Wake dynamics of external flow past a curved circular cylinder with the free stream aligned with the plane of curvature

Accepted versio

Automatic generation of 3D unstructured high-order curvilinear meshes

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.The generation of suitable, good quality high-order meshes is a significant obstacle in the academic and industrial uptake of high-order CFD methods. These methods have a number of favourable characteristics such as low dispersion and dissipation and higher levels of numerical accuracy than their low-order counterparts, however the methods are highly susceptible to inaccuracies caused by low quality meshes. These meshes require significant curvature to accuratly describe the geometric surfaces, which presents a number of difficult challenges in their generation. As yet, research into the field has produced a number of interesting technologies that go some way towards achieving this goal, but are yet to provide a complete system that can systematically produce curved high-order meshes for arbitrary geometries for CFD analysis. This paper presents our efforts in that direction and introduces an open-source high-order mesh generator, NekMesh, which has been created to bring high-order meshing technologies into one coherent pipeline which aims to produce 3D high-order curvilinear meshes from CAD geometries in a robust and systematic way

Strain-driven elastic and orbital-ordering effects on thickness-dependent properties of manganite thin films

We report on the structural and magnetic characterization of (110) and (001) La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 (LCMO) epitaxial thin films simultaneously grown on (110) and (001)SrTiO3 substrates, with thicknesses t varying between 8 nm and 150 nm. It is found that while the in-plane interplanar distances of the (001) films are strongly clamped to those of the substrate and the films remain strained up to well above t=100 nm, the (110) films relax much earlier. Accurate determination of the in-plane and out-of-plane interplanar distances has allowed concluding that in all cases the unit cell volume of the manganite reduces gradually when increasing thickness, approaching the bulk value. It is observed that the magnetic properties (Curie temperature and saturation magnetization) of the (110) films are significantly improved compared to those of (001) films. These observations, combined with 55Mn-nuclear magnetic resonance data and X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, signal that the depression of the magnetic properties of the more strained (001)LCMO films is not caused by an elastic deformation of the perovskite lattice but rather due to the electronic and chemical phase separation caused by the substrate-induced strain. On the contrary, the thickness dependence of the magnetic properties of the less strained (110)LCMO films are simply described by the elastic deformation of the manganite lattice. We will argue that the different behavior of (001) and (110)LCMO films is a consequence of the dissimilar electronic structure of these interfaces.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figure

Role of the 5' untranslated region of the Alfalfa mosaic virus RNA 3 in cell-to-cell and long distance transport.

Após o início da infecção de uma única célula, vírus de planta necessita para invadir as células adjacentes, uma processo de transporte de célula-a-célula denominados, como um passo anterior para invadir as partes distais do hospedeiro através do sistema vascular ou do transporte sistémico. A capacidade para atingir as partes não inoculadas de um planta implica que o vírus deve infectar específico células localizadas no tecido vascular. Na maioria dos casos, partículas do vírus são necessários para este trans- vascular port. No presente estudo, tratamos o caracterização de determinantes virais críticos para o transporte de longa distância usando o Alfalfa vírus do mosaico (AMV) sistema de modelo, o que exige partícula do vírus para o transporte sistêmicaEdição dos Resumos do 12º Congreso Nacional de Virología, Burgos, Espanha, jun. 2013

Correlation between objective and subjective assessment of noise barriers

There are several international standards that define the way to evaluate the attenuation capacity of noise reducing devices, by single-number quantities representing airborne sound insulation and insertion loss. These two single-value ratings define the quality and performance of acoustic barriers, the former being related to intrinsic and the latter to both intrinsic and extrinsic acoustic characteristics of the devices. However, not many studies can be found on whether these objective parameters correlate to the perception of annoyance reduction. The aim of the present work is to analyze the adequacy of these objective ratings to indicate the performance of noise barriers, by comparing their values with the perception of annoyance reduction. For this purpose, ninety individuals of two different nationalities (Spanish and Portuguese) were asked to rate the perceived annoyance reduction in a listening experimental test, in which they were exposed, under controlled conditions, to several environmental noises and acoustic screened stimuli simulated by audio filters. The obtained results show a high correlation between objective ratings and subjective annoyance perception, with a better correlation being observed for insertion loss single-number parameter than for the airborne sound insulation single-number rating. Furthermore, significant differences were found depending on the gender and nationality of the respondents. The results, from this ongoing research work, may be of great interest for future acoustic barriers design

Identification of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism in the Progesterone Receptor Gene and Its Association With Reproductive Traits in Rabbits

