1,637 research outputs found
A checklist of the mosses of Belize
A survey of the limited literature on the mosses of Belize and an examination of various taxonomic revisions has been made, together with many recent collections giving rise to a list of 250 species and 13 varieties. Extensive nomenclatural changes have been made since the older contributions came into print, so that the present list will serve as a basis for future recording
Study of ball bearing torque under elastohydrodynamic lubrication
Spinning and rolling torques were measured in an angular-contact ball bearing with and without a cage under several lubrication regimes in a modified NASA spinning torque apparatus. Two lubricants were used, a di-2 ethylhexyl sebacate and a synthetic paraffinic oil, at shaft speeds of 1000, 2000, and 3000 rpm and bearing loads from 10 lbs to 90 lbs. An analytical model was developed from previous spinning friction models to include rolling with spinning under lubrication regimes from thin film to flooded conditions. The bearing torque values have a wide variation, under any condition of speed and load, depending on the amount of lubricant present in the bearing. The analytical model compared favorably with experimental results under several lubrication regimes
New generalized rheological model for lubrication of a ball spinning in a nonconforming groove
The elastohydrodynamic theory for predicting the spinning friction of a ball in a nonconforming groove was modified to incorporate a rheological model. The rheological model is based on the exponential pressure viscosity relation for low shear stresses, but at high shear rates and pressures, the relation is altered to one in which the shear stress is porportional to the normal stress. The model was fitted to experimental spinning torques for four different lubricants: a synthetic paraffinic lubricant, di-2-ethylhexyl sebacate, a super-refined naphthenic mineral oil, and a polyphenyl ether (5P4E). Good agreement between the model and experiment was found
Comparing Segmentation by Time and by Motion in Visual Search: An fMRI Investigation
Abstract
Brain activity was recorded while participants engaged in a difficult visual search task for a target defined by the spatial configuration of its component elements. The search displays were segmented by time (a preview then a search display), by motion, or were unsegmented. A preparatory network showed activity to the preview display, in the time but not in the motion segmentation condition. A region of the precuneus showed (i) higher activation when displays were segmented by time or by motion, and (ii) correlated activity with larger segmentation benefits behaviorally, regardless of the cue. Additionally, the results revealed that success in temporal segmentation was correlated with reduced activation in early visual areas, including V1. The results depict partially overlapping brain networks for segmentation in search by time and motion, with both cue-independent and cue-specific mechanisms.</jats:p
The Discovery of a Strong Magnetic Field and Co-rotating Magnetosphere in the Helium-weak Star HD 176582
We report the detection of a strong, reversing magnetic field and variable
H-alpha emission in the bright helium-weak star HD 176582 (HR 7185). Spectrum,
magnetic and photometric variability of the star are all consistent with a
precisely determined period of 1.5819840 +/- 0.0000030 days which we assume to
be the rotation period of the star. From the magnetic field curve, and assuming
a simple dipolar field geometry, we derive a polar field strength of
approximately 7 kG and a lower limit of 52 degrees for the inclination of the
rotation axis. However, based on the behaviour of the H-alpha emission we adopt
a large inclination angle of 85 degrees and this leads to a large magnetic
obliquity of 77 degrees. The H-alpha emission arises from two distinct regions
located at the intersections of the magnetic and rotation equators and which
corotate with the star at a distance of about 3.5 R* above its surface. We
estimate that the emitting regions have radial and meridional sizes on the
order of 2 R* and azimuthal extents (perpendicular to the magnetic equator) of
less than approximately 0.6 R*. HD 176582 therefore appears to show many of the
cool magnetospheric phenomena as that displayed by other magnetic helium-weak
and helium-strong stars such as the prototypical helium-strong star sigma Ori
E. The observations are consistent with current models of magnetically confined
winds and rigidly-rotating magnetospheres for magnetic Bp stars.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure
Discovery of a strong magnetic field in the rapidly rotating B2Vn star HR 7355
We report the detection of a strong, organized magnetic field in the
helium-variable early B-type star HR 7355 using spectropolarimetric data
obtained with ESPaDOnS on the 3.6-m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope within the
context of the Magnetism in Massive Stars (MiMeS) Large Program. HR 7355 is
both the most rapidly rotating known main-sequence magnetic star and the most
rapidly rotating helium-strong star, with = 300 15 km s
and a rotational period of 0.5214404 0.0000006 days. We have modeled our
eight longitudinal magnetic field measurements assuming an oblique dipole
magnetic field. Constraining the inclination of the rotation axis to be between
and , we find the magnetic obliquity angle to be
between and , and the polar strength of the magnetic
field at the stellar surface to be between 13-17 kG. The photometric light
curve constructed from HIPPARCOS archival data and new CTIO measurements shows
