1,821 research outputs found
Extending SMTCoq, a Certified Checker for SMT (Extended Abstract)
This extended abstract reports on current progress of SMTCoq, a communication
tool between the Coq proof assistant and external SAT and SMT solvers. Based on
a checker for generic first-order certificates implemented and proved correct
in Coq, SMTCoq offers facilities both to check external SAT and SMT answers and
to improve Coq's automation using such solvers, in a safe way. Currently
supporting the SAT solver zChaff, and the SMT solver veriT for the combination
of the theories of congruence closure and linear integer arithmetic, SMTCoq is
meant to be extendable with a reasonable amount of effort: we present work in
progress to support the SMT solver CVC4 and the theory of bit vectors.Comment: In Proceedings HaTT 2016, arXiv:1606.0542
The effect of within-crop habitat manipulations on the conservation biological control of aphids in field-grown lettuce
Within-crop habitat manipulations have the potential to increase the biological
control of pests in horticultural field crops. Wildflower strips have been shown to
increase the abundance of natural enemies, but there is little evidence to date of an
impact on pest populations. The aim of this study was to determine whether withincrop
wildflower strips can increase the natural regulation of pests in horticultural
field crops. Aphid numbers in plots of lettuce grown adjacent to wildflower strips
were compared with those in plots grown in the absence of wildflowers. The presence
of wildflower strips led to a decrease in aphid numbers on adjacent lettuce plants
during June and July, but had less impact in August and September. The decrease in
aphid numbers was greatest close to the wildflower strips and, the decrease in aphid
numbers declined with increasing distance from the wildflower strips, with little
effect at a distance of ten metres. The main natural enemies found in the crop were
those that dispersed aerially, which is consistent with data from previous studies on
cereal crops. Analysis and interpretation of natural enemy numbers was difficult due
to low recovery of natural enemies, and the numbers appeared to follow changes in
aphid abundance rather than being directly linked to the presence of wildflower
strips. Cutting the wildflower strips, to remove floral resources, had no impact on the
reduction in aphid numbers achieved during June and July, but decreased the effect
of the wildflower strips during August and September. The results suggest that
wildflower strips can lead to increased natural regulation of pest aphids in outdoor
lettuce crops, but more research is required to determine how this is mediated by
natural enemies and how the impact of wildflower strips on natural pest regulation
changes during the growing season
Accretion onto the Supermassive Black Hole in M87
Chandra X-ray observations of the giant elliptical galaxy M87 resolve the
thermal state of the hot interstellar medium into the accretion (Bondi) radius
of its central 3 10^9 Msun black hole. We measure the X-ray gas temperature and
density profiles and calculate the Bondi accretion rate, Mdot_Bondi \sim 0.1
Msun/yr. The X-ray luminosity of the active nucleus of M87 observed with
Chandra is L_{x, 0.5-7 \keV} \sim 7 \times 10^{40}erg/s. This value is much
less than the predicted nuclear luminosity, L_{Bondi} \sim 5 \times 10^{44}
erg/s, for accretion at the Bondi rate with a canonical accretion radiative
efficiency of 10%. If the black hole in M87 accretes at this rate it must do so
at a much lower radiative efficiency than the canonical value. The
multiwavelength spectrum of the nucleus is consistent with that predicted by an
advection-dominated flow. However, as is likely, the X-ray nucleus is dominated
by jet emission then the properties of flow must be modified, possibly by
outflows. We show that the overall energetics of the system are just consistent
with the predicted Bondi nuclear power. This suggests that either most of the
accretion energy is released in the relativistic jet or that the central engine
of M87 undergoes on-off activity cycles. We show that, at present, the energy
dumped into the ISM by the jet may reduce the accretion rate onto the black
hole by a factor \propto (v_j/c_s)^{-2}, where v_j is the jet velocity and c_s
the ISM sound speed, and that this is sufficient to account for the low nuclear
luminosity.Comment: emulateapj.sty, revised version, accepted by Ap
Chemistry by Mobile Phone (or how to justify more time at the bar)
