Scar Intensity Statistics in the Position Representation

We obtain general predictions for the distribution of wave function intensities in position space on the periodic orbits of chaotic ballistic systems. The expressions depend on effective system size N, instability exponent lambda of the periodic orbit, and proximity to a focal point of the orbit. Limiting expressions are obtained that include the asymptotic probability distribution of rare high-intensity events and a perturbative formula valid in the limit of weak scarring. For finite system sizes, a single scaling variable lambda N describes deviations from the semiclassical N -> infinity limit.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. E, 10 pages, including 4 figure

Regional competitiveness: Latin America and the Caribbean

Regional Competitiveness can be defined as the region's potential in the long run enforce economically in competition with other regions while maintaining social cohesion and environmental sustainability. This ability is determined by many factors, such as innovation, technological progress, investment attractiveness, skills of the labor force, transportation infrastructure and quality of transport services, public sector efficiency and public security. These factors influence the resulting economic, social and environmental situation of the region. The authors have compared the competitiveness of Latin America and the Caribbean states. Indicators of GDP, unemployment rate, share of high-educated employees, the rate of migration, income, population, unemployment, delinquency, CO2 emissions were used for the evaluation. For the purposes of interpretation and due to imperfect data bases, small countries to 3 million are earmarked specifically together with the island states in the Antile states. Among the countries over 3 million inhabitants (the area of South America and Mexico) Mexico dominates, followed by Chile and Argentina. On the contrary, as the least competitive Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay were evaluated. Mexico's dominance is mainly due to its position in the economic dimension. Mexico and Chile, by contrast, are better in environmental terms. The specific situation is in Bolivia, which reaches above the average in the social field (e.g. in the tertiary education) but lags in the economic sphere. Among the countries over 3 million inhabitants (the area of Central America) Costa Rica, Panama and Honduras show the best results. These countries have significant differences, and compared to countries located in the index below clearly have higher scores in the social field. Among the countries under 3 million inhabitants has the best positions St. Kitts and Nevis, followed by Cuba and the Bahamas. The problematic acquisition and data validation must be mentioned in the context of evaluation of these countries. The authors focused on selected factors of competitiveness rated best and worst of Latin American countries in the next section analysis. In this context, authors considered the economic liberalization, the role of technology in the economy, the position in international trade, education system, labor market and healthcare conditions, environment and transport infrastructure

Development and Testing of a BI-2212 Textured Powder Conductor

Superconducting wires based on the high field superconductor Bi_(2)Sr_(2)Ca_(1)Cu_(2)O_(8)+x are an enabling technology for the development of very high field (>18 T) magnets. While these conductors have the potential to serve as the conductors for magnets operating in excess of 45 T, the achieved current carrying capacity of these materials is too low for economical implementation in high field operation. This is in part due to low density of the superconductors within the cores, the presence of current occluding non-superconducting phases, and a non-optimum alignment of the superconducting particles that form the conductor. The body of work reported in this dissertation aims to develop methods to align (texture) the superconducting particles within the conductors, to enhance the density of the superconducting filaments, to examine a heat treatment that does not form parasitic phases, and to demonstrate that long lengths of superconducting wire can be fabricated with these properties. Three general experimental thrusts are carried out within the work. First, methods for texturing Bi-2212 loose powders were developed and the products of these developments were characterized via x-ray diffraction and microscopy to qualify the degree of imparted texture. The second thrust focused on the development of a monocore wire based on a high density textured Bi-2212 precursor. Multiple wires were extruded and drawn through traditional processes and the products were characterized microscopically to ascertain the quality of the products. The third and final thrust was the development of a non-melt heat treatment that was shown to grow grains of Bi-2212 powder and densify composites. Measurements of the transport critical currents for the heat treated conductors were carried out in boiling liquid helium and background magnetic fields of up to 5 T. These results were correlated to microstructural observations. Ultimately, it was found that the connections between grains in the sintered conductors were insufficient to allow robust transport current and only 1% of the predicted transport currents were reached through the sintering study

