Generalized Elliptic Integrals and the Legendre M-function

We study monotonicity and convexity properties of functions arising in the theory of elliptic integrals, and in particular in the case of a Schwarz-Christoffel conformal mapping from a half-plane to a trapezoid. We obtain sharp monotonicity and convexity results for combinations of these functions, as well as functional inequalities and a linearization property.Comment: 28 page

Ultrasonically assisted atmospheric freeze-drying of button mushroom. Drying kinetics and product quality

This is an Author's Accepted Manuscript of an article published in Drying Technology, 36, 15, 1814-1823 © Taylor & Francis, available online at: http://doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2017.1417870[EN] The aim of this work was to evaluate the feasibility of using power ultrasound to improve the atmospheric freeze-drying of mushroom, as interesting alternative to vacuum freeze-drying, considering not only kinetic effects but also the final quality. For that purpose, mushroom slices (Agaricus bisporus) were dried (¿10°C and 2 m/s) with (24.6 and 12.3 kW/m3; 21.9 kHz) and without ultrasound application. The application of ultrasound significantly influenced the drying kinetics, increasing the effective diffusivity up to 280% and shortening drying time up to 74%. As for the quality parameters (color, texture, rehydration, and cell damage), no remarkable influence of the ultrasound application was observed. Therefore, the application of power ultrasound during the atmospheric freeze-drying of mushroom might be considered as an interesting technology providing that it significantly increased the process kinetics without greatly affecting the quality of the final product.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the Generalitat Valenciana (PROMETEOII/2014/005) and INIA-ERDF (RTA2015-00060-C04-02).Carrion, C.; Mulet Pons, A.; García Pérez, JV.; Cárcel Carrión, JA. (2017). Ultrasonically assisted atmospheric freeze-drying of button mushroom. Drying kinetics and product quality. Drying Technology. 36(15):1814-1823. https://doi.org/10.1080/07373937.2017.1417870S18141823361

Structural and Magnetic Properties of MrSr₂Y₁.₅Ce₀.₅Cu₂Oz (M-1222) Compounds with M = Fe and Co

The MSr2Y1.5Ce0.5Cu2Oz (M-1222) compounds, with M = Fe and Co, have been synthesized through a solid-state reaction route. Both compounds crystallize in a tetragonal structure (space group 14/mmm). A Rietveld structural refinement of the room-temperature neutron diffraction data for Fe-1222 reveals that nearly half the Fe remains at the M site, while the other half goes to the Cu site in the CuO2 planes. Existence of Fe at two different lattice sites is also confirmed by 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy from which it is inferred that ~50% of the total Fe occupies the Cu site in the CuO2 planes as Fe3+, whereas the other ~50% is located at the M site with ~40% as Fe4+ and ~10% as Fe3+. For the M[Double Bond]Co compound, nearly 84% of Co remains at its designated M site, while the rest occupies the Cu site in the CuO2 planes

Stress Impairs Skin Barrier Function and Induces α2-3 Linked N-Acetylneuraminic Acid and Core 1 O-Glycans on Skin Mucins in Atlantic Salmon, Salmo salar

The skin barrier consists of mucus, primarily comprising highly glycosylated mucins, and the epithelium. Host mucin glycosylation governs interactions with pathogens and stress is associated with impaired epithelial barrier function. We characterized Atlantic salmon skin barrier function during chronic stress (high density) and mucin O-glycosylation changes in response to acute and chronic stress. Fish held at low (LD: 14–30 kg/m3) and high densities (HD: 50-80 kg/m3) were subjected to acute stress 24 h before sampling at 17 and 21 weeks after start of the experiment. Blood parameters indicated primary and secondary stress responses at both sampling points. At the second sampling, skin barrier function towards molecules was reduced in the HD compared to the LD group (Papp mannitol; p < 0.01). Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry revealed 81 O-glycan structures from the skin. Fish subjected to both chronic and acute stress had an increased proportion of large O-glycan structures. Overall, four of the O-glycan changes have potential as indicators of stress, especially for the combined chronic and acute stress. Stress thus impairs skin barrier function and induces glycosylation changes, which have potential to both affect interactions with pathogens and serve as stress indicators. View Full-TextpublishedVersio

IDOL regulates systemic energy balance through control of neuronal VLDLR expression.

Liver X receptors limit cellular lipid uptake by stimulating the transcription of Inducible Degrader of the LDL Receptor (IDOL), an E3 ubiquitin ligase that targets lipoprotein receptors for degradation. The function of IDOL in systemic metabolism is incompletely understood. Here we show that loss of IDOL in mice protects against the development of diet-induced obesity and metabolic dysfunction by altering food intake and thermogenesis. Unexpectedly, analysis of tissue-specific knockout mice revealed that IDOL affects energy balance, not through its actions in peripheral metabolic tissues (liver, adipose, endothelium, intestine, skeletal muscle), but by controlling lipoprotein receptor abundance in neurons. Single-cell RNA sequencing of the hypothalamus demonstrated that IDOL deletion altered gene expression linked to control of metabolism. Finally, we identify VLDLR rather than LDLR as the primary mediator of IDOL effects on energy balance. These studies identify a role for the neuronal IDOL-VLDLR pathway in metabolic homeostasis and diet-induced obesity

