Determining rotational dynamics of the guanidino group of arginine side chains in proteins by carbon-detected NMR

Arginine residues are imperative for many active sites and protein-interaction interfaces. A new NMR-based method is presented to determine the rotational dynamics around the Nε-Cζ bond of arginine side chains. An application to a 19 kDa protein shows that the strengths of interactions involving arginine side chains can be characterised

Crescimento e macronutrientes em mudas de melancia sob doses de adubo orgânico no substrato.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar o efeito de doses crescentes de esterco de galinha aplicadas ao substrato, sobre o índice de velocidade de emergência (IVE), o crescimento e o teor de macronutrientes em mudas de melancia

Modelling and Control of Freeway Traffic

This paper presents the most recent developments of the Simulator of Intelligent Transportation Systems (SITS). The SITS is based on a microscopic simulation approach to reproduce real traffic conditions in an urban or non-urban network. In order to analyse the quality of the microscopic traffic simulator SITS a benchmark test was performed. A dynamical analysis of several traffic phenomena, applying a new modelling formalism based on the embedding of statistics and Laplace transform, is then addressed. The paper presents also a new traffic control concept applied to a freeway traffic system

Unveiling the nature of out-of-equilibrium phase transitions in a system with long-range interactions

Recently, there has been some vigorous interest in the out-of-equilibrium quasistationary states (QSSs), with lifetimes diverging with the number N of degrees of freedom, emerging from numerical simulations of the ferromagnetic XY Hamiltonian Mean Field (HMF) starting from some special initial conditions. Phase transitions have been reported between low-energy magnetized QSSs and large-energy unexpected, antiferromagnetic-like, QSSs with low magnetization. This issue is addressed here in the Vlasov N \rightarrow \infty limit. It is argued that the time-asymptotic states emerging in the Vlasov limit can be related to simple generic time-asymptotic forms for the force field. The proposed picture unveils the nature of the out-of-equilibrium phase transitions reported for the ferromagnetic HMF: this is a bifurcation point connecting an effective integrable Vlasov one-particle time-asymptotic dynamics to a partly ergodic one which means a brutal open-up of the Vlasov one-particle phase space. Illustration is given by investigating the time-asymptotic value of the magnetization at the phase transition, under the assumption of a sufficiently rapid time-asymptotic decay of the transient force field

Shrinkage properties of plain and recycled steel–fibre-reinforced rapid hardening mortars for repairs

This article investigates the time dependent transport properties and shrinkage performance of rapid hardening plain and fibre reinforced mortars for repair applications. Two plain and two SFRC mixes with 45 kg/m3 of recycled clean steel fibres made with rapid hardening cements (CSA – calcium sulfoaluminate cement and RSC – calcium aluminate cement) are studied. It is found that mixes with CSA cement have much lower shrinkage values (around 220 and 365 microstrains) compared to mixes with RSC cement (around 2690 and 2530 microstrains), but most of the shrinkage in these mixes is autogenous. Nonetheless, fibres reduce the drying shrinkage of RSC cement mixes by approximately 12%. Model code 2010 and ACI equations can be used to estimate the shrinkage development with time for these mixes provided suitable parameters for each cement type are adopted. Inverse analysis using finite element method is successfully employed to determine the moisture diffusivity and the hygral contraction coefficient of each mix. A comparison is made between the values of shrinkage strain predicted by the numerical models over time, for different depths, and code equations. A simple analytical procedure is used to assess cracking and/or delamination risks due to restrained shrinkage for these materials in overlay applications

