919 research outputs found
A compartmental model for Xylella fastidiosa diseases with explicit vector seasonal dynamics
The bacterium Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is mainly transmitted by the
spittlebug, Philaenus spumarius, in Europe, where it has caused significant
economic damage to olive and almond trees. Understanding the factors that
determine disease dynamics in pathosystems that share similarities can help
design control strategies focused on minimizing transmission chains. Here we
introduce a compartmental model for Xf-caused diseases in Europe that accounts
for the main relevant epidemiological processes, including the seasonal
dynamics of P. spumarius. The model was confronted with epidemiological data
from the two major outbreaks of Xf in Europe, the olive quick disease syndrome
(OQDS) in Apulia, Italy, caused by the subspecies pauca, and the almond leaf
scorch disease (ALSD) in Majorca, Spain, caused by subspecies multiplex and
fastidiosa. Using a Bayesian inference framework, we show how the model
successfully reproduces the general field data in both diseases. In a global
sensitivity analysis, the vector-plant and plant-vector transmission rates,
together with the vector removal rate, were the most influential parameters in
determining the time of the infected host population peak, the incidence peak
and the final number of dead hosts. We also used our model to check different
vector-based control strategies, showing that a joint strategy focused on
increasing the rate of vector removal while lowering the number of annual
newborn vectors is optimal for disease control.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure
Study of the performance and capability of the new ultra-fast 2 GSample/s FADC data acquisition system of the MAGIC telescope
In February 2007 the MAGIC Air Cherenkov Telescope for gamma-ray astronomy
was fully upgraded with an ultra fast 2 GSamples/s digitization system. Since
the Cherenkov light flashes are very short, a fast readout can minimize the
influence of the background from the light of the night sky. Also, the time
structure of the event is an additional parameter to reduce the background from
unwanted hadronic showers. An overview of the performance of the new system and
its impact on the sensitivity of the MAGIC instrument will be presented.Comment: Contribution to the 30th ICRC, Merida Mexico, July 2007 on behalf of
the MAGIC Collaboratio
Second large-scale Monte Carlo study for the Cherenkov Telescope Array
The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) represents the next generation of ground
based instruments for Very High Energy gamma-ray astronomy. It is expected to
improve on the sensitivity of current instruments by an order of magnitude and
provide energy coverage from 20 GeV to more than 200 TeV. In order to achieve
these ambitious goals Monte Carlo (MC) simulations play a crucial role, guiding
the design of CTA. Here, results of the second large-scale MC production are
reported, providing a realistic estimation of feasible array candidates for
both Northern and Sourthern Hemisphere sites performance, placing CTA
capabilities into the context of the current generation of High Energy
-ray detectors.Comment: In Proceedings of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference
(ICRC2015), The Hague, The Netherlands. All CTA contributions at
arXiv:1508.0589
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