A Unified Fitting of HI and HeII Ly\alpha Transmitted Flux of QSO HE2347 with LCDM Hydrodynamic Simulations

Using cosmological hydrodynamic simulations of the LCDM model, we present a comparison between the simulation sample and real data sample of HI and HeII Ly\alpha transmitted flux in the absorption spectra of the QSO HE2347-4342. The LCDM model is successful in simultaneously explaining the statistical features of both HI and HeII Ly\alpha transmitted flux. It includes: 1.) the power spectra of the transmitted flux of HI and HeII can be well fitted on all scales > 0.28h^{-1} Mpc for H, and > 1.1h^{-1} Mpc for He; 2.) the Doppler parameters of absorption features of HeII and HI are found to be turbulent-broadening; 3.) the ratio of HeII to HI optical depths are substantially scattered, due to the significant effect of noise. A large part of the \eta-scatter is due to the noise in the HeII flux. However, the real data contain more low-\eta events than simulation sample. This discrepancy may indicate that the mechanism leading extra fluctuations upon the simulation data, such as a fluctuating UV radiation background, is needed. Yet, models of these extra fluctuations should satisfy the constraints: 1.) if the fluctuations are Gaussian, they should be limited by the power spectra of observed HI and HeII flux; 2.) if the fluctuations are non-Gaussian, they should be limited by the observed non-Gaussian features of the HI and HeII flux.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figs, ApJ in pres

Chemical composition of Dipsacus asper Wallich ex Candolle (Dipsacaceae) essential oil and its activity against mosquito larvae of Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens pallens

Purpose: To evaluate the larvicidal activity of the essential oil of Dipsacus asper Wallich ex Candolle (Dipsacaceae) roots against the larvae of Aedes aegypti L. and Culex pipiens pallens Coquillett.Methods: Essential oil was extracted from D. asper roots by hydrodistillation and analyzed for its composition by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The oil was evaluated for larvicidal activity, using World Health Organization (WHO) procedures, against the fourth larvae of A. aegypti and C. pipiens pallens within 24 h, and activity was recorded for various concentrations of the oil ranging from 12.5 – 200.0 μg/mL.Results: A total of 34 components of the essential oil of D. asper were identified. The major compounds of the essential oil were caryophyllene oxide (13.29 %), caryophyllene (9.14 %), cubebene (7.87 %), β-gurjunene (6.43 %), carvone (5.38 %), 1,8-cineole (5.29 %), and calamenene (5.05 %). The oil exhibited larvicidal activity against A. aegypti and C. pipiens pallens at median lethal concentrations (LC50) of 56.29 μg/mL and 47.49 μg/mL, respectively.Conclusion: The essential oil of D. asper roots has potentials for use in the control of A. aegypti and C. pipiens pallens and may be useful in the search for new, safer and more effective natural larvicides.Keywords: Dipsacus asper, Aedes aegypti, Culex pipiens pallens, Essential oil, Larvicidal activity, Caryophyllene, Cubebene, β-Gurjunene, Carvon

Is the cosmic UV background fluctuating at redshift z ~ 6 ?

We study the Gunn-Peterson effect of the photo-ionized intergalactic medium(IGM) in the redshift range 5< z <6.4 using semi-analytic simulations based on the lognormal model. Assuming a rapidly evolved and spatially uniform ionizing background, the simulation can produce all the observed abnormal statistical features near redshift z ~ 6. They include: 1) rapidly increase of absorption depths; 2) large scatter in the optical depths; 3) long-tailed distributions of transmitted flux and 4) long dark gaps in spectra. These abnormal features are mainly due to rare events, which correspond to the long-tailed probability distribution of the IGM density field, and therefore, they may not imply significantly spatial fluctuations in the UV ionizing background at z ~ 6.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figs, accepted by ApJ

Chemical composition and insecticidal properties of the essential oil of Bidens frondosa L (Asteraceae) against booklice (Liposcelis bostrychophila)

Purpose: To investigate contact and fumigant toxicity of the essential oil of Bidens frondosa and its isolated constituents against booklice (Liposcelis bostrychophila).Methods: The essential oil of B. frondosa was obtained by hydro-distillation and analyzed by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) with HP-5MS column. The active constituents were purified from the oil by bioactivity-guided fractionation. Contact (impregnated filter paper method) and fumigant toxicity (sealed space) of the oil and its isolates were determined.Results: Thirty-two compounds, representing 98.88 % of the total oil, were determined and the major constituents of the essential oil were caryophyllene oxide (20.50 %), borneol (17.66 %), 4-terpineol (17.26 %), and β-cedrene (6.94 %). The essential oil displayed fumigant toxicity against booklice, with a median lethal concentration (LC50) of 507.35 μg/L while the isolated constituents, borneol and 4-terpineol, had LC50 values of 2.20 mg/L and 335.24 μg/L against booklice, respectively. The essential oil also exhibited contact toxicity against L. bostrychophila with an LC50 value of 210.73 μg/cm2. Borneol, caryophyllene oxide, β-cedrene, and 4-terpineol showed acute toxicity against booklice with LC50 of 98.04, 84.62, 458.79 and 211.35 μg/cm2, respectively.Conclusion: The results suggest that the essential oil and its isolates possess potential for cultivation into natural insecticides or fumigants, for control of insects in stored grains.Keywords: Bidens frondosa, Liposcelis bostrychophila, Contact toxicity, Essential oil, Boolice, Stored grains, Natural insecticides, Fumigant

Sensor Nodes Deployment Strategy for Monitoring Roadside Biomass Carbon Stocks of Tourism Destination: A Case of Wulong World Natural Heritage, China

Since the late 1978s, China has experienced one of the highest tourism growth rates in the world, which in turn has driven extensive land-use and land-cover change. The aim of this research is to develop a sensor nodes positioning strategy for detecting land use related dynamics of vegetation carbon stocks of Wulong world natural heritage. Based on the assessment of road networks’ influences on biomass carbon stocks, roadside biomass carbon stocks risk index was proposed as a sensor deployment strategy to identify the optimal positions of the sensors to detect the changes in vegetation carbon stocks. Forest and cropland around the lower levels of roads should be the most important region of sensor nodes deployment strategy. The results generated from this study have the ability to achieve optimal solution of spatial positioning problem with minimum number of sensors in biomass carbon monitoring sensor networks. This analysis appears to have great potential for a wide range of practical applications in tourism industry in China