Reduction of eyes in last-instar beetle larvae: a special observation in Trictenotomidae, based on Trictenotoma formosana Kriesche, 1919

Recently, Lin & Hu (2018, 2019) unraveled the biology of Trictenotoma formosana Kriesche, 1919. For the first time since Gahan (1908) there is fresh immature stages material available for Trictenotomidae.This is the published poster presentation

Phantom Friedmann Cosmologies and Higher-Order Characteristics of Expansion

We discuss a more general class of phantom ($p < -\varrho$) cosmologies with various forms of both phantom ($w -1$) matter. We show that many types of evolution which include both Big-Bang and Big-Rip singularities are admitted and give explicit examples. Among some interesting models, there exist non-singular oscillating (or "bounce") cosmologies, which appear due to a competition between positive and negative pressure of variety of matter content. From the point of view of the current observations the most interesting cosmologies are the ones which start with a Big-Bang and terminate at a Big-Rip. A related consequence of having a possibility of two types of singularities is that there exists an unstable static universe approached by the two asymptotic models - one of them reaches Big-Bang, and another reaches Big-Rip. We also give explicit relations between density parameters $\Omega$ and the dynamical characteristics for these generalized phantom models, including higher-order observational characteristics such as jerk and "kerk". Finally, we discuss the observational quantities such as luminosity distance, angular diameter, and source counts, both in series expansion and explicitly, for phantom models. Our series expansion formulas for the luminosity distance and the apparent magnitude go as far as to the fourth-order in redshift $z$ term, which includes explicitly not only the jerk, but also the "kerk" (or "snap") which may serve as an indicator of the curvature of the universe.Comment: REVTEX 4, 23 pages, references updated, to appear in Annals of Physics (N.Y.

Functional characterization of the water-soluble organic carbon of size-fractionated aerosol in the southern Mississippi Valley

The chemical content of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) as a function of particle size was characterized in Little Rock, Arkansas in winter and spring 2013. The objectives of this study were to (i) compare the functional characteristics of coarse, fine and ultrafine WSOC and (ii) reconcile the sources of WSOC for periods when carbonaceous aerosol was the most abundant particulate component. The WSOC accounted for 5% of particle mass for particles with <i>d</i>_p > 0.96 μm and 10% of particle mass for particles with <i>d</i>_p < 0.96 μm. Non-exchangeable aliphatic (H–C), unsaturated aliphatic (H–C–C=), oxygenated saturated aliphatic (H–C–O), acetalic (O–CH–O) and aromatic (Ar–H) protons were determined by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR). The total non-exchangeable organic hydrogen concentrations varied from 4.1 ± 0.1 nmol m⁻³ for particles with 1.5 < <i>d</i>_p < 3.0 μm to 73.9 ± 12.3 nmol m⁻³ for particles with <i>d</i>_p < 0.49 μm. The molar H / C ratios varied from 0.48 ± 0.05 to 0.92 ± 0.09, which were comparable to those observed for combustion-related organic aerosol. The R–H was the most abundant group, representing about 45% of measured total non-exchangeable organic hydrogen concentrations, followed by H–C–O (27%) and H–C–C= (26%). Levoglucosan, amines, ammonium and methanesulfonate were identified in NMR fingerprints of fine particles. Sucrose, fructose, glucose, formate and acetate were associated with coarse particles. These qualitative differences of ¹H-NMR profiles for different particle sizes indicated the possible contribution of biological aerosols and a mixture of aliphatic and oxygenated compounds from biomass burning and traffic exhausts. The concurrent presence of ammonium and amines also suggested the presence of ammonium/aminium nitrate and sulfate secondary aerosol. The size-dependent origin of WSOC was further corroborated by the increasing δ¹³C abundance from −26.81 ± 0.18&permil; for the smallest particles to −25.93 ± 0.31&permil; for the largest particles and the relative distribution of the functional groups as compared to those previously observed for marine, biomass burning and secondary organic aerosol. The latter also allowed for the differentiation of urban combustion-related aerosol and biological particles. The five types of organic hydrogen accounted for the majority of WSOC for particles with <i>d</i>_p > 3.0 μm and <i>d</i>_p < 0.96 μm

Aid conditionalities, international Good Manufacturing Practice standards and local production rights: a case study of local production in Nepal

© 2015 Brhlikova et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.This work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council and the Department for International Development [RES-167-25-0110] through the collaborative research project Tracing Pharmaceuticals in South Asia (2006 – 2009). In addition to the authors of this paper, the project team included: Soumita Basu, Gitanjali Priti Bhatia, Erin Court, Abhijit Das, Stefan Ecks, Patricia Jeffery, Roger Jeffery, Rachel Manners, and Liz Richardson. Martin Chautari (Kathmandu) and the Centre for Health and Social Justice (New Delhi) provided resources drawn upon in writing this paper but are not responsible for the views expressed, nor are ESRC or DFID. Ethical review was provided by the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh, and ethical approval in Nepal for the study granted by the Nepal Health Research Council (NHRC)

Variational Density Matrix Method for Warm Condensed Matter and Application to Dense Hydrogen

