temperature superconductor, and they
provide the foundation for extensive future experimental work.Comment: 15 pages, 6 Figure
Evaluation of different fungicides applied as seed tuber treatments for the control of potato silver scurf
La tache argentée de la pomme de terre (Solanum tuberosum), causée par le champignon Helminthosporium solani, est une maladie affectant la qualité du tubercule. L’objectif de cette étude était d’évaluer l’efficacité de différents fongicides, appliqués sur les tubercules de semence, à contrer le développement de la tache argentée. Pour ce faire, des tubercules de semence infectés par H. solani ont été traités avec l’un des fongicides suivants : talc, fludioxonil, mancozeb, iprodione, thiabendazole, imazalil et azoxystrobin. Ils ont, par la suite, été plantés au champ. Les essais ont été réalisés au Québec sur trois sites en 1998 et deux sites en 1999. Les résultats obtenus montrent que, sous nos conditions expérimentales, ces fongicides, appliqués en traitement de semence, n’ont pas affecté significativement les rendements totaux et vendables ainsi que la sévérité de la tache argentée sur les tubercules-fils au moment de la récolte et après différentes périodes d’entreposage. D’autre part, cette étude a permis de mettre en évidence l’influence des sites expérimentaux sur le développement de la tache argentée et suggère que l’inoculum du sol joue un rôle dans l’épidémiologie de cette maladie.Silver scurf of potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), caused by the fungus Helminthosporium solani, is an important surface-blemishing disease of potato tubers. The objective of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of different fungicides applied to potato seed tubers for control of silver scurf. Field trials were conducted in Québec province in 1998 and 1999. Potato seed tubers infected with H. solani were treated with either talc, fludioxonil, mancozeb, iprodione, thiabendazole, imazalil or azoxystrobin, and planted at three locations in 1998 and two locations in 1999. The results showed that, under our experimental conditions, the fungicides tested, applied as seed treatments, did not significantly influence total and marketable yields as well as silver scurf severity on daughter tubers at harvest and after different storage periods. In addition, this study showed the influence of the experimental locations on silver scurf development and suggests that soil inoculum plays a role in the epidemiology of the disease
Nuclear break-up of 11Be
The break-up of 11Be was studied at 41AMeV using a secondary beam of 11Be
from the GANIL facility on a 48Ti target by measuring correlations between the
10Be core, the emitted neutrons and gamma rays. The nuclear break-up leading to
the emission of a neutron at large angle in the laboratory frame is identified
with the towing mode through its characteristic n-fragment correlation. The
experimental spectra are compared with a model where the time dependent
Schrodinger equation (TDSE) is solved for the neutron initially in the 11 Be. A
good agreement is found between experiment and theory for the shapes of neutron
experimental energies and angular distributions. The spectroscopic factor of
the 2s orbital is tentatively extracted to be 0.46+-0.15. The neutron emission
from the 1p and 1d orbitals is also studied
The CountEm software: simple, efficient and unbiased population size estimation
Population size estimation is essential in ecology and conservation studies. Aerial photography can facilitate this laborious task with high resolution images. However, in images with thousands of individuals exhaustive manual counting is tedious, slow and difficult to verify. Computer vision software may work under some particular conditions but they are generally biased and known to fail in several situations. The CountEm software is a simple alternative based on geometric sampling. It provides a fast and unbiased size estimation for all sorts of populations. The only requirement is that the discrete objects (e.g. animals) in the target population are unambiguously distinguishable for counting in a still image. Typical relative standard errors in the 5?10% range are obtained after counting ~200 properly sampled animals in about 5?min irrespective of population size. The CountEm ver. 1.4.1 is presented here, which includes a guided mode with a simple software interface.MC acknowledges financial support from the
AYA-2015-66357-R (MINECO/FEDER) project
Fast-neutron induced background in LaBr3:Ce detectors
The response of a scintillation detector with a cylindrical 1.5-inch LaBr3:Ce
crystal to incident neutrons has been measured in the energy range En = 2-12
MeV. Neutrons were produced by proton irradiation of a Li target at Ep = 5-14.6
MeV with pulsed proton beams. Using the time-of-flight information between
target and detector, energy spectra of the LaBr3:Ce detector resulting from
fast neutron interactions have been obtained at 4 different neutron energies.
