8,851 research outputs found

    Fluctuations and oscillations in a simple epidemic model

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    We show that the simplest stochastic epidemiological models with spatial correlations exhibit two types of oscillatory behaviour in the endemic phase. In a large parameter range, the oscillations are due to resonant amplification of stochastic fluctuations, a general mechanism first reported for predator-prey dynamics. In a narrow range of parameters that includes many infectious diseases which confer long lasting immunity the oscillations persist for infinite populations. This effect is apparent in simulations of the stochastic process in systems of variable size, and can be understood from the phase diagram of the deterministic pair approximation equations. The two mechanisms combined play a central role in explaining the ubiquity of oscillatory behaviour in real data and in simulation results of epidemic and other related models.Comment: acknowledgments added; a typo in the discussion that follows Eq. (3) is corrected

    Benchmark on neutron capture extracted from (d,p)(d,p) reactions

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    Direct neutron capture reactions play an important role in nuclear astrophysics and applied physics. Since for most unstable short-lived nuclei it is not possible to measure the (n,γ)(n, \gamma) cross sections, (d,p)(d,p) reactions have been used as an alternative indirect tool. We analyze simultaneously 48Ca(d,p)49Ca^{48}{\rm Ca}(d,p)^{49}{\rm Ca} at deuteron energies 2,13,192, 13, 19 and 56 MeV and the thermal (n,γ)(n,\gamma) reaction at 25 meV. We include results for the ground state and the first excited state of 49^{49}Ca. From the low-energy (d,p)(d,p) reaction, the neutron asymptotic normalization coefficient (ANC) is determined. Using this ANC, we extract the spectroscopic factor (SF) from the higher energy (d,p)(d,p) data and the (n,γ)(n, \gamma) data. The SF obtained through the 56 MeV (d,p)(d,p) data are less accurate but consistent with those from the thermal capture. We show that to have a similar dependence on the single particle parameters as in the (n,γ)(n, \gamma), the (d,p) reaction should be measured at 30 MeV.Comment: 5 pg, 4 figs, Phys. Rev. C (rapid) in pres

    Defensive repertoire of the stingless bee Melipona flavolineata Friese (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

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    Despite the fact that Meliponini bee lost their sting apparatus (stingless bees), they did not lose their ability to defend themselves. A variety of defensive strategies is described for the group, such as bitting and resin deposition. Defensive behaviours are usually mediated by chemical communication such as alarm pheromones. This study describe the defensive strategies of the stingless bee Melipona flavolineata Friese 1900 towards known pheromone sources, the head secretions of the robber bee Lestrimelitta limao and the mandibular gland extract of conspecifics M. flavolineata workers. The pheromones provoked different defensive reactions. The head secretions of the robber bee repelled returning foragers, elicited the enclosing of the nest entrance tube with batumen balls and agglomeration of workers outside of the box. In contrast, the mandibular gland extract elicited aggression towards the pheromone site, transport of resin and generalised agitated flights. The results confirm the mandibular gland as a source of alarm pheromone for this specie and also the chemical triggering of defensive response for the known cleptoparasite L. limao

    Characterization of Plum Procyanidins by Thiolytic Depolymerization

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    The phenolic compounds of ?Green Gage? (GG) plums (Prunus domestica L.), ?Rainha Cla?udia Verde?, from a ?protected designation of origin? (PDO), in Portugal, were quantified in both flesh and skin tissues of plums collected in two different orchards (GG-V and GG-C). Analyzes of phenolic compounds were also performed on another GG European plum obtained in France (GG-F) and two other French plums, ?Mirabelle? (M) and ?Golden Japan? (GJ). Thiolysis was used for the first time in the analysis of plum phenolic compounds. This methodology showed that the flesh and skin contain a large proportion of flavan-3-ols, which account, respectively, for 92 and 85% in GJ, 61 and 44% in GG-V, 62 and 48% in GG-C, 54 and 27% in M, and 45 and 37% in GG-F. Terminal units of procyanidins observed in plums are mainly (+)-catechin (54?77% of all terminal units in flesh and 57?81% in skin). The GJ plums showed a phenolic composition different from all of the others, with a lower content of chlorogenic acid isomers and the presence of A-type procyanidins as dimers and terminal residues of polymerized forms. The average degree of polymerization (DPn) of plum procyanidins was higher in the flesh (5?9 units) than in the skin (4?6 units). Procyanidin B7 was observed in the flesh of all GG plums and in the skin of the Portuguese ones. Principal component analysis of the phenolic composition of the flesh and skin of these plums obtained after thiolysis allowed their distinction according to the variety and origin, opening the possibility of the use of phenolic composition for variety/origin identification

    Efeitos de extratos pirolenhosos utilizados como tratamento de sementes sobre doenças da fase Inicial e crescimento de plântulas de Soja.

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    Phase lag in epidemics on a network of cities

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    We study the synchronisation and phase-lag of fluctuations in the number of infected individuals in a network of cities between which individuals commute. The frequency and amplitude of these oscillations is known to be very well captured by the van Kampen system-size expansion, and we use this approximation to compute the complex coherence function that describes their correlation. We find that, if the infection rate differs from city to city and the coupling between them is not too strong, these oscillations are synchronised with a well defined phase lag between cities. The analytic description of the effect is shown to be in good agreement with the results of stochastic simulations for realistic population sizes.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

    Non-symplectic symmetries and bi-Hamiltonian structures of the rational Harmonic Oscillator

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    The existence of bi-Hamiltonian structures for the rational Harmonic Oscillator (non-central harmonic oscillator with rational ratio of frequencies) is analyzed by making use of the geometric theory of symmetries. We prove that these additional structures are a consequence of the existence of dynamical symmetries of non-symplectic (non-canonical) type. The associated recursion operators are also obtained.Comment: 10 pages, submitted to J. Phys. A:Math. Ge
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