3,803 research outputs found
Phase diagram and magnons in quasi-one-dimensional dipolar antiferromagnets
We investigate antiferromagnetic spin chains, which are coupled by a weak
antiferromagnetic exchange interaction on a hexagonal lattice. We particulary
study the role of the dipole-dipole interaction within the framework of a
Heisenberg model with nearest-neighbor exchange and additional dipolar
interaction. We find several commensurate and incommensurate phases depending
on the ratio of dipolar energy to interchain-exchange energy due to their
competing qualtity. The ground-state analysis is supplemented by a stability
analysis by means of a linear spin-wave theory. In comparison with experiments
(CsMnBr_3, RbMnBr_3) we obtain good agreement for the energy gaps. From this we
conclude, that the dipolar interaction is the most important source of
anisotropy in these Mn-compounds.Comment: 3 pages, 3 Postscript figure
A promising biotechnical approach to pest management of the western corn rootworm in Illinois maize fields shielded with a MCA kairomone baited trap line
The leaf beetle Diabrotica virgifera virgifera (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), (D.v.v.), also called the western corn rootworm, is endemic to the New World and ranks among the top ten insect pests in worldwide grain production. D.v.v. causes annual damages of 1 billion US Dollars and is a notoriously difficult insect pest to control and manage, as entomological history of the past 50 years amply demonstrates (METCALF 1986). Considering recent emphasis on environmentally compatible and sustainable management strategies, entomologists and practitioners are encouraged to pay increased attention to novel approaches such as biotechnial methods which today are characterized by preferential use of signal compounds. Fortunately, both insect and plants provide a wide variety of such natural resources. In the case of D.v.v., sex pheromonesand plant kairomones as specific attractants and management tools are relatively well investigated through numerous contributions by GUSS et al. (1982), METCALF & METCALF (1992), METCALF (1994) and many recent publications on the advance and spread of D.v.v. within Europe (BERGER 1995-2004, HUMMEL 2003). Principle of MSD method: In this paper, the plant kairomone 4-methoxycinnamaldehyde (MCA), a specific attractant for D.v.v., is being used as a tool within the newly proposed "MSD" strategy. It combines a two pronge approach consisting as the well known mass trapping with the novel shielding and deflecting, called in short "diversion" and introduced here for the first time. An invisible “curtain” or “fence” of MCA vapor released from a MCA trap line establishes a behavioral barrier which the flying beetles cannot easily pass without being 1. either caught in one of the high capacity traps or 2. being diverted elsewhere. The net effect is a significant reduction in adult population density and oviposition within the MCA treated field as compared to an untreated control field. These effects can be experimentally measured by 1. adult beetle counts on maize plants, 2. by counts in independent monitoring traps baited with the D.v.v. sex pheromone, and 3. by egg counts taken in soil samples.Umweltgerechter und nachhaltiger Pflanzenschutz erfordert eine Vielzahl verschiedener Strategien zum Management von Schadinsekten auf ihren Wirtspflanzen. Insekten- und pflanzeneigene Signalstoffe sowie ihre synthetischen Analoga bieten einen nahezu unerschöpflichen Vorrat spezifischer Lockwirkungen und Interventionsmöglichkeiten an, der bisher leider nur unzureichend genutzt wird. Kürzliche Entdeckungen sowohl neuer Kairomon-Lockstoffe als auch neuer Verfahrensschritte für das Management