By combining automatic environment monitoring with Java smartphones a system has been produced for the real-time monitoring of experiments whilst away from the lab. Changes in the laboratory environment are encapsulated as simple XML messages, which are published using an MQTT compliant broker. Clients subscribe to the MQTT stream, and produce a user display. An MQTT client written for the Java MIDP platform, can be run on a smartphone with a GPRS Internet connection, freeing us from the constraints of the lab. We present an overview of the technologies used, and how these are helping chemists make the best use of their time
What is on Tap? The Role of Spin in Compact Objects and Relativistic Jets
We examine the role of spin in launching jets from compact objects across the
mass scale. Our work includes a total of 37 Seyferts, 11 stellar-mass black
holes, and 13 neutron stars. We find that when the Seyfert reflection lines are
modeled with Gaussian line features (a crude proxy for inner disk radius and
therefore spin), only a slight inverse correlation is found between the
Doppler-corrected radio luminosity at 5 GHz (a proxy for jet power) and line
width. When the Seyfert reflection features are fit with
relativistically-blurred disk reflection models that measure spin, there is a
tentative positive correlation between the Doppler-corrected radio luminosity
and the spin measurement. Further, when we include stellar-mass black holes in
the sample, to examine the effects across the mass scale, we find a slightly
stronger correlation with radio luminosity per unit mass and spin, at a
marginal significance (2.3 sigma confidence level). Finally, when we include
neutron stars, in order to probe lower spin values, we find a positive
correlation (3.3 sigma confidence level) between radio luminosity per unit mass
and spin. Although tentative, these results suggest that spin may have a role
in determining the jet luminosity. In addition, we find a slightly more
significant correlation (4.4 sigma confidence level) between radio luminosity
per Bolometric luminosity and spin, using our entire sample of black holes and
neutrons stars. Again, although tentative, these relations point to the
possibility that the mass accretion rate, i.e. Bolometric luminosity, is also
important in determining the jet luminosity, in addition to spin. Our analysis
suggests that mass accretion rate and disk or coronal magnetic field strength
may be the "throttle" in these compact systems, to which the Eddington limit
and spin may set the maximum jet luminosity that can be achieved.Comment: 14 pages, 13 Figures, ApJ Accepte
Decaying Raphia farinifera Palm Trees Provide a Source of Sodium for Wild Chimpanzees in the Budongo Forest, Uganda
For some years, chimpanzees have been observed eating the pith of decaying palm trees of Raphia farinifera in the Budongo Forest, Uganda. The reasons for doing this have until now been unknown. An analysis of the pith for mineral content showed high levels of sodium to be present in the samples. By contrast, lower levels were found in bark of other tree species, and also in leaf and fruit samples eaten by chimpanzees. The differences between the Raphia samples and the non-Raphia samples were highly significant (p<0.001). It is concluded that Raphia provides a rich and possibly essential source of sodium for the Budongo chimpanzees. Comparison of a chewed sample (wadge) of Raphia pith with a sample from the tree showed a clear reduction in sodium content in the chewed sample. Black and white colobus monkeys in Budongo Forest also feed on the pith of Raphia. At present, the survival of Raphia palms in Budongo Forest is threatened by the use of this tree by local tobacco farmers
Mineral Acquisition from Clay by Budongo Forest Chimpanzees
Chimpanzees of the Sonso community, Budongo Forest, Uganda were observed eating clay and drinking clay-water from waterholes. We show that clay, clay-rich water, and clay obtained with leaf sponges, provide a range of minerals in different concentrations. The presence of aluminium in the clay consumed indicates that it takes the form of kaolinite. We discuss the contribution of clay geophagy to the mineral intake of the Sonso chimpanzees and show that clay eaten using leaf sponges is particularly rich in minerals. We show that termite mound soil, also regularly consumed, is rich in minerals. We discuss the frequency of clay and termite soil geophagy in the context of the disappearance from Budongo Forest of a formerly rich source of minerals, the decaying pith of Raphia farinifera palms
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