Friedel Oscillations in Relativistic Nuclear Matter

We calculate the low-momentum N-N effective potential obtained in the OBE approximation, inside a nuclear plasma at finite temperature, as described by the relativistic $\sigma$-$\omega$ model. We analyze the screening effects on the attractive part of the potential in the intermediate range as density or temperature increase. In the long range the potential shows Friedel-like oscillations instead of the usual exponential damping. These oscillations arise from the sharp edge of the Fermi surface and should be encountered in any realistic model of nuclear matter.Comment: 11 pages in preprint format, typeset using REVTEX, 3 included figures in tar, compressed, uuencoded forma

Methane hydrate formation in confined nanospace can surpass nature

Natural methane hydrates are believed to be the largest source of hydrocarbons on Earth. These structures are formed in specific locations such as deep-sea sediments and the permafrost based on demanding conditions of high pressure and low temperature. Here we report that, by taking advantage of the confinement effects on nanopore space, synthetic methane hydrates grow under mild conditions (3.5 MPa and 2 degrees C), with faster kinetics (within minutes) than nature, fully reversibly and with a nominal stoichiometry that mimics nature. The formation of the hydrate structures in nanospace and their similarity to natural hydrates is confirmed using inelastic neutron scattering experiments and synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction. These findings may be a step towards the application of a smart synthesis of methane hydrates in energy-demanding applications (for example, transportation).We acknowledge UK Science and Technlology Facilities Council for the provision of beam time on the TOSCA spectrometer (Projects RB1410624 and RB122099) and financial support from the European Commission under the 7th Framework Programme through the 'Research Infrastructures' action of the 'Capacities' Programme (NMI3-II Grant number 283883). J.S.-A. and F.R. acknowledges the financial support from MINECO: Strategic Japanese-Spanish Cooperation Program (PLE2009-0052), Concert Project-NASEMS (PCIN-2013-057) and Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEO/2009/002). F.R. and J.L.J. thank the financial support from MINECO (MAT2012-38567-C02-01, Consolider Ingenio 2010-Multicat CSD-2009-00050 and SEV-2012-0267). K.K. thanks Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (2424-1038), Japan. A.B. and A.U. thank the financial support from MINECO (SEV-2013-0319). J.L.J. and I.P. thank synchrotron ALBA for beamtime availability.Casco, M.; Silvestre Albero, J.; Ramirez-Cuesta, A.; Rey Garcia, F.; Jorda Moret, JL.; Bansode, A.; Urakawa, A.... (2015). Methane hydrate formation in confined nanospace can surpass nature. Nature Communications. 6(6432):1-8. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7432S1866432Sloan, E. D. Jr., & Koh, C. A. Clathrate Hydrates of Natural Gases 3rd edn CRC Press (2007).Gutt, C. et al. The structure of deuterated methane-hydrate. J. Chem. Phys. 113, 4713–4721 (2000).Holbrook, W. S., Hoskins, H., Wood, W. T., Stephen, R. A. & Lizarralde, D. Methane hydrate and free gas on the Blake Ridge from vertical seismic profiling. Science 273, 1840–1843 (1996).Sloan, E. D. Jr., Fundamental principles and applications of natural gas hydrates. Nature 426, 353–363 (2003).Rodríguez-Reinoso, F., Almansa, C. & Molina-Sabio, M. 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Quantifying the value of surveillance data for improving model predictions of lymphatic filariasis elimination

