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Sample records for grady fragmentation failure

  1. Fracture mechanics model of fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glenn, L.A.; Gommerstadt, B.Y.; Chudnovsky, A.

    1986-01-01

    A model of the fragmentation process is developed, based on the theory of linear elastic fracture mechanics, which predicts the average fragment size as a function of strain rate and material properties. This approach permits a unification of previous results, yielding Griffith's solution in the low-strain-rate limit and Grady's solution at high strain rates

  2. Fragmentation of Ceramics in Rapid Expansion Mode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maiti, Spandan; Geubelle, Philippe H.; Rangaswamy, Krishnan

    The study of the fragmentation process goes back to more than a century, motivated primarily by problems related to mining and ore handling (Grady and Kipp, 1985). Various theories have been proposed to predict the fragmentation stress and the fragment size and distribution. But the investigations are generally case specific and relate to only a narrow set of fragmentation processes. A number of theoretical studies of dynamic fragmentation in a rapidly expanding body can be found in the literature. For example, the study summarized in (Grady, 1982) presents a model based on a simple energy balance concept between the surface energy released due to fracture and the kinetic energy of the fragments. Subsequent refinements of the energy balance model have been proposed by (Glenn and Chudnovsky, 1986), which take into account the strain energy of the fragments and specify a threshold stress below which no fragmentation occurs. These models assume that the fracture events are instantaneous and occur simultaneously. Evidently, these assumptions are quite restrictive and these models can not take into account the transient nature of the fragmentation process after the onset of fracture in the material. A more recent model proposed by (Miller et al., 1999) however takes into account this time-dependent nature of the fragmentation event and the distribution of flaws of various strengths in the original material.

  3. Impact failure and fragmentation properties of metals

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grady, D.E. [Applied Research Associates, Albuquerque, NM (United States); Kipp, M.E. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    1998-03-01

    In the present study we describe the development of an experimental fracture material property test method specific to dynamic fragmentation. Spherical test samples of the metals of interest are subjected to controlled impulsive stress loads by acceleration to high velocities with a light-gas launcher facility and subsequent normal impact on thin plates. Motion, deformation and fragmentation of the test samples are diagnosed with multiple flash radiography methods. The impact plate materials are selected to be transparent to the x-ray method so that only test metal material is imaged. Through a systematic series of such tests both strain-to-failure and fragmentation resistance properties are determined through this experimental method. Fragmentation property data for several steels, copper, aluminum, tantalum and titanium have been obtained to date. Aspects of the dynamic data have been analyzed with computational methods to achieve a better understanding of the processes leading to failure and fragmentation, and to test an existing computational fragmentation model.

  4. Cijepani litički materijal s prapovijesnog nalazišta Slavča, Nova Gradiška

    OpenAIRE

    Šošić, Rajna; Karavanić, Ivor

    2005-01-01

    SUMMARY TECHNOLOGICAL AND TYPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CHIPPED STONE ARTIFACTS FROM THE PREHISTORIC SITE OF SLAV^A, NOVA GRADI[KA The site of Slav~a is situated on the south flanks of Psunj Mountain, in the town of Nova Gradi{ ka, Western Slavonia. The site has been continuosly excavated since 1997 by the City Museum of Nova Gradi{ka. A total number of 1655 chipped stone artifacts have been analyised, classified to the Sopot, Kostolac and Lasinja cultures, in effect a peri...

  5. Dynamic Failure and Fragmentation of a Hot-Pressed Boron Carbide

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sano, Tomoko; Vargas-Gonzalez, Lionel; LaSalvia, Jerry; Hogan, James David

    2017-12-01

    This study investigates the failure and fragmentation of a hot-pressed boron carbide during high rate impact experiments. Four impact experiments are performed using a composite-backed target configuration at similar velocities, where two of the impact experiments resulted in complete target penetration and two resulted in partial penetration. This paper seeks to evaluate and understand the dynamic behavior of the ceramic that led to either the complete or partial penetration cases, focusing on: (1) surface and internal failure features of fragments using optical, scanning electron, and transmission electron microscopy, and (2) fragment size analysis using state-of-the-art particle-sizing technology that informs about the consequences of failure. Detailed characterization of the mechanical properties and the microstructure is also performed. Results indicate that transgranular fracture was the primary mode of failure in this boron carbide material, and no stress-induced amorphization features were observed. Analysis of the fragment sizes for the partial and completely penetrated experiments revealed a possible correlation between larger fragment sizes and impact performance. The results will add insight into designing improved advanced ceramics for impact protection applications.

  6. Strain-energy effects on dynamic fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glenn, L.A.; Chudnovsky, A.

    1986-01-01

    Grady's model of the dynamic fragmentation process, in which the average fragment size is determined by balancing the local kinetic energy and the surface energy, is modified to include the stored elastic (strain) energy. The revised model predicts that the strain energy should dominate for brittle materials, with low fracture toughness and high fracture-initiation stress. This conclusion is not borne out, however, by limited experimental data on brittle steels, even when the kinetic-energy density is small compared with the strain-energy density

  7. Sperm DNA fragmentation, recurrent implantation failure and recurrent miscarriage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carol Coughlan

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Evidence is increasing that the integrity of sperm DNA may also be related to implantation failure and recurrent miscarriage (RM. To investigate this, the sperm DNA fragmentation in partners of 35 women with recurrent implantation failure (RIF following in vitro fertilization, 16 women diagnosed with RM and seven recent fathers (control were examined. Sperm were examined pre- and post-density centrifugation by the sperm chromatin dispersion (SCD test and the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL assay. There were no significant differences in the age of either partner or sperm concentration, motility or morphology between three groups. Moreover, there were no obvious differences in sperm DNA fragmentation measured by either test. However, whilst on average sperm DNA fragmentation in all groups was statistically lower in prepared sperm when measured by the SCD test, this was not seen with the results from the TUNEL assay. These results do not support the hypothesis that sperm DNA fragmentation is an important cause of RIF or RM, or that sperm DNA integrity testing has value in such patients. It also highlights significant differences between test methodologies and sperm preparation methods in interpreting the data from sperm DNA fragmentation tests.

  8. Hugh Grady (ed.), Shakespeare and Modernity : Early Modern to Millenium

    OpenAIRE

    Ribeyrol, Wendy

    2014-01-01

    Shakespeare and Modernity : Early Modern to Millenium, publié au tournant du troisième millénaire est un recueil de neuf essais d’universitaires américains et britanniques, précédé d’une introduction de Hugh Grady, auteur par ailleurs de The Modernist Shakespeare (1991), Shakespeare’s Universal Wolf (1996) et plus récemment de Shakespeare and Impure Aesthetics (2009). Ce livre offre à l’étudiant, à l’enseignant et au chercheur un état des lieux stimulant de l’évolution des études shakespearie...

  9. Dolan-Grady relations and noncommutative quasi-exactly solvable systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klishevich, Sergey M; Plyushchay, Mikhail S

    2003-01-01

    We investigate a U(1) gauge invariant quantum mechanical system on a 2D noncommutative space with coordinates generating a generalized deformed oscillator algebra. The Hamiltonian is taken as a quadratic form in gauge covariant derivatives obeying the nonlinear Dolan-Grady relations. This restricts the structure function of the deformed oscillator algebra to a quadratic polynomial. The cases when the coordinates form the su(2) and sl(2,R) algebras are investigated in detail. Reducing the Hamiltonian to 1D finite-difference quasi-exactly solvable operators, we demonstrate partial algebraization of the spectrum of the corresponding systems on the fuzzy sphere and noncommutative hyperbolic plane. A completely covariant method based on the notion of intrinsic algebra is proposed to deal with the spectral problem of such systems

  10. Dolan Grady relations and noncommutative quasi-exactly solvable systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klishevich, Sergey M.; Plyushchay, Mikhail S.

    2003-11-01

    We investigate a U(1) gauge invariant quantum mechanical system on a 2D noncommutative space with coordinates generating a generalized deformed oscillator algebra. The Hamiltonian is taken as a quadratic form in gauge covariant derivatives obeying the nonlinear Dolan-Grady relations. This restricts the structure function of the deformed oscillator algebra to a quadratic polynomial. The cases when the coordinates form the {\\mathfrak{su}}(2) and {\\mathfrak{sl}}(2,{\\bb {R}}) algebras are investigated in detail. Reducing the Hamiltonian to 1D finite-difference quasi-exactly solvable operators, we demonstrate partial algebraization of the spectrum of the corresponding systems on the fuzzy sphere and noncommutative hyperbolic plane. A completely covariant method based on the notion of intrinsic algebra is proposed to deal with the spectral problem of such systems.