Industrial zones – an effective tool of regional development support in transitive economy? Case study: The Czech Republic

Investment incentives as well as promotion of industrial zones become one of the most debated issue for experts, especially in connection with the effect of foreign direct investments on economies at both national and regional levels. The aim of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of promotion of industrial zones as the key tool of regional development support in the framework of economic conditions in the Czech Republic. The assessment is focused on industrial zones support which was provided by the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the Czech Republic or, more precisely, the CzechInvest agency in the framework of the Programme on Industrial Zones Development Support, Programme on Business Zones and Infrastructure Support and the Investment Incentives System. This paper's main source is the data set obtained in empirical research carried out by authors throughout industrial zones across the Czech Republic. Another important source was the accomplished analysis of economic management of all economic subjects observed in the supported industrial zones mentioned above. The research shows that firms in industrial zones have positive effects on the regional labor market, that companies in industrial zones contribute to technological development through restructuring of industry and affect SMEs positively, that industrial zones improve the business image of the region. The negative effect on the environment is low and the impact of industrial zones on social cohesion may be considered as neutral. Firms contribute to efficient use of available resources, creating greater added value. In the context of economic development, it is also possible to evaluate positively stable export growth in its absolute value; wages of workers in industrial zones may be assessed as above average as firms try to get quality workforce. The contribution of observed companies (or industrial zones) to the total number of jobs created in R&D is very limited. Industrial zones may be considered as significant accelerators of secondary sector development and, to a relatively lesser extent, also on the Quaternary and Quinternary. To assess the impact of the state support in industrial zones on the state budget, a complex function has been compiled to map specific indicators. The model has been applied in three variants: 'pessimistic', 'medium' and 'optimistic' and has implemented data from the period of 2006 to 2009

The competitiveness of EU regions

The competitiveness of EU regions This paper results from the project financed by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (GA ÈR). The project was carried out by the research team consisting of both The Centre of Regional and Administrative Studies and The Regional Studies Department's members in 2009 -2011. The introductory part of the paper is focused on the theoretical background with a special emphasis on the concept definition and determination of factors of the regional competitiveness. The concept of competitiveness is relatively new in the economics and the economic geography. In fact, there are no general definitions, the concept is mostly related to a specific issue. Micro-oriented definitions consider the competitiveness as a success in selling products or services on open markets. The macro-economic view is much more variable. It is often associated with an economic development of a sustainable character. The social and environmental aspect is also closely observed as well as the impact of the regional economic growth on other regions, in the sense of whether or not the economic growth is realized at the expense of other regions. The following part of the paper, based on the methodology and index defined for this purpose, assesses the competitiveness of EU regions on the NUTS II level. The regional competitiveness index was compiled on the basis of available Eurostat data. Next part of the paper presents the key factors of the regional competitiveness. Factors are classified as universal and specific. Concerning universal factors, regions with a high level of competitiveness mostly have an important economic centre; these are often metropolitan regions of member states (London, Stockholm, Paris, Prague) with a significant share of services and existence of both public and private decision-making headquarters. In non-metropolitan regions with a high level of competitiveness, there is an economic centre- city with a share of services, R&D and innovation sector. Competitive regions (or their centres) are mostly well connected with the transport infrastructure, especially TEN-T, national highways and international airports. Such regions are important air, rail, road or water transport junctions. One of the key aspects of the regional competitiveness is the concentration of scientific, R&D and innovative institutions often linked to tertiary educational institutions. In general, the educational structure with a high proportion of tertiary or higher secondary educated population (corresponding to the Czech system of secondary education with the school-leaving examination-maturita) is another aspect of a competitive region. The institutional conditions also determine the regional competitiveness and development. Specific factors of the regional competitiveness are the tourism potential, natural sources and the technical infrastructure

Padrão espacial e temporal das coletividades de artrópodes associados à macrófitas em um rio subtropical de baixa ordem (Chaco, Argentina)

