501 research outputs found
Iron and Nickel spectral opacity calculations in conditions relevant for pulsating stellar envelopes and experiments
Seismology of stars is strongly developing. To address this question we have
formed an international collaboration OPAC to perform specific experimental
measurements, compare opacity calculations and improve the opacity calculations
in the stellar codes [1]. We consider the following opacity codes: SCO,
CASSANDRA, STA, OPAS, LEDCOP, OP, SCO-RCG. Their comparison has shown large
differences for Fe and Ni in equivalent conditions of envelopes of type II
supernova precursors, temperatures between 15 and 40 eV and densities of a few
mg/cm3 [2, 3, 4]. LEDCOP, OPAS, SCO-RCG structure codes and STA give similar
results and differ from OP ones for the lower temperatures and for spectral
interval values [3]. In this work we discuss the role of Configuration
Interaction (CI) and the influence of the number of used configurations. We
present and include in the opacity code comparisons new HULLAC-v9 calculations
[5, 6] that include full CI. To illustrate the importance of this effect we
compare different CI approximations (modes) available in HULLAC-v9 [7]. These
results are compared to previous predictions and to experimental data.
Differences with OP results are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, conference Inertial Fusion Sciences and
Applications, Bordeaux, 12th to 16th September 2011; EPJ web of Conferences
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Cross-cultural adaptation of the Work Disability Diagnosis Interview (WoDDI) for the Brazilian context
A synthetic optical database generated by radiative transfer simulations in support of studies in ocean optics and optical remote sensing of the global ocean
Radiative transfer (RT) simulations have long been used
to study the relationships between the inherent optical properties (IOPs) of
seawater and light fields within and leaving the ocean, from which ocean
apparent optical properties (AOPs) can be calculated. For example, inverse
models used to estimate IOPs from ocean color radiometric measurements have been
developed and validated using the results of RT simulations. Here we describe the
development of a new synthetic optical database based on hyperspectral RT
simulations across the spectral range of near-ultraviolet to
near-infrared performed with the HydroLight radiative transfer code. The key
component of this development is the generation of a synthetic dataset of
seawater IOPs that serves as input to RT simulations. Compared to similar
developments of optical databases in the past, the present dataset of IOPs
is characterized by the probability distributions of IOPs that are consistent
with global distributions representative of vast areas of open-ocean pelagic
environments and coastal regions, covering a broad range of optical water
types. The generation of synthetic data of IOPs associated with
particulate and dissolved constituents of seawater was driven largely by an
extensive set of field measurements of the phytoplankton absorption
coefficient collected in diverse oceanic environments. Overall, the
synthetic IOP dataset consists of 3320 combinations of IOPs. Additionally,
the pure seawater IOPs were assumed following recent recommendations. The RT
simulations were performed using 3320 combinations of input IOPs, assuming
vertical homogeneity within an infinitely deep ocean. These input IOPs were
used in three simulation scenarios associated with assumptions about
inelastic radiative processes in the water column (not considered in
previous synthetically generated optical databases) and three simulation
scenarios associated with the sun zenith angle. Specifically, the simulations
were made assuming no inelastic processes, the presence of Raman scattering
by water molecules, and the presence of both Raman scattering and
fluorescence of chlorophyll a pigment. Fluorescence of colored dissolved
organic matter was omitted from all simulations. For each of these three
simulation scenarios, the simulations were made for three sun zenith angles
of 0, 30, and 60∘ assuming clear skies, standard
atmosphere, and a wind speed of 5 m s−1. Thus, overall 29 880 RT
simulations were performed. The output results of these simulations include
radiance distributions, plane and scalar irradiances, and a whole set
of AOPs, including remote-sensing reflectance, vertical diffuse
attenuation coefficients, and mean cosines, where all optical variables are
reported in the spectral range of 350 to 750 nm at 5 nm intervals for
different depths between the sea surface and 50 m. The consistency of this
new synthetic database has been assessed through comparisons with in situ
data and previously developed empirical relationships involving IOPs and
AOPs. The database is available at the Dryad open-access repository of research
data (https://doi.org/10.6076/D1630T, Loisel et al., 2023).</p
In Utero Diagnosis of Niemann-Pick Type C in the Absence of Family History
Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) disease is a recessive disorder that results in unesterified cholesterol accumulating in the lysosomal and late endosomal system. It is caused by mutations in NPC1 or NPC2 genes and leads to systemic and neurodegenerative symptoms. Few cases of prenatal presentation of NPC have been reported and only two cases in the absence of previous family history, indicating the diagnosis is particularly difficult in such a situation. We report a prenatal diagnosis of NPC in a couple without family history. An ultrasound screening at 22 weeks of gestation (WG) detected fetal ascites and hepatomegaly, which were still present at 25, 27, and 29 WG, and a splenomegaly progressively appeared. No placentomegaly or other signs of hydrops fetalis were observed. The diagnostic of NPC was prenatally confirmed by a filipin test and NPC1 sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification assay which revealed a maternal missense mutation (c.2608T>C; p.Ser870Pro) and a paternal deletion of exons 5 to 25. This additional prenatal case of NPC suggests that even in the absence of family history, fetal ascites associated with splenomegaly but no hydrops should nonetheless arouse suspicion concerning this disease as a possible diagnosis
Starch and oil in the donor cow diet and starch in substrate differently affect the in vitro ruminal biohydrogenation of linoleic and linolenic acids
