775 research outputs found
NUMERICAL ALGORITHMS TO DETERMINE THE STRUCTURAL BEHAVIOR OF A CYLINDRICAL INVOLUTE FUEL PLATE UNDER STEADY-STATE LOADING.
A Video method for quantifying size distribution, density and three-dimensional spatial structure of reef fish spawning aggregations [abstract]
The Flare-energy Distributions Generated by Kink-unstable Ensembles of Zero-net-current Coronal Loops
It has been proposed that the million degree temperature of the corona is due
to the combined effect of barely-detectable energy releases, so called
nanoflares, that occur throughout the solar atmosphere. Alas, the nanoflare
density and brightness implied by this hypothesis means that conclusive
verification is beyond present observational abilities. Nevertheless, we
investigate the plausibility of the nanoflare hypothesis by constructing a
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model that can derive the energy of a nanoflare from
the nature of an ideal kink instability. The set of energy-releasing
instabilities is captured by an instability threshold for linear kink modes.
Each point on the threshold is associated with a unique energy release and so
we can predict a distribution of nanoflare energies. When the linear
instability threshold is crossed, the instability enters a nonlinear phase as
it is driven by current sheet reconnection. As the ensuing flare erupts and
declines, the field transitions to a lower energy state, which is modelled by
relaxation theory, i.e., helicity is conserved and the ratio of current to
field becomes invariant within the loop. We apply the model so that all the
loops within an ensemble achieve instability followed by energy-releasing
relaxation. The result is a nanoflare energy distribution. Furthermore, we
produce different distributions by varying the loop aspect ratio, the nature of
the path to instability taken by each loop and also the level of radial
expansion that may accompany loop relaxation. The heating rate obtained is just
sufficient for coronal heating. In addition, we also show that kink instability
cannot be associated with a critical magnetic twist value for every point along
the instability threshold
Structural Requirements for Dihydrobenzoxazepinone Anthelmintics: Actions against Medically Important and Model Parasites: Trichuris muris, Brugia malayi, Heligmosomoides polygyrus, and Schistosoma mansoni
Nine hundred million people are infected with the soil-transmitted helminths Ascaris lumbricoides (roundworm), hookworm, and Trichuris trichiura (whipworm). However, low single-dose cure rates of the benzimidazole drugs, the mainstay of preventative chemotherapy for whipworm, together with parasite drug resistance, mean that current approaches may not be able to eliminate morbidity from trichuriasis. We are seeking to develop new anthelmintic drugs specifically with activity against whipworm as a priority and previously identified a hit series of dihydrobenzoxazepinone (DHB) compounds that block motility of ex vivo Trichuris muris. Here, we report a systematic investigation of the structure–activity relationship of the anthelmintic activity of DHB compounds. We synthesized 47 analogues, which allowed us to define features of the molecules essential for anthelmintic action as well as broadening the chemotype by identification of dihydrobenzoquinolinones (DBQs) with anthelmintic activity. We investigated the activity of these compounds against other parasitic nematodes, identifying DHB compounds with activity against Brugia malayi and Heligmosomoides polygyrus. We also demonstrated activity of DHB compounds against the trematode Schistosoma mansoni, a parasite that causes schistosomiasis. These results demonstrate the potential of DHB and DBQ compounds for further development as broad-spectrum anthelmintics
Soil biochemistry and microbial activity in vineyards under conventional and organic management at Northeast Brazil.
The São Francisco Submedium Valley is located at the Brazilian semiarid region and is an important center for irrigated fruit growing. This region is responsible for 97% of the national exportation of table grapes, including seedless grapes. Based on the fact that orgThe São Francisco Submedium Valley is located at the Brazilian semiarid region and is an important center for irrigated fruit growing. This region is responsible for 97% of the national exportation of table grapes, including seedless grapes. Based on the fact that organic fertilization can improve soil quality, we compared the effects of conventional and organic soil management on microbial activity and mycorrhization of seedless grape crops. We measured glomerospores number, most probable number (MPN) of propagules, richness of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) species, AMF root colonization, EE-BRSP production, carbon microbial biomass (C-MB), microbial respiration, fluorescein diacetate hydrolytic activity (FDA) and metabolic coefficient (qCO2). The organic management led to an increase in all variables with the exception of EE-BRSP and qCO2. Mycorrhizal colonization increased from 4.7% in conventional crops to 15.9% in organic crops. Spore number ranged from 4.1 to 12.4 per 50 g-1 soil in both management systems. The most probable number of AMF propagules increased from 79 cm-3 soil in the conventional system to 110 cm-3 soil in the organic system. Microbial carbon, CO2 emission, and FDA activity were increased by 100 to 200% in the organic crop. Thirteen species of AMF were identified, the majority in the organic cultivation system. Acaulospora excavata, Entrophospora infrequens, Glomus sp.3 and Scutellospora sp. were found only in the organically managed crop. S. gregaria was found only in the conventional crop. Organically managed vineyards increased mycorrhization and general soil microbial activity
Analytic properties of the Landau gauge gluon and quark propagators
We explore the analytic structure of the gluon and quark propagators of
Landau gauge QCD from numerical solutions of the coupled system of renormalized
Dyson--Schwinger equations and from fits to lattice data. We find sizable
negative norm contributions in the transverse gluon propagator indicating the
absence of the transverse gluon from the physical spectrum. A simple analytic
structure for the gluon propagator is proposed. For the quark propagator we
find evidence for a mass-like singularity on the real timelike momentum axis,
with a mass of 350 to 500 MeV. Within the employed Green's functions approach
we identify a crucial term in the quark-gluon vertex that leads to a positive
definite Schwinger function for the quark propagator.Comment: 42 pages, 16 figures, revtex; version to be published in Phys Rev
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