3,983 research outputs found
Witnessing the birth of a supermassive protostar
The detection of quasars reveals the existence of supermassive
black holes of a few . One of the potential pathways to
explain their formation in the infant universe is the so-called direct collapse
model which provides massive seeds of . An isothermal
direct collapse mandates that halos should be of a primordial composition and
the formation of molecular hydrogen remains suppressed in the presence of a
strong Lyman Werner flux. In this study, we perform high resolution
cosmological simulations for two massive primordial halos employing a detailed
chemical model which includes cooling as well as realistic opacities
for both the bound-free emission and the Rayleigh scattering of
hydrogen atoms. We are able to resolve the collapse up to unprecedentedly high
densities of and to scales of about AU.
Our results show that the gas cools down to 5000 K in the presence
of cooling, and induces fragmentation at scales of about 8000 AU in
one of the two simulated halos, which may lead to the formation of a binary. In
addition, fragmentation also occurs on the AU scale in one of the halos but the
clumps are expected to merge on short time scales. Our results confirm that
cooling does not prevent the formation of a supermassive star and the
trapping of cooling radiation stabilises the collapse on small scales.Comment: Accpeted version, to appear in MNRAS, comments are still welcome and
high resolution version is available at
http://www2.iap.fr/users/latif/DCBH.pd
Solvent-mediated interactions between nanoparticles at fluid interfaces
We investigate the solvent mediated interactions between nanoparticles
adsorbed at a liquid-vapor interface in comparison to the solvent mediated
interactions in the bulk liquid and vapor phases of a Lennard-Jones solvent.
Molecular dynamics simulation data for the latter are in good agreement with
results from integral equations in the reference functional approximation and a
simple geometric approximation. Simulation results for the solvent mediated
interactions at the interface differ markedly from the interactions of the
particles in the corresponding bulk phases. We find that at short interparticle
distances the interactions are considerably more repulsive than those in either
bulk phase. At long interparticle distances we find evidence for a long-ranged
attraction. We discuss these observations in terms of interfacial interactions,
namely, the three-phase line tension that would operate at short distances, and
capillary wave interactions for longer interparticle distances.Comment: 22 pages, 6 figure
Extended trigonometric Cherednik algebras and nonstationary Schr\"odinger equations with delta-potentials
We realize an extended version of the trigonometric Cherednik algebra as
affine Dunkl operators involving Heaviside functions. We use the quadratic
Casimir element of the extended trigonometric Cherednik algebra to define an
explicit nonstationary Schr\"odinger equation with delta-potential. We use
coordinate Bethe ansatz methods to construct solutions of the nonstationary
Schr\"odinger equation in terms of generalized Bethe wave functions. It is
shown that the generalized Bethe wave functions satisfy affine difference
Knizhnik-Zamolodchikov equations in their spectral parameter. The relation to
the vector valued root system analogs of the quantum Bose gas on the circle
with pairwise delta-function interactions is indicated.Comment: 23 pages; Version 2: expanded introduction and misprints correcte
Sustainable packaging materials for processed fruits and vegetables in East Africa: A case study of Nairobi, Kenya
Packaging of processed fruits and vegetables contributes to reducing food waste and maintaining nutritional quality yet, at the same time, excessive use of packaging material creates environmental challenges. The purpose of this paper is to explore the views of different stakeholders including food processors and consumers on sustainability of different packaging materials used with several processed fruit and vegetable products available in East Africa. Four focus group discussions (FGD) and 14 key informant interviews were conducted in Nairobi, Kenya.
Thematic analysis was performed and consumer and processor views were categorized into eight themes: packaging material; communication; pack size; protection and preservation; convenience; price aspects; sustainability; and novelty and innovation. The results show that the issues of “packaging material” and “communication” on the packaging were most important. It became apparent that different understandings of the terms “sustainability” and “bio-degradable” exist, that “re-use” is seen as a normality, not necessarily as sustainable, and that there exist uncertainties about a package being “disposable”, “recyclable” and “reusable”. One major challenge for sustainable packaging appears to be how to communicate to stakeholders the concepts of sustainability and its benefits.
Overall, challenges in identifying and communicating sustainable packaging and ways to improve the sustainability of different product categories were found. The qualitative analysis recognised areas for further research using quantitative methods to find solutions for local plastic recycling and testing local sources for biodegradable packaging alternatives. Research is needed to potentially improve food packaging both for producers and consumers in East Africa
The Mycoplasma pneumoniae MPN229 gene encodes a protein that selectively binds single-stranded DNA and stimulates Recombinase A-mediated DNA strand exchange
Background. Mycoplasma pneumoniae has previously been characterized as a micro-organism that is genetically highly stable. In spite of this genetic stability, homologous DNA recombination has been hypothesized to lie at the basis of antigenic variation of the major surface protein, P1, of M. pneumoniae. In order to identify the proteins that may be involved in homologous DNA recombination in M. pneumoniae, we set out to characterize the MPN229 open reading frame (ORF), which bears sequence similarity to the gene encoding the single-stranded DNA-binding (SSB) protein of other micro-organisms. Results. The MPN229 ORF has the capacity to encode a 166-amino acid protein with a calculated molecular mass of 18.4 kDa. The amino acid sequence of this protein (Mpn SSB) is most closely related to that of the protein predicted to be encoded by the MG091 gene from Mycoplasma genitalium (61% identity). The MPN229 ORF was cloned, and different versions of Mpn SSB were expressed in E. coli and purified to > 95% homogeneity. The purified protein was found to exist primarily as a homo-tetramer in solution, and to strongly and selectively bind single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) in a divalent cation- and DNA substrate sequence-independent manner. Mpn SSB was found to bind with a higher affinity to ssDNA substrates larger than 20 nucleotides than to smaller substrates. In addition, the protein strongly stimulated E. coli Recombinase A (RecA)-promoted DNA strand exchange, which indicated that Mpn SSB may play an important role in DNA recombination processes in M. pneumoniae. Conclusion. The M. pneumoniae MPN229 gene encodes a protein, Mpn SSB, which selectively and efficiently binds ssDNA, and stimulates E. coli RecA-promoted homologous DNA recombination. Consequently, the Mpn SSB protein may play a crucial role in DNA recombinatorial pathways in M. pneumoniae. The results from this study will pave the way for unraveling these pathways and assess their role in antigenic variation of M. pneumoniae
A customized precision format based on mantissa segmentation for accelerating sparse linear algebra
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