MHD Remote Numerical Simulations: Evolution of Coronal Mass Ejections

Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are solar eruptions into interplanetary space of as much as a few billion tons of plasma, with embedded magnetic fields from the Sun's corona. These perturbations play a very important role in solar--terrestrial relations, in particular in the spaceweather. In this work we present some preliminary results of the software development at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico to perform Remote MHD Numerical Simulations. This is done to study the evolution of the CMEs in the interplanetary medium through a Web-based interface and the results are store into a database. The new astrophysical computational tool is called the Mexican Virtual Solar Observatory (MVSO) and is aimed to create theoretical models that may be helpful in the interpretation of observational solar data.Comment: 2 pages, 1 color figure. To appear in Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 259. Cosmic Magnetic Fields: From Planets, to Stars and Galaxies. In pres

The Chemical Composition of Cernis 52 (BD+31 640)

We present an abundance analysis of the star Cernis 52 in whose spectrum we recently reported the napthalene cation in absorption at 6707.4 {\AA}. This star is on a line of sight to the Perseus molecular complex. The analysis of high-resolution spectra using a chi^2-minimization procedure and a grid of synthetic spectra provides the stellar parameters and the abundances of O, Mg, Si, S, Ca, and Fe. The stellar parameters of this star are found to be T_{eff} = 8350 +- 200 K, logg= 4.2 +- 0.4 dex. We derived a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -0.01 +- 0.15. These stellar parameters are consistent with a star of $\sim 2$ \Msun in a pre-main-sequence evolutionary stage. The stellar spectrum is significantly veiled in the spectral range 5150-6730 {\AA} up to almost 55 per cent of the total flux at 5150 {\AA} and decreasing towards longer wavelengths. Using Johnson-Cousins and 2MASS photometric data, we determine a distance to Cernis 52 of 231$^{+135}_{-85}$ pc considering the error bars of the stellar parameters. This determination places the star at a similar distance to the young cluster IC 348. This together with its radial velocity, v_r=13.7+-1 km/s, its proper motion and probable young age support Cernis 52 as a likely member of IC 348. We determine a rotational velocity of v\sin i=65 +- 5 km/s for this star. We confirm that the stellar resonance line of \ion{Li}{1} at 6707.8 {\AA} is unable to fit the broad feature at 6707.4 {\AA}. This feature should have a interstellar origin and could possibly form in the dark cloud L1470 surrounding all the cluster IC 348 at about the same distance.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Lubrication of DLC Coatings with Two Tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate Anion-Based Ionic Liquids

The lubrication of a Cr-DLC coating with ethyl-dimethyl-2-methoxyethylammonium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluoropho-sphate [(NEMM)MOE][FAP] and 1-butyl-1-methylpyrro-lidinium tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate [BMP] [FAP] ionic liquids (ILs) as 1 wt% additives to a polyalphaolefin (PAO 6) was studied. Zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) was also used as reference in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the ILs. Reciprocating ball-on-plate tribological tests at loads of 20 and 40 N were performed. The results showed that both ILs exhibited a friction reduction, especially at the lowest load tested. Antiwear properties were also improved; the PAO 6 + 1% [BMP][FAP] mixture was slightly better, close to the values for PAO 6 + 1% ZDDP. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated that the additive–surface interaction was responsible for the tribological improvement

AERODYNAMICS PERFORMANCES IN SPORTS

Aerodynamic forces are important in many racing sports and all those which use projectiles or any kind of ball. For all of them, the wind tunnel becomes one of the most efficient tools to improve the athlete performances and to coach as well. Coaching demands a lot of time wind tunnel occupancy, so its operating cost is very relevant. Advantages of specifically developed wind tunnels and possibilities of tests are discussed

Molecular fingerprinting of Campylobacter and Arcobacter isolated from chicken and water

The potential of a fingerprinting method based on the single-enzyme amplified fragment length polymorphism (s-AFLP) technique was evaluated for its efficacy in detecting foodborne Campylobacter and Arcobacter species. Campylobacter and Arcobacter isolates from chicken and water samples were subjected to s-AFLP and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) profiling. Molecular typing revealed a high degree of heterogeneity. AFLP was found to be appropriate for differentiating minimal genomic variations, which makes this technique a valuable tool for the identification of isolates. PFGE was effective in showing epidemiological relationships among closely related isolates. Either technique allowed the discrimination of A. butzleri from A. cryaerophilus and A. skirrowii. When used together, s-AFLP and PFGE can be applied to determine taxonomic and epidemiological relationships among campylobacteria. [Int Microbiol 2007; 10(2):85-90