  11. Integrating research and practice for optimal clinical outcomes: an interview with Tim Porter-O'Grady. Interview by Gail S Wick.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porter-O'Grady, T

    1996-06-01

    Dr. Porter-O'Grady has written over 125 articles and book chapters and has published eight books and is completing a ninth. He has consulted with over 500 institutions and has spoken in 1300 settings in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia and logs about 350,000 miles a year. Dr. Porter-O'Grady is listed in six different categories of Who's Who in America, serves on 7 editorial boards, and is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences and a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing. He has served on a number of community boards and has been an elected officer in a variety of health related agencies and organizations. He is currently a health systems expert for the National Health Policy Council and is a member of the Georgia Health Care Reform Project. In this interview, which took place in Atlanta by ANNA Past President Gail Wick, Dr. Porter-O'Grady shares his wealth of knowledge and experience by challenging us to move beyond the old thinking of caring for a specific patient population to managing lives on a continuum of care in an interdependent relationship with other providers, to refine the term "patient care," letting go of the medical sickness model and returning to our life-centered, health-oriented nursing roots and to broaden our educational preparation to a systems perspective and a continuum of caring.

  12. Simulation of natural fragmentation of rings cut from warheads

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    John F. Moxnes

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Natural fragmentation of warheads that detonates causes the casing of the warhead to split into various sized fragments through shear or radial fractures depending on the toughness, density, and grain size of the material. The best known formula for the prediction of the size distribution is the Mott formulae, which is further examined by Grady and Kipp by investigating more carefully the statistical most random way of portioning a given area into a number of entities. We examine the fragmentation behavior of radially expanding steel rings cut from a 25 mm warhead by using an in house smooth particle hydrodynamic (SPH simulation code called REGULUS. Experimental results were compared with numerical results applying varying particle size and stochastic fracture strain. The numerically obtained number of fragments was consistent with experimental results. Increasing expansion velocity of the rings increases the number of fragments. Statistical variation of the material parameters influences the fragment characteristics, especially for low expansion velocities. A least square regression fit to the cumulative number of fragments by applying a generalized Mott distribution shows that the shape parameter is around 4 for the rings, which is in contrast to the Mott distribution with a shape parameter of ½. For initially polar distributed particles, we see signs of a bimodal cumulative fragment distribution. Adding statistical variation in material parameters of the fracture model causes the velocity numerical solutions to become less sensitive to changes in resolution for Cartesian distributed particles.

  13. Marcella O'Grady Boveri (1863-1950): her three careers in biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, M R

    1997-12-01

    The career of Marcella O'Grady Boveri (1863-1950), a nineteenth-century Catholic woman educated in biology at MIT and Bryn Mawr, is discussed both in the biological context of the times and with regard to the position of women in science. The thesis is that her life pattern differed strikingly from that of other woman biologists of her generation and that the character of her contributions to biology varied with that pattern. Perhaps it is in consequence that the significance of her considerable achievement has been hidden. Boveri's circumstances led her to collaboration rather than independence in research: she worked with skill and interest, but without formal recognition, on her husband's theoretically important and already established research program in Germany (1900-1915). She thought it a privilege to do so. Earlier (1889-1896), at Vassar College, and later (1927-1943), at the newly established Albertus Magnus College, she was an innovator who introduced and developed new curricula in biology, a stimulating and influential teacher, a mentor, and a role model. In addition, she did much to promote international communication, as exemplified both by her English translation of Theodor Boveri's prescient theory of cancer and by her influence in bringing important scientists to the United States.

  14. An endogenously produced fragment of cardiac myosin-binding protein C is pathogenic and can lead to heart failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Razzaque, Md Abdur; Gupta, Manish; Osinska, Hanna; Gulick, James; Blaxall, Burns C; Robbins, Jeffrey

    2013-08-16

    A stable 40-kDa fragment is produced from cardiac myosin-binding protein C when the heart is stressed using a stimulus, such as ischemia-reperfusion injury. Elevated levels of the fragment can be detected in the diseased mouse and human heart, but its ability to interfere with normal cardiac function in the intact animal is unexplored. To understand the potential pathogenicity of the 40-kDa fragment in vivo and to investigate the molecular pathways that could be targeted for potential therapeutic intervention. We generated cardiac myocyte-specific transgenic mice using a Tet-Off inducible system to permit controlled expression of the 40-kDa fragment in cardiomyocytes. When expression of the 40-kDa protein is induced by crossing the responder animals with tetracycline transactivator mice under conditions in which substantial quantities approximating those observed in diseased hearts are reached, the double-transgenic mice subsequently experience development of sarcomere dysgenesis and altered cardiac geometry, and the heart fails between 12 and 17 weeks of age. The induced double-transgenic mice had development of cardiac hypertrophy with myofibrillar disarray and fibrosis, in addition to activation of pathogenic MEK-ERK pathways. Inhibition of MEK-ERK signaling was achieved by injection of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/ERK inhibitor U0126. The drug effectively improved cardiac function, normalized heart size, and increased probability of survival. These results suggest that the 40-kDa cardiac myosin-binding protein C fragment, which is produced at elevated levels during human cardiac disease, is a pathogenic fragment that is sufficient to cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and heart failure.

  15. Modeling Dynamic Anisotropic Behaviour and Spall Failure in Commercial Aluminium Alloys AA7010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohd Nor, M. K.; Ma'at, N.; Ho, C. S.

    2018-04-01

    This paper presents a finite strain constitutive model to predict a complex elastoplastic deformation behaviour involves very high pressures and shockwaves in orthotropic materials of aluminium alloys. The previous published constitutive model is used as a reference to start the development in this work. The proposed formulation that used a new definition of Mandel stress tensor to define Hill's yield criterion and a new shock equation of state (EOS) of the generalised orthotropic pressure is further enhanced with Grady spall failure model to closely predict shockwave propagation and spall failure in the chosen commercial aluminium alloy. This hyperelastic-plastic constitutive model is implemented as a new material model in the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)-DYNA3D code of UTHM's version, named Material Type 92 (Mat92). The implementations of a new EOS of the generalised orthotropic pressure including the spall failure are also discussed in this paper. The capability of the proposed constitutive model to capture the complex behaviour of the selected material is validated against range of Plate Impact Test data at 234, 450 and 895 ms-1 impact velocities.

  16. Society News: Monica Grady awarded CBE; Grubb Parsons Lecture 2012; Join the RAS; Astronomy on radio for kids; New Fellows; Peter D Hingley

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-01

    RAS Fellow Prof. Monica Grady has been made a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE), in recognition of her services to space science. The RAS sponsors the annual Grubb Parsons Lecture, which this year took place on 6 June at the University of Durham. If you are a professional astronomer, geophysicist, or similar, a student studying these disciplines, or simply someone with a serious interest in them, we urge you to apply for membership of the RAS. Outreach is an important activity for the RAS. We recently supported an astronomy series called Deep Space High on the digital radio channel Fun Kids.

  17. Modelling Dynamic Behaviour and Spall Failure of Aluminium Alloy AA7010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma'at, N.; Nor, M. K. Mohd; Ismail, A. E.; Kamarudin, K. A.; Jamian, S.; Ibrahim, M. N.; Awang, M. K.

    2017-10-01

    A finite strain constitutive model to predict the dynamic deformation behaviour of Aluminium Alloy 7010 including shockwaves and spall failure is developed in this work. The important feature of this newly hyperelastic-plastic constitutive formulation is a new Mandel stress tensor formulated using new generalized orthotropic pressure. This tensor is combined with a shock equation of state (EOS) and Grady spall failure. The Hill’s yield criterion is adopted to characterize plastic orthotropy by means of the evolving structural tensors that is defined in the isoclinic configuration. This material model was developed and integration into elastic and plastic parts. The elastic anisotropy is taken into account through the newly stress tensor decomposition of a generalized orthotropic pressure. Plastic anisotropy is considered through yield surface and an isotropic hardening defined in a unique alignment of deviatoric plane within the stress space. To test its ability to describe shockwave propagation and spall failure, the new material model was implemented into the LLNL-DYNA3D code of UTHM’s. The capability of this newly constitutive model were compared against published experimental data of Plate Impact Test at 234m/s, 450m/s and 895m/s impact velocities. A good agreement is obtained between experimental and simulation in each test.