El objetivo de este estudio fue conocer la composición y abundancia del ensamble de artrópodos asociados a la vegetación acuática en diferentes tramos de un río de llanura, situado en la región Neotropical, provincia biogeográfica Chaco, Argentina. Los muestreos se efectuaron en cinco sitios localizados entre 27º06´49´´ y 27º25´47´´S y entre 58º57´45´´ y 59°27´23´´O, en el gradiente longitudinal del río Negro durante periodos lluviosos y de estiaje. De acuerdo a las características ambientales el análisis de componentes principales agrupó a los sitios del tramo medio y segregó los sitios del tramo bajo, los cuales tuvieron alta conductividad y salinidad. La densidad media de artrópodos varió entre 197 y 42775 individuos por m2 cubierto por vegetación y entre 79 y 45542 individuos por 100g de materia vegetal seca. La abundancia total difirió entre sitios, fechas de muestreo y en las diferentes especies de plantas, y el análisis de regresión múltiple indicó que el sustrato vegetal explicó el 46% de la variación de la densidad total. En los ensambles, Chironomus sp. y Parachironomus sp. fueron eudominantes, mientras que Cytheridella ilosvayi Daday, Hyalella curvispina Shoemaker, Simocephalus serrulatus Koch, Callibaetis sp. y Ablabesmyia sp. fueron dominantes. El análisis de ordenamiento mostró que las diferencias en la abundancia de los taxones dominantes en la colectividad de artrópodos fueron más importantes entre tramos que entre condiciones hidrológicas.The aim of this study was to determine the composition and abundance of arthropod assemblages associated with aquatic vegetation in different sections of a plain river and during different hydrologic conditions. Surveys were carried out in five sites located in the longitudinal gradient of the river (27º06'49''-27º25'47''S and 58º57'45''-59°27'23''W) during rainy and drought periods. According to the physical and chemical features, principal component analysis grouped the sites of the middle section and separated the sites of the low section, which had high conductivity and salinity. Mean arthropod density varied between 197 and 42775 individuals per m2 of vegetation-covered areas and between 79 y 45542 per 100g of dry O objetivo deste estudo foi conhecer a composição e abundância de ensembles de artrópodes associados à vegetação aquática em diferentes trechos de um rio de planície, situado na região Neotropical, província biogeográfica Chaco, Argentina. As amostragens foram efetuadas em cinco áreas localizadas entre 27º06'49'' e 27º25'47''S e entre 58º57'45'' e 59°27'23''O, no gradiente longitudinal do rio Negro durante períodos chuvosos e de estiagem. De acordo às características ambientais a análise de componentes principais agrupou as áreas do trecho médio e segregou as áreas de trecho baixo, os quais tiveram alta condutividade e salinidade. A densidade média de artrópodes variou entre 197 e 42775 indivíduos plant matter. Total abundance differed significantly between sites, dates, and plant species, and stepwise-multiple regression indicated that plant substrates explain 46% of the variation of total density. In the assemblages, Chironomus sp. and Parachironomus sp. were eudominant, while Cytheridella ilosvayi Daday, Hyalella curvispina Shoemaker, Simocephalus serrulatus Koch, Callibaetis sp. and Ablabesmyia sp. were dominant. The non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination analysis indicated that differences in the abundance of the dominant taxa in the arthropod assemblages were more important across sections than across hydrologic conditionsO objetivo deste estudo foi conhecer a composição e abundância de ensembles de artrópodes associados à vegetação aquática em diferentes trechos de um rio de planície, situado na região Neotropical, província biogeográfica Chaco, Argentina. As amostragens foram efetuadas em cinco áreas localizadas entre 27º06'49'' e 27º25'47''S e entre 58º57'45'' e 59°27'23''O, no gradiente longitudinal do rio Negro durante períodos chuvosos e de estiagem. De acordo às características ambientais a análise de componentes principais agrupou as áreas do trecho médio e segregou as áreas de trecho baixo, os quais tiveram alta condutividade e salinidade. A densidade média de artrópodes variou entre 197 e 42775 indivíduos plant matter. Total abundance differed significantly between sites, dates, and plant species, and stepwise-multiple regression indicated that plant substrates explain 46% of the variation of total density. In the assemblages, Chironomus sp. and Parachironomus sp. were eudominant, while Cytheridella ilosvayi Daday, Hyalella curvispina Shoemaker, Simocephalus serrulatus Koch, Callibaetis sp. and Ablabesmyia sp. were dominant. The non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination analysis indicated that differences in the abundance of the dominant taxa in the arthropod assemblages were more important across sections than across hydrologic conditions. por m2 coberto por vegetação e entre 79 e 45542 indivíduos por 100g de matéria vegetal seca. A abundância total diferiu entre áreas, datas de amostragem e nas diferentes espécies de plantas, e a análise de regressão múltipla indicou que o substrato vegetal explicou o 46% da variação da densidade total. Nos ensembles, Chironomus sp. e Parachironomus sp. foram eudominantes, enquanto que Cytheridella ilosvayi Daday, Hyalella curvispina Shoemaker, Simocephalus serrulatus Koch, Callibaetis sp. e Ablabesmyia sp. foram dominantes. A análise de ordenamento mostrou que as diferenças na abundância dos táxons dominantes na coletividade de artrópodes foram mais importantes entre trechos que entre condições hidrológicas.Fil: Damborsky, Miryam Pieri. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura; ArgentinaFil: Poi, Alicia Susana G.. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Centro de Ecología Aplicada del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Mazza, Silvia Matilde. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentin

