On coalescence time in graphs: When is coalescing as fast as meeting?

Coalescing random walks is a fundamental stochastic process, where a set of particles perform independent discrete-time random walks on an undirected graph. Whenever two or more particles meet at a given node, they merge and continue as a single random walk. The coalescence time is defined as the expected time until only one particle remains, starting from one particle at every node. Despite recent progress the coalescence time for graphs such as binary trees, d-dimensional tori, hypercubes and more generally, vertex-transitive graphs, remains unresolved. We provide a powerful toolkit that results in tight bounds for various topologies including the aforementioned ones. The meeting time is defined as the worst-case expected time required for two random walks to arrive at the same node at the same time. As a general result, we establish that for graphs whose meeting time is only marginally larger than the mixing time (a factor of log^2 n), the coalescence time of n random walks equals the meeting time up to constant factors. This upper bound is complemented by the construction of a graph family demonstrating that this result is the best possible up to constant factors. For almost-regular graphs, we bound the coalescence time by the hitting time, resolving the discrete-time variant of a conjecture by Aldous for this class of graphs. Finally, we prove that for any graph the coalescence time is bounded by O(n^3) (which is tight for the Barbell graph); surprisingly even such a basic question about the coalescing time was not answered before this work. By duality, our results give bounds on the voter model and therefore give bounds on the consensus time in arbitrary undirected graphs. We also establish a new bound on the hitting time and cover time of regular graphs, improving and tightening previous results by Broder and Karlin, as well as those by Aldous and Fill

Conflict of Norms in the Brazilian Bankruptcy Law

[extract] In 2005, Brazil implemented a new Bankruptcy Law (Law No. 11.101, dated February 9, 2005), modeled largely after the Title 11 of the United States Code, also known as the United States Bankruptcy Code.The current Brazilian system provides three alternatives for insolvent legal entities: (i) judicial reorganization, a court-supervised reorganization proceeding; (ii) bankruptcy, a court-supervised liquidation proceeding; and (iii) extrajudicial reorganization, an out-of-court reorganization proceeding.The possibility of recovery of an activity momentarily in crisis, with the possibility of implementing a corporate restructuring plan, renegotiation of liabilities with creditors and business continuity was undoubtedly the innovative point of the Law.Unfortunately, the Brazilian Bankruptcy Law embodies within itself serious contradictions – legal antinomies – which prevent the fulfillment of the objective of the Law. One of the most serious antinomies is the conflict between Article 47 and Article 49, Paragraph 3. This antinomy has the potential to impair the judicial recovery of the economically viable company. For this reason, this antinomy must be widely discussed, as well as the cause and the nature of this conflict of norms

Ocorrência de contaminantes em sementes e grãos de soja armazenados em diferentes regiões brasileiras no período de 2008-2010.

Os contaminantes comprometem a qualidade das sementes e dos grãos de soja. Eles podem vir da lavoura ou surgirem durante a armazenagem, sendo caracterizados pela presença de material inerte, insetos e seus fragmentos, fungos de campo e de armazenagem e micotoxinas. O objetivo do trabalho foi de determinar a ocorrência de contaminantes em sementes e grãos de soja, armazenados em diferentes regiões do país. Foram realizados levantamentos em armazéns de grãos e de sementes de soja em seis locais, nos Estados do Rio Grande do Sul (Espumoso), do Paraná (Palotina, Londrina e Mandaguari), de São Paulo (Orlândia) e do Mato Grosso (Alto Garças). Foram realizadas cinco amostragens, efetuadas em novembro/2008, junho/2009, novembro/2009, junho/2010 e novembro/2010. Também foram realizadas análises visando à determinação da presença e quantificação de micotoxinas, como: aflatoxinas (B1, B2, G1 e G2); ocratoxina A; zearalenona; e tricotecenos (nivalenol-NIV e dioxinivalenol-DON). Na soja armazenada foram detectadas as espécies de insetos Ephestia spp., Sitophilus oryzae, Cryptolestes ferrugineos, Rhyzopertha dominica, Tribolium castaneum, Liposcelides bostrychophila, Oryzaephilus surinamensis, Lasioderma serricorne, Ahasveus advena e Lophocateres pusillus. O principal fungo presente nas amostras foi Aspergillus flavus, embora outras espécies também ocorreram, como Fusarium semitectum, Phomopsis sp., Cercospora kikuchii, Macrophomina sp. Entre as micotoxinas, apenas a aflatoxina B1 foi detectada nas amostras analisadas

Ocorrência de contaminantes em sementes e grãos de soja armazenados em diversas regiões brasileiras.

