540 research outputs found
Effects of sublethal doses of methoxyfenozide on the development, survival and reproduction of Spodoptera frugiperda.
The lethal and sublethal effects of the ecdysone agonist methoxyfenozide on the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith), were investigated by feeding a methoxyfenozide-treated diet to ϐifth instars until pupation in doses corresponding to the LC 10 and LC 25 for the compound. Larval mortality reached 8% and 26% in the low and high concentration groups, respectively, on the seventh day of the experiment. A progressive larval mortality of 12% for the LC 10 and 60% for the LC 25 was observed before pupation. Treated larvae exhibited lower pupal weights, higher pupal mortality, presence of deformed pupae, and more deformed adults than untreated larvae. The incorporation of methoxyfenozide into the diet had a signiϐicant effect on the timing of larval development. The development period for males and females was about seven days longer than the controls for both concentrations tested. In contrast, the compound affected neither pupae nor adult longevity. Finally, S. frugiperda adults that resulted from ϐifth instars treated with methoxyfenozide were not affected in their mean cumulative number of eggs laid per female (fecundity), nor percentages of eggs hatched (fertility), or the sex ratio. Our results suggest that the combination of lethal and sublethal effects of methoxyfenozide may have important implications for the population dynamics of the fall armywor
From QCD lattice calculations to the equation of state of quark matter
We describe two-flavor QCD lattice data for the pressure at finite
temperature and zero chemical potential within a quasiparticle model. Relying
only on thermodynamic selfconsistency, the model is extended to nonzero
chemical potential. The results agree with lattice calculations in the region
of small chemical potential.Comment: 5 eps figure
Metamaterials proposed as perfect magnetoelectrics
Magnetoelectric susceptibility of a metamaterial built from split ring
resonators have been investigated both experimentally and within an equivalent
circuit model. The absolute values have been shown to exceed by two orders of
magnitude that of classical magnetoelectric materials. The metamaterial
investigated reaches the theoretically predicted value of the magnetoelectric
susceptibility which is equal to the geometric average of the electric and
magnetic susceptibilities.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Sufficient enlargements of minimal volume for finite dimensional normed linear spaces
Let denote the unit ball of a normed linear space . A symmetric,
bounded, closed, convex set in a finite dimensional normed linear space
is called a {\it sufficient enlargement} for if, for an arbitrary isometric
embedding of into a Banach space , there exists a linear projection
such that . The main results of the paper: {\bf
(1)} Each minimal-volume sufficient enlargement is linearly equivalent to a
zonotope spanned by multiples of columns of a totally unimodular matrix. {\bf
(2)} If a finite dimensional normed linear space has a minimal-volume
sufficient enlargement which is not a parallelepiped, then it contains a
two-dimensional subspace whose unit ball is linearly equivalent to a regular
hexagon
Thermodynamic gauge-theory cascade
It is proposed that the cooling of a thermalized SU() gauge theory can be
formulated in terms of a cascade involving three effective theories with
successively reduced (and spontaneously broken) gauge symmetries, SU()
U(1) Z. The approach is based on the assumption that away
from a phase transition the bulk of the quantum interaction inherent to the
system is implicitly encoded in the (incomplete) classical dynamics of a
collective part made of low-energy condensed degrees of freedom. The properties
of (some of the) statistically fluctuating fields are determined by these
condensate(s). This leads to a quasi-particle description at tree-level. It
appears that radiative corrections, which are sizable at large gauge coupling,
do not change the tree-level picture qualitatively. The thermodynamic
self-consistency of the quasi-particle approach implies nonperturbative
evolution equations for the associated masses. The temperature dependence of
these masses, in turn, determine the evolution of the gauge coupling(s). The
hot gauge system approaches the behavior of an ideal gas of massless gluons at
asymptotically large temperature. A negative equation of state is possible at a
stage where the system is about to settle into the phase of the (spontaneously
broken) Z symmetry.Comment: 25 pages, 6 figures, 1 reference added, minor corrections in text,
errors in Sec. 3.2 corrected, PRD versio
Assessment of hydropyrolysis as a method for the quantification of black carbon using standard reference materials
A wide selection of thermal, chemical and optical methods have been proposed for the quantification of black carbon (BC) in environmental matrices, and the results to date differ markedly depending upon the method used. A new approach is hydropyrolysis (hypy), where pyrolysis assisted by high hydrogen pressures (150 bar) facilitates the complete reductive removal of labile organic matter, so isolating a highly stable portion of the BC continuum (defined as BChypy). Here, the potential of hypy for the isolation and quantification of BC is evaluated using the 12 reference materials from the International BC Ring Trial, comprising BC-rich samples, BC-containing environmental matrices and BC-free potentially interfering materials. By varying the hypy operating conditions, it is demonstrated that lignocellulosic, humic and other labile organic carbon material (defined as non-BChypy) is fully removed by 550 °C, with hydrogasification of the remaining BChypy not commencing until over 575 °C. The resulting plateau in sample mass and carbon loss is apparent in all of the environmental samples, facilitating BC quantification in a wide range of materials. The BChypy contents for all 12 ring trial samples fall within the range reported in the BC inter-comparison study, and systematic differences with other methods are rationalised.
