3,617 research outputs found
Self-pulsing dynamics of ultrasound in a magnetoacoustic resonator
A theoretical model of parametric magnetostrictive generator of ultrasound is
considered, taking into account magnetic and magnetoacoustic nonlinearities.
The stability and temporal dynamics of the system is analized with standard
techniques revealing that, for a given set of parameters, the model presents a
homoclinic or saddle--loop bifurcation, which predicts that the ultrasound is
emitted in the form of pulses or spikes with arbitrarily low frequency.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Self-organization of ultrasound in viscous fluids
We report the theoretical and experimental demonstration of pattern formation
in acoustics. The system is an acoustic resonator containing a viscous fluid.
When the system is driven by an external periodic force, the ultrasonic field
inside the cavity experiences different pattern-forming instabilities leading
to the emergence of periodic structures. The system is also shown to possess
bistable regimes, in which localized states of the ultrasonic field develop.
The thermal nonlinearity in the viscous fluid, together with the
far-from-equilibrium conditions, are is the responsible of the observed
effects
Simple networks on complex cellular automata: From de Bruijn diagrams to jump-graphs
We overview networks which characterise dynamics in cellular automata. These
networks are derived from one-dimensional cellular automaton rules and global
states of the automaton evolution: de Bruijn diagrams, subsystem diagrams,
basins of attraction, and jump-graphs. These networks are used to understand
properties of spatially-extended dynamical systems: emergence of non-trivial
patterns, self-organisation, reversibility and chaos. Particular attention is
paid to networks determined by travelling self-localisations, or gliders.Comment: 25 pages, 14 figure
The Sound Emission Board of the KM3NeT Acoustic Positioning System
We describe the sound emission board proposed for installation in the
acoustic positioning system of the future KM3NeT underwater neutrino telescope.
The KM3NeT European consortium aims to build a multi-cubic kilometre underwater
neutrino telescope in the deep Mediterranean Sea. In this kind of telescope the
mechanical structures holding the optical sensors, which detect the Cherenkov
radiation produced by muons emanating from neutrino interactions, are not
completely rigid and can move up to dozens of meters in undersea currents.
Knowledge of the position of the optical sensors to an accuracy of about 10 cm
is needed for adequate muon track reconstruction. A positioning system based on
the acoustic triangulation of sound transit time differences between fixed
seabed emitters and receiving hydrophones attached to the kilometre-scale
vertical flexible structures carrying the optical sensors is being developed.
In this paper, we describe the sound emission board developed in the framework
of KM3NeT project, which is totally adapted to the chosen FFR SX30 ultrasonic
transducer and fulfils the requirements imposed by the collaboration in terms
of cost, high reliability, low power consumption, high acoustic emission power
for short signals, low intrinsic noise and capacity to use arbitrary signals in
emission mode.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Muscle contraction velocity, strength and power output changes following different degrees of hypohydration in competitive olympic combat sports
Evidence for Thermal Equilibration in Multifragmentation Reactions probed with Bremsstrahlung Photons
The production of nuclear bremsstrahlung photons (E 30 MeV) has
been studied in inclusive and exclusive measurements in four heavy-ion
reactions at 60{\it A} MeV. The measured photon spectra, angular distributions
and multiplicities indicate that a significant part of the hard-photons are
emitted in secondary nucleon-nucleon collisions from a thermally equilibrated
system. The observation of the thermal component in multi-fragment
Ar+Au reactions suggests that the breakup of the thermalized
source produced in this system occurs on a rather long time-scale.Comment: Revised version, accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters.
4 pages, 4 fig
Virulence in Mice of a Toxoplasma gondii Type II Isolate Does Not Correlate With the Outcome of Experimental Infection in Pregnant Sheep
Toxoplasma gondii is an apicomplexan parasite that infects almost all warm-blooded animals. Little is known about how the parasite virulence in mice extrapolates to other relevant hosts. In the current study, in vitro phenotype and in vivo behavior in mice and sheep of a type II T. gondii isolate (TgShSp1) were compared with the reference type II T. gondii isolate (TgME49). The results of in vitro assays and the intraperitoneal inoculation of tachyzoites in mice indicated an enhanced virulence for the laboratory isolate, TgME49, compared to the recently obtained TgShSp1 isolate. TgShSp1 proliferated at a slower rate and had delayed lysis plaque formation compared to TgME49, but it formed more cyst-like structures in vitro. No mortality was observed in adult mice after infection with 1-105 tachyzoites intraperitoneally or with 25-2, 000 oocysts orally of TgShSp1. In sheep orally challenged with oocysts, TgME49 infection resulted in sporadically higher rectal temperatures and higher parasite load in cotyledons from ewes that gave birth and brain tissues of the respective lambs, but no differences between these two isolates were found on fetal/lamb mortality or lesions and number of T. gondii-positive lambs. The congenital infection after challenge at mid-pregnancy with TgShSp1, measured as offspring mortality and vertical transmission, was different depending on the challenged host. In mice, mortality in 50% of the pups was observed when a dam was challenged with a high oocyst dose (500 TgShSp1 oocysts), whereas in sheep infected with the same dose of oocysts, mortality occurred in all fetuses. Likewise, mortality of 9 and 27% of the pups was observed in mice after infection with 100 and 25 TgShSp1 oocysts, respectively, while in sheep, infection with 50 and 10 TgShSp1 oocysts triggered mortality in 68 and 66% of the fetuses/lambs. Differences in vertical transmission in the surviving offspring were only found with the lower oocyst doses (100% after infection with 10 TgShSp1 oocysts in sheep and only 37% in mice after infection with 25 TgShSp1 oocysts). In conclusion, virulence in mice of T. gondii type II isolates may not be a good indicator to predict the outcome of infection in pregnant sheep
Prospective multicenter study of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae from 83 hospitals in Spain reveals high in vitro susceptibility to colistin and meropenem
The aim of this study was to determine the impact of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in Spain in 2013 by describing the prevalence, dissemination, and geographic distribution of CPE clones, and their population structure and antibi- otic susceptibility. From February 2013 to May 2013, 83 hospitals (about 40,000 hospital beds) prospectively collected nondupli- cate Enterobacteriaceae using the screening cutoff recommended by EUCAST. Carbapenemase characterization was performed by phenotypic methods and confirmed by PCR and sequencing. Multilocus sequencing types (MLST) were determined for Kleb- siella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli. A total of 702 Enterobacteriaceae isolates met the inclusion criteria; 379 (54%) were CPE. OXA-48 (71.5%) and VIM-1 (25.3%) were the most frequent carbapenemases, and K. pneumoniae (74.4%), Enterobacter cloacae (10.3%), and E. coli (8.4%) were the species most affected. Susceptibility to colistin, amikacin, and meropenem was 95.5%, 81.3%, and 74.7%, respectively. The most prevalent sequence types (STs) were ST11 and ST405 for K. pneumoniae and ST131 for E. coli. Forty-five (54.1%) of the hospitals had at least one CPE case. For K. pneumoniae, ST11/OXA-48, ST15/OXA-48, ST405/ OXA-48, and ST11/VIM-1 were detected in two or more Spanish provinces. ST11 isolates carried four carbapenemases (VIM-1, OXA-48, KPC-2, and OXA-245), but ST405 isolates carried OXA-48 only. A wide interregional spread of CPE in Spain was ob- served, mainly due to a few successful clones of OXA-48-producing K. pneumoniae (e.g., ST11 and ST405). The dissemination of OXA-48-producing E. coli is a new finding of public health concern. According to the susceptibilities determined in vitro, most of the CPE (94.5%) had three or more options for antibiotic treatment
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