A new variational principle for optimizing thermal density matrices is introduced. As a first application, the variational many body density matrix is written as a determinant of one body density matrices, which are approximated by Gaussians with the mean, width and amplitude as variational parameters. The method is illustrated for the particle in an external field problem, the hydrogen molecule and dense hydrogen where the molecular, the dissociated and the plasma regime are described. Structural and thermodynamic properties (energy, equation of state and shock Hugoniot) are presented.Comment: 26 pages, 13 figures. submitted to Phys. Rev. E, October 199

Hydrogen-Helium Mixtures at High Pressure

The properties of hydrogen-helium mixtures at high pressure are crucial to address important questions about the interior of Giant planets e.g. whether Jupiter has a rocky core and did it emerge via core accretion? Using path integral Monte Carlo simulations, we study the properties of these mixtures as a function of temperature, density and composition. The equation of state is calculated and compared to chemical models. We probe the accuracy of the ideal mixing approximation commonly used in such models. Finally, we discuss the structure of the liquid in terms of pair correlation functions.Comment: Proceedings article of the 5th Conference on Cryocrystals and Quantum Crystals in Wroclaw, Poland, submitted to J. Low. Temp. Phys. (2004

Scale invariant scalar metric fluctuations during inflation: non-perturbative formalism from a 5D vacuum

We extend to 5D an approach of a 4D non-perturbative formalism to study scalar metric fluctuations of a 5D Riemann-flat de Sitter background metric. In contrast with the results obtained in 4D, the spectrum of cosmological scalar metric fluctuations during inflation can be scale invariant and the background inflaton field can take sub-Planckian values.Comment: final version to be published in Eur. Phys. J.

Electromagnetic performances and main parameter sensitivity effect on unbalance magnetic flux in a New Single‑Phase FEFSM with segmental rotor

Three-phase field excitation flux switching motor (FEFSM) with salient rotor structure has been introduced with their advantages of rotor easy temperature elimination and controllable FEC magnetic flux. Yet, the salient rotor structure is found to lead a longer magnetic flux path between stator and rotor parts, producing a weak flux linkage along with low torque performances. Hence, a new structure of single-phase FEFSM using segmental rotor with non-overlap windings is proposed with advantages of shorter magnetic flux path, light weight and robust rotor structure. Analysis on fundamental magnetic flux characteristics, armature and FEC magnetic flux linkages, cogging torque, back-Emf, various torque capabilities, refinement of unbalance magnetic flux, and torque-power versus speed characteristics are conducted using 2D FEA through JMAG Designer version 15. The results show that magnetic flux amplitude ratio has been improved by 41.2% while the highest torque and power achieved are 1.45 Nm and 343.8 W, respectively

Antecedents of digital platform organising visions

Part 2: Adoption of Mobile and Platform-Based ApplicationsInternational audienceOrganising vision theory has been increasingly used in Information Systems (IS) scholarship to study how IT innovations are adopted, used, and diffused. Although providing comprehensive social cognitive account on the phenomena, organising vision theory is less adequate to explicate how visions emerge. Bringing in scholarship from Science and Technology Studies (STS) together with IS, our examination of a case study involving the organising vision emergence of an ERP digital platform technology unearthed details of its origin and management. Our findings suggest that organising visions originate from repurposing of other structured frameworks. This research contributes to the organising vision theory by providing a more nuanced comprehension of vision’s antecedents, which more broadly may help better understand digital innovation adoption

Comparison of embedded and added motor imagery training in patients after stroke: Study protocol of a randomised controlled pilot trial using a mixed methods approach

Copyright @ 2009 Schuster et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Background: Two different approaches have been adopted when applying motor imagery (MI) to stroke patients. MI can be conducted either added to conventional physiotherapy or integrated within therapy sessions. The proposed study aims to compare the efficacy of embedded MI to an added MI intervention. Evidence from pilot studies reported in the literature suggests that both approaches can improve performance of a complex motor skill involving whole body movements, however, it remains to be demonstrated, which is the more effective one.Methods/Design: A single blinded, randomised controlled trial (RCT) with a pre-post intervention design will be carried out. The study design includes two experimental groups and a control group (CG). Both experimental groups (EG1, EG2) will receive physical practice of a clinical relevant motor task ('Going down, laying on the floor, and getting up again') over a two week intervention period: EG1 with embedded MI training, EG2 with MI training added after physiotherapy. The CG will receive standard physiotherapy intervention and an additional control intervention not related to MI.The primary study outcome is the time difference to perform the task from pre to post-intervention. Secondary outcomes include level of help needed, stages of motor task completion, degree of motor impairment, balance ability, fear of falling measure, motivation score, and motor imagery ability score. Four data collection points are proposed: twice during baseline phase, once following the intervention period, and once after a two week follow up. A nested qualitative part should add an important insight into patients' experience and attitudes towards MI. Semi-structured interviews of six to ten patients, who participate in the RCT, will be conducted to investigate patients' previous experience with MI and their expectations towards the MI intervention in the study. Patients will be interviewed prior and after the intervention period.Discussion: Results will determine whether embedded MI is superior to added MI. Findings of the semi-structured interviews will help to integrate patient's expectations of MI interventions in the design of research studies to improve practical applicability using MI as an adjunct therapy technique