495 research outputs found
Freedom of religion of children in private schools
This article argues against the interpretation that the right to establish private schools includes the right to require religious conformity from non-adherent learners by way of a waiver of their religious freedom. Despite the importance of respecting the rights of religious communities to protect and preserve their faith in private schools, it is submitted that this right cannot be exercised without regard for the religious freedom, dignity and best interests of non-adherent children. As a result, it is submitted that the waiver of the freedom of religion of non-adherent children is not consistent with the values which South African society reveres and, therefore, cannot be enforced. This article suggests that there is a way for the rights of private schools and the rights of the non-adherent child to co-exist in harmony through the application of the reasonable accommodation principle in private schools
Magnetocaloric effect and magnetization in a Ni-Mn-Ga Heusler alloy in the vicinity of magnetostructural transition
The magnetic and thermodynamic properties of a Ni2.19Mn0.81Ga alloy with
coupled magnetic and structural (martensitic) phase transitions were studied
experimentally and theoretically. The magnetocaloric effect was measured by a
direct method in magnetic fields 0-26 kOe at temperatures close to the
magnetostructural transition temperature. For theoretical description of the
alloy properties near the magnetostructural transition a statistical model is
suggested, that takes into account the coexistence of martensite and austenite
domains in the vicinity of martensite transformation point.Comment: presented at ICM-2003, to appear in JMM
Spectral signatures of photosynthesis II: coevolution with other stars and the atmosphere on extrasolar worlds
As photosynthesis on Earth produces the primary signatures of life that can
be detected astronomically at the global scale, a strong focus of the search
for extrasolar life will be photosynthesis, particularly photosynthesis that
has evolved with a different parent star. We take planetary atmospheric
compositions simulated by Segura, et al. (2003, 2005) for Earth-like planets
around observed F2V and K2V stars, modeled M1V and M5V stars, and around the
active M4.5V star AD Leo; our scenarios use Earth's atmospheric composition as
well as very low O2 content in case anoxygenic photosynthesis dominates. We
calculate the incident spectral photon flux densities at the surface of the
planet and under water. We identify bands of available photosynthetically
relevant radiation and find that photosynthetic pigments on planets around F2V
stars may peak in absorbance in the blue, K2V in the red-orange, and M stars in
the NIR, in bands at 0.93-1.1 microns, 1.1-1.4 microns, 1.5-1.8 microns, and
1.8-2.5 microns. In addition, we calculate wavelength restrictions for
underwater organisms and depths of water at which they would be protected from
UV flares in the early life of M stars. We estimate the potential productivity
for both surface and underwater photosynthesis, for both oxygenic and
anoxygenic photosynthesis, and for hypothetical photosynthesis in which longer
wavelength, multi-photosystem series are used.Comment: 59 pages, 4 figures, 4 tables, forthcoming in Astrobiology ~March
200
Spectral signatures of photosynthesis I: Review of Earth organisms
Why do plants reflect in the green and have a 'red edge' in the red, and
should extrasolar photosynthesis be the same? We provide: 1) a brief review of
how photosynthesis works; 2) an overview of the diversity of photosynthetic
organisms, their light harvesting systems, and environmental ranges; 3) a
synthesis of photosynthetic surface spectral signatures; 4) evolutionary
rationales for photosynthetic surface reflectance spectra with regard to
utilization of photon energy and the planetary light environment. Given the
surface incident photon flux density spectrum and resonance transfer in light
harvesting, we propose some rules with regard to where photosynthetic pigments
will peak in absorbance: a) the wavelength of peak incident photon flux; b) the
longest available wavelength for core antenna or reaction center pigments; and
c) the shortest wavelengths within an atmospheric window for accessory
pigments. That plants absorb less green light may not be an inefficient legacy
of evolutionary history, but may actually satisfy the above criteria.Comment: 69 pages, 7 figures, forthcoming in Astrobiology March 200
Anisotropic behaviour of human gallbladder walls
Inverse estimation of biomechanical parameters of soft tissues from non-invasive measurements has clinical significance in patient-specific modelling and disease diagnosis. In this paper, we propose a fully nonlinear approach to estimate the mechanical properties of the human gallbladder wall muscles from in vivo ultrasound images. The iteration method consists of a forward approach, in which the constitutive equation is based on a modified Hozapfel–Gasser–Ogden law initially developed for arteries. Five constitutive parameters describing the two orthogonal families of fibres and the matrix material are determined by comparing the computed displacements with medical images. The optimisation process is carried out using the MATLAB toolbox, a Python code, and the ABAQUS solver. The proposed method is validated with published artery data and subsequently applied to ten human gallbladder samples. Results show that the human gallbladder wall is anisotropic during the passive refilling phase, and that the peak stress is 1.6 times greater than that calculated using linear mechanics. This discrepancy arises because the wall thickness reduces by 1.6 times during the deformation, which is not predicted by conventional linear elasticity. If the change of wall thickness is accounted for, then the linear model can used to predict the gallbladder stress and its correlation with pain. This work provides further understanding of the nonlinear characteristics of human gallbladder
Adaptation of photosystem II to high and low light in wild-type and triazine-resistant Canola plants: analysis by a fluorescence induction algorithm
Plants of wild-type and triazine-resistant Canola (Brassica napus L.) were exposed to very high light intensities and after 1 day placed on a laboratory table at low light to recover, to study the kinetics of variable fluorescence after light, and after dark-adaptation. This cycle was repeated several times. The fast OJIP fluorescence rise curve was measured immediately after light exposure and after recovery during 1 day in laboratory room light. A fluorescence induction algorithm has been used for resolution and analysis of these curves. This algorithm includes photochemical and photo-electrochemical quenching release components and a photo-electrical dependent IP-component. The analysis revealed a substantial suppression of the photo-electrochemical component (even complete in the resistant biotype), a partial suppression of the photochemical component and a decrease in the fluorescence parameter Fo after high light. These effects were recovered after 1 day in the indoor light
Immersed boundary-finite element model of fluid-structure interaction in the aortic root
It has long been recognized that aortic root elasticity helps to ensure
efficient aortic valve closure, but our understanding of the functional
importance of the elasticity and geometry of the aortic root continues to
evolve as increasingly detailed in vivo imaging data become available. Herein,
we describe fluid-structure interaction models of the aortic root, including
the aortic valve leaflets, the sinuses of Valsalva, the aortic annulus, and the
sinotubular junction, that employ a version of Peskin's immersed boundary (IB)
method with a finite element (FE) description of the structural elasticity. We
develop both an idealized model of the root with three-fold symmetry of the
aortic sinuses and valve leaflets, and a more realistic model that accounts for
the differences in the sizes of the left, right, and noncoronary sinuses and
corresponding valve cusps. As in earlier work, we use fiber-based models of the
valve leaflets, but this study extends earlier IB models of the aortic root by
employing incompressible hyperelastic models of the mechanics of the sinuses
and ascending aorta using a constitutive law fit to experimental data from
human aortic root tissue. In vivo pressure loading is accounted for by a
backwards displacement method that determines the unloaded configurations of
the root models. Our models yield realistic cardiac output at physiological
pressures, with low transvalvular pressure differences during forward flow,
minimal regurgitation during valve closure, and realistic pressure loads when
the valve is closed during diastole. Further, results from high-resolution
computations demonstrate that IB models of the aortic valve are able to produce
essentially grid-converged dynamics at practical grid spacings for the
high-Reynolds number flows of the aortic root
Hybrid Simulation Theory for Continuous Beams
Hybrid simulation is an experimental technique involving the integration of a physical system and a computational system with the use of actuators and sensors. This method has a long history in the experimental community and has been used for nearly 40 years. However, there is a distinct lack of theoretical research on the performance of this method. Hybrid simulation experiments are performed with the implicit assumption of an accurate result as long as sensor and actuator errors are minimized. However, no theoretical results confirm this intuition nor is it understood how minimal the error should be and what the essential controlling factors are. To address this deficit in knowledge, this study considers the problem as one of tracking the trajectory of a dynamical system in a suitably defined configuration space. To make progress, the study strictly considers a theoretical hybrid system. This allows for precise definitions of errors during hybrid simulation. As a model system, the study looks at an elastic beam as well as a viscoelastic beam. In both cases, systems with a continuous distribution of mass are considered as occur in real physical systems. Errors in the system are then tracked during harmonic excitation using space-time L2-norms defined over the system's configuration space. A parametric study is then presented of how magnitude and phase errors in the control system relate to the performance of hybrid simulation. It is seen that there are sharp sensitivities to control system errors. Further, the existence of unacceptably high errors whenever the excitations exceed the system's fundamental frequency is shown to be present in hybrid simulation
A Mutation in the D-de Loop of D1 Modifies the Stability of the S2QA- and S2QB- States in Photosystem II
Comparative Time-Resolved Photosystem II Chlorophyll a Fluorescence Analyses Reveal Distinctive Differences between Photoinhibitory Reaction Center Damage and Xanthophyll Cycle-Dependent Energy Dissipation
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