559 research outputs found
Up-dating the Cholodny method using PET films to sample microbial communities in soil
The aim of this work was to investigate the use of PET (polyethylene terephtalate) films as a modern development of Cholodny’s glass slides, to enable microscopy and molecular-based analysis of soil communities where spatial detail at the scale of microbial habitats is essential to understand microbial associations and interactions in this complex environment. Methods. Classical microbiological methods; attachment assay; surface tension measurements; molecular techniques: DNA extraction, PCR; confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM); micro- focus X-ray computed tomography (μCT). Results. We first show, using the model soil and rhizosphere bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25 and P. putida KT2440, that bacteria are able to attach and detach from PET films, and that pre-conditioning with a filtered soil suspension improved the levels of attachment. Bacteria attached to the films were viable and could develop substantial biofilms. PET films buried in soil were rapidly colonised by microorganisms which could be investigated by CLSM and recovered onto agar plates. Secondly, we demonstrate that μCT can be used to non-destructively visualise soil aggregate contact points and pore spaces across the surface of PET films buried in soil. Conclusions. PET films are a successful development of Cholodny’s glass slides and can be used to sample soil communities in which bacterial adherence, growth, biofilm and community development can be investigated. The use of these films with μCT imaging in soil will enable a better understanding of soil micro-habitats and the spatially-explicit nature of microbial interactions in this complex environment
Automatic symbolic modelling of co-evolutionarily learned robot skills
Proceeding of: 6th International Work-Conference on Artificial and Natural Neural Networks, IWANN 2001 Granada, Spain, June 13–15, 2001Evolutionary based learning systems have proven to be very powerful techniques for solving a wide range of tasks, from prediction to optimization. However, in some cases the learned concepts are unreadable for humans. This prevents a deep semantic analysis of what has been really learned by those systems. We present in this paper an alternative to obtain symbolic models from subsymbolic learning. In the first stage, a subsymbolic learning system is applied to a given task. Then, a symbolic classifier is used for automatically generating the symbolic counterpart of the subsymbolic model. We have tested this approach to obtain a symbolic model of a neural network. The neural network defines a simple controller af an autonomous robot. a competitive coevolutive method has been applied in order to learn the right weights of the neural network. The results show that the obtained symbolic model is very accurate in the task of modelling the subsymbolic system, adding to this its readability characteristic
Analytical model of brittle destruction based on hypothesis of scale similarity
The size distribution of dust particles in nuclear fusion devices is close to
the power function. A function of this kind can be the result of brittle
destruction. From the similarity assumption it follows that the size
distribution obeys the power law with the exponent between -4 and -1. The model
of destruction has much in common with the fractal theory. The power exponent
can be expressed in terms of the fractal dimension. Reasonable assumptions on
the shape of fragments concretize the power exponent, and vice versa possible
destruction laws can be inferred on the basis of measured size distributions.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Ice XII in its second regime of metastability
We present neutron powder diffraction results which give unambiguous evidence
for the formation of the recently identified new crystalline ice phase[Lobban
et al.,Nature, 391, 268, (1998)], labeled ice XII, at completely different
conditions. Ice XII is produced here by compressing hexagonal ice I_h at T =
77, 100, 140 and 160 K up to 1.8 GPa. It can be maintained at ambient pressure
in the temperature range 1.5 < T < 135 K. High resolution diffraction is
carried out at T = 1.5 K and ambient pressure on ice XII and accurate
structural properties are obtained from Rietveld refinement. At T = 140 and 160
K additionally ice III/IX is formed. The increasing amount of ice III/IX with
increasing temperature gives an upper limit of T ~ 150 K for the successful
formation of ice XII with the presented procedure.Comment: 3 Pages of RevTeX, 3 tables, 3 figures (submitted to Physical Review
Letters
Closed-loop separation control over a sharp edge ramp using Genetic Programming
We experimentally perform open and closed-loop control of a separating
turbulent boundary layer downstream from a sharp edge ramp. The turbulent
boundary layer just above the separation point has a Reynolds number
based on momentum thickness. The goal of the
control is to mitigate separation and early re-attachment. The forcing employs
a spanwise array of active vortex generators. The flow state is monitored with
skin-friction sensors downstream of the actuators. The feedback control law is
obtained using model-free genetic programming control (GPC) (Gautier et al.
2015). The resulting flow is assessed using the momentum coefficient, pressure
distribution and skin friction over the ramp and stereo PIV. The PIV yields
vector field statistics, e.g. shear layer growth, the backflow area and vortex
region. GPC is benchmarked against the best periodic forcing. While open-loop
control achieves separation reduction by locking-on the shedding mode, GPC
gives rise to similar benefits by accelerating the shear layer growth.
Moreover, GPC uses less actuation energy.Comment: 24 pages, 24 figures, submitted to Experiments in Fluid
Reaction Front in an A+B -> C Reaction-Subdiffusion Process
We study the reaction front for the process A+B -> C in which the reagents
move subdiffusively. Our theoretical description is based on a fractional
reaction-subdiffusion equation in which both the motion and the reaction terms
are affected by the subdiffusive character of the process. We design numerical
simulations to check our theoretical results, describing the simulations in
some detail because the rules necessarily differ in important respects from
those used in diffusive processes. Comparisons between theory and simulations
are on the whole favorable, with the most difficult quantities to capture being
those that involve very small numbers of particles. In particular, we analyze
the total number of product particles, the width of the depletion zone, the
production profile of product and its width, as well as the reactant
concentrations at the center of the reaction zone, all as a function of time.
We also analyze the shape of the product profile as a function of time, in
particular its unusual behavior at the center of the reaction zone
Mapping the Magnetic Field of Flare Coronal Loops
Here we report on the unique observation of flaring coronal loops at the
solar limb using high resolution imaging spectropolarimetry from the Swedish
1-meter Solar Telescope. The vantage position, orientation and nature of the
chromospheric material that filled the flare loops allowed us to determine
their magnetic field with unprecedented accuracy using the weak-field
approximation method. Our analysis reveals coronal magnetic field strengths as
high as 350 Gauss at heights up to 25 Mm above the solar limb. These
measurements are substantially higher than a number of previous estimates and
may have considerable implications for our current understanding of the
extended solar atmosphere.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, accepted in Ap
- …