des Westlichen Maiswurzelbohrers Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) (D.v.v.) erweitern das Spektrum anwendbarer Management- Optionen für diesen schwer bekämpfbaren Schädling im nordamerikanischen Maisanbau. Seit seiner Einschleppung nach Europa (ČAMPRAG & BAČA 1995) wird D.v.v. neuerdings auch zunehmend zum Problemschädling an Mais in Europa. Die neue "MSD"-Technik besteht aus einer Kombination von Massenabfang ("mass trapping"), Abschirmung ("shielding") und Umlenkung ("diversion") der Blattkäfer. Fallen hoher Fangkapazität, die das Kairomon 4-Methoxyzimtaldehyd (MCA) und Cucurbitacin- Pulver als fraßfördernden Stoff enthalten, können bei Aufstellung als "Fallenzaun" relativ geringer Dichte die Käfer so umlenken, dass zwischen den beiden Seiten dieses Zauns eine unsichtbare Geruchs-Barriere entsteht. Diese führt zu einer messbaren und signifikanten Verminderung der Käferzahl zwischen MCA behandelten Feldabschnitten gegenüber ihren unbehandelten Kontrollen. In 0,27 ha bzw. 0,12 ha großen Maisversuchsfeldern der Standorte Urbana und Champaign des US-Staates Illinois ließen sich während der Monate August und September 2003 und 2004 nach MCA-Behandlung gegenüber Kontrollen deutliche und signifikante Verminderungen von D.v.v. an Hand dreier Kriterien nachweisen: 1. Käferzahlen auf Maispflanzen innerhalb des "MSD-Feldes", 2. Käferzahlen in Sexuallockstoff-Fallen im MSD Feld und 3. die Zahl abgelegter D.v.v.-Eier im Boden des MSD Feldes nehmen ab. Der beobachtete Effekt läßt sich nicht allein auf die Populationsverminderung infolge hoher Abfangzahlen zurückführen. Es gibt darüber hinaus einen Abschirm- und Umlenkeffekt, dessen sinnes- und verhaltensphysiologische Mechanismen zusätzliche künftige Erforschungen erforderlich machen
Antigen-driven clonal proliferation of B cells within the target tissue of an autoimmune disease: the salivary glands of patients with Sjögren's syndrome
Structures resembling germinal centers are seen in the salivary glands of patients with Sjögren's syndrome, but it is not known whether the microenvironment of these cell clusters is sufficient for the induction of a germinal center response. Therefore, we cloned and sequenced rearranged Ig V genes expressed by B cells isolated from sections of labial salivary gland biopsies from two Sjögren's syndrome patients. Rearranged V genes from B cells within one cell cluster were polyclonal and most had few somatic mutations. Two adjacent clusters from another patient each contained one dominant B cell clone expressing hypermutated V genes. None of the rearranged V genes was found in both clusters, suggesting that cells are unable to migrate out into the surrounding tissue and seed new clusters. The ratios of replacement to silent mutations in the framework and complementarity determining regions suggest antigen selection of high-affinity mutants. These results show that an antigen-driven, germinal center-type B cell response is taking place within the salivary glands of Sjögren's syndrome patients. In view of the recent demonstration of a germinal center response within the rheumatoid synovial membrane and the existence of similar structures in the target tissues of other autoimmune. diseases, we propose that germinal center- type responses can be induced in the nonlymphoid target tissues of a variety of autoimmune diseases
High Latitude Radio Emission in a Sample of Edge-On Spiral Galaxies
We have mapped 16 edge-on galaxies at 20 cm using the VLA. For 5 galaxies, we
could form spectral index, energy and magnetic field maps. We find that all but
one galaxy show evidence for non-thermal high latitude radio continuum
emission, suggesting that cosmic ray halos are common in star forming galaxies.