  18. Current fragmentation in deep inelastic scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamer, C.J.

    1975-04-01

    It is argued that the current fragmentation products in deep inelastic electron scattering will not be distributed in a 'one-dimensional' rapidity plateau as in the parton model picture of Feynman and Bjorken. A reaction mechanism with a multiperipheral topology, but which the above configuration might have been achieved, does not in fact populate the current fragmentation plateau; and unless partons are actually observed in the final state, it cannot lead to Bjorken scaling. The basic reason for this failure is shown to be the fact that when a particle is produced in the current fragmentation plateau, the adjacent momentum transfer in the multiperipheral chain becomes large and negative: such processes are inevitably suppressed. Instead, the current fragmentation products are likely to be generated by a fragmentation, or sequential decay process. (author)

  19. Treatment of sleep apnea in chronic heart failure patients with auto-servo ventilation improves sleep fragmentation: a randomized controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hetzenecker, Andrea; Escourrou, Pierre; Kuna, Samuel T; Series, Frederic; Lewis, Keir; Birner, Christoph; Pfeifer, Michael; Arzt, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Impaired sleep efficiency is independently associated with worse prognosis in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Therefore, a test was conducted on whether auto-servo ventilation (ASV, biphasic positive airway pressure [BiPAP]-ASV, Philips Respironics) reduces sleep fragmentation and improves sleep efficiency in CHF patients with central sleep apnea (CSA) or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). In this multicenter, randomized, parallel group trial, a study was conducted on 63 CHF patients (age 64 ± 10 years; left ventricular ejection fraction 29 ± 7%) with CSA or OSA (apnea-hypopnea Index, AHI 47 ± 18/h; 46% CSA) referred to sleep laboratories of the four participating centers. Participants were randomized to either ASV (n = 32) or optimal medical treatment alone (control, n = 31). Polysomnography (PSG) and actigraphy at home (home) with centralized blinded scoring were obtained at baseline and 12 weeks. ASV significantly reduced sleep fragmentation (total arousal indexPSG: -16.4 ± 20.6 vs. -0.6 ± 13.2/h, p = 0.001; sleep fragmentation indexhome: -7.6 ± 15.6 versus 4.3 ± 13.9/h, p = 0.003, respectively) and significantly increased sleep efficiency assessed by actigraphy (SEhome) compared to controls (2.3 ± 10.1 vs. -2.1 ± 6.9%, p = 0.002). Effects of ASV on sleep fragmentation and efficiency were similar in patients suffering from OSA and CSA. At home, ASV treatment modestly improves sleep fragmentation as well as sleep efficiency in CHF patients having either CSA or OSA. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Learning from Failures in Operations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Koch, Christian

    2005-01-01

    parallelism and fragmentation due to their predominantly quantitative complexity. It is suggested that a number of critical junctions occur in these processes and that obtaining quality and avoiding failures quite often requires a series of competent and situational operation management actions. An empirical...... product. The analysis showed that, among others, design review, project review, commencing and finalizing operations turned out to be critical junctions in the control of failures. Practical implications and improvements are discussed. The focus on critical junctions, points to supply chain management......This paper discusses failures and quality in operations in design and production of buildings. The importance of human action, interpretations and interactions in tackling complexity, fragmentation and disturbances in the building industry is underlined. Building processes encompass requisite...

  1. Tests of landscape influence: nest predation and brood parasitism in fragmented ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joshua J. Tewksbury; Lindy Garner; Shannon H. Garner; John D. Lloyd; Victoria A. Saab; Thomas E. Martin

    2006-01-01

    The effects of landscape fragmentation on nest predation and brood parasitism, the two primary causes of avian reproductive failure, have been difficult to generalize across landscapes, yet few studies have clearly considered the context and spatial scale of fragmentation. Working in two river systems fragmented by agricultural and rural-housing development, we tracked...

  2. Improved Barriers to Turbine Engine Fragments: Interim Report II

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Shockey, Donald

    1999-01-01

    Because fragments from in-flight engine failures can damage critical aircraft components and produce catastrophic consequences, the Federal Aviation Administration is sponsoring research to mitigate...

  3. Fracture resistance of reattached incisor fragments with mini fibre-reinforced composite anchors.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fennis, W.M.M.; Kreulen, C.M.; Wolke, J.G.C.; Fokkinga, W.A.; Machado, C.; Creugers, N.H.J.

    2009-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: Fractured coronal fragments of incisors can be adhered to the remaining tooth with resin composite, but are prone to failure. This study explores whether mini fibre-reinforced composite (FRC) anchors increase fracture resistance of reattached fragments. METHODS: Forty-five extracted

  4. Marcella O'Grady Boveri (1865-1950) and the chromosome theory of cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKusick, V A

    1985-12-01

    Born into a Boston Irish family, Marcella Imelda O'Grady was the first woman graduate in biology from MIT (1885) where she came under the influence of two recent PhD graduates of Johns Hopkins University, William Townsend Sedgwick and Edmund Beecher Wilson. She taught science at Bryn Mawr School for girls in Baltimore 1885 to 1887 and was teaching assistant with E B Wilson at Bryn Mawr College for women in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, 1887 to 1889. From 1889 to 1896 she headed the Department of Biology at Vassar College for women in Poughkeepsie, New York. On the recommendation of E B Wilson (who from the first edition in 1896 dedicated his famous book The cell in development and inheritance to Boveri) Marcella went to Würzburg to spend a sabbatical with Boveri. One year later she married Boveri and during the next 18 years until Boveri's untimely death in 1915 she was her husband's close scientific collaborator, especially in his work at the marine zoological stations in Naples and Villefranche, France. She also acquired (from Freiburg) the doctorate she had unsuccessfully attempted to get at Johns Hopkins. Marcella returned to the United States in 1926 and headed the Biology Department at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven. She was there in 1929 when her English translation of her husband's 1914 monograph advancing the chromosome theory of cancer was published. The translation did much to bring that theory to the attention of a wider audience which has thereby been able to rediscover Boveri, despite lack of a reading knowledge of German. Boveri's theory was based on the views that cancer is a cellular problem, cancers originate from a single cell, this cell has an abnormality of its chromosomal constitution, and the chromosomal abnormality which is passed on to all the descendants of the cell of origin is the cause of rapid cell proliferation.

  5. Full-Scale Tests of Lightweight Fragment Barriers on Commercial Aircraft

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Shockey, Donald

    1999-01-01

    Because fragments from inflight engine failures can damage critical aircraft components and produce catastrophic consequences, the Federal Aviation Administration is sponsoring research to mitigate...

  6. Improved Barriers to Turbine Engine Fragments: Final Annual Report

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Shockey, Donald

    2002-01-01

    .... Previous large-scale fragment impact testing of comer peg-mounted fabric barriers indicated that the failure of the fabric around the pegged hole was a significant factor in the barrier's effectiveness...

  7. Genetic diversity of nifH gene sequences in Paenibacillus azotofixans strains and soil samples analyzed by denaturing gradiënt gel electrophoresis of PCR-amplified gene fragments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rosado, A.S.; Duarte, G.F.; Seldin, L.; Elsas, van J.D.

    1998-01-01

    The diversity of dinitrogenase reductase gene (nifH) fragments in Paenibacillus azotofixans strains was investigated by using molecular methods. The partial nifH gene sequences of eight P. azotofixans strains, as well as one strain each of the close relatives Paenibacillus durum, Paenibacillus

  8. PELE弹丸靶后破片尺寸分布研究%A study on fragmentation distribution of PELE

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    樊自建; 冉宪文; 汤文辉; 黄秋生

    2017-01-01

    Target plate rear damage effect is closely related to the fragment's size and quantity which are produced by penetrator with enhanced lateral effect (PELE).In order to study the factors influencing the scale of projectile shell fragments and determine the fragment distribution scale,the expansion process of PELE projectile shell was analyzed,according to the Mott-Grady fragmentation theory.The theoretical analysis method of the distribution range of the fragment scale was given.The correctness of the theoretical analysis was tested by experiments.By theoretical analysis and experimental study,the results show that projectile shell fragment size distribution is mainly affected by material density,crushing energy consumption,critical fracture strain and strain rate.The fragments width and number are greatly influenced by inner core material.With the increasing of density and elastic modulus of the inner core material,the width of front-end fragment decreases the number,the radial velocity becomes large.The shell fragment length is determined by projectile impacting target speed and less affected by the inner core material.%横向效应增强型弹丸(PELE)靶后毁伤效果与穿靶后形成的破片数量及大小密切相关.依据Mott-Grady破碎理论和PELE弹丸壳体膨胀过程假设,提出了弹丸壳体破片尺寸分布范围的理论分析方法,并通过实验回收弹体破片尺寸的统计分析,验证了理论分析方法的合理性.理论与实验研究表明,PELE弹丸壳体破片尺寸分布与壳体材料密度、破碎耗能、临界破碎应变、应变率等因素相关;破片的环向宽度和数量受内芯材料的影响较大,存在随着内芯材料的密度和弹性模量的增加前端破片环向宽度减小,数量增多,径向飞散速度变大的规律;但从实验结果看,外壳破片轴向长度则受内芯材料的影响较小,主要与弹靶碰撞速度相关.