two minima separated by 0.5 in rotational phase and occurring 0.25 cycles
before/after the magnetic extrema. This photometric behavior coupled with
previously-reported variable emission of the H line (which we confirm)
strongly supports the proposal that HR 7355 harbors a structured magnetosphere
similar to that in the prototypical helium-strong star, Ori E.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter
Redistribution of critical major histocompatibility complex and T cell receptor-binding functions of residues in an antigenic sequence after biterminal substitution
Residues critical for establishing a trimolecular interaction with a major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-encoded receptor and a T cell antigen receptor (TcR) were determined for an antigenic nonapeptide. The N-terminal residue proved to be involved in binding of the peptide to both receptors and the C-terminal residue was essential for MHC binding. While substitution of either of these critical terminal residues by alanine resulted in an almost complete loss of peptide antigenicity, simultaneous substitution of both created a new functional ligand for the same MHC molecule and the same TcR. Notably, in the biterminally substituted peptide, the core residues took on new roles in the trimolecular interaction in that a residue critical in the authentic nonapeptide for TcR binding became critical for MHC binding and former spacer residues became essential to various degrees for the interaction with either receptor or both. Thus, apparently, the loss of the terminal residues' contribution was at least partially compensated by a redistribution of the roles among the remaining residues. These results reflect a cooperative contribution of all residues of an antigenic peptide to its binding to both receptors and thus challenge a static definition of agretope and epitope as MHC and TcR binding sites
Time Averaged Quantum Dynamics and the Validity of the Effective Hamiltonian Model
We develop a technique for finding the dynamical evolution in time of an
averaged density matrix. The result is an equation of evolution that includes
an Effective Hamiltonian, as well as decoherence terms in Lindblad form.
Applying the general equation to harmonic Hamiltonians, we confirm a previous
formula for the Effective Hamiltonian together with a new decoherence term
which should in general be included, and whose vanishing provides the criteria
for validity of the Effective Hamiltonian approach. Finally, we apply the
theory to examples of the AC Stark Shift and Three- Level Raman Transitions,
recovering a new decoherence effect in the latter.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure
Molecular modeling of an antigenic complex between a viral peptide and a class I major histocompatibility glycoprotein
Computer simulation of the
conformations of short antigenic peptides (&lo
residues) either free or bound to their receptor,
the major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-
encoded glycoprotein H-2 Ld, was employed to
explain experimentally determined differences
in the antigenic activities within a set of related
peptides. Starting for each sequence from the
most probable conformations disclosed by a
pattern-recognition technique, several energyminimized
structures were subjected to molecular
dynamics simulations (MD) either in vacuo
or solvated by water molecules. Notably, antigenic
potencies were found to correlate to the
peptides propensity to form and maintain an
overall a-helical conformation through regular
i,i + 4 hydrogen bonds. Accordingly, less active
or inactive peptides showed a strong tendency
to form i,i+3 hydrogen bonds at their Nterminal
end. Experimental data documented
that the C-terminal residue is critical for interaction
of the peptide with H-2 Ld. This finding
could be satisfactorily explained by a 3-D
Q.S.A.R. analysis postulating interactions between
ligand and receptor by hydrophobic
forces. A 3-D model is proposed for the complex
between a high-affinity nonapeptide and the H-
2 Ld receptor. First, the H-2 Ld molecule was
built from X-ray coordinates of two homologous
proteins: HLA-A2 and HLA-Aw68, energyminimized
and studied by MD simulations. With
HLA-A2 as template, the only realistic simulation
was achieved for a solvated model with minor
deviations of the MD mean structure from
the X-ray conformation. Water simulation of the
H-2 Ld protein in complex with the antigenic
nonapeptide was then achieved with the template-
derived optimal parameters. The bound
peptide retains mainly its a-helical conformation
and binds to hydrophobic residues of H-2
Ld that correspond to highly polymorphic positions
of MHC proteins. The orientation of the
nonapeptide in the binding cleft is in accordance
with the experimentally determined distribution
of its MHC receptor-binding residues
(agretope residues). Thus, computer simulation was successfully employed to explain functional
data and predicts a-helical conformation
for the bound peptid
Hardware in Haskell: Implementing Memories in a Stream-Based World
Recursive functions and data types pose significant challenges for a Haskell-to-hardware compiler. Directly translating these structures yields infinitely large circuits; a subtler approach is required. We propose a sequence of abstraction-lowering transformations that exposes time and memory in a Haskell program, producing a simpler form for hardware translation. This paper outlines these transformations on a specific example; future research will focus on generalizing and automating them in our group's compiler
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