All methods for BC isolation, including hypy are limited by the fact that BC cannot be distinguished from extremely thermally mature organic matter; for example in high rank coals. However, the data reported here indicates that BChypy has an atomic H/C ratio of less than 0.5 and therefore comprises a chemically well-defined polyaromatic structure in terms of the average size of peri-condensed aromatic clusters of >7 rings (24 carbon atoms), that is consistent across different sample matrices. This, together with the sound underlying rationale for the reductive removal of labile organic matter, makes hypy an ideal approach for matrix independent BC quantification. The hypy results are extremely reproducible, with BChypy determinations from triplicate analyses typically within ±2% across all samples, limited mainly by the precision of the elemental analyser
Dilepton production in heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies
We present a unified description of the vector meson and dilepton production
in elementary and in heavy ion reactions. The production of vector mesons
() is described via the excitation of nuclear resonances ().
The theoretical framework is an extended vector meson dominance model (eVMD).
The treatment of the resonance decays with arbitrary spin is
covariant and kinematically complete. The eVMD includes thereby excited vector
meson states in the transition form factors. This ensures correct asymptotics
and provides a unified description of photonic and mesonic decays. The
resonance model is successfully applied to the production in
reactions. The same model is applied to the dilepton production in elementary
reactions (). Corresponding data are well reproduced. However, when
the model is applied to heavy ion reactions in the BEVALAC/SIS energy range the
experimental dilepton spectra measured by the DLS Collaboration are
significantly underestimated at small invariant masses. As a possible solution
of this problem the destruction of quantum interference in a dense medium is
discussed. A decoherent emission through vector mesons decays enhances the
corresponding dilepton yield in heavy ion reactions. In the vicinity of the
-peak the reproduction of the data requires further a substantial
collisional broadening of the and in particular of the meson.Comment: 32 pages revtex, 19 figures, to appear in PR
Visual processing deficits in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome.
Carriers of the rare 22q11.2 microdeletion present with a high percentage of positive and negative symptoms and a high genetic risk for schizophrenia. Visual processing impairments have been characterized in schizophrenia, but less so in 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (DS). Here, we focus on visual processing using high-density EEG and source imaging in 22q11.2DS participants (N = 25) and healthy controls (N = 26) with an illusory contour discrimination task. Significant differences between groups emerged at early and late stages of visual processing. In 22q11.2DS, we first observed reduced amplitudes over occipital channels and reduced source activations within dorsal and ventral visual stream areas during the P1 (100-125 ms) and within ventral visual cortex during the N1 (150-170 ms) visual evoked components. During a later window implicated in visual completion (240-285 ms), we observed an increase in global amplitudes in 22q11.2DS. The increased surface amplitudes for illusory contours at this window were inversely correlated with positive subscales of prodromal symptoms in 22q11.2DS. The reduced activity of ventral and dorsal visual areas during early stages points to an impairment in visual processing seen both in schizophrenia and 22q11.2DS. During intervals related to perceptual closure, the inverse correlation of high amplitudes with positive symptoms suggests that participants with 22q11.2DS who show an increased brain response to illusory contours during the relevant window for contour processing have less psychotic symptoms and might thus be at a reduced prodromal risk for schizophrenia
Quasi-Particle Description of Strongly Interacting Matter: Towards a Foundation
We confront our quasi-particle model for the equation of state of strongly
interacting matter with recent first-principle QCD calculations. In particular,
we test its applicability at finite baryon densities by comparing with Taylor
expansion coefficients of the pressure for two quark flavours. We outline a
chain of approximations starting from the Phi-functional approach to QCD which
motivates the quasi-particle picture.Comment: Aug 2006. 6 pp. Invited Talk given at Hot Quarks 2006, Villasimius,
Sardinia, Italy, 15-20 May 200
Using the past to constrain the future: how the palaeorecord can improve estimates of global warming
Climate sensitivity is defined as the change in global mean equilibrium
temperature after a doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration and provides a
simple measure of global warming. An early estimate of climate sensitivity,
1.5-4.5{\deg}C, has changed little subsequently, including the latest
assessment by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The persistence of such large uncertainties in this simple measure casts
doubt on our understanding of the mechanisms of climate change and our ability
to predict the response of the climate system to future perturbations. This has
motivated continued attempts to constrain the range with climate data, alone or
in conjunction with models. The majority of studies use data from the
instrumental period (post-1850) but recent work has made use of information
about the large climate changes experienced in the geological past.
In this review, we first outline approaches that estimate climate sensitivity
using instrumental climate observations and then summarise attempts to use the
record of climate change on geological timescales. We examine the limitations
of these studies and suggest ways in which the power of the palaeoclimate
record could be better used to reduce uncertainties in our predictions of
climate sensitivity.Comment: The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in
Progress in Physical Geography, 31(5), 2007 by SAGE Publications Ltd, All
rights reserved. \c{opyright} 2007 Edwards, Crucifix and Harriso
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