Trans isomers of fatty acids exhibit different health properties. Among them, trans-10,cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid has negative effects on milk fat production and can affect human health. A shift from the trans-11 to the trans-10 pathway of biohydrogenation (BH) can occur in the rumen of dairy cows receiving high-concentrate diets, especially when the diet is supplemented with highly unsaturated fat sources. The differences of BH patterns between linoleic acid (LeA) and linolenic acid (LnA) in such ruminal conditions remain unknown; thus, the aim of this work was to investigate in vitro the effects of starch and sunflower oil in the diet of the donor cows and starch level in the incubates on the BH patterns and efficiencies of LeA and LnA. The design was a 4 × 4 Latin square design with 4 cows, 4 periods, and 4 diets with combinations of 21 or 34% starch and 0 or 5% sunflower oil. The rumen content of each cow during each period was incubated with 4 substrates, combining 2 starch levels and either LeA or LnA addition. Capillary electrophoresis single-strand conformation polymorphism of incubates showed that dietary starch decreased the diversity of the bacterial community and the high-starch plus oil diet modified its structure. High-starch diets poorly affected isomerization and first reduction of LeA and LnA, but decreased the efficiencies of trans-11,cis-15-C18:2 and trans C18:1 reduction. Dietary sunflower oil increased the efficiency of LeA isomerization but decreased the efficiency of trans C18:1 reduction. An interaction between dietary starch and dietary oil resulted in the highest trans-10 isomers production in incubates when the donor cow received the high-starch plus oil diet. The partition between trans-10 and trans-11 isomers was also affected by an interaction between starch level and the fatty acid added to the incubates, showing that the trans-10 shift only occurred with LeA, whereas LnA was mainly hydrogenated via the more usual trans-11 pathway, whatever the starch level in the substrate, although the bacterial communities were not different between LeA and LnA incubates. In LeA incubates, trans-10 isomer production was significantly related to the structure of the bacterial community
Theoretical and experimental activities on opacities for a good interpretation of seismic stellar probes
Opacity calculations are basic ingredients of stellar modelling. They play a
crucial role in the interpretation of acoustic modes detected by SoHO, COROT
and KEPLER. In this review we present our activities on both theoretical and
experimental sides. We show new calculations of opacity spectra and comparisons
between eight groups who produce opacity spectra calculations in the domain
where experiments are scheduled. Real differences are noticed with real
astrophysical consequences when one extends helioseismology to cluster studies
of different compositions. Two cases are considered presently: (1) the solar
radiative zone and (2) the beta Cephei envelops. We describe how our
experiments are performed and new preliminary results on nickel obtained in the
campaign 2010 at LULI 2000 at Polytechnique.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, invited talk at SOHO2
Curved Tails in Polymerization-Based Bacterial Motility
The curved actin ``comet-tail'' of the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is a
visually striking signature of actin polymerization-based motility. Similar
actin tails are associated with Shigella flexneri, spotted-fever Rickettsiae,
the Vaccinia virus, and vesicles and microspheres in related in vitro systems.
We show that the torque required to produce the curvature in the tail can arise
from randomly placed actin filaments pushing the bacterium or particle. We find
that the curvature magnitude determines the number of actively pushing
filaments, independent of viscosity and of the molecular details of force
generation. The variation of the curvature with time can be used to infer the
dynamics of actin filaments at the bacterial surface.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, Latex2
An Optimal Block Iterative Method and Preconditioner for Banded Matrices with Applications to PDEs on Irregular Domains
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Ocean Color Algorithm for the Retrieval of the Particle Size Distribution and Carbon-Based Phytoplankton Size Classes Using a Two-Component Coated-Spheres Backscattering Model
The particle size distribution (PSD) of suspended particles in near-surface seawater is a key property linking biogeochemical and ecosystem characteristics with optical properties that affect ocean color remote sensing. Phytoplankton size affects their physiological characteristics and ecosystem and biogeochemical roles, e.g. in the biological carbon pump, which has an important role in the global carbon cycle and thus climate. It is thus important to develop capabilities for measurement and predictive understanding of the structure and function of oceanic ecosystems, including the PSD, phytoplankton size classes (PSCs) and phytoplankton functional types (PFTs). Here, we present an ocean color satellite algorithm for the retrieval of the parameters of an assumed power-law PSD. The forward optical model considers two distinct particle populations (particle assemblage categories) — phytoplankton and non-algal particles (NAP). Phytoplankton are modeled as coated spheres following the Equivalent Algal Populations (EAP) framework, and NAP are modeled as homogeneous spheres. The forward model uses Mie and Aden-Kerker scattering computations, for homogeneous and coated spheres (for phytoplankton and NAP, respectively) to model the total particulate spectral backscattering coefficient as the sum of phytoplankton and NAP backscattering. The PSD retrieval is achieved via Spectral Angle Mapping (SAM) which uses backscattering end-members created by the forward model. The PSD is used to retrieve size-partitioned absolute and fractional phytoplankton carbon concentrations (i.e. carbon-based PSCs), as well as particulate organic carbon (POC), using allometric coefficients. The EAP-based formulation allows for the estimation of chlorophyll-a concentration via the retrieved PSD, as well as the estimation of the percent of backscattering due to NAP vs. phytoplankton. The PSD algorithm is operationally applied to the merged Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI) v5.0 ocean color data set. Results of an initial validation effort are also presented, using PSD, POC, and pico-phytoplankton carbon in-situ measurements. Validation results indicate the need for an empirical tuning for the absolute phytoplankton carbon concentrations; however these results and comparison with other phytoplankton carbon algorithms are ambiguous as to the need for the tuning. The latter finding illustrates the continued need for high-quality, consistent, large global data sets of phytoplankton carbon and related variables to facilitate future algorithm improvements.</p
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