65 research outputs found
Left Non-thrombotic Iliac Vein Lesion with a Symptomatic Right Leg
AbstractWe report a case of left sided May–Thurner's syndrome in a 35-year-old female patient with features of chronic venous insufficiency of the right lower extremity in contrast to the more commonly found clinical presentation of involvement of the left lower limb. This patient showed dramatic improvement in relief of pain and swelling of the right lower limb after stenting the May–Thurner lesion with resolution of reflux in the femoral veins
Bianchi type II models in the presence of perfect fluid and anisotropic dark energy
Spatially homogeneous but totally anisotropic and non-flat Bianchi type II
cosmological model has been studied in general relativity in the presence of
two minimally interacting fluids; a perfect fluid as the matter fluid and a
hypothetical anisotropic fluid as the dark energy fluid. The Einstein's field
equations have been solved by applying two kinematical ans\"{a}tze: we have
assumed the variation law for the mean Hubble parameter that yields a constant
value of deceleration parameter, and one of the components of the shear tensor
has been considered proportional to the mean Hubble parameter. We have
particularly dwelled on the accelerating models with non-divergent expansion
anisotropy as the Universe evolves. Yielding anisotropic pressure, the fluid we
consider in the context of dark energy, can produce results that can be
produced in the presence of isotropic fluid in accordance with the \Lambda CDM
cosmology. However, the derived model gives additional opportunities by being
able to allow kinematics that cannot be produced in the presence of fluids that
yield only isotropic pressure. We have obtained well behaving cases where the
anisotropy of the expansion and the anisotropy of the fluid converge to finite
values (include zero) in the late Universe. We have also showed that although
the metric we consider is totally anisotropic, the anisotropy of the dark
energy is constrained to be axially symmetric, as long as the overall energy
momentum tensor possesses zero shear stress.Comment: 15 pages; 5 figures; matches the version published in The European
Physical Journal Plu
Mode-Locking in Driven Disordered Systems as a Boundary-Value Problem
We study mode-locking in disordered media as a boundary-value problem.
Focusing on the simplest class of mode-locking models which consists of a
single driven overdamped degree-of-freedom, we develop an analytical method to
obtain the shape of the Arnol'd tongues in the regime of low ac-driving
amplitude or high ac-driving frequency. The method is exact for a scalloped
pinning potential and easily adapted to other pinning potentials. It is
complementary to the analysis based on the well-known Shapiro's argument that
holds in the perturbative regime of large driving amplitudes or low driving
frequency, where the effect of pinning is weak.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, RevTeX, Submitte
Accelerating Bianchi Type-V Cosmology with Perfect Fluid and Heat Flow in Saez-Ballester Theory
In this paper we discuss the law of variation of scale factor which yields a time-dependent deceleration
parameter (DP) representing a new class of models that generate a transition of
universe from the early decelerated phase to the recent accelerating phase.
Exact solutions of Einstein's modified field equations with perfect fluid and
heat conduction are obtained within the framework of Saez-Ballester
scalar-tensor theory of gravitation and the model is found to be in good
agreement with recent observations. We find, for n = 3, k = 1, the present
value of DP in derived model as q_0 = -0.67 which is very near to the observed
value of DP at present epoch. We find that the time-dependent DP is sensible
for the present day Universe and give an earmark description of evolution of
universe. Some physical and geometric properties of the models are also
discussed.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
Time evolution of damage under variable ranges of load transfer
We study the time evolution of damage in a fiber bundle model in which the
range of interaction of fibers varies through an adjustable stress transfer
function recently introduced. We find that the lifetime of the material
exhibits a crossover from mean field to short range behavior as in the static
case. Numerical calculations showed that the value at which the transition
takes place depends on the system's disorder. Finally, we have performed a
microscopic analysis of the failure process. Our results confirm that the
growth dynamics of the largest crack is radically different in the two limiting
regimes of load transfer during the first stages of breaking.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, revtex4 styl
A New Class of Bianchi Type-I Cosmological Models in Scalar-Tensor Theory of Gravitation and Late Time Acceleration
A new class of a spatially homogeneous and anisotropic Bianchi type-I
cosmological models of the universe for perfect fluid distribution within the
framework of scalar-tensor theory of gravitation proposed by Saez and Ballester
(Phys. Lett. 113:467, 1986) is investigated. To prevail the deterministic
solutions we choose the different scale factors which yield time-dependent
deceleration parameters (DP) representing models which generate a transition of
the universe from the early decelerated phase to the recent accelerating phase.