[EN] A total of 598 F-2 does from a cross between the high and low lines selected divergently for uterine capacity during 10 generations were used in a candidate gene analysis. The presence of major genes affecting the number of implanted embryos and uterine capacity has been suggested in lines divergently selected for Uterine capacity. Uterine capacity is it main component of litter size. The progesterone receptor gene was tested as a candidate gene to determine whether polymorphisms explain differences in litter size and its components. Fragments of the promoter region and exons 1-8 were amplified and sequenced. One SNP was found in the promoter region, 2464G > A, three SNPs in the 5'-UTR exon 1, and a silence SNP in exon 7. The first four SNPs were segregated in two haplotypes. The allele G found in the promoter region was found in 75% of the high-line parental animals and in 29% of the low-line parental animals. The GG genotype had 0.5 kits and 0.5 implanted embryos more than the AA genotype. At 48 hr of gestation, the difference in early embryo survival and embryonic stage of development. was small. However, at 72 hr of gestation, the GG genotype had 0.36 embryos more than the AA genotype and also had a more advanced embryonic stage of development, showing a lower percentage of compacted morulae and a higher percentage of blastocysts. The difference in litter size between the GG and CA genotypes was similar to the difference found between homozygote genotypes; however, differences in implanted embryos, early embryo survival, and embryo development were not detected between the GG and GA genotypes.The authors are grateful for the excellent assistance provided by R. Muelas and to W. Mekkawi for his software. This study was funded by projects by the Comision Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologia AGL2001-3068 and AGL2005-07624. M. Merchan acknowledges a Formacion de Personal Investigador (FPI) grant from the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia (MCYT) and R. Peiro an FPI grant from Oficinade Ciencia y Tecnologia de la Generalitat Valenciana (OCYT).Peiró Barber, RM.; Merchán, M.; Santacreu, M.; Argente, MJ.; García, ML.; Folch, JM.; Blasco Mateu, A. (2008). Identification of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism in the Progesterone Receptor Gene and Its Association With Reproductive Traits in Rabbits. Genetics. 180(3):1699-1705. https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.108.09077916991705180

Optimisation of doped microcrystalline silicon films deposited at very low temperatures by Hot-Wire CVD

In this paper we present new results on doped μc-Si:H thin films deposited by hot-wire chemical vapour deposition (HWCVD) in the very low temperature range (125-275°C). The doped layers were obtained by the addition of diborane or phosphine in the gas phase during deposition. The incorporation of boron and phosphorus in the films and their influence on the crystalline fraction are studied by secondary ion mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy, respectively. Good electrical transport properties were obtained in this deposition regime, with best dark conductivities of 2.6 and 9.8 S cm -1 for the p- and n-doped films, respectively. The effect of the hydrogen dilution and the layer thickness on the electrical properties are also studied. Some technological conclusions referred to cross contamination could be deduced from the nominally undoped samples obtained in the same chamber after p- and n-type heavily doped layers

Changes in the human peritoneal mesothelial cells during aging

The number of older patients admitted to peritoneal dialysis (PD) programmes is growing. At the same time, there is increasing data about the role of mesothelial cells in determining the functional alteration of the peritoneum during PD. However, little is known about the functional changes accompanying the ageing process in mesothelial cells. We aimed to evaluate whether the aging process is accompanied by changes in some functional characteristic of the human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMC), which could account for the poor prognosis observed in old patients with PD. HPMCs were isolated from patients undergoing a nonurgent, nonseptic abdominal surgical procedure, without renal, vascular or inflammatory disease. Cytokine levels (by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)), nitrates+nitrites, and cyclooxygenase (COX) activity (by a chemiluminescence assay), cytokines, COX, nitric oxide synthase (NOS), and nuclear factor (NF)-κB1, two messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) gene expressions (by reverse transcriptase (RT)-Multiplex PCR), COX, and NOS promoter gene activities, and NF-κB-dependent transcription (by transient transfection assays) were determined. Our data show a significant increase in cytokines, COX, and NOS activities, and mRNA expression of cytokines, COX-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and precursors of NF-κB in HPMCs from old people. This was also the case for COX-2 and iNOS promoter gene activities and NF-κB-dependent transcription. There was a positive correlation between the age of the donor's cell and the proinflammatory profile of the HPMCs. Such age-dependent increase (around two–three times) is partially abolished by different antioxidant or free-radical scavengers. Thus, aging is accompanied by the presence of an inflammatory state in HPMCs, which involves the participation of different reactive oxygen species