1,551 research outputs found
Mangrove dieback and leaf disease in Sonneratia apetala and Sonneratia caseolaris in Vietnam
Even though survival rates for mangrove restoration in Vietnam have often been low, there is no information on fungal pathogens associated with mangrove decline in Vietnam. Therefore, this research was undertaken to assess the overall health of mangrove afforestation in Thanh Hoa Province and fungal pathogens associated with tree decline. From a survey of 4800 Sonneratia trees, the incidence of disorders was in the order of pink leaf spot > shoot dieback > black leaf spot for S. caseolaris and black leaf spot > shoot dieback > pink leaf spot for S. apetala. Approximately 12% of S. caseolaris trees had both pink leaf spot and shoot dieback, while only 2% of S. apetala trees had black leaf spot and shoot dieback. Stem and leaf samples were taken from symptomatic trees and fungi were cultured in vitro. From ITS4 and ITS5 analysis, four main fungal genera causing leaf spots and shoot dieback on the two Sonneratia species were identified. The most frequently isolated fungal taxa were Curvularia aff. tsudae (from black leaf spot),Neopestalotiopsis sp.1 (from stem dieback), Pestalotiopsis sp.1 (from pink leaf spot), and Pestalotiopsis sp.4a (from black leaf spot). The pathogenicity of the four isolates was assessed by under-bark inoculation of S. apetala and S. caseolaris seedlings in a nursery in Thai Binh Province. All isolates caused stem lesions, and Neopestalotiopsis sp.1 was the most pathogenic. Thus, investigation of fungal pathogens and their impact on mangrove health should be extended to other afforestation projects in the region, and options for disease management need to be developed for mangrove nurseries
Ovariectomy as treatment for ovarian bacterial granulomas in a Duvaucel's gecko (Hoplodactylus duvaucelii)
CASE HISTORY: An adult female Duvaucel's gecko (Hoplodactylus duvaucelii) from a threatened species breeding programme presented due to a prolonged gestation period and distended abdomen.
CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL FINDINGS: The gecko was in lean body condition with an irregularly shaped, firm mass in the coelomic cavity. Radiographically there was a diffuse radio-opacity within the coelomic cavity with cranial displacement of the right lung field. Ultrasonography revealed a round homogenous abdominal mass of medium echogenicity with an echogenic capsule. Haematology showed a leucocytosis with a moderate left shift in heterophils and toxic changes. Bilateral ovariectomy was performed to remove two ovarian granulomas and Salmonella enterica subspecies houtenae (IV) was cultured from the ovarian tissue. The gecko recovered well from the surgery, regained weight and remained in good health 3 years following the surgery.
DIAGNOSIS: Pre-ovulatory stasis and ovarian granulomas associated with infection with Salmonella enterica subsp. houtenae.
CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The surgery described in this case resulted in recovery of the gecko, which despite its loss of reproductive capability is of value as an education animal. This is the first report of pre-ovulatory stasis and ovarian granulomas associated with infection with Salmonella enterica in a Duvaucel's gecko and is also the first reported case of pre-ovulatory stasis in a viviparous lizard species. The case adds to knowledge regarding potential reproductive pathology in lizards, which is particularly important information for managers of captive lizard breeding programmes
Multicultural Engagements in Lived Spaces: How Cultural Communities Intersect in Belleville, Paris
The need to contend with greater diversity in cities raises the question of the level and timbre of group interactions. This study examines how diversity at a small scale operates and the conditions under which it may lead to true engagement, parallel lives, detachment, or hostility. The site is the multicultural Parisian neighborhood of Belleville, with a focus on the behaviors and attitudes of merchants who work there. Data gathering comprised observation and examination of neighborhood dynamics, the distribution of various businesses, and the nature of customer and everyday traffic as well as 34 structured interviews. Our findings show the significant Chinese population and businesses separated from the rest of the district and the other businesses. This separation is reinforced with a large degree of mutual distrust. However, relations between Arabs and Jews, tense at larger scales, are harmonious though increasingly tinged by outside worries. Multicultural relations observed on the ground differ from those apparent at larger scales, reaffirming the importance of place and local circumstances
Gluon self-energy in a two-flavor color superconductor
The energy and momentum dependence of the gluon self-energy is investigated