Os contaminantes comprometem a qualidade das sementes e dos grãos de soja. Eles podem vir da lavoura e da armazenagem, sendo caracterizados pela presença de material inerte, insetos e seus fragmentos, fungos de campo e de armazenagem e micotoxinas. O objetivo do trabalho foi de determinar os contaminantes em sementes e grãos de soja, armazenados em diferentes regiões do país. Os levantamentos foram realizados em armazéns em seis locais, no RS (Espumoso), PR (Palotina, Londrina e Mandaguari), SP (Orlândia) e MT (Alto Garças). Foram realizadas cinco amostragens em nov/2008, junho e nov/2009, junho e nov/2010. Em cada amostragem, foram coletadas quatro amostras de 1,0 kg de grãos e quatro amostras de 1,0 kg de sementes. Foram realizadas as análises de patologia de sementes, infestação por insetos e quantificação de micotoxinas. Foram detectadas as seguintes espécies de insetos: Ephestia spp., Sitophilus oryzae, Cryptolestes ferrugineos, Rhyzopertha dominica, Tribolium castaneum, Liposcelides bostrychophila, Oryzaephilus surinamensis, Lasioderma serricorne, Ahasveus advena e Laphocateres pusillus, esta última, relatada pela primeira vez no Brasil. A maior incidência de infestação ocorreu com S. oryzae, seguido de Ephestia spp. e R. dominica, destacando-se a ocorrência de L. serricorne, que passou a ser uma praga importante no armazenamento de soja no Brasil. Dentre as micotoxinas, foi detectada apenas a presença de Aflatoxina B1, em amostras de grãos provenientes de duas regiões do PR. A ocorrência dessa micotoxina é justificada pelos elevados índices de grãos infectados por Aspergillus flavus. Outros fungos como Fusarium semitectum, Phomopsis sp., Cercospora kikuchii, Macrophomina sp. foram detectados, porém com menor intensidade. Vale destacar que a ocorrência de insetos, fungos e micotoxinas foi sempre mais elevada nas amostras de grãos em relação às de sementes

Characterization of the hot Neptune GJ 436b with Spitzer and ground-based observations

We present Spitzer Space Telescope infrared photometry of a secondary eclipse of the hot Neptune GJ436b. The observations were obtained using the 8-micron band of the InfraRed Array Camera (IRAC). The data spanning the predicted time of secondary eclipse show a clear flux decrement with the expected shape and duration. The observed eclipse depth of 0.58 mmag allows us to estimate a blackbody brightness temperature of T_p = 717 +- 35 K at 8 microns. We compare this infrared flux measurement to a model of the planetary thermal emission, and show that this model reproduces properly the observed flux decrement. The timing of the secondary eclipse confirms the non-zero orbital eccentricity of the planet, while also increasing its precision (e = 0.14 +- 0.01). Additional new spectroscopic and photometric observations allow us to estimate the rotational period of the star and to assess the potential presence of another planet.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A on 11/09/2007; 7 pages, 6 figure

Unveiling the impact of the effective particles distribution on strengthening mechanisms: A multiscale characterization of Mg+Y2O3 nanocomposites

International audienceMost models used to account for the hardening of nanocomposites only consider a global volume fraction of particles which is a simplified indicator that overlooks the particles size and spatial distribution. The current study aims at quantifying the effect of the real experimental particles spatial and size distribution on the strengthening of a magnesium based nanocomposites reinforced with Y 2 O 3 particles processed by Friction Stir Processing (FSP). X-ray tomographic 3-D images allowed to identify the best FSP parameters for the optimum nanocomposite. A detailed analysis indicates that the observed hardening is mainly due to Orowan strengthening and the generation of geometrically necessary dislocations (GND) due to thermal expansion coefficients (CTE) mismatch between magnesium and Y 2 O 3 particles. A multiscale characterization coupling 3D X-ray laboratory, synchrotron nanoholotomography and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been used to investigate particles size and spatial distribution over four orders of magnitude in length scales. Two dedicated micromechanical models for the two strengthening mechanisms are applied on the experimental particle fields taking into account the real particles size and spatial distribution, and compared to classical models based on average data. This required to develop a micromechanical model for CTE mismatch hardening contribution. This analysis reveals that the contribution from CTE mismatch is decreased by a factor two when taking into account the real distribution of particles instead of an average volume fraction