  9. Radioisotope thermoelectric generator/thin fragment impact test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reimus, M.A.H.; Hinckley, J.E.

    1998-01-01

    The General-Purpose Heat Source (GPHS) provides power for space missions by transmitting the heat of 238 Pu decay to an array of thermoelectric elements in a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG). Because the potential for a launch abort or return from orbit exists for any space mission, the heat source response to credible accident scenarios is being evaluated. This test was designed to provide information on the response of a loaded RTG to impact by a fragment similar to the type of fragment produced by breakup of the spacecraft propulsion module system (PMS). The results of this test indicated that impact of the RTG by a thin aluminum fragment traveling at 306 m/s may result in significant damage to the convertor housing, failure of one fueled clad, and release of a small quantity of fuel

  10. Deformations and strain energy in fragments of tempered glass: experimental and numerical investigation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Jens Henrik; Bjarrum, Marie

    2017-01-01

    energy and thereby the stress in a fragment post failure. The FE-model have been established in previous work Nielsen (Glass Struct Eng, 2016. doi: 10.1007/s40940-016-0036-z) and is applied here on the specific geometry and initial state of the investigated fragments. This is done by measuring...

  11. Rapid decompression and desorption induced energetic failure in coal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shugang Wang

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In this study, laboratory experiments are conducted to investigate the rapid decompression and desorption induced energetic failure in coal using a shock tube apparatus. Coal specimens are recovered from Colorado at a depth of 610 m. The coal specimens are saturated with the strong sorbing gas CO2 for a certain period and then the rupture disc is suddenly broken on top of the shock tube to generate a shock wave propagating upwards and a rarefaction wave propagating downwards through the specimen. This rapid decompression and desorption has the potential to cause energetic fragmentation in coal. Three types of behaviors in coal after rapid decompression are found, i.e. degassing without fragmentation, horizontal fragmentation, and vertical fragmentation. We speculate that the characteristics of fracture network (e.g. aperture, spacing, orientation and stiffness and gas desorption play a role in this dynamic event as coal can be considered as a dual porosity, dual permeability, dual stiffness sorbing medium. This study has important implications in understanding energetic failure process in underground coal mines such as coal gas outbursts.

  12. FRAGMENTATION ISSUE IN MALAYSIAN INDUSTRIALISED BUILDING SYSTEM (IBS PROJECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MOHD NASRUN MOHD NAWI

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available As a developing country, Malaysian is currently driving for implementing a new or modern construction method, the Industrialised Building System (IBS, as an alternative towards enhancing construction performance. Currently, most of the IBS project developments in Malaysia are still conducted by using the traditional construction process approach. This traditional construction process has been widely criticised for its fragmented approach to project delivery and its failure to form effective teams thus created a number of issues such as reworks, time delay, rising costs, lack of communication and coordination, and wastages. This paper through literature review aims to highlight this fragmentation issue and clarify how far it affects the process of IBS implementation. Suggestions on how an integrated approach in design and construction in order to minimise the fragmentation gaps will be concluded.

  13. Plasma copeptin levels and prediction of outcome in heart failure outpatients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Balling, Louise; Kistorp, Caroline; Schou, Morten

    2012-01-01

    Copeptin, a stable fragment of the vasopressin prohormone, has been shown to be a significant biomarker for morbidity and mortality in heart failure. The aims of this study were to evaluate the influence of plasma sodium on the prognostic significance of copeptin concentrations in heart failure o...

  14. Mini-Fragment Fixation Is Equivalent to Bicortical Screw Fixation for Horizontal Medial Malleolus Fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wegner, Adam M; Wolinsky, Philip R; Robbins, Michael A; Garcia, Tanya C; Amanatullah, Derek F

    2018-05-01

    Horizontal fractures of the medial malleolus occur through application of valgus or abduction force through the ankle that creates a tension failure of the medial malleolus. The authors hypothesize that mini-fragment T-plates may offer improved fixation, but the optimal fixation construct for these fractures remains unclear. Forty synthetic distal tibiae with identical osteotomies were randomized into 4 fixation constructs: (1) two parallel unicortical cancellous screws; (2) two parallel bicortical cortical screws; (3) a contoured mini-fragment T-plate with 2 unicortical screws in the fragment and 2 bicortical screws in the shaft; and (4) a contoured mini-fragment T-plate with 2 bicortical screws in the fragment and 2 unicortical screws in the shaft. Specimens were subjected to offset axial tension loading on a servohydraulic testing system and tracked using high-resolution video. Failure was defined as 2 mm of articular displacement. Analysis of variance followed by a Tukey-Kramer post hoc test was used to assess for differences between groups, with significance defined as Pfragment T-plate constructs (239±83 N/mm and 190±37 N/mm) and the bicortical screw construct (240±17 N/mm) were not statistically different. The mean stiffness values of both mini-fragment T-plate constructs and the bicortical screw construct were higher than that of a parallel unicortical screw construct (102±20 N/mm). Contoured T-plate constructs provide stiffer initial fixation than a unicortical cancellous screw construct. The T-plate is biomechanically equivalent to a bicortical screw construct, but may be superior in capturing small fragments of bone. [Orthopedics. 2018; 41(3):e395-e399.]. Copyright 2018, SLACK Incorporated.

  15. Radioimmunoassay of an early plasmin degradation product of human fibrinogen, 'fragment A', and its clinical application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takagi, K; Kawai, T [Jichi Medical School, Kawachi, Tochigi (Japan)

    1978-02-01

    Upon the plasmin digestion of human fibrinogen, an early cleavage product, which has been designated as fragment A, was isolated, and to study the action of plasmin in the circulation, radioimmunoassay for fragment A was carried out. This assay used rabbit immune serum obtained by injection of fragment A mixed with complete Freund's adjuvant, and fragment A was labelled with /sup 125/I using the Chloramin-T method. In 20 normal healthy donors its serum level was 3.57 +- 1.62..mu..g/ml (mean+-SD), and it was increased significantly in certain diseases, such as acute leukemias, candiovascular disorders, malignancies, renal failure, systemic lupus erythematosus and sepsis.

  16. OLD SCHOOL LINGUISTICS MADE NEW— REVIEW OF Contemporary Linguistics: An Introduction. 5th ed. By William O’Grady, John Archibald, Mark Arnoff, and Janie Rees-Miller. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2005. Pp. xxvi + 684.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris Wen-chao Li

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Amidst the recent explosion of interest in linguistic science and the subsequent publication of large numbers of introductory works on the subject, O'Grady et al.'s Contemporary Linguistics (5th ed. stands out as a solid general purpose primer directed at an academic audience. Written by some eighteen contributors specializing in each of the seventeen branches of linguistics covered, topics are judiciously chosen while drawing on current scholarship and integrating different theoretical persuasions, without losing sight of the book's target readership. The result is an up-to-date text balanced in its treatment of subject matter and perspectives--a work that lives up to its moniker of "Contemporary" Linguistics.

  17. Fragment-based lead generation: identification of seed fragments by a highly efficient fragment screening technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumann, Lars; Ritscher, Allegra; Müller, Gerhard; Hafenbradl, Doris

    2009-08-01

    For the detection of the precise and unambiguous binding of fragments to a specific binding site on the target protein, we have developed a novel reporter displacement binding assay technology. The application of this technology for the fragment screening as well as the fragment evolution process with a specific modelling based design strategy is demonstrated for inhibitors of the protein kinase p38alpha. In a fragment screening approach seed fragments were identified which were then used to build compounds from the deep-pocket towards the hinge binding area of the protein kinase p38alpha based on a modelling approach. BIRB796 was used as a blueprint for the alignment of the fragments. The fragment evolution of these deep-pocket binding fragments towards the fully optimized inhibitor BIRB796 included the modulation of the residence time as well as the affinity. The goal of our study was to evaluate the robustness and efficiency of our novel fragment screening technology at high fragment concentrations, compare the screening data with biochemical activity data and to demonstrate the evolution of the hit fragments with fast kinetics, into slow kinetic inhibitors in an in silico approach.

