2,702 research outputs found
Pathogenicity test of Western Australian isolates of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in canola
Stem rot disease caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum has emerged as a serious problem on canola (Brassica napus L.) production in Western Australia (WA) over the past few years where crop losses can be up to 40% in the worst affected crops. Hundreds of isolates of S. sclerotiorum have been collected from different canola growing regions of WA. As the majority of WA isolates of S. sclerotiorum have not been analyzed for their genetic characterization, analysis of genetic variation of WA isolates will be undertaken using classical and molecular techniques such as pathogenicity test, mycelial compatibility groups (MCGs), ITS sequencing, and cluster analysis. The experiments which started in March 2013, aim to use classical and molecular tools to identify groups of WA isolates of S. sclerotiorum from which isolates will be selected for the main studies on the management of S. sclerotiorum in canola. Accurate information of genetic diversity through research on characterization of the pathogen will lead to better understanding of the pathogen and will also benefit the breeding programs particularly aiming at breeding for disease resistance and moreover, could lead to developing better techniques for managing the disease. The paper provides an outline of the experiments and preliminary results
From social contract to 'social contrick' : the depoliticisation of economic policy-making under Harold Wilson, 1974â75
The 1974-79 Labour Governments were elected on the basis of an agreement with the TUC promising a redistribution of income and wealth known as the Social Contract. However, the Government immediately began to marginalise these commitments in favour of preferences for incomes policy and public expenditure cuts, which has led the Social Contract to be described as the 'Social Contrick'. These changes were legitimised through a process of depoliticisation, and using an Open Marxist framework and evidence from the National Archives, the paper will show that the Treasury's exchange rate strategy and the need to secure external finance placed issues of confidence at the centre of political debate, allowing the Government to argue there was no alternative to the introduction of incomes policy and the reduction of public expenditure
A new displacement-based approach to calculate stress intensity factors with the boundary element method
The analysis of cracked brittle mechanical components considering linear elastic fracture mechanics is usually reduced to the evaluation of stress intensity factors (SIFs). The SIF calculation can be carried out experimentally, theoretically or numerically. Each methodology has its own advantages but the use of numerical methods has be-come very popular. Several schemes for numerical SIF calculations have been developed, the J-integral method being one of the most widely used because of its energy-like formulation. Additionally, some variations of the J-integral method, such as displacement-based methods, are also becoming popular due to their simplicity. In this work, a simple displacement-based scheme is proposed to calculate SIFs, and its performance is compared with contour integrals. These schemes are all implemented with the Boundary Element Method (BEM) in order to exploit its advantages in crack growth modelling. Some simple examples are solved with the BEM and the calculated SIF values are compared against available solutions, showing good agreement between the different schemes
The Dynamics of Poor Systems of Galaxies
We assemble and observe a sample of poor galaxy systems that is suitable for
testing N-body simulations of hierarchical clustering (Navarro, Frenk, & White
1997; NFW) and other dynamical halo models (e.g., Hernquist 1990). We (1)
determine the parameters of the density profile rho(r) and the velocity
dispersion profile sigma(R), (2) separate emission-line galaxies from
absorption-line galaxies, examining the model parameters and as a function of
spectroscopic type, and (3) for the best-behaved subsample, constrain the
velocity anisotropy parameter, beta, which determines the shapes of the galaxy
orbits.
The NFW universal profile and the Hernquist (1990) model both provide good
descriptions of the spatial data. In most cases an isothermal sphere is ruled
out. Systems with declining sigma(R) are well-matched by theoretical profiles
in which the star-forming galaxies have predominantly radial orbits (beta > 0);
many of these galaxies are probably falling in for the first time. There is
significant evidence for spatial segregation of the spectroscopic classes
regardless of sigma(R).Comment: 36 pages, 20 figures, and 5 tables. To appear in the Astrophysical
Journa
Exponential Time Complexity of Weighted Counting of Independent Sets
We consider weighted counting of independent sets using a rational weight x:
Given a graph with n vertices, count its independent sets such that each set of
size k contributes x^k. This is equivalent to computation of the partition
function of the lattice gas with hard-core self-repulsion and hard-core pair
interaction. We show the following conditional lower bounds: If counting the
satisfying assignments of a 3-CNF formula in n variables (#3SAT) needs time
2^{\Omega(n)} (i.e. there is a c>0 such that no algorithm can solve #3SAT in
time 2^{cn}), counting the independent sets of size n/3 of an n-vertex graph
needs time 2^{\Omega(n)} and weighted counting of independent sets needs time
2^{\Omega(n/log^3 n)} for all rational weights x\neq 0.
We have two technical ingredients: The first is a reduction from 3SAT to
independent sets that preserves the number of solutions and increases the
instance size only by a constant factor. Second, we devise a combination of
vertex cloning and path addition. This graph transformation allows us to adapt
a recent technique by Dell, Husfeldt, and Wahlen which enables interpolation by
a family of reductions, each of which increases the instance size only
polylogarithmically.Comment: Introduction revised, differences between versions of counting
independent sets stated more precisely, minor improvements. 14 page
A Spitzer/IRAC Survey of Massive Star-Forming Regions
We are conducting a survey of several regions of high-mass star formation to
assess their content and structure. The observations include Spitzer
observations, ground-based optical and near-IR imaging surveys, and optical and
IR spectra of objects and locations in the molecular clouds. The goal of the
survey is to gain a better understanding of the processes involved in high mass
star formation by determining the characteristics of the stars detected in
these regions and investigating the properties of the interstellar medium (ISM)
environment in which these stars form. In this contribution, we present results
on the identification and spatial analysis of young stars in three clusters,
W5/AFGL 4029, S255, and S235. First we show how the IRAC data are used to
roughly segregate young stars according to their mid-infrared colors, into two
groups corresponding the SED Class I and Class II young stellar objects. Then
using the IRAC data in combination with 2MASS, we show how more young stars can
be identified. Finally, we examine the spatial distributions of young stars in
these clusters and find a range of morphologies and of peak surface densities.Comment: To appear in the Proceedings of IAU Symposium 227, Massive Starbirth:
A Crossroads of Astrophysic
Late Miocene to early Pliocene biofacies of Wanganui and Taranaki Basins, New Zealand: Applications to paleoenvironmental and sequence stratigraphic analysis
The Matemateaonga Formation is late Miocene to early Pliocene (upper Tongaporutuan to lower Opoitian New Zealand Stages) in age. The formation comprises chiefly shellbeds, siliciclastic sandstone, and siltstone units and to a lesser extent non-marine and shallow marine conglomerate and rare paralic facies. The Matemateaonga Formation accumulated chiefly in shelf paleoenvironments during basement onlap and progradation of a late Miocene to early Pliocene continental margin wedge in the Wanganui and Taranaki Basins. The formation is strongly cyclothemic, being characterised by recurrent vertically stacked facies successions, bounded by sequence boundaries. These facies accumulated in a range of shoreface to mid-outer shelf paleoenvironments during conditions of successively oscillating sea level. This sequential repetition of facies and the biofacies they enclose are the result of sixth-order glacio-eustatic cyclicity. Macrofaunal associations have been identified from statistical analysis of macrofossil occurrences collected from multiple sequences. Each association is restricted to particular lithofacies and stratal positions and shows a consistent order and/or position within the sequences. This pattern of temporal paleoecologic change appears to be the result of lateral, facies-related shifting of broad biofacies belts, or habitat-tracking, in response to fluctuations of relative sea level, sediment flux, and other associated paleoenvironmental variables. The associations also show strong similarity in terms of their generic composition to biofacies identified in younger sedimentary strata and the modern marine benthic environment in New Zealand
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