9,084 research outputs found
RNAseq of Deformed wing virus and other honey bee-associated viruses in eight insect taxa with or without Varroa infestation
The global spread of a parasitic mite (Varroa destructor) has resulted in Deformed wing virus (DWV), a previously rare pathogen, now dominating the viromes in honey bees and contributing to large-scale honey bee colony losses. DWV can be found in diverse insect taxa and has been implicated in spilling over from honey bees into associated (“apiary”) and other (“non-apiary”) insects. Here we generated next generation sequence data from 127 insect samples belonging to diverse taxa collected from Hawaiian islands with and without Varroa to identify whether the mite has indirectly affected the viral landscapes of key insect taxa across bees, wasps, flies and ants. Our data showed that, while Varroa was associated with a dramatic increase in abundance of (predominantly recombinant) DWV in honey bees (and no other honey bee-associated RNA virus), this change was not seen in any other taxa sampled. Honey bees share their environment with other insect populations and exist as a homogenous group, frequently sharing common viruses, albeit at low levels. Our data suggest that the threat of Varroa to increase viral load in an apiary does not automatically translate to an increase in virus load in other insects living in the wider community
Experiments on a telluride ore and design of plant for treating same
The ore used in these experiments was a double telluride of gold and silver coming from L Plata, Colorado --page 1
A scalable parallel finite element framework for growing geometries. Application to metal additive manufacturing
This work introduces an innovative parallel, fully-distributed finite element
framework for growing geometries and its application to metal additive
manufacturing. It is well-known that virtual part design and qualification in
additive manufacturing requires highly-accurate multiscale and multiphysics
analyses. Only high performance computing tools are able to handle such
complexity in time frames compatible with time-to-market. However, efficiency,
without loss of accuracy, has rarely held the centre stage in the numerical
community. Here, in contrast, the framework is designed to adequately exploit
the resources of high-end distributed-memory machines. It is grounded on three
building blocks: (1) Hierarchical adaptive mesh refinement with octree-based
meshes; (2) a parallel strategy to model the growth of the geometry; (3)
state-of-the-art parallel iterative linear solvers. Computational experiments
consider the heat transfer analysis at the part scale of the printing process
by powder-bed technologies. After verification against a 3D benchmark, a
strong-scaling analysis assesses performance and identifies major sources of
parallel overhead. A third numerical example examines the efficiency and
robustness of (2) in a curved 3D shape. Unprecedented parallelism and
scalability were achieved in this work. Hence, this framework contributes to
take on higher complexity and/or accuracy, not only of part-scale simulations
of metal or polymer additive manufacturing, but also in welding, sedimentation,
atherosclerosis, or any other physical problem where the physical domain of
interest grows in time
Going beyond two degrees? The risks and opportunities of alternative options
Since the mid-1990s, the aim of keeping climate change within 2 °C has become firmly entrenched in policy discourses. In the past few years, the likelihood of achieving it has been increasingly called into question. The debate around what to do with a target that seems less and less achievable is, however, only just beginning. As the UN commences a two-year review of the 2 °C target, this article moves beyond the somewhat binary debates about whether or not it should or will be met, in order to analyse more fully some of the alternative options that have been identified but not fully explored in the existing literature. For the first time, uncertainties, risks, and opportunities associated with four such options are identified and synthesized from the literature. The analysis finds that the significant risks and uncertainties associated with some options may encourage decision makers to recommit to the 2 °C target as the least unattractive course of action
Possible Experimental Test of Continuous Medium Model for Fractal Media
We use the fractional integrals to describe fractal media. We consider the
fractal media as special ("fractional") continuous media. We discuss the
possible experimental testing of the continuous medium model for fractal media
that is suggested in Phys. Lett. A. 336 (2005) 167-174. This test is connected
with measure of period of the Maxwell pendulum with fractal medium cylinder.Comment: 9 page
Low transverse emittance electron bunches from two-color laser-ionization injection
A method is proposed to generate low emittance electron bunches from two
color laser pulses in a laser-plasma accelerator. A two-region gas structure is
used, containing a short region of a high-Z gas (e.g., krypton) for ionization
injection, followed by a longer region of a low-Z gas for post-acceleration. A
long-laser-wavelength (e.g., 5 micron) pump pulse excites plasma wake without
triggering the inner-shell electron ionization of the high-Z gas due to low