Neutron-induced gamma rays emitted by the LaBr3:Ce crystal were also measured
in a nearby Ge detector at the lowest proton beam energy. In addition, we
obtained data for neutron irradiation of a large-volume high-purity Ge detector
and of a NE-213 liquid scintillator detector, both serving as monitor detectors
in the experiment. Monte-Carlo type simulations for neutron interactions in the
liquid scintillator, the Ge and LaBr3:Ce crystals have been performed and
compared with measured data. Good agreement being obtained with the data, we
present the results of simulations to predict the response of LaBr3:Ce
detectors for a range of crystal sizes to neutron irradiation in the energy
range En = 0.5-10 MeVComment: 28 pages, 10 figures, 4 Table
Astrochemical models of interstellar ices: History matters
Ice is ubiquitous in the interstellar medium. We model the formation of the
main constituents of interstellar ices, including H2O, CO2 , CO, and CH3 OH. We
strive to understand what physical or chemical parameters influence the final
composition of the ice and how they benchmark to what has already been
observed, with the aim of applying these models to the preparation and analysis
of JWST observations. We used the Nautilus gas-grain model, which computes the
gas and ice composition as a function of time for a set of physical conditions,
starting from an initial gas phase composition. All important processes
(gas-phase reactions, gas-grain interactions, and grain surface processes) are
included and solved with the rate equation approximation. We first ran an
astrochemical code for fixed conditions of temperature and density mapped in
the cold core L429-C to benchmark the chemistry. One key parameter was revealed
to be the dust temperature. When the dust temperature is higher than 12 K, CO2
will form efficiently at the expense of H2O, while at temperatures below 12 K,
it will not form. Whatever hypothesis we assumed for the chemistry (within
realistic conditions), the static simulations failed to reproduce the observed
trends of interstellar ices in our target core. In a second step, we simulated
the chemical evolution of parcels of gas undergoing different physical and
chemical situations throughout the molecular cloud evolution and starting a few
1e7 yr prior to the core formation (dynamical simulations). Our dynamical
simulations satisfactorily reproduce the main trends already observed for
interstellar ices. Moreover, we predict that the apparent constant ratio of
CO2/H2O observed to date is probably not true for regions of low AV , and that
the history of the evolution of clouds plays an essential role, even prior to
their formation.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&
Cracking in asphalt materials
This chapter provides a comprehensive review of both laboratory characterization and modelling of bulk material fracture in asphalt mixtures. For the purpose of organization, this chapter is divided into a section on laboratory tests and a section on models. The laboratory characterization section is further subdivided on the basis of predominant loading conditions (monotonic vs. cyclic). The section on constitutive models is subdivided into two sections, the first one containing fracture mechanics based models for crack initiation and propagation that do not include material degradation due to cyclic loading conditions. The second section discusses phenomenological models that have been developed for crack growth through the use of dissipated energy and damage accumulation concepts. These latter models have the capability to simulate degradation of material capacity upon exceeding a threshold number of loading cycles.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft
Bayesian inference of biochemical kinetic parameters using the linear noise approximation
Background
Fluorescent and luminescent gene reporters allow us to dynamically quantify changes in molecular species concentration over time on the single cell level. The mathematical modeling of their interaction through multivariate dynamical models requires the deveopment of effective statistical methods to calibrate such models against available data. Given the prevalence of stochasticity and noise in biochemical systems inference for stochastic models is of special interest. In this paper we present a simple and computationally efficient algorithm for the estimation of biochemical kinetic parameters from gene reporter data.
Results
We use the linear noise approximation to model biochemical reactions through a stochastic dynamic model which essentially approximates a diffusion model by an ordinary differential equation model with an appropriately defined noise process. An explicit formula for the likelihood function can be derived allowing for computationally efficient parameter estimation. The proposed algorithm is embedded in a Bayesian framework and inference is performed using Markov chain Monte Carlo.
Conclusion
The major advantage of the method is that in contrast to the more established diffusion approximation based methods the computationally costly methods of data augmentation are not necessary. Our approach also allows for unobserved variables and measurement error. The application of the method to both simulated and experimental data shows that the proposed methodology provides a useful alternative to diffusion approximation based methods
Deuterated Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids Reduce Oxidative Stress and Extend the Lifespan of C. elegans
Chemically reinforced essential fatty acids (FAs) promise to fight numerous age-related diseases including Alzheimer’s, Friedreich’s ataxia and other neurological conditions. The reinforcement is achieved by substituting the atoms of hydrogen at the bis-allylic methylene of these essential FAs with the isotope deuterium. This substitution leads to a significantly slower oxidation due to the kinetic isotope effect, inhibiting membrane damage. The approach has the advantage of preventing the harmful accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by inhibiting the propagation of lipid peroxidation while antioxidants potentially neutralize beneficial oxidative species. Here, we developed a model system to mimic the human dietary requirement of omega-3 in Caenorhabditis elegans to study the role of deuterated polyunsaturated fatty acids (D-PUFAs). Deuterated trilinolenin [D-TG(54:9)] was sufficient to prevent the accumulation of lipid peroxides and to reduce the accumulation or ROS. Moreover, D-TG(54:9) significantly extended the lifespan of worms under normal and oxidative stress conditions. These findings demonstrate that D-PUFAs can be used as a food supplement to decelerate the aging process, resulting in extended lifespan
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