Three different physically viable models of the universe are obtained in which
their anisotropic solutions may enter to some isotropic inflationary era. The
modified Einstein's field equations are solved exactly and the models are found
to be in good concordance with recent observations. Some physical and geometric
properties of the models are also discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure
Modelling and Prediction of Soil Organic Carbon using Digital Soil Mapping in the Thar Desert Region of India
Not AvailableIn the present study, the distribution of soil organic carbon (SOC) was investigated using digital soil
mapping for an area of ~29 lakhs ha in Bikaner district, Rajasthan, India. To achieve this goal, 187 soil
profiles were used for SOC estimation by Quantile regression forest (QRF) model technique. Landsat data,
terrain attributes and bioclimatic variables were used as environmental variables. 10-fold cross-validation
was used to evaluate model. Equal-area quadratic splines were fitted to soil profile datasets to estimate
SOC at six standard soil depths (0-5, 5-15, 15-30, 30-60, 60-100 and 100-200 cm). Results showed that the
mean SOC concentration was very low with values varied from 1.18 to 1.53 g kg-1 in different depths.
While predicting SOC at different depths, the model was able to capture low variability (R2 = 1–7%).
Overall, the Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) values ranged from 0.01 to 0.18, indicating
poor agreement between the predicted and observed values. Root mean square error (RMSE) and mean
error (ME) were 0.97 and 0.16, respectively. The values of prediction interval coverage probability (PICP)
recorded 87.2–89.7% for SOC contents at different depths. The most important variables for predicting
SOC concentration variations were the annual range of temperature, latitude, Landsat 8 bands 2, 5 and 6.
Temperature-related variables and remote sensed data products are important for predicting SOC
concentrations in arid regions. We anticipate that this digital information of SOC will be useful for frequent
monitoring and assessment of carbon cycle in arid regions.Not Availabl
Genome-wide meta-analysis uncovers novel loci influencing circulating leptin levels.
Leptin is an adipocyte-secreted hormone, the circulating levels of which correlate closely with overall adiposity. Although rare mutations in the leptin (LEP) gene are well known to cause leptin deficiency and severe obesity, no common loci regulating circulating leptin levels have been uncovered. Therefore, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of circulating leptin levels from 32,161 individuals and followed up loci reaching P<10(-6) in 19,979 additional individuals. We identify five loci robustly associated (P<5 × 10(-8)) with leptin levels in/near LEP, SLC32A1, GCKR, CCNL1 and FTO. Although the association of the FTO obesity locus with leptin levels is abolished by adjustment for BMI, associations of the four other loci are independent of adiposity. The GCKR locus was found associated with multiple metabolic traits in previous GWAS and the CCNL1 locus with birth weight. Knockdown experiments in mouse adipose tissue explants show convincing evidence for adipogenin, a regulator of adipocyte differentiation, as the novel causal gene in the SLC32A1 locus influencing leptin levels. Our findings provide novel insights into the regulation of leptin production by adipose tissue and open new avenues for examining the influence of variation in leptin levels on adiposity and metabolic health
Articulating the effect of food systems innovation on the Sustainable Development Goals
Food system innovations will be instrumental to achieving multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, major innovation breakthroughs can trigger profound and disruptive changes, leading to simultaneous and interlinked reconfigurations of multiple parts of the global food system. The emergence of new technologies or social solutions, therefore, have very different impact profiles, with favourable consequences for some SDGs and unintended adverse side-effects for others. Stand-alone innovations seldom achieve positive outcomes over multiple sustainability dimensions. Instead, they should be embedded as part of systemic changes that facilitate the implementation of the SDGs. Emerging trade-offs need to be intentionally addressed to achieve true sustainability, particularly those involving social aspects like inequality in its many forms, social justice, and strong institutions, which remain challenging. Trade-offs with undesirable consequences are manageable through the development of well planned transition pathways, careful monitoring of key indicators, and through the implementation of transparent science targets at the local level
Phytotoxicity of silver nanoparticles on Vicia faba: evaluation of particle size effects on photosynthetic performance and leaf gas exchange
Nanotechnology is an emerging field in science and engineering, which presents significant impacts on the economy, society and the environment. The nanomaterials’ (NMs) production, use, and disposal is inevitably leading to their release into the environment where there are uncertainties about its fate, behaviour, and toxicity. Recent works have demonstrated that NMs can penetrate, translocate, and accumulate in plants. However, studies about the effects of the NMs on plants are still limited because most investigations are carried out in the initial stage of plant development. The present study aimed to evaluate and characterize the photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) of broad bean (Vicia faba) leaves when subjected to silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with diameters of 20, 51, and 73 nm as well as to micrometer-size Ag particles (AgBulk). The AgNPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. The analyses were performed by injecting the leaves with 100 mg L-1 aqueous solution of Ag and measuring the chlorophyll fluorescence imaging, gas exchange, thermal imaging, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. In addition, silver ion (Ag+) release from Ag particles was determined by dialysis. The results revealed that AgNPs induce a decrease in the photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) and an increase in the non-photochemical quenching. The data also revealed that AgNPs affected the stomatal conductance (gs) and CO2 assimilation. Further, AgNPs induced an overproduction of ROS in Vicia faba leaves. Finally, all observed effects were particle diameter-dependent, increasing with the reduction of AgNPs diameter and revealing that AgBulk caused only a small or no changes on plants. In summary, the results point out that AgNPs may negatively affect the photosynthesis process when accumulated in the leaves, and that the NPs themselves were mainly responsible since negligible Ag+ release was detected
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