1,122 research outputs found
Use of a passive acoustic sensor to predict success of ESWL treatment based on initial 500 shocks
Dietary non-starch polysaccharides influenced natural food web and fish production in semi-intensive pond culture of Nile tilapia
Dietary non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) changes the nutrient digestibility and faecal characteristics in fish. This study assessed the effect of the type of dietary NSPs on fish production and the contribution of natural food to the total fish production in semi-intensively managed tilapia ponds. Twelve ponds, each divided into three equally-sized compartments, were assigned to test the effect of the type of dietary NSPs (i.e. âPecHem-Dietâ, a diet with easily fermentable NSP, vs âLigCel-Dietâ, a diet with slowly fermentable NSP). Fish were restrictively fed, based on the crude protein content of the feed. Three feeding levels (âno = 0â, âlow = 9 g.kg-0.8.dâ1â and âhigh= 18 g.kg-0.8.d-1â) nested in pond were analysed in a split plot design. Initial fish biomass was 3084 g.compartmentâ1 and the experiment lasted 56 days. With the âLigCel-Dietâ biomass gain was higher (2599 vs 2192 g.compartmentâ1) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) was lower (1.4 vs 1.9; P 13C and ÎŽ15N from the stable isotope analysis revealed that N gain in fish originated from both feed and natural food of the pond. Natural food abundance in the pond increased over time for both diets. Chlorophyll-a was higher in the pond fed with âLigCel-Dietâ. Fish gut content and calculated N gain indicated an enhanced contribution of natural food to fish growth in ponds fed with âLigCel-Dietâ. In conclusion, the type of dietary NSP determines tilapia productivity in semi-intensive managed ponds by altering food web productivity.</p
Delocalization and spin-wave dynamics in ferromagnetic chains with long-range correlated random exchange
We study the one-dimensional quantum Heisenberg ferromagnet with exchange
couplings exhibiting long-range correlated disorder with power spectrum
proportional to , where is the wave-vector of the modulations
on the random coupling landscape. By using renormalization group, integration
of the equations of motion and exact diagonalization, we compute the spin-wave
localization length and the mean-square displacement of the wave-packet. We
find that, associated with the emergence of extended spin-waves in the
low-energy region for , the wave-packet mean-square displacement
changes from a long-time super-diffusive behavior for to a
long-time ballistic behavior for . At the vicinity of ,
the mobility edge separating the extended and localized phases is shown to
scale with the degree of correlation as .Comment: PRB to appea
Large atom number dual-species magneto-optical trap for fermionic 6Li and 40K atoms
We present the design, implementation and characterization of a dual-species
magneto-optical trap (MOT) for fermionic 6Li and 40K atoms with large atom
numbers. The MOT simultaneously contains 5.2x10^9 6Li-atoms and 8.0x10^9
40K-atoms, which are continuously loaded by a Zeeman slower for 6Li and a
2D-MOT for 40K. The atom sources induce capture rates of 1.2x10^9 6Li-atoms/s
and 1.4x10^9 40K-atoms/s. Trap losses due to light-induced interspecies
collisions of ~65% were observed and could be minimized to ~10% by using low
magnetic field gradients and low light powers in the repumping light of both
atomic species. The described system represents the starting point for the
production of a large-atom number quantum degenerate Fermi-Fermi mixture
Hydrophobic and ionic-interactions in bulk and confined water with implications for collapse and folding of proteins
Water and water-mediated interactions determine thermodynamic and kinetics of
protein folding, protein aggregation and self-assembly in confined spaces. To
obtain insights into the role of water in the context of folding problems, we
describe computer simulations of a few related model systems. The dynamics of
collapse of eicosane shows that upon expulsion of water the linear hydrocarbon
chain adopts an ordered helical hairpin structure with 1.5 turns. The structure
of dimer of eicosane molecules has two well ordered helical hairpins that are
stacked perpendicular to each other. As a prelude to studying folding in
confined spaces we used simulations to understand changes in hydrophobic and
ionic interactions in nano droplets. Solvation of hydrophobic and charged
species change drastically in nano water droplets. Hydrophobic species are
localized at the boundary. The tendency of ions to be at the boundary where
water density is low increases as the charge density decreases. Interaction
between hydrophobic, polar, and charged residue are also profoundly altered in
confined spaces. Using the results of computer simulations and accounting for
loss of chain entropy upon confinement we argue and then demonstrate, using
simulations in explicit water, that ordered states of generic amphiphilic
peptide sequences should be stabilized in cylindrical nanopores
Deconstructing 1S0 nucleon-nucleon scattering
A distorted-wave method is used to analyse nucleon-nucleon scattering in the
1S0 channel. Effects of one-pion exchange are removed from the empirical phase
shift to all orders by using a modified effective-range expansion. Two-pion
exchange is then subtracted in the distorted-wave Born approximation, with
matrix elements taken between scattering waves for the one-pion exchange
potential. The residual short-range interaction shows a very rapid energy
dependence for kinetic energies above about 100 MeV, suggesting that the
breakdown scale of the corresponding effective theory is only 270MeV. This may
signal the need to include the Delta resonance as an explicit degree of freedom
in order to describe scattering at these energies. An alternative strategy of
keeping the cutoff finite to reduce large, but finite, contributions from the
long-range forces is also discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures (introduction revised, references added; version