  18. On the effect of grain burnback on STS-SRM fragment velocity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eck, M.B.; Mukunda, M.

    1991-01-01

    Concerns raised during the Ulysses Final Safety Analysis Review (FSAR) process called the solid rocket motor (SRM) fragment velocity prediction model into question. The specific area of concern was that there was a section of the SRM casing which was exposed to SRM chamber pressure as the grain (fuel) was consumed. These questions centered on the velocity of fragments which originated from the field joint region given that failure occurred between 37 and 72 seconds mission elapsed time (MET). Two dimensional coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian calculations were performed to assess the hot gas flow field which resulted from SRM casing fragmentation. The fragment to gas interface-pressure time-history obtained from these analyses was reduced to a boundary condition algorithm which was applied to an explicit-time-integration, finite element, three dimensional shell model of the SRM casing and unburned fuel. The results of these calculations showed that the velocity of fragments originating in the field joint was adequately described by the range of velocities given in the Shuttle Data Book (1988). Based on these results, no further analyses were required, and approval was obtained from the Launch Abort Subpanel of the Interagency Nuclear Safety Review Panel to use the SRM fragment velocity environments presented in the Ulysses FSAR (1990)

  19. Modeling fragmentation with new high order finite element technology and node splitting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olovsson Lars

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The modeling of fragmentation has historically been linked to the weapons industry where the main goal is to optimize a bomb or to design effective blast shields. Numerical modeling of fragmentation from dynamic loading has traditionally been modeled by legacy finite element solvers that rely on element erosion to model material failure. However this method results in the removal of too much material. This is not realistic as retaining the mass of the structure is critical to modeling the event correctly. We propose a new approach implemented in the IMPETUS AFEA SOLVER® based on the following: New High Order Finite Elements that can easily deal with very large deformations; Stochastic distribution of initial damage that allows for a non homogeneous distribution of fragments; and a Node Splitting Algorithm that allows for material fracture without element erosion that is mesh independent. The approach is evaluated for various materials and scenarios: -Titanium ring electromagnetic compression; Hard steel Taylor bar impact, Fused silica Taylor bar impact, Steel cylinder explosion, The results obtained from the simulations are representative of the failure mechanisms observed experimentally. The main benefit of this approach is good energy conservation (no loss of mass and numerical robustness even in complex situations.

  20. Carboxyl-terminal parathyroid hormone fragments: role in parathyroid hormone physiopathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Amour, Pierre; Brossard, Jean-Hugues

    2005-07-01

    Carboxyl-terminal parathyroid hormone (C-PTH) fragments constitute 80% of circulating PTH. Since the first 34 amino acids of the PTH structure are sufficient to explain PTH classical biological effects on the type I PTH/PTHrP receptor and since C-PTH fragments do not bind to this receptor, they have long been considered inactive. Recent data suggest the existence of a C-PTH receptor through which C-PTH fragments exert biological effects opposite to those of human PTH(1-84) on the type I PTH/PTHrP receptor. This is why a lot of attention has been paid to these fragments recently. In vivo, synthetic C-PTH fragments are able to decrease calcium concentration, to antagonize the calcemic response to human PTH(1-34) and human PTH(1-84) and to decrease the high bone turnover rate induced by human PTH(1-84). In vitro, they inhibit bone resorption, promote osteocyte apoptosis and exert a variety of effects on bone and cartilaginous cells. These effects are opposite to those of human PTH(1-84) on the PTH/PTHrP type I receptor. This suggests that the molecular forms of circulating PTH may control bone participation in calcium homeostasis via two different receptors. Clinically, the accumulation of C-PTH fragments in renal failure patients may cause PTH resistance and may be associated with adynamic bone disease. Rare parathyroid tumors, without a set point error, overproduce C-PTH fragments. The implication of C-PTH fragments in osteoporosis is still to be explored. C-PTH fragments represent a new field of investigation in PTH biology. More studies are necessary to disclose their real importance in calcium and bone homeostasis in health and disease.

  1. Virtual fragment preparation for computational fragment-based drug design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ludington, Jennifer L

    2015-01-01

    Fragment-based drug design (FBDD) has become an important component of the drug discovery process. The use of fragments can accelerate both the search for a hit molecule and the development of that hit into a lead molecule for clinical testing. In addition to experimental methodologies for FBDD such as NMR and X-ray Crystallography screens, computational techniques are playing an increasingly important role. The success of the computational simulations is due in large part to how the database of virtual fragments is prepared. In order to prepare the fragments appropriately it is necessary to understand how FBDD differs from other approaches and the issues inherent in building up molecules from smaller fragment pieces. The ultimate goal of these calculations is to link two or more simulated fragments into a molecule that has an experimental binding affinity consistent with the additive predicted binding affinities of the virtual fragments. Computationally predicting binding affinities is a complex process, with many opportunities for introducing error. Therefore, care should be taken with the fragment preparation procedure to avoid introducing additional inaccuracies.This chapter is focused on the preparation process used to create a virtual fragment database. Several key issues of fragment preparation which affect the accuracy of binding affinity predictions are discussed. The first issue is the selection of the two-dimensional atomic structure of the virtual fragment. Although the particular usage of the fragment can affect this choice (i.e., whether the fragment will be used for calibration, binding site characterization, hit identification, or lead optimization), general factors such as synthetic accessibility, size, and flexibility are major considerations in selecting the 2D structure. Other aspects of preparing the virtual fragments for simulation are the generation of three-dimensional conformations and the assignment of the associated atomic point charges.

  2. Analysis and performance assessment of a fragment retransmission scheme for energy efficient IEEE 802.11 WLANs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mafole, Prosper; Aritsugi, Masayoshi

    2016-01-01

    Backoff-free fragment retransmission (BFFR) scheme enhances the performance of legacy MAC layer fragmentation by eliminating contention overhead. The eliminated overhead is the result of backoff executed before a retransmission attempt is made when fragment transmission failure occurs within a fragment burst. This paper provides a mathematical analysis of BFFR energy efficiency and further assesses, by means of simulations, the energy efficiency, throughput and delay obtained when BFFR is used. The validity of the new scheme is evaluated in different scenarios namely, constant bit rate traffic, realistic bursty internet traffic, node mobility, rigid and elastic flows and their combinations at different traffic loads. We also evaluate and discuss the impact of BFFR on MAC fairness when the number of nodes is varied from 4 to 10. It is shown that BFFR has advantages over legacy MAC fragmentation scheme in all the scenarios.

  3. Experimental constraints on dynamic fragmentation as a dissipative process during seismic slip.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barber, Troy; Griffith, W Ashley

    2017-09-28

    Various fault damage fabrics, from gouge in the principal slip zone to fragmented and pulverized rocks in the fault damage zone, have been attributed to brittle deformation at high strain rates during earthquake rupture. Past experimental work has shown that there exists a critical threshold in stress-strain rate space through which rock failure transitions from failure along a few discrete fracture planes to intense fragmentation. We present new experimental results on Arkansas Novaculite (AN) and Westerly Granite (WG) in which we quantify fracture surface area produced by dynamic fragmentation under uniaxial compressive loading and examine the controls of pre-existing mineral anisotropy on dissipative processes at the microscale. Tests on AN produced substantially greater new fracture surface area (approx. 6.0 m 2  g -1 ) than those on WG (0.07 m 2  g -1 ). Estimates of the portion of energy dissipated into brittle fracture were significant for WG (approx. 5%), but appeared substantial in AN (10% to as much as 40%). The results have important implications for the partitioning of dissipated energy under extreme loading conditions expected during earthquakes and the scaling of high-speed laboratory rock mechanics experiments to natural fault zones.This article is part of the themed issue 'Faulting, friction and weakening: from slow to fast motion'. © 2017 The Author(s).

  4. Tests of models for parton fragmentation in e+e- annihilation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gary, J.W.