BACKGROUND: Mathematical models are increasingly being used to evaluate strategies aiming to achieve the control or elimination of parasitic diseases. Recently, owing to growing realization that process-oriented models are useful for ecological forecasts only if the biological processes are well defined, attention has focused on data assimilation as a means to improve the predictive performance of these models.METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We report on the development of an analytical framework to quantify the relative values of various longitudinal infection surveillance data collected in field sites undergoing mass drug administrations (MDAs) for calibrating three lymphatic filariasis (LF) models (EPIFIL, LYMFASIM, and TRANSFIL), and for improving their predictions of the required durations of drug interventions to achieve parasite elimination in endemic populations. The relative information contribution of site-specific data collected at the time points proposed by the WHO monitoring framework was evaluated using model-data updating procedures, and via calculations of the Shannon information index and weighted variances from the probability distributions of the estimated timelines to parasite extinction made by each model. Results show that data-informed models provided more precise forecasts of elimination timelines in each site compared to model-only simulations. Data streams that included year 5 post-MDA microfilariae (mf) survey data, however, reduced each model's uncertainty most compared to data streams containing only baseline and/or post-MDA 3 or longer-term mf survey data irrespective of MDA coverage, suggesting that data up to this monitoring point may be optimal for informing the present LF models. We show that the improvements observed in the predictive performance of the best data-informed models may be a function of temporal changes in inter-parameter interactions. Such best data-informed models may also produce more accurate predictions of the duratio

An updated consensus map for flowering time QTLS in maize

textabstractBackground. With the 2020 target year for elimination of lymphatic filariasis (LF) approaching, there is an urgent need to assess how long mass drug administration (MDA) programs with annual ivermectin + albendazole (IA) or diethylcarbamazine + albendazole (DA) would still have to be continued, and how elimination can be accelerated. We addressed this using mathematical modeling. Methods. We used 3 structurally different mathematical models for LF transmission (EPIFIL, LYMFASIM, TRANSFIL) to simulate trends in microfilariae (mf) prevalence for a range of endemic settings, both for the current annual MDA strategy and alternative strategies, assessing the required duration to bring mf prevalence below the critical threshold of 1%. Results. Three annual MDA rounds with IA or DA and good coverage (≥65%) are sufficient to reach the threshold in settings that are currently at mf prevalence <4%, but the required duration increases with increasing mf prevalence. Switching to biannual MDA or employing triple-drug therapy (ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine, and albendazole [IDA]) could reduce program duration by about one-third. Optimization of coverage reduces the time to elimination and is particularly important for settings with a history of poorly implemented MDA (low coverage, high systematic noncompliance). Conclusions. Modeling suggests that, in several settings, current annual MDA strategies will be insufficient to achieve the 2020 LF elimination targets, and programs could consider policy adjustment to accelerate, guided by recent monitoring and evaluation data. Biannual treatment and IDA hold promise in reducing program duration, provided that coverage is good, but their efficacy remains to be confirmed by more extensive field studies

Equine leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM) due to fumonisins B1 and B2 in Argentina

In August 2007 an outbreak of neurological disease and sudden death in Arabian horses occurred in a farm located in Coronel Rosales County, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The animals were on a pasture of native grasses and supplemented ad libitum with corn kernels and wheat bran. Three horses were observed having acute neurologic signs including blindness, four leg ataxia, hyperexcitability, aimless walking and circling, followed by death in two of them. Four other horses were found dead overnight without a history of neurologic signs. The morbidity, mortality and lethality rates were 11.6%, 10% and 85.7%, respectively. Grossly, the brain showed focal areas of hemorrhage, brown-yellow discoloration and softening of the sub-cortical white matter. The microscopic brain lesions consisted of extensive areas of malacia within the white matter of the cerebral hemispheres, brainstem and cerebellum, characterized by rarefaction of the white matter with cavitations filled with proteinaceous edema, multifocal hemorrhages and mild infiltration by neutrophils, and rare eosinophils. Swollen glial cells with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, distinct cell borders, intracytoplasmic deeply eosinophilic globules and eccentric, hyperchromatic, occasionally pyknotic nucleus were present throughout the areas of rarefaction hemorrhage, edema and necrosis. The feed supplements contained 12,490µg/kg of fumonisin B1 and 5,251µg/ kg of fumonisin B2. This is the first reported outbreak of ELEM associated with consumption of feed supplements containing high concentrations of fumonisins in Argentina