to appear in EPJA
Soil health, crop productivity, microbial transport, and mine spoil response to biochars
Biochar is being evaluated by scientists from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) for its potential to sequester soil C, to improve soil health, and to increase crop yields. ARS scientists from multiple locations such as Florence, SC, Kimberly, ID, Bowling Green, KY, Corvallis, OR, and St. Paul, MN, are conducting investigations with agronomic experiments at the laboratory, greenhouse, and field plot scales. To further expand biochars utility, ARS scientists have collaborated with United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) investigators to reclaim mine-impacted soils. In the agronomic investigations, both positive and negative aspects of biochar application were revealed. In some experiments, biochars were reported to have no effect on crop yields, and minimal impact on movement of microbial pathogens through soil. In other experiments, biochars were reported to improve soil fertility, increase water retention, and bind with heavy metals in solutions and in mine spoil soils. This variation in biochars influence, substantiates and encourages further work on the designer biochar concept, which states that the biochars can be crafted for targeted agronomic and environmental purposes. There is a need to broadcast the successes and failures of biochar research reported by scientists from both agencies. Consequently, the objectives of this review are: to report on biochar effectiveness as a soil amendment; to ascertain its ability to modify soil properties, to evaluate its impact on soil leaching of microbes; and its potential capacity to help reclaim mine spoil sites
The Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function at the Dawn of Gaia
The [O III] 5007 Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function (PNLF) is an excellent
extragalactic standard candle. In theory, the PNLF method should not work at
all, since the luminosities of the brightest planetary nebulae (PNe) should be
highly sensitive to the age of their host stellar population. Yet the method
appears robust, as it consistently produces < 10% distances to galaxies of all
Hubble types, from the earliest ellipticals to the latest-type spirals and
irregulars. It is therefore uniquely suited for cross-checking the results of
other techniques and finding small offsets between the Population I and
Population II distance ladders. We review the calibration of the method and
show that the zero points provided by Cepheids and the Tip of the Red Giant
Branch are in excellent agreement. We then compare the results of the PNLF with
those from Surface Brightness Fluctuation measurements, and show that, although
both techniques agree in a relative sense, the latter method yields distances
that are ~15% larger than those from the PNLF. We trace this discrepancy back
to the calibration galaxies and argue that, due to a small systematic error
associated with internal reddening, the true distance scale likely falls
between the extremes of the two methods. We also demonstrate how PNLF
measurements in the early-type galaxies that have hosted Type Ia supernovae can
help calibrate the SN Ia maximum magnitude-rate of decline relation. Finally,
we discuss how the results from space missions such as Kepler and Gaia can help
our understanding of the PNLF phenomenon and improve our knowledge of the
physics of local planetary nebulae.Comment: 12 pages, invited review at the conference "The Fundamental Cosmic
Distance Scale: State of the Art and Gaia Perspective", to appear in
Astrophysics and Space Scienc
A noninvasive hemoglobin monitor in the pediatric intensive care unit
Background Critically ill pediatric patients frequently require hemoglobin monitoring. Accurate noninvasive Hb (SpHb) would allow practitioners to decrease anemia from repeated blood draws, traumatic blood draws, and a decreased number of laboratory Hb (LabHb) medical tests. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the Masimo Pronto SpHb and associated Rainbow probes; however, its use in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is controversial. In this study, we define the degree of agreement between LabHb and SpHb using the Masimo Pronto SpHb Monitor and identify clinical and demographic conditions associated with decreased accuracy. Materials and methods We performed a prospective, observational study in a large PICU at an academic medical center. Fifty-three pediatric patients (30-d and 18-y-old), weighing >3 kg, admitted to the PICU from January-April 2013 were examined. SpHb levels measured at the time of LabHb blood draw were compared and analyzed. Results Only 83 SpHb readings were obtained in 118 attempts (70.3%) and 35 readings provided a result of "unable to obtain." The mean LabHb and SpHb were 11.1 g/dL and 11.2 g/dL, respectively. Bland-Altman analysis showed a mean difference of 0.07 g/dL with a standard deviation of ±2.59 g/dL. Pearson correlation is 0.55, with a 95% confidence interval between 0.38 and 0.68. Logistic regression showed that extreme LabHb values, increasing skin pigmentation, and increasing body mass index were predictors of poor agreement between SpHb and LabHb (P < 0.05). Separately, increasing body mass index, hypoxia, and hypothermia were predictors for undetectable readings (P < 0.05). Conclusions The Masimo Pronto SpHb Monitor provides adequate agreement for the trending of hemoglobin levels in critically ill pediatric patients. However, the degree of agreement is insufficient to be used as the sole indicator for transfusion decisions and should be used in context of other clinical parameters to determine the need for LabHb in critically ill pediatric patients
A developmental analysis of communication between mothers and infants with Down's syndrome
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68850/2/10.1177_027112148300300110.pd
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