719 research outputs found
Wind-induced drift of objects at sea: the leeway field method
A method for conducting leeway field experiments to establish the drift
properties of small objects (0.1-25 m) is described. The objective is to define
a standardized and unambiguous procedure for condensing the drift properties
down to a set of coefficients that may be incorporated into existing stochastic
trajectory forecast models for drifting objects of concern to search and rescue
operations and other activities involving vessels lost at sea such as
containers with hazardous material.
An operational definition of the slip or wind and wave-induced motion of a
drifting object relative to the ambient current is proposed. This definition
taken together with a strict adherence to 10 m wind speed allows us to refer
unambiguously to the leeway of a drifting object. We recommend that all objects
if possible be studied using what we term the direct method, where the object's
leeway is studied directly using an attached current meter.
We divide drifting objects into four categories, depending on their size. For
the smaller objects (less than 0.5 m), an indirect method of measuring the
object's motion relative to the ambient current must be used. For larger
objects, direct measurement of the motion through the near-surface water masses
is strongly recommended. Larger objects are categorized according to the
ability to attach current meters and wind monitoring systems to them.
The leeway field method proposed here is illustrated with results from field
work where three objects were studied in their distress configuration; a 1:3.3
sized model of a 40-ft Shipping container, a World War II mine and a 220 l
(55-gallon) oil drum.Comment: 33 pages, 12 figures, 3 table
Deep Spectroscopy of the Host Galaxy of a Tidal Disruption Flare in A1795
A likely tidal disruption of a star by the intermediate-mass black hole
(IMBH) of a dwarf galaxy was recently identified in association with Abell
1795. Without deep spectroscopy for this very faint object, however, the
possibility of a more massive background galaxy or even a disk-instability
flare from a weak AGN could not be dismissed. We have now obtained 8 hours of
Gemini spectroscopy which unambiguously demonstrate that the host galaxy is
indeed an extremely low-mass
galaxy in Abell 1795, comparable to the least-massive galaxies determined to
host IMBHs via other studies. We find that the spectrum is consistent with the
X-ray flare being due to a tidal disruption event rather than an AGN flare. We
also set improved limits on the black hole mass and infer a 15-year X-ray variability of a factor
of . The confirmation of this galaxy-black hole system provides a
glimpse into a population of galaxies that is otherwise difficult to study, due
to the galaxies' low masses and intrinsic faintness, but which may be important
contributors to the tidal disruption rate.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures. Accepted by MNRA
Electrical conductive double-walled carbon nanotubes � Silica glass nanocomposites prepared by the sol�gel process and spark plasma sintering
The electrical conductivity of suspensions in liquid of several kinds of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) is measured. Raw and soft-functionalized double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) appear to be the most promising for achieving a low electrical percolation threshold. A 0.35 vol.% DWCNTs�SiO2 nanocomposite is prepared by the sol�gel process and densified by spark plasma sintering. The obtained material presents a fairly good dispersion of DWCNTs and its electrical conductivity (104 S cm1) is six orders of magnitude higher than that previously reported for 1 vol.% multi-walled CNTs�SiO2
Detecting non-orthology in the COGs database and other approaches grouping orthologs using genome-specific best hits
Correct orthology assignment is a critical prerequisite of numerous comparative genomics procedures, such as function prediction, construction of phylogenetic species trees and genome rearrangement analysis. We present an algorithm for the detection of non-orthologs that arise by mistake in current orthology classification methods based on genome-specific best hits, such as the COGs database. The algorithm works with pairwise distance estimates, rather than computationally expensive and error-prone tree-building methods. The accuracy of the algorithm is evaluated through verification of the distribution of predicted cases, case-by-case phylogenetic analysis and comparisons with predictions from other projects using independent methods. Our results show that a very significant fraction of the COG groups include non-orthologs: using conservative parameters, the algorithm detects non-orthology in a third of all COG groups. Consequently, sequence analysis sensitive to correct orthology assignments will greatly benefit from these findings
Effect of pregnancy and birth on the course of myasthenia gravis before or after transsternal radical thymectomy