    1985-11-01

    We examine the distribution of particles in the three jet events of e + e - annihilation. The data was collected with the PEP-4/Time Projection Chamber detector at 29 GeV center-of-mass energy at PEP. The experimental distributions are compared to the predictions of several fragmentation models which describe the transition of quarks and gluons into hadrons. In particular, our study emphasizes the three fragmentation models which are currently in widest use: the Lund string model, the Webber cluster model and the independent fragmentation model. These three models each possess different Lorentz frame structures for the distribution of hadron sources relative to the overall event c.m. in three jet events. The Lund string and independent fragmentation models are tuned to describe global event properties of our multihadronic annihilation event sample. This tuned Lund string model provides a good description of the distribution of particles between jet axes in three jet events, while the independent fragmentation model does not. We verify that the failure of the independent fragmentation model is not a consequence of parameter tuning or of model variant. The Webber cluster model, which is untuned, does not describe the absolute particle densities between jets but correctly predicts the ratios of those densities, which are less sensitive to the tuning. These results provide evidence that the sources of hadrons are boosted with respect to the overall center-of-mass in three jet events, with components of motion normal to the jet axes. The distribution of particles close to jet axes provides additional support for this conclusion. 94 refs

  5. Physics-Based Fragment Acceleration Modeling for Pressurized Tank Burst Risk Assessments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manning, Ted A.; Lawrence, Scott L.

    2014-01-01

    As part of comprehensive efforts to develop physics-based risk assessment techniques for space systems at NASA, coupled computational fluid and rigid body dynamic simulations were carried out to investigate the flow mechanisms that accelerate tank fragments in bursting pressurized vessels. Simulations of several configurations were compared to analyses based on the industry-standard Baker explosion model, and were used to formulate an improved version of the model. The standard model, which neglects an external fluid, was found to agree best with simulation results only in configurations where the internal-to-external pressure ratio is very high and fragment curvature is small. The improved model introduces terms that accommodate an external fluid and better account for variations based on circumferential fragment count. Physics-based analysis was critical in increasing the model's range of applicability. The improved tank burst model can be used to produce more accurate risk assessments of space vehicle failure modes that involve high-speed debris, such as exploding propellant tanks and bursting rocket engines.

  6. Failure cascade in interdependent network with traffic loads

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, Sheng; Wang, Baoqing; Wang, Jianghui; Zhao, Tingdi; Ma, Xiaomin

    2015-01-01

    Complex networks have been widely studied recent years, but most researches focus on the single, non-interacting networks. With the development of modern systems, many infrastructure networks are coupled together and therefore should be modeled as interdependent networks. For interdependent networks, failure of nodes in one network may lead to failure of dependent nodes in the other networks. This may happen recursively and lead to a failure cascade. In the real world, different networks carry different traffic loads. Overload and load redistribution may lead to more nodes’ failure. Considering the dependency between the interdependent networks and the traffic load, a small fraction of fault nodes may lead to complete fragmentation of a system. Based on the robust analysis of interdependent networks, we propose a costless defense strategy to suppress the failure cascade. Our findings highlight the need to consider the load and coupling preference when designing robust interdependent networks. And it is necessary to take actions in the early stage of the failure cascade to decrease the losses caused by the large-scale breakdown of infrastructure networks. (paper)

  7. Melt Fragmentation Characteristics of Metal Fuel with Melt Injection Mass during Initiating Phase of SFR Severe Accidents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heo, Hyo; Lee, Min Ho; Bang, In Cheol [Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of); Jerng, Dong Wook [Chung-Ang Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    The PGSFR has adopted the metal fuel for its inherent safety under severe accident conditions. However, this fuel type is not demonstrated clearly yet under the such severe accident conditions. Additional experiments for examining these issues should be performed to support its licensing activities. Under initiating phase of hypothetic core disruptive accident (HCDA) conditions, the molten metal could be better dispersed and fragmented into the coolant channel than in the case of using oxide fuel. This safety strategy provides negative reactivity driven by a good dispersion of melt. If the coolant channel does not sufficient coolability, the severe recriticality would occur within the core region. Thus, it is important to examine the extent of melt fragmentation. The fragmentation behaviors of melt are closely related to a formation of debris shape. Once the debris shape is formed through the fragmentation process, its coolability is determined by the porosity or thermal conductivity of the melt. There were very limited studies for transient irradiation experiments of the metal fuel. These studies were performed by Transient Reactor Test Facility (TREAT) M series tests in U.S. The TREAT M series tests provided basic information of metal fuel performance under transient conditions. The effect of melt injection mass was evaluated in terms of the fragmentation behaviors of melt. These behaviors seemed to be similar between single-pin and multi-pins failure condition. However, the more melt was agglomerated in case of multi-pins failure.

  8. Recurrent implantation failure: definition and management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coughlan, C; Ledger, W; Wang, Q; Liu, Fenghua; Demirol, Aygul; Gurgan, Timur; Cutting, R; Ong, K; Sallam, H; Li, T C

    2014-01-01

    Recurrent implantation failure refers to failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after transfer of at least four good-quality embryos in a minimum of three fresh or frozen cycles in a woman under the age of 40 years. The failure to implant may be a consequence of embryo or uterine factors. Thorough investigations should be carried out to ascertain whether there is any underlying cause of the condition. Ovarian function should be assessed by measurement of antral follicle count, FSH and anti-Mu¨llerian hormone. Increased sperm DNA fragmentation may be a contributory cause. Various uterine pathology including fibroids, endometrial polyps, congenital anomalies and intrauterine adhesions should be excluded by ultrasonography and hysteroscopy. Hydrosalpinges are a recognized cause of implantation failure and should be excluded by hysterosalpingogram; if necessary, laparoscopy should be performed to confirm or refute the diagnosis. Treatment offered should be evidence based, aimed at improving embryo quality or endometrial receptivity. Gamete donation or surrogacy may be necessary if there is no realistic chance of success with further IVF attempts. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  9. The size distributions of fragments ejected at a given velocity from impact craters

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Keefe, John D.; Ahrens, Thomas J.

    1987-01-01

    The mass distribution of fragments that are ejected at a given velocity for impact craters is modeled to allow extrapolation of laboratory, field, and numerical results to large scale planetary events. The model is semi-empirical in nature and is derived from: (1) numerical calculations of cratering and the resultant mass versus ejection velocity, (2) observed ejecta blanket particle size distributions, (3) an empirical relationship between maximum ejecta fragment size and crater diameter, (4) measurements and theory of maximum ejecta size versus ejecta velocity, and (5) an assumption on the functional form for the distribution of fragments ejected at a given velocity. This model implies that for planetary impacts into competent rock, the distribution of fragments ejected at a given velocity is broad, e.g., 68 percent of the mass of the ejecta at a given velocity contains fragments having a mass less than 0.1 times a mass of the largest fragment moving at that velocity. The broad distribution suggests that in impact processes, additional comminution of ejecta occurs after the upward initial shock has passed in the process of the ejecta velocity vector rotating from an initially downward orientation. This additional comminution produces the broader size distribution in impact ejecta as compared to that obtained in simple brittle failure experiments.

  10. Dynamic fragmentation of laser shock-melted tin: experiment and modelling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    De Resseguier, T. [CNRS ENSMA, Lab Combust and Deton, F-86961 Futuroscope (France); Signor, L.; Dragon, A. [CNRS ENSMA, Mecan and Phys Mat Lab, F-86961 Futuroscope (France); Signor, L.; Roy, G. [CEA Valduc, 21 - Is-sur-Tille (France)

    2010-07-01

    Dynamic fragmentation of shock-loaded metals is an issue of considerable importance for both basic science and a variety of technological applications, such as pyrotechnics or inertial confinement fusion, the latter involving high energy laser irradiation of thin metallic shells. Whereas spall fracture in solid materials has been extensively studied for many years, little data can be found yet about the evolution of this phenomenon after partial or full melting on compression or on release. Here, we present an investigation of dynamic fragmentation in laser shock-melted tin, from the 'micro-spall' process (ejection of a cloud of fine droplets) occurring upon reflection of the compressive pulse from the target free surface, to the late rupture observed in the un-spalled melted layer (leading to the formation of larger spherical fragments). Experimental results consist of time-resolved velocity measurements and post-shock observations of recovered targets and fragments. They provide original information regarding the loss of tensile strength associated with melting, the cavitation mechanism likely to occur in the melted metal, the sizes of the subsequent fragments and their ejection velocities. A theoretical description based on an energetic approach adapted to the case of a liquid metal is implemented as a failure criterion in a one-dimensional hydro-code including a multi-phase equation of state for tin. The resulting predictions of the micro-spall process are compared with experimental data. In particular, the use of a new experimental technique to quantify the fragment size distributions leads to a much better agreement with theory than previously reported. Finally, a complementary approach focused on cavitation is proposed to evaluate the role of this phenomenon in the fragmentation of the melted metal. (authors)

  11. Autodigestion: Proteolytic Degradation and Multiple Organ Failure in Shock

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altshuler, Angelina E.; Kistler, Erik B.; Schmid-Schönbein, Geert W.

