High-fidelity view of the structure and fragmentation of the high-mass, filamentary IRDC G11.11-0.12

Star formation in molecular clouds is intimately linked to their internal mass distribution. We present an unprecedentedly detailed analysis of the column density structure of a high-mass, filamentary molecular cloud, namely IRDC G11.11-0.12 (G11). We use two novel column density mapping techniques: high-resolution (FWHM=2", or ~0.035 pc) dust extinction mapping in near- and mid-infrared, and dust emission mapping with the Herschel satellite. These two completely independent techniques yield a strikingly good agreement, highlighting their complementarity and robustness. We first analyze the dense gas mass fraction and linear mass density of G11. We show that G11 has a top heavy mass distribution and has a linear mass density (M_l ~ 600 Msun pc^{-1}) that greatly exceeds the critical value of a self-gravitating, non-turbulent cylinder. These properties make G11 analogous to the Orion A cloud, despite its low star-forming activity. This suggests that the amount of dense gas in molecular clouds is more closely connected to environmental parameters or global processes than to the star-forming efficiency of the cloud. We then examine hierarchical fragmentation in G11 over a wide range of size-scales and densities. We show that at scales 0.5 pc > l > 8 pc, the fragmentation of G11 is in agreement with that of a self-gravitating cylinder. At scales smaller than l < 0.5 pc, the results agree better with spherical Jeans' fragmentation. One possible explanation for the change in fragmentation characteristics is the size-scale-dependent collapse time-scale that results from the finite size of real molecular clouds: at scales l < 0.5 pc, fragmentation becomes sufficiently rapid to be unaffected by global instabilities.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, accepted to A&

A comparison between conventional and LANDSAT based hydrologic modeling: The Four Mile Run case study

Models designed to support the hydrologic studies associated with urban water resources planning require input parameters that are defined in terms of land cover. Estimating the land cover is a difficult and expensive task when drainage areas larger than a few sq. km are involved. Conventional and LANDSAT based methods for estimating the land cover based input parameters required by hydrologic planning models were compared in a case study of the 50.5 sq. km (19.5 sq. mi) Four Mile Run Watershed in Virginia. Results of the study indicate that the LANDSAT based approach is highly cost effective for planning model studies. The conventional approach to define inputs was based on 1:3600 aerial photos, required 110 man-days and a total cost of $14,000. The LANDSAT based approach required 6.9 man-days and cost$2,350. The conventional and LANDSAT based models gave similar results relative to discharges and estimated annual damages expected from no flood control, channelization, and detention storage alternatives

Morphological variability in tree root architecture indirectly affects coexistence among competitors in the understory

Interactions between plants can have strong effects on community structure and function. Variability in the morphological, developmental, physiological, and biochemical traits of plants can influence the outcome of plant interactions and thus have important ecological consequences. However, the ecological ramifications of trait variability in plants are poorly understood and have rarely been tested in the field. We experimentally tested the effects of morphological variation in root architecture of Quercus douglasii trees in the field on interactions between understory plants and community composition. Our results indicate that variability among Q. douglasii tree root systems initiates a striking reversal in the competitive effects of dominant understory grass species on a less common species. Trees with a deeprooted morphology facilitated exotic annual grasses and these annual grasses, in turn, competitively excluded the native perennial bunchgrass, Stipa pulchra. In contrast, Q. douglasii trees with shallow-rooted morphologies directly suppressed the growth of exotic annual grasses and indirectly released S. pulchra individuals from competition with these annual grasses. Morphological variation in the root architecture of Q. douglasii created substantial conditionality in the outcomes of competition among species which enhanced the potential for indirect interactions to sustain coexistence and increase community diversity

"On the Taketa bound for normally monomial p-groups of maximal class"