in a color superconductor with two flavors of massless quarks. The presence of
a color-superconducting quark-quark condensate modifies the gluon self-energy
for energies which are of the order of the gap parameter. For gluon energies
much larger than the gap, the self-energy assumes the form given by the
standard hard-dense loop approximation. It is shown that this modification of
the gluon self-energy does not affect the magnitude of the gap to leading and
subleading order in the weak-coupling limit.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, RevTeX, aps and epsfig style files require
Large Deviations for Random Trees
We consider large random trees under Gibbs distributions and prove a Large
Deviation Principle (LDP) for the distribution of degrees of vertices of the
tree. The LDP rate function is given explicitly. An immediate consequence is a
Law of Large Numbers for the distribution of vertex degrees in a large random
tree. Our motivation for this study comes from the analysis of RNA secondary
structures.Comment: 10 page
Kondo effect in crossed Luttinger liquids
We study the Kondo effect in two crossed Luttinger liquids, using Boundary
Conformal Field Theory. We predict two types of critical behaviors: either a
two-channel Kondo fixed point with a nonuniversal Wilson ratio, or a new theory
with an anomalous response identical to that found by Furusaki and Nagaosa (for
the Kondo effect in a single Luttinger liquid). Moreover, we discuss the
relevance of perturbations like channel anisotropy, and we make links with the
Kondo effect in a two-band Hubbard system modeled by a channel-dependent
Luttinger Hamiltonian. The suppression of backscattering off the impurity
produces a model similar to the four-channel Kondo theory.Comment: 7 pages, RevteX, to be published in Physical Review
Freezing transitions and the density of states of 2D random Dirac Hamiltonians
Using an exact mapping to disordered Coulomb gases, we introduce a novel
method to study two dimensional Dirac fermions with quenched disorder in two
dimensions which allows to treat non perturbative freezing phenomena. For
purely random gauge disorder it is known that the exact zero energy eigenstate
exhibits a freezing-like transition at a threshold value of disorder
. Here we compute the dynamical exponent which
characterizes the critical behaviour of the density of states around zero
energy, and find that it also exhibits a phase transition. Specifically, we
find that (and ) with for and
for . For a finite system size we find large
sample to sample fluctuations with a typical .
Adding a scalar random potential of small variance , as in the
corresponding quantum Hall system, yields a finite noncritical whose scaling exponent exhibits two transitions, one
at and the other at . These transitions are shown
to be related to the one of a directed polymer on a Cayley tree with random
signs (or complex) Boltzmann weights. Some observations are made for the strong
disorder regime relevant to describe transport in the quantum Hall system
Kondo effect in a Luttinger liquid: nonuniversality of the Wilson ratio
Using a precise coset Ising-Bose representation, we show how backscattering
of electrons off a magnetic impurity destabilizes the two-channel Kondo fixed
point and drives the system to a new fixed point, in agreement with previous
results. In addition, we verify the scaling proposed by Furusaki and Nagaosa
and prove that the other possible critical fixed point, namely the local Fermi
liquid class, is not completely universal when backscattering is included
because the Wilson ratio is not well-defined in the spinon basis.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX; to appear in Physical Review
Multi-timescale Solar Cycles and the Possible Implications
Based on analysis of the annual averaged relative sunspot number (ASN) during
1700 -- 2009, 3 kinds of solar cycles are confirmed: the well-known 11-yr cycle
(Schwabe cycle), 103-yr secular cycle (numbered as G1, G2, G3, and G4,
respectively since 1700); and 51.5-yr Cycle. From similarities, an
extrapolation of forthcoming solar cycles is made, and found that the solar
cycle 24 will be a relative long and weak Schwabe cycle, which may reach to its
apex around 2012-2014 in the vale between G3 and G4. Additionally, most Schwabe
cycles are asymmetric with rapidly rising-phases and slowly decay-phases. The
comparisons between ASN and the annual flare numbers with different GOES
classes (C-class, M-class, X-class, and super-flare, here super-flare is
defined as X10.0) and the annal averaged radio flux at frequency of 2.84
GHz indicate that solar flares have a tendency: the more powerful of the flare,
the later it takes place after the onset of the Schwabe cycle, and most
powerful flares take place in the decay phase of Schwabe cycle. Some
discussions on the origin of solar cycles are presented.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
- …