    2015-01-01

    There is currently no effective treatment for multiorgan failure following shock other than alleviation supportive care. A better understanding of the pathogenesis of these sequelae to shock is required. The intestine plays a central role in multiorgan failure. It was previously suggested that bacteria and their toxins are responsible for the organ failure seen in circulatory shock, but clinical trials in septic patients have not confirmed this hypothesis. Instead, we review here evidence that the digestive enzymes, synthesized in the pancreas and discharged into the small intestine as requirement for normal digestion, may play a role in multi-organ failure. These powerful enzymes are non-specific, highly concentrated and fully activated in the lumen of the intestine. During normal digestion they are compartmentalized in the lumen of the intestine by the mucosal epithelial barrier. However, if this barrier becomes permeable, e.g. in an ischemic state, the digestive enzymes escape into the wall of the intestine. They digest tissues in the mucosa and generate small molecular weight cytotoxic fragments such as unbound free fatty acids. Digestive enzymes may also escape into the systemic circulation and activate other degrading proteases. These proteases have the ability to clip the ectodomain of surface receptors and compromise their function; for example cleaving the insulin receptor causing insulin resistance. The combination of digestive enzymes and cytotoxic fragments leaking into the central circulation causes cell and organ dysfunction, and ultimately may lead to complete organ failure and death. We summarize current evidence suggesting that enteral blockade of digestive enzymes inside the lumen of the intestine may serve to reduce acute cell and organ damage and improve survival in experimental shock. PMID:26717111

  12. Analysis methods for Kevlar shield response to rotor fragments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerstle, J. H.

    1977-01-01

    Several empirical and analytical approaches to rotor burst shield sizing are compared and principal differences in metal and fabric dynamic behavior are discussed. The application of transient structural response computer programs to predict Kevlar containment limits is described. For preliminary shield sizing, present analytical methods are useful if insufficient test data for empirical modeling are available. To provide other information useful for engineering design, analytical methods require further developments in material characterization, failure criteria, loads definition, and post-impact fragment trajectory prediction.

  13. Jet fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saxon, D.H.

    1985-10-01

    The paper reviews studies on jet fragmentation. The subject is discussed under the topic headings: fragmentation models, charged particle multiplicity, bose-einstein correlations, identified hadrons in jets, heavy quark fragmentation, baryon production, gluon and quark jets compared, the string effect, and two successful models. (U.K.)

  14. Missing Fragments: Detecting Cooperative Binding in Fragment-Based Drug Design

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    The aim of fragment-based drug design (FBDD) is to identify molecular fragments that bind to alternate subsites within a given binding pocket leading to cooperative binding when linked. In this study, the binding of fragments to human phenylethanolamine N-methyltransferase is used to illustrate how (a) current protocols may fail to detect fragments that bind cooperatively, (b) theoretical approaches can be used to validate potential hits, and (c) apparent false positives obtained when screening against cocktails of fragments may in fact indicate promising leads. PMID:24900472

  15. Fragmentation of molten copper drop caused by entrapment of liquid sodium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abe, N.; Sugiyama, K.; Nishimura, S.; Kinoshita, I.

    2001-01-01

    In core meltdown accidents, it is possible to occur thermal interactions between molten fuel and coolant. Analysis of the steam explosion, which is one of the most severe phenomena in such thermal interactions, is important for the safety evaluation. The steam explosion is a phenomenon that intensive pressure waves are caused by the explosive thermal interaction between high and low temperature liquids, and is considered to be one of the phenomena that can cause a serious failure of the nuclear reactor structures. In a large-scale steam explosion, the fragmentation of hot molten material causes a rapid increase of heat transfer area, and it is achieved to transmit instantaneously a large amount of heat to coolant. Two ideas are chiefly considered as the mechanism of the fragmentation. The one is the hypothesis that hydrodynamic effect causes fragmentation of hot liquid. According to this hypothesis, the high temperature drops flake off from the surface. The other is that fragmentation is caused by the interface instability accompanied by collapse of the steam bubble formed around a hot liquid. In this research, the possibility of the internal fragmentation caused by the coolant jet is focused in. Experiments were conducted on the condition that the surface of melt drops solidify at the moment drops contact the coolant. The possibility of the fragmentation of hot liquid from its surface was eliminated in this condition. To satisfy this condition, molten copper was chosen as hot liquid, and liquid sodium was used as coolant to verify the effect of the driving force of the sodium jet. (author)

  16. Analysis of Blade Fragment Risk at a Wind Energy Facility

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Simms, David A [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Larwood, Scott [University of the Pacific

    2018-04-06

    An analysis was performed to determine the risk posed by wind turbine fragments on roads and buildings at the National Wind Technology Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The authors used a previously developed model of fragment trajectory and took into account the wind speed/direction distribution at the site and the probability of rotor failure. The risk was assessed by determining the likelihood of impact and related consequences. For both the roads and buildings, the risk varied from low to routine, which was considered acceptable. The analysis was compared with previous recommendations on wind turbine setback distances. The results showed that a setback to property lines of 2 times the overall turbine height would be acceptable. However, the setback to dwellings should probably be increased from 3 to 3.5 times the overall turbine height for an acceptable risk.

  17. Structures of endothiapepsin-fragment complexes from crystallographic fragment screening using a novel, diverse and affordable 96-compound fragment library.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huschmann, Franziska U; Linnik, Janina; Sparta, Karine; Ühlein, Monika; Wang, Xiaojie; Metz, Alexander; Schiebel, Johannes; Heine, Andreas; Klebe, Gerhard; Weiss, Manfred S; Mueller, Uwe

    2016-05-01

    Crystallographic screening of the binding of small organic compounds (termed fragments) to proteins is increasingly important for medicinal chemistry-oriented drug discovery. To enable such experiments in a widespread manner, an affordable 96-compound library has been assembled for fragment screening in both academia and industry. The library is selected from already existing protein-ligand structures and is characterized by a broad ligand diversity, including buffer ingredients, carbohydrates, nucleotides, amino acids, peptide-like fragments and various drug-like organic compounds. When applied to the model protease endothiapepsin in a crystallographic screening experiment, a hit rate of nearly 10% was obtained. In comparison to other fragment libraries and considering that no pre-screening was performed, this hit rate is remarkably high. This demonstrates the general suitability of the selected compounds for an initial fragment-screening campaign. The library composition, experimental considerations and time requirements for a complete crystallographic fragment-screening campaign are discussed as well as the nine fully refined obtained endothiapepsin-fragment structures. While most of the fragments bind close to the catalytic centre of endothiapepsin in poses that have been observed previously, two fragments address new sites on the protein surface. ITC measurements show that the fragments bind to endothiapepsin with millimolar affinity.

  18. Structures of endothiapepsin–fragment complexes from crystallographic fragment screening using a novel, diverse and affordable 96-compound fragment library

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huschmann, Franziska U.; Linnik, Janina; Sparta, Karine; Ühlein, Monika; Wang, Xiaojie; Metz, Alexander; Schiebel, Johannes; Heine, Andreas; Klebe, Gerhard; Weiss, Manfred S.; Mueller, Uwe

    2016-01-01

    Crystallographic screening of the binding of small organic compounds (termed fragments) to proteins is increasingly important for medicinal chemistry-oriented drug discovery. To enable such experiments in a widespread manner, an affordable 96-compound library has been assembled for fragment screening in both academia and industry. The library is selected from already existing protein–ligand structures and is characterized by a broad ligand diversity, including buffer ingredients, carbohydrates, nucleotides, amino acids, peptide-like fragments and various drug-like organic compounds. When applied to the model protease endothiapepsin in a crystallographic screening experiment, a hit rate of nearly 10% was obtained. In comparison to other fragment libraries and considering that no pre-screening was performed, this hit rate is remarkably high. This demonstrates the general suitability of the selected compounds for an initial fragment-screening campaign. The library composition, experimental considerations and time requirements for a complete crystallographic fragment-screening campaign are discussed as well as the nine fully refined obtained endothiapepsin–fragment structures. While most of the fragments bind close to the catalytic centre of endothiapepsin in poses that have been observed previously, two fragments address new sites on the protein surface. ITC measurements show that the fragments bind to endothiapepsin with millimolar affinity. PMID:27139825

