11,926 research outputs found
Assessment of trace element pollution and its environmental risk to freshwater sediments influenced by anthropogenic contributions: The case study of Alqueva reservoir (Guadiana Basin)
The Guadiana Basin.(SW Iberian Peninsula) is affected by acid mine drainage (AMD), a consequence of ancient mining activities in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB). Consequently, the sedimerits at the Alqueva reservoir (SE Portugal) in the Guadiana Basin are potentially contaminated by trace elements, which make important: (i) to characterize the status of trace element pollution of the sediments; (ii) to evaluate the mobility and the bioavailability of As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Pb and Zn; and (iii) to assess the environmental risk associated with the total and bioavailable concentrations of trace elements, using the sediment quality guidelines (SQGs) and the risk assessment code (RAC). Metal enrichment factors (EF) and geoaccumulation indexes (I-geo), determined taking into account the regional background levels, revealed that, among the metals analyzed, Cd contributed the highest to pollution levels followed by Pb and As. Despite the trace element contamination of the Alqueva sediments, the sequential extraction showed that Most of them are found in the oxidizable and residual fractions, which indicates that they are sparingly bioavailable, with exception of Cd (acid-labile fraction) and Pb (reducible fraction). Based on the RAC, Cd was the only metal that presented a high risk, while Pb, As and Zn showed a medium risk. Moreover, the SQGs revealed the existence of certain areas of extremely high risk, particularly related to high concentrations of total As and, in less extent, of Pb and Cd, associated with AMD, wastewater discharges and runoff of plant protection products from agricultural fields located near the reservoir. (C) 2015 Elsevier By. All rights reserved.FCT (Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia) [PTDC/AAC-AMB/103547/2008]; FEDER, through POFC (Eixo I - Programa Operacional Fatores de Competitividade) from QREN [COMPETE Re: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-008582]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The Ontological Import of Adding Proper Classes
In this article, we analyse the ontological import of adding classes to set theories. We assume that this increment is well represented by going from ZF system to NBG. We thus consider the standard techniques of reducing one system to the other. Novak proved that from a model of ZF we can build a model of NBG (and vice versa), while Shoenfield have shown that from a proof in NBG of a set-sentence we can generate a proof in ZF of the same formula. We argue that the first makes use of a too strong metatheory. Although meaningful, this symmetrical reduction does not equate the ontological content of the theories. The strong metatheory levels the two theories. Moreover, we will modernize Shoenfields proof, emphasizing its relation to Herbrands theorem and that it can only be seen as a partial type of reduction. In contrast with symmetrical reductions, we believe that asymmetrical relations are powerful tools for comparing ontological content. In virtue of this, we prove that there is no interpretation of NBG in ZF, while NBG trivially interprets ZF. This challenges the standard view that the two systems have the same ontological content
Lignin engineering in forest trees
Wood is a renewable resource that is mainly composed of lignin and cell wall polysaccharides. The polysaccharide fraction is valuable as it can be converted into pulp and paper, or into fermentable sugars. On the other hand, the lignin fraction is increasingly being considered a valuable source of aromatic building blocks for the chemical industry. The presence of lignin in wood is one of the major recalcitrance factors in woody biomass processing, necessitating the need for harsh chemical treatments to degrade and extract it prior to the valorization of the cell wall polysaccharides, cellulose and hemicellulose. Over the past years, large research efforts have been devoted to engineering lignin amount and composition to reduce biomass recalcitrance toward chemical processing. We review the efforts made in forest trees, and compare results from greenhouse and field trials. Furthermore, we address the value and potential of CRISPR-based gene editing in lignin engineering and its integration in tree breeding programs
Quantum Scalar-metric Cosmology with Chaplygin gas
A spatially flat Friedmann-Robertson-Walker(FRW) cosmological model with
generalized Chaplygin gas is studied in the context of scalar-metric
formulation of cosmology. Schutz's mechanism for the perfect fluid is applied
with generalized Chaplygin gas and the classical and quantum dynamics for this
model is studied. It is found that the only surviving matter degree of freedom
played the role of cosmic time. For the quantum mechanical description it is
possible to find the wave packet which resulted from the linear superposition
of the wave functions of the Schr\"{o}dinger-Wheeler-DeWitt(SWD) equation,
which is a consequence of the above formalism. The wave packets show two
distinct dominant peaks and propagate in the direction of increasing scale
factor. It may happen that our present universe originated from one of those
peaks. The many-world and ontological interpretation of quantum mechanics is
applied to investigate about the behaviour of the scale factor and the scalar
field(considered for this model). In both the cases the scale factor avoids
singularity and a bouncing non-singular universe is found.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure
: three-body final state interactions and isospin states
Final state interactions are considered to formulate the meson decay
amplitude for the channel. The Faddeev decomposition of the
Bethe-Salpeter equation is used in order to build a relativistic three-body
model within the light-front framework. The S-wave scattering amplitude for the
system is considered in the and isospin channels with the
set of inhomogeneous integral equations solved perturbatively. In comparison
with previous results for the meson decay in the same channel, one has to
consider the different partonic processes, which build the source amplitudes,
and the larger absorption to other decay channels appears, that are important
features to be addressed. As in the decay case, the convergence of the
rescattering perturbative series is also achieved with two-loop contributions.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Solving the three-body bound-state Bethe-Salpeter equation in Minkowski space
The scalar three-body Bethe-Salpeter equation, with zero-range interaction,
is solved in Minkowski space by direct integration of the four-dimensional
integral equation. The singularities appearing in the propagators are treated
properly by standard analytical and numerical methods, without relying on any
ansatz or assumption. The results for the binding energies and transverse
amplitudes are compared with the results computed in Euclidean space. A fair
agreement between the calculations is found.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, version accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.
Stephani-Schutz quantum cosmology
We study the Stephani quantum cosmological model in the presence of a
cosmological constant in radiation dominated Universe. In the present work the
Schutz's variational formalism which recovers the notion of time is applied.
This gives rise to Wheeler-DeWitt equations which can be cast in the form of
Schr\"odinger equations for the scale factor. We find their eigenvalues and
eigenfunctions by using the Spectral Method. Then we use the eigenfunctions in
order to construct wave packets and evaluate the time-dependent expectation
value of the scale factor, which is found to oscillate between non-zero finite
maximum and minimum values. Since the expectation value of the scale factor
never tends to the singular point, we have an initial indication that this
model may not have singularities at the quantum level.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, to appear in PL
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