Soil loss by wind (SoLoWind): a new GIS-based model to identify risk areas

The focus of wind erosion studies in Germany is located in the Northern and Eastern parts of the country, where wind erosion is a major soil threat and environmental concern. One of the most susceptible regions not only within Germany, but also within Europe (1, 2) is Western Saxony even though no high resolution erosion risk map exists for that region yet. A new wind erosion model for modeling soil loss by wind called SoLoWind was developed and tested for Western Saxony (3). SoLoWind extends the existing DIN model (DIN standard 19706) applied by the public authorities in Germany to a multidirectional model with new causal factors. The new factors are combined by fuzzy logic with the original DIN factors into four modules. The “Natural Wind Erosions Susceptibility” (SUS) module determines the regional soil erodibility with respect to soil texture, soil organic content, soil moisture and wind speeds. A “Soil Cover” (COV) module distinguishes between bare soil and covered soil in satellite images. Furthermore, the modules “Mean Field Length” (MFL) and “Mean Protection Zones” (MPZ) are parameters for the wind erosions avalanching effect and sheltering of windbreaks. Both modules are weighted according to the frequency of wind directions. The application showed that about one-third of all arable land in Western Saxony have either high (26.9%) or very high soil erosion risk (3.6%) by wind. As such, wind erosion is a serious land degradation threat for the region as it is in the adjacent federal states. According to the modeled off-site effects of wind erosion, a potential danger of reduced visibility by windblown dust to sections of the highway A72 could clearly be identified which calls for immediate protection measures. The transparency, adaptability, and user-friendliness of the model suggest that SoLoWind might serve as a planning tool for soil conservation strategies not merely in Western Saxony, but also in other regions

A consistent approach for probabilistic residential flood loss modeling in Europe

In view of globally increasing flood losses, a significantly improved and more efficient flood risk management and adaptation policy are needed. One prerequisite is reliable risk assessments on the continental scale. Flood loss modeling and risk assessments for Europe are until now based on regional approaches using deterministic depth‐damage functions. Uncertainties associated with the risk estimation are hardly known. To reduce these shortcomings, we present a novel, consistent approach for probabilistic flood loss modeling for Europe, based on the upscaling of the Bayesian Network Flood Loss Estimation MOdel for the private sector, BN‐FLEMOps. The model is applied on the mesoscale in the whole of Europe and can be adapted to regional situations. BN‐FLEMOps is validated in three case studies in Italy, Austria, and Germany. The officially reported loss figures of the past flood events are within the 95% quantile range of the probabilistic loss estimation, for all three case studies. In the Italian, Austrian, and German case studies, the median loss estimate shows an overestimation by 28% (2.1 million euro) and 305% (5.8 million euro) and an underestimation by 43% (104 million euro), respectively. In two of the three case studies, the performance of the model improved, when updated with empirical damage data from the area of interest. This approach represents a step forward in European wide flood risk modeling, since it delivers consistent flood loss estimates and inherently provides uncertainty information. Further validation and tests with respect to adapting the model to different European regions are recommended

Agricultural Production and Forest Preservation in the Brazilian Amazon

Brazil has become a strong competitor in world soybean production. In 2014, Brazil produced 28% of the world’s soybeans, while the United States produced 34%. Brazil increased its production sharply during the 1990s and 2000s, partly due to the expansion into the Amazon forest region. Soybean was one of the main commodities that led to this expansion. In 2016, the Legal Amazon region produced 33% of the Brazilian soybean production compared to 15% in 1990 (Figure 1)

Efeito da genética Pietrain sobre o desempenho de suínos.

Projeto/Plano de Ação: 02.09.70700-01

Existence of positive solutions of a superlinear boundary value problem with indefinite weight

We deal with the existence of positive solutions for a two-point boundary value problem associated with the nonlinear second order equation $u''+a(x)g(u)=0$. The weight $a(x)$ is allowed to change its sign. We assume that the function $g\colon\mathopen{[}0,+\infty\mathclose{[}\to\mathbb{R}$ is continuous, $g(0)=0$ and satisfies suitable growth conditions, so as the case $g(s)=s^{p}$, with $p>1$, is covered. In particular we suppose that $g(s)/s$ is large near infinity, but we do not require that $g(s)$ is non-negative in a neighborhood of zero. Using a topological approach based on the Leray-Schauder degree we obtain a result of existence of at least a positive solution that improves previous existence theorems.Comment: 12 pages, 4 PNG figure