Orthopteran communities (Insecta, Orthoptera) in grasslands of Eastern Humid Chaco, Argentina

Comunidades de ortópteros (Insecta, Orthoptera) en pastizales del Chaco Oriental Húmedo, Argentina.— La diversidad específica y abundancia de las comunidades de Orthoptera fueron estimadas en dos pastizales del Chaco Oriental Húmedo durante el período 2006–2007. El pastizal con pastoreo intenso de ganado bovino y predominancia de especies vegetales nativas se caracterizó por presentar la mayor diversidad específica y el pastizal libre de pastoreo, con predominancia de especies vegetales introducidas, se caracterizó por una mayor abundancia. En total, se registraron 25 especies de ortópteros, siendo la familia Acrididae (Caelifera) la más numerosa y diversa. Staurorhectus longicornis, Dichromorpha australis y Orphulella punctata fueron las especies más abundantes; registrándose las dos últimas durante todo el periodo de muestreo. La mayor abundancia se detectó en el mes de diciembre de 2006. La abundancia de individuos no estuvo correlacionada con ninguna de las variables climáticas consideradas. Palabras clave: Acridoidea, Diversidad específica, Abundancia, Variación temporal y espacial.Comunidades de ortópteros (Insecta, Orthoptera) en pastizales del Chaco Oriental Húmedo, Argentina.— La diversidad específica y abundancia de las comunidades de Orthoptera fueron estimadas en dos pastizales del Chaco Oriental Húmedo durante el período 2006–2007. El pastizal con pastoreo intenso de ganado bovino y predominancia de especies vegetales nativas se caracterizó por presentar la mayor diversidad específica y el pastizal libre de pastoreo, con predominancia de especies vegetales introducidas, se caracterizó por una mayor abundancia. En total, se registraron 25 especies de ortópteros, siendo la familia Acrididae (Caelifera) la más numerosa y diversa. Staurorhectus longicornis, Dichromorpha australis y Orphulella punctata fueron las especies más abundantes; registrándose las dos últimas durante todo el periodo de muestreo. La mayor abundancia se detectó en el mes de diciembre de 2006. La abundancia de individuos no estuvo correlacionada con ninguna de las variables climáticas consideradas. Palabras clave: Acridoidea, Diversidad específica, Abundancia, Variación temporal y espacial.Species diversity and abundance of Orthoptera communities were estimated in two grasslands of Eastern Humid Chaco from 2006 to 2007. The greatest species diversity was recorded in the grassland with intensive livestock grazing and predominance of native plant species, whereas the abundance values were higher in the grassland without grazing and characterized by introduced plant species. In total, 25 Orthoptera species were collected during the study. Acrididae (Caelifera) was the most abundant and diverse family recorded. Staurorhectus longicornis, Dichromorpha australis and Orphulella punctata were the most abundant species; the last two species being recorded during the entire sampling period. The greatest abundance was recorded in December 2006. Abundance did not show any correlation with climatic variables. Key words: Acridoidea, Species diversity, Abundance, Spatial and temporal variation