Objective: Myasthenia gravis (MG) affects women at childbearing age. Therefore, the question arises if these patients should become pregnant and if thymectomy has a positive effect on the course of MG in pregnant patients. Methods: Fifteen pregnancies had been followed retrospectively. All patients underwent transsternal radical thymectomy for MG. The course of MG in the period before, during, and after the pregnancy was scored according to Ossermann's classification. The effect of thymectomy on delivery and on the newborns was evaluated. Results: Patients were divided in two groups: pregnancies before (group I, n = 8) and after (group II, n = 7) thymectomy. During pregnancy, in group I, one deterioration was observed and in seven patients the disease was unchanged. In group II, one deterioration, five unchanged courses, and one improvement were observed. In the postpartum period, in group I, seven patients did not change and one improved. In group II, two deteriorations, three unchanged courses, and two improvements were observed. Before pregnancy, group II patients were in a better Ossermann stage in comparison with those in group I. Eight of the 12 deliveries were spontaneous (three abortus). Myasthenic symptoms were observed in two newborns in group I. Conclusion: Our data suggest that MG is not prohibitive to have children. The course of MG after transsternal radical thymectomy is often ameliorated. A better MG-stage, reached after thymectomy, before pregnancy seems to be correlated with a better course during pregnanc
Population dynamics of two antilisterial cheese surface consortia revealed by temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Surface contamination of smear cheese by <it>Listeria </it>spp. is of major concern for the industry. Complex smear ecosystems have been shown to harbor antilisterial potential but the microorganisms and mechanisms involved in the inhibition mostly remain unclear, and are likely related to complex interactions than to production of single antimicrobial compounds. Bacterial biodiversity and population dynamics of complex smear ecosystems exhibiting antilisterial properties <it>in situ </it>were investigated by Temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (TTGE), a culture independent technique, for two microbial consortia isolated from commercial Raclette type cheeses inoculated with defined commercial ripening cultures (F) or produced with an old-young smearing process (M).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>TTGE revealed nine bacterial species common to both F and M consortia, but consortium F exhibited a higher diversity than consortium M, with thirteen and ten species, respectively. Population dynamics were studied after application of the consortia on fresh-produced Raclette cheeses. TTGE analyses revealed a similar sequential development of the nine species common to both consortia. Beside common cheese surface bacteria (<it>Staphylococcus equorum, Corynebacterium </it>spp., <it>Brevibacterium linens, Microbacterium gubbeenense</it>, <it>Agrococcus casei</it>), the two consortia contained marine lactic acid bacteria (<it>Alkalibacterium kapii</it>, <it>Marinilactibacillus psychrotolerans</it>) that developed early in ripening (day 14 to 20), shortly after the growth of staphylococci (day 7). A decrease of <it>Listeria </it>counts was observed on cheese surface inoculated at day 7 with 0.1-1 × 10<sup>2 </sup>CFU cm<sup>-2</sup>, when cheeses were smeared with consortium F or M. <it>Listeria </it>counts went below the detection limit of the method between day 14 and 28 and no subsequent regrowth was detected over 60 to 80 ripening days. In contrast, <it>Listeria </it>grew to high counts (10<sup>5 </sup>CFU cm<sup>-2</sup>) on cheeses smeared with a defined surface culture.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This work reports the first population dynamics study of complex smear ecosystems exhibiting <it>in situ </it>antilisterial activity. TTGE revealed the presence of marine lactic acid bacteria that are likely related to the strong <it>Listeria </it>inhibition, as their early development in the smear occurred simultaneously with a decrease in <it>Listeria </it>cell count.</p
Spectral determinant on quantum graphs
We study the spectral determinant of the Laplacian on finite graphs
characterized by their number of vertices V and of bonds B. We present a path
integral derivation which leads to two equivalent expressions of the spectral
determinant of the Laplacian either in terms of a V x V vertex matrix or a 2B x
2B link matrix that couples the arcs (oriented bonds) together. This latter
expression allows us to rewrite the spectral determinant as an infinite product
of contributions of periodic orbits on the graph. We also present a
diagrammatic method that permits us to write the spectral determinant in terms
of a finite number of periodic orbit contributions. These results are
generalized to the case of graphs in a magnetic field. Several examples
illustrating this formalism are presented and its application to the
thermodynamic and transport properties of weakly disordered and coherent
mesoscopic networks is discussed.Comment: 33 pages, submitted to Ann. Phy
Scattering theory on graphs
We consider the scattering theory for the Schr\"odinger operator
-\Dc_x^2+V(x) on graphs made of one-dimensional wires connected to external
leads. We derive two expressions for the scattering matrix on arbitrary graphs.
One involves matrices that couple arcs (oriented bonds), the other involves
matrices that couple vertices. We discuss a simple way to tune the coupling
between the graph and the leads. The efficiency of the formalism is
demonstrated on a few known examples.Comment: 21 pages, LaTeX, 10 eps figure
- …