  19. Vertebral body spread in thoracolumbar burst fractures can predict posterior construct failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Iure, Federico; Lofrese, Giorgio; De Bonis, Pasquale; Cultrera, Francesco; Cappuccio, Michele; Battisti, Sofia

    2018-06-01

    The load sharing classification (LSC) laid foundations for a scoring system able to indicate which thoracolumbar fractures, after short-segment posterior-only fixations, would need longer instrumentations or additional anterior supports. We analyzed surgically treated thoracolumbar fractures, quantifying the vertebral body's fragment displacement with the aim of identifying a new parameter that could predict the posterior-only construct failure. This is a retrospective cohort study from a single institution. One hundred twenty-one consecutive patients were surgically treated for thoracolumbar burst fractures. Grade of kyphosis correction (GKC) expressed radiological outcome; Oswestry Disability Index and visual analog scale were considered. One hundred twenty-one consecutive patients who underwent posterior fixation for unstable thoracolumbar burst fractures were retrospectively evaluated clinically and radiologically. Supplementary anterior fixations were performed in 34 cases with posterior instrumentation failure, determined on clinic-radiological evidence or symptomatic loss of kyphosis correction. Segmental kyphosis angle and GKC were calculated according to the Cobb method. The displacement of fracture fragments was obtained from the mean of the adjacent end plate areas subtracted from the area enclosed by the maximum contour of vertebral fragmentation. The "spread" was derived from the ratio between this subtraction and the mean of the adjacent end plate areas. Analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney, and receiver operating characteristic were performed for statistical analysis. The authors report no conflict of interest concerning the materials or methods used in the present study or the findings specified in this paper. No funds or grants have been received for the present study. The spread revealed to be a helpful quantitative measurement of vertebral body fragment displacement, easily reproducible with the current computed tomography (CT) imaging technologies

  20. Rapid detection of dihydropteroate polymorphism in AIDS-related Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia by restriction fragment length polymorphism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Helweg-Larsen, J; Eugen-Olsen, Jesper; Lundgren, B

    2000-01-01

    are associated with failure of sulpha prophylaxis and increased mortality in HIV-1 positive patients with PCP, suggesting that DHPS mutations may cause sulpha resistance. To facilitate detection of DHPS mutations we developed a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assay, detecting mutations at codon...

  1. General-purpose heat source: Research and development program, radioisotope thermoelectric generator/thin fragment impact test

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reimus, M.A.H.; Hinckley, J.E.

    1996-11-01

    The general-purpose heat source provides power for space missions by transmitting the heat of 238 Pu decay to an array of thermoelectric elements in a radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG). Because the potential for a launch abort or return from orbit exists for any space mission, the heat source response to credible accident scenarios is being evaluated. This test was designed to provide information on the response of a loaded RTG to impact by a fragment similar to the type of fragment produced by breakup of the spacecraft propulsion module system. The results of this test indicated that impact by a thin aluminum fragment traveling at 306 m/s may result in significant damage to the converter housing, failure of one fueled clad, and release of a small quantity of fuel

  2. Towards a population synthesis model of self-gravitating disc fragmentation and tidal downsizing II: the effect of fragment-fragment interactions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forgan, D. H.; Hall, C.; Meru, F.; Rice, W. K. M.

    2018-03-01

    It is likely that most protostellar systems undergo a brief phase where the protostellar disc is self-gravitating. If these discs are prone to fragmentation, then they are able to rapidly form objects that are initially of several Jupiter masses and larger. The fate of these disc fragments (and the fate of planetary bodies formed afterwards via core accretion) depends sensitively not only on the fragment's interaction with the disc, but also with its neighbouring fragments. We return to and revise our population synthesis model of self-gravitating disc fragmentation and tidal downsizing. Amongst other improvements, the model now directly incorporates fragment-fragment interactions while the disc is still present. We find that fragment-fragment scattering dominates the orbital evolution, even when we enforce rapid migration and inefficient gap formation. Compared to our previous model, we see a small increase in the number of terrestrial-type objects being formed, although their survival under tidal evolution is at best unclear. We also see evidence for disrupted fragments with evolved grain populations - this is circumstantial evidence for the formation of planetesimal belts, a phenomenon not seen in runs where fragment-fragment interactions are ignored. In spite of intense dynamical evolution, our population is dominated by massive giant planets and brown dwarfs at large semimajor axis, which direct imaging surveys should, but only rarely, detect. Finally, disc fragmentation is shown to be an efficient manufacturer of free-floating planetary mass objects, and the typical multiplicity of systems formed via gravitational instability will be low.

  3. Universal elements of fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yanovsky, V. V.; Tur, A. V.; Kuklina, O. V.

    2010-01-01

    A fragmentation theory is proposed that explains the universal asymptotic behavior of the fragment-size distribution in the large-size range, based on simple physical principles. The basic principles of the theory are the total mass conservation in a fragmentation process and a balance condition for the energy expended in increasing the surface of fragments during their breakup. A flux-based approach is used that makes it possible to supplement the basic principles and develop a minimal theory of fragmentation. Such a supplementary principle is that of decreasing fragment-volume flux with increasing energy expended in fragmentation. It is shown that the behavior of the decreasing flux is directly related to the form of a power-law fragment-size distribution. The minimal theory is used to find universal asymptotic fragment-size distributions and to develop a natural physical classification of fragmentation models. A more general, nonlinear theory of strong fragmentation is also developed. It is demonstrated that solutions to a nonlinear kinetic equation consistent with both basic principles approach a universal asymptotic size distribution. Agreement between the predicted asymptotic fragment-size distributions and experimental observations is discussed.

  4. Fragmentation of sperm DNA using the TUNEL method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chenlo, P H; Curi, S M; Pugliese, M N; Ariagno, J I; Sardi-Segovia, M; Furlan, M J; Repetto, H E; Zeitler, E; Cohen, M; Mendeluk, G R

    2014-11-01

    To establish the validity of the TUNEL assay in determining sperm DNA fragmentation, the relationship between the degree of fragmentation and the seminal parameters and the sample needed to conduct the test. We used semen samples from healthy fertile men (n=33), patients who consulted for infertility with a prescription for the TUNEL assay (n=77) and patients with intracytoplasmic sperm injection failure (n=20), analyzed according to the 2010 WHO. The TUNEL/propidium iodide test was performed by flow cytometry, on baseline and post-swim-up samples. The cutoff value for the TUNEL assay (ROC curves) was 26%, with a sensitivity and specificity of 85% and 89%, respectively. The pre-swim-up and post-swim-up medians of the results from the TUNEL assay showed no significant differences (17.0% vs. 12.9%, respectively). However, 39.1% of the samples showed a difference greater than 15 in absolute value between the results of the baseline and post-swim-up TUNEL assays. The linear correlation study of the morphology, mobility and vitality using the post-swim-up TUNEL assay showed a greater correlation than preselection, with significant results (r: -0.394, P<.0001; r: -0.461, P<.0001; r: -0.526, P<.0001). The TUNEL assay is a valid test for clinical use. DNA fragmentation is a factor independent from traditional semen tests. We found a greater susceptibility to damage generated in the laboratory procedures in the samples with lower quality. The sample of choice for evaluating DNA fragmentation will depend on whether the clinician is treating a natural or assisted fertilization. Copyright © 2014 AEU. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  5. Experimental Investigation of the Influence of Confining Stress on Hard Rock Fragmentation Using a Conical Pick

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xibing; Wang, Shaofeng; Wang, Shanyong

    2018-01-01

    High geostress is a prominent condition in deep excavations and affects the cuttability of deep hard rock. This study aims to determine the influence of confining stress on hard rock fragmentation as applied by a conical pick. Using a true triaxial test apparatus, static and coupled static and dynamic loadings from pick forces were applied to end faces of cubic rock specimens to break them under biaxial, uniaxial and stress-free confining stress conditions. The cuttability indices (peak pick force, insertion depth and disturbance duration), failure patterns and fragment sizes were measured and compared to estimate the effects of confining stress. The results show that the rock cuttabilities decreased in order from rock breakages under stress-free conditions to uniaxial confining stress and then to biaxial confining stress. Under biaxial confining stress, only flake-shaped fragments were stripped from the rock surfaces under