Determination of the rate limiting step during zearalenone hydrolysis by ZenA

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Nonconventional hydrolytic dehalogenation of 1-chlorobutane by dehydrated bacteria in a continuous solid-gas biofilter

Rhodococcus erythropolis NCIMB 13064 and Xanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10 are able to catalyze the conversion of halogenated hydrocarbons to their corresponding alcohols. These strains are attractive biocatalysts for gas phase remediation of polluted gaseous effluents because of their complementary specificity for short or medium and for mono-, di-, or trisubstituted halogenated hydrocarbons (C2-C8 for Rhodococcus erythropolis and C1-C4 for Xanthobacter autotrophicus). After dehydration, these bacteria can catalyze the hydrolytic dehalogenation of 1-chlorobutane in a nonconventional gas phase system under a controlled water thermodynamic activity (aw). This process makes it possible to avoid the problems of solubility and bacterial development due to the presence of water in the traditional biofilters. In the aqueous phase, the dehalogenase activity of Rhodococcus erythropolis is less sensitive to thermal denaturation and the apparent Michaelis-Menten constants at 30°C were 0.4 mM and 2.40 μmol min−1 g−1 for Km and Vmax, respectively. For Xanthobacter autotrophicus they were 2.8 mM and 0.35 μmol min−1 g−1. In the gas phase, the behavior of dehydrated Xanthobacter autotrophicus cells is different from that observed with Rhododcoccus erythropolis cells. The stability of the dehalogenase activity is markedly lower. It is shown that the HCl produced during the reaction is responsible for this low stability. Contrary to Rhodococcus erythropolis cells, disruption of cell walls does not increase the stability of the dehalogenase activity. The activity and stability of lyophilized Xanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10 cells are dependant on various parameters. Optimal dehalogenase activity was determined for water thermodynamic activity (aw) of 0.85. A temperature of 30°C offers the best compromise between activity and stability. The pH control before dehydration plays a role in the ionization state of the dehalogenase in the cells. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constants Km and Vmax for the dehydrated Xanthobacter autotrophicus cells were 0.07 (1-chlorobutane thermodynamic activity) and 0.08 μmol min−1 g−1 of cells, respectively. A maximal transformation capacity of 1.4 g of 1-chlorobutane per day was finally obtained using 1g of lyophilized Xanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10 cell

Records and distribution of the Afro Asian species Digitonthophagus gazella (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) in Argentina

Se cita por primera vez el escarabajo coprófago Digitonthophagus gazella Fabricius (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) para Argentina, por lo que se amplía su área de distribución geográfica en Sudamérica. Esta especie de origen afro-asiático fue capturada mediante colecta manual en estiércol de ganado bovino y equino, con trampas de luz y trampas de caída cebadas con estiércol en seis provincias del centro y norte argentino entre los años 2006 y 2009.The occurrence of the dung beetle Digitonthophagus gazella Fabricius (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) is reported for the first time for Argentina. The record of this species represents an extension of its geographical range in South America. This species of Afro Asian origin was captured by manual collection in cattle dung, light traps, and dung baited pitfall traps in six provinces of Northern and Central Argentina between 2006 and 2009.Fil: Alvarez Bohle, María Celeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Naturales y Agrimensura. Laboratorio de Biología de los Artrópodos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Damborsky, Miryam Pieri. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Naturales y Agrimensura. Laboratorio de Biología de los Artrópodos; ArgentinaFil: Bar, María E.. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Naturales y Agrimensura. Laboratorio de Biología de los Artrópodos; ArgentinaFil: Ocampo, Federico Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; Argentin