Influence of environmental factors on tenuazonic acid production by Epicoccum sorghinum: An integrative approach of field and laboratory conditions

Sorghum is the fifth most cultivated and consumed grain in the world. However, this grain is frequently contaminated with toxins from fungi. The present study evaluated the effects of environmental factors on tenuazonic acid (TeA) production by Epicoccum sorghinum in the field and in controlled laboratory conditions. In this study, 50 sorghum grain samples were collected from summer and autumn growing seasons and analyzed for TeA contamination using LC-MS/MS. To further understand the ecophysiology of this fungus, an isolated strain of E. sorghinum from the field was investigated for its development and TeA production under controlled environmental conditions in the laboratory. In the ecophysiological investigation, the effects of water activity (0.90, 0.95, 0.99) and temperature (18, 22, 26 and 30?°C) were evaluated on the radial growth, enzymatic production and expression of TAS1, which is the gene involved in TeA production. Results showed that in the field, the summer season presented the highest TeA average level in the grains (587.8??g/kg) compared to level found in the autumn (440.5??g/kg). The ecophysiological investigation confirmed that E. sorghinum produces more actively TeA under environmental conditions simulating the summer season. Optimum growth, maximum TAS1 gene expression, and higher extracellular enzymatic production were observed at 26?°C with a water activity of 0.99. Pearson correlation analyses showed that the production of TeA highly correlates with fungal growth. The present study demonstrates that abiotic factors in a combined approach of field and laboratory conditions will assist in predicting the driving environmental factors that could affect growth of E. sorghinum and TeA production in sorghum grains

(R)-(-)-carvone and (1R, 4R)-trans-(+)-dihydrocarvone from poiretia latifolia vogel

The essential oils of Poiretia latifolia Vogel, native and cultivated leaves (Samples A and B, respectively) and native flowers (sample C), were obtained by hydrodistillation and analyzed by GC, GC/MS and chiral phase gas chromatography (CPGC). Twenty-four compounds were identified, representing 99.25, 99.26 and 99.23% of the oils, respectively. The major constituents of the oils were the monoterpenes (S)-(-)-limonene (16.05, 27.60, 15.60%, respectively), (1R, 4R)-trans-(+)-dihydrocarvone (18.05, 0.66 and 77.80%, respectively) and (R)-(-)-carvone (61.05, 64.20 and 4.50%, respectively). The essential oils were evaluated against some strains of Gram (+) and Gram (-) bacteria, and yeast, but displayed only modest antimicrobial activity

Composite carbon materials from winery composted waste for the treatment of effluents contaminated with ketoprofen and 2-nitrophenol

The present work consisted of preparing and characterizing composite carbon materials (WRCC) from raw winery residues (WR) activated with zinc chloride to produce a carbon adsorbent. The WRCC was used for the adsorption of emerging contaminants in aqueous media. The WRCC presented a morphology with favorable characteristics for the adsorption process, giving an abundant porous structure with pores of different sizes. The results show the WRCC’s effectiveness, presenting surface area values (227 m2 g−1) and total pore volume (0.175 cm3 g−1). The general order kinetic model predicted the experimental curves sufficiently. The Sips model better described the two adsorbates' equilibrium data, with maximum adsorption capacities of 376.0 and 119.6 mg g−1 for 2-nitrophenol and ketoprofen, respectively. The WRCC carbon material was also highly efficient, with maximum removal of 81.4% and 94% in 1000 mg L−1 of the compounds 2-nitrophenol and ketoprofen. Finally, the prepared material has essential characteristics that make it an efficient adsorbent in treating effluents with emerging contaminants