Bonn Potential and Shell-Model Calculations for 206,205,204Pb

The structure of the nuclei 206,205,204Pb is studied interms of shell model employing a realistic effective interaction derived from the Bonn A nucleon-nucleon potential. The energy spectra, binding energies and electromagnetic properties are calculated and compared with experiment. A very good overall agreement is obtained. This evidences the reliability of our realistic effective interaction and encourages use of modern realistic potentials in shell-model calculations for heavy-mass nuclei.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Use of near infrared reflectance spectroscopy to predict nitrogen uptake by winter wheat within fields with high variability in organic matter

In this study, the ability to predict N-uptake in winter wheat crops using NIR-spectroscopy on soil samples was evaluated. Soil samples were taken in unfertilized plots in one winter wheat field during three years (1997-1999) and in another winter wheat field nearby in one year (2000). Soil samples were analyzed for organic C content and their NIR-spectra. N-uptake was measured as total N-content in aboveground plant materials at harvest. Models calibrated to predict N-uptake were internally cross validated and validated across years and across fields. Cross-validated calibrations predicted N-uptake with an average error of 12.1 to 15.4 kg N ha-1. The standard deviation divided by this error (RPD) ranged between 1.9 and 2.5. In comparison, the corresponding calibrations based on organic C alone had an error from 11.7 to 28.2 kg N ha-1 and RPDs from 1.3 to 2.5. In three of four annual calibrations within a field, the NIR-based calibrations worked better than the organic C based calibrations. The prediction of N-uptake across years, but within a field, worked slightly better with an organic C based calibration than with a NIR based one, RPD = 1.9 and 1.7 respectively. Across fields, the corresponding difference was large in favour of the NIR-calibration, RPD = 2.5 for the NIR-calibration and 1.5 for the organic C calibration. It was concluded that NIR-spectroscopy integrates information about organic C with other relevant soil components and therefore has a good potential to predict complex functions of soils such as N-mineralization. A relatively good agreement of spectral relationships to parameters related to the N-mineralization of datasets across the world suggests that more general models can be calibrated

Effective three-band model for double perovskites

We start from a six-band model describing the transition-metal t2g orbitals of half-metallic double perovskite systems, such as Sr2FeMoO6, in which only one of the transition metal ions (Fe) contains important intratomic repulsion Ufe. By eliminating the Mo orbitals using a low-energy reduction similar to that used in the cuprates, we construct a Hamiltonian which contains only effective t2g Fe orbitals. This allows to treat exactly Ufe, and most of the Fe-Mo hopping. As an application, we treat the effective Hamiltonian in the slave-boson mean-field approximation and calculate the position of the metal-insulator transition and other quantities as a function of pressure or on-site energy difference.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Observation of Long-Range, Near-Side Angular Correlations in Proton-Proton Collisions at the LHC

Peer reviewe

Measurement of the transverse momentum spectrum of the Higgs boson produced in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV using H -> WW decays

A search has been performed for heavy resonances decaying to ZZ or ZW in 2l2q final states, with two charged leptons (l = e, mu) produced by the decay of a Z boson, and two quarks produced by the decay of a W or Z boson. The analysis is sensitive to resonances with masses in the range from 400 to 4500 GeV. Two categories are defined based on the merged or resolved reconstruction of the hadronically decaying vector boson, optimized for high- and low-mass resonances, respectively. The search is based on data collected during 2016 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions with a center-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). No excess is observed in the data above the standard model background expectation. Upper limits on the production cross section of heavy, narrow spin-1 and spin-2 resonances are derived as a function of the resonance mass, and exclusion limits on the production of W' bosons and bulk graviton particles are calculated in the framework of the heavy vector triplet model and warped extra dimensions, respectively.A search has been performed for heavy resonances decaying to ZZ or ZW in 2l2q final states, with two charged leptons (l = e, mu) produced by the decay of a Z boson, and two quarks produced by the decay of a W or Z boson. The analysis is sensitive to resonances with masses in the range from 400 to 4500 GeV. Two categories are defined based on the merged or resolved reconstruction of the hadronically decaying vector boson, optimized for high- and low-mass resonances, respectively. The search is based on data collected during 2016 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in proton-proton collisions with a center-of-mass energy of root s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). No excess is observed in the data above the standard model background expectation. Upper limits on the production cross section of heavy, narrow spin-1 and spin-2 resonances are derived as a function of the resonance mass, and exclusion limits on the production of W' bosons and bulk graviton particles are calculated in the framework of the heavy vector triplet model and warped extra dimensions, respectively.The cross section for Higgs boson production in pp collisions is studied using the H -> W+ W- decay mode, followed by leptonic decays of the W bosons to an oppositely charged electron-muon pair in the final state. The measurements are performed using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC at a centre -of -mass energy of 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.4 fb(-1). The Higgs boson transverse momentum (p(T)) is reconstructed using the lepton pair p(T), and missing p(T). The differential cross section times branching fraction is measured as a function of the Higgs boson p(T), in a fiducial phase space defined to match the experimental acceptance in terms of the lepton kinematics and event topology. The production cross section times branching fraction in the fiducial phase space is measured to be 39 +/- 8 (stat) +/- 9 (syst) fb. The measurements are found to agree, within experimental uncertainties, with theoretical calculations based on the standard model.Peer reviewe