electric fields. A short-laser-wavelength (e.g., 0.4 micron) injection pulse,
located at a trapping phase of the wake, ionizes the inner-shell electrons of
the high-Z gas, resulting in ionization-induced trapping. Compared with a
single-pulse ionization injection, this scheme offers an order of magnitude
smaller residual transverse momentum of the electron bunch, which is a result
of the smaller vector potential amplitude of the injection pulse
Acute unilateral hearing loss as an unusual presentation of cholesteatoma
BACKGROUND: Cholesteatomas are epithelial cysts that contain desquamated keratin. Patients commonly present with progressive hearing loss and a chronically discharging ear. We report an unusual presentation of the disease with an acute hearing loss suffered immediately after prolonged use of a pneumatic drill. CASE PRESENTATION: A 41 year old man with no previous history of ear problems presented with a sudden loss of hearing in his right ear immediately following the prolonged use of a pneumatic drill on concrete. The cause was found to be a fractured long process of incus which had been eroded by the presence of an attic cholesteatoma. A tympanomastoidectomy and ossiculoplasty was performed with good result. CONCLUSION: Cholesteatomas may be asymptomatic and insidious in their onset. This case illustrates the point that an indolent disease such as this may present in unusual ways and the clinician must always have a high index of suspicion combined with thorough assessment and examination of every patient
Simulation numérique d'un essai de soudage en rainure circulaire
Cet article présente la simulation numérique d'un essai de soudage en rainure circulaire effectué sur une maquette instrumentée. Ce test est utilisé par AREVA pour la caractérisation de la fissuration à chaud des matériaux d'apport lors d'un soudage par procédé TIG. Les calculs 2D élastoplastiques ont été validés grâce aux relevés de températures et de retraits de soudage. Les contraintes et déformations en tout point de la structure, à tout moment de l'opération de remplissage de la rainure, sont ainsi accessibles par la simulation
Study of the origin and correction of compass measurement errors in Doppler current meters
Surface and subsurface currents are two of the Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) defined by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS). In situ current measurements can be made by Eulerian methods with instruments on moorings fixed in space. These methods require the determination of two metrological quantities: the speed and the direction of the motion. Their measurement and calibration require the determination of reference velocities and the measure of the angular movement of seawater in relation to the measuring device, as well as of the measuring device in relation to a reference direction given by the magnetic North. This reference direction is determined by electronic compasses integrated into current meters and current profilers. Compasses are sensitive to their magnetic environment, and, therefore, to the objects and instruments that surround them. This publication describes experiments conducted with current meters and current profilers to measure the influence of different devices on the accuracy of their compass measurements. It gives some explanations about the origin of measurement errors and proposes solutions to correct or attenuate the defaults in direction measurements and the measured deviations. Correction formulas are given that can be applied to measured data. They allow the reduction of errors of several tens of degrees for data to be within the instrument’s specifications
AUX: A scripting language for auditory signal processing and software packages for psychoacoustic experiments and education
This article introduces AUX (AUditory syntaX), a scripting syntax specifically designed to describe auditory signals and processing, to the members of the behavioral research community. The syntax is based on descriptive function names and intuitive operators suitable for researchers and students without substantial training in programming, who wish to generate and examine sound signals using a written script. In this article, the essence of AUX is discussed and practical examples of AUX scripts specifying various signals are illustrated. Additionally, two accompanying Windows-based programs and development libraries are described. AUX Viewer is a program that generates, visualizes, and plays sounds specified in AUX. AUX Viewer can also be used for class demonstrations or presentations. Another program, Psycon, allows a wide range of sound signals to be used as stimuli in common psychophysical testing paradigms, such as the adaptive procedure, the method of constant stimuli, and the method of adjustment. AUX Library is also provided, so that researchers can develop their own programs utilizing AUX. The philosophical basis of AUX is to separate signal generation from the user interface needed for experiments. AUX scripts are portable and reusable; they can be shared by other researchers, regardless of differences in actual AUX-based programs, and reused for future experiments. In short, the use of AUX can be potentially beneficial to all members of the research community—both those with programming backgrounds and those without
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