Geoffrey T. Tims is a 2003 graduate of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Drake University.A longstanding problem in the representation theory of finite solvable groups, sometimes called the Taketa problem, is to find strong bounds for the derived length dl(G) in terms of the number |cd(G)| of irreducible character degrees of the group G. For p-groups an old result of Taketa implies that dl(G)|cd(G)|, and while it is conjectured that the true bound is much smaller (in fact, logarithmic) for large dl(G), it turns out to be extremely difficult to improve on Taketa's bound at all. Here, therefore, we suggest to first study the problem for a restricted class of p-groups, namely normally monomial p-groups of maximal class. We exhibit some structural features of these groups and show that if G is such a group, then .Supported by NSF REU grant #0097759

Void-mediated formation of Sn quantum dots in a Si matrix

Atomic scale analysis of Sn quantum dots (QDs) formed during the molecular beam-epitaxy (MBE) growth of Sn_xSi_(1−x) (0.05 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.1) multilayers in a Si matrix revealed a void-mediated formation mechanism. Voids below the Si surface are induced by the lattice mismatch strain between Sn_xSi_(1−x) layers and Si, taking on their equilibrium tetrakaidecahedron shape. The diffusion of Sn atoms into these voids leads to an initial rapid coarsening of quantum dots during annealing. Since this formation process is not restricted to Sn, a method to grow QDs may be developed by controlling the formation of voids and the diffusion of materials into these voids during MBE growth

Complex-based analysis of dysregulated cellular processes in cancer

Background: Differential expression analysis of (individual) genes is often used to study their roles in diseases. However, diseases such as cancer are a result of the combined effect of multiple genes. Gene products such as proteins seldom act in isolation, but instead constitute stable multi-protein complexes performing dedicated functions. Therefore, complexes aggregate the effect of individual genes (proteins) and can be used to gain a better understanding of cancer mechanisms. Here, we observe that complexes show considerable changes in their expression, in turn directed by the concerted action of transcription factors (TFs), across cancer conditions. We seek to gain novel insights into cancer mechanisms through a systematic analysis of complexes and their transcriptional regulation. Results: We integrated large-scale protein-interaction (PPI) and gene-expression datasets to identify complexes that exhibit significant changes in their expression across different conditions in cancer. We devised a log-linear model to relate these changes to the differential regulation of complexes by TFs. The application of our model on two case studies involving pancreatic and familial breast tumour conditions revealed: (i) complexes in core cellular processes, especially those responsible for maintaining genome stability and cell proliferation (e.g. DNA damage repair and cell cycle) show considerable changes in expression; (ii) these changes include decrease and countering increase for different sets of complexes indicative of compensatory mechanisms coming into play in tumours; and (iii) TFs work in cooperative and counteractive ways to regulate these mechanisms. Such aberrant complexes and their regulating TFs play vital roles in the initiation and progression of cancer.Comment: 22 pages, BMC Systems Biolog

Materials on dies for pressure die casting

In the contribution the stress of die materials of thermal fatigue is defi ned and material life is derived theoretically and compared with the measured values. The important properties of the die materials as thermal conductivity, coeffi cient of thermal expansivity, modulus of elasticity and mechanical properties are described. Binding to it single die materials as carbon steels and chrome-tungsten steels are analyzed. As the perspective die material for pressure die casting of ferrous metals appears molybdenum with regard to advantageous properties

Materijal matrica za tlačno lijevanje

In the contribution the stress of die materials of thermal fatigue is defined and material life is derived theoretically and compared with the measured values. The important properties of the die materials as thermal conductivity, coefficient of thermal expansivity, modulus of elasticity and mechanical properties are described. Binding to it single die materials as carbon steels and chrome-tungsten steels are analyzed. As the perspective die material for pressure die casting of ferrous metals appears molybdenum with regard to advantageous properties.U članku je definirano naprezanje materijala pri toplinskom umoru i izveden teorijski životno (radno) vrijeme materijala te uspoređene sa izmjerenim vrijednostima. Opisana su važna svojstva materijala, kao što je toplinska vodljivost, koefi cijent toplinske rastegljivosti, modul elastičnosti i mehanička svojstva. U nastavku su analizirani materijali kao što su ugljični čelici te krom-volframovi čelici. Kao perspektivni materijal za tlačno lijevanje željeznih slitina se pojavljuje molibdan sa prestižnim svojstvima