The high latitude emission is seen over a variety of spatial scales and in
discrete and/or smooth features. In general, the discrete features emanate from
the disk, but estimates of CR diffusion lengths suggest that diffusion alone is
insufficient to transport the particles to the high latitudes seen (> 15 kpc in
one case). Thus CRs likely diffuse through low density regions and/or are
assisted by other mechanisms (e.g. winds). We searched for correlations between
the prevalence of high latitude radio emission and a number of other
properties, including the global SFR, supernova input rate per unit star
forming, and do not find clear correlations with any of these properties.Comment: 40 pages of text, 3 figures, 6 tables, and an appendix of 21 jpeg
figures (which is a radio continuum catalogue of 17 galaxies). to appear in
A. J. (around January 1999
V-like formations in flocks of artificial birds
We consider flocks of artificial birds and study the emergence of V-like
formations during flight. We introduce a small set of fully distributed
positioning rules to guide the birds' movements and demonstrate, by means of
simulations, that they tend to lead to stabilization into several of the
well-known V-like formations that have been observed in nature. We also provide
quantitative indicators that we believe are closely related to achieving V-like
formations, and study their behavior over a large set of independent
simulations
Instant Two-Body Equation in Breit Frame
A quasipotential formalism for elastic scattering from relativistic bound
states is based on applying an instant constraint to both initial and final
states in the Breit frame. This formalism is advantageous for the analysis of
electromagnetic interactions because current conservation and four momentum
conservation are realized within a three-dimensional formalism. Wave functions
are required in a frame where the total momentum is nonzero, which means that
the usual partial wave analysis is inapplicable. In this work, the
three-dimensional equation is solved numerically, taking into account the
relevant symmetries. A dynamical boost of the interaction also is needed for
the instant formalism, which in general requires that the boosted interaction
be defined as the solution of a four-dimensional equation. For the case of a
scalar separable interaction, this equation is solved and the Lorentz
invariance of the three-dimensional formulation using the boosted interaction
is verified. For more realistic interactions, a simple approximation is used to
characterize the boost of the interaction.Comment: 20 pages in revtex 3, 3 figures. Fixed reform/tex errors
Electromagnetic Scattering from Relativistic Bound States
The quasipotential formalism for elastic scattering from relativistic bound
states is formulated based on the instant constraint in the Breit frame. The
quasipotential electromagnetic current is derived from Mandelstam's five-point
kernel and obeys a two-body Ward identity. Breit-frame wave functions are
obtained directly by solving integral equations with nonzero total
three-momentum, thus accomplishing a dynamical boost. Calculations of
electron-deuteron elastic form factors illustrate the importance of the
dynamical boost versus kinematic boosts of the rest frame wave functions.Comment: RevTeX 3.0 manuscript, 9 pages. UU-file is a single PostScript file
of the manuscript including figures. U. MD PP #93-17
Dynamical mass of the O-type supergiant in Zeta Orionis A
A close companion of Zeta Orionis A was found in 2000 with the Navy Precision
Optical Interferometer (NPOI), and shown to be a physical companion. Because
the primary is a supergiant of type O, for which dynamical mass measurements
are very rare, the companion was observed with NPOI over the full 7-year orbit.
Our aim was to determine the dynamical mass of a supergiant that, due to the
physical separation of more than 10 AU between the components, cannot have
undergone mass exchange with the companion. The interferometric observations
allow measuring the relative positions of the binary components and their
relative brightness. The data collected over the full orbital period allows all
seven orbital elements to be determined. In addition to the interferometric
observations, we analyzed archival spectra obtained at the Calar Alto, Haute
Provence, Cerro Armazones, and La Silla observatories, as well as new spectra
obtained at the VLT on Cerro Paranal. In the high-resolution spectra we
identified a few lines that can be associated exclusively to one or the other
component for the measurement of the radial velocities of both. The combination
of astrometry and spectroscopy then yields the stellar masses and the distance
to the binary star. The resulting masses for components Aa of 14.0 solar masses
and Ab of 7.4 solar masses are low compared to theoretical expectations, with a
distance of 294 pc which is smaller than a photometric distance estimate of 387
pc based on the spectral type B0III of the B component. If the latter (because
it is also consistent with the distance to the Orion OB1 association) is
adopted, the mass of the secondary component Ab of 14 solar masses would agree
with classifying a star of type B0.5IV. It is fainter than the primary by about
2.2 magnitudes in the visual. The primary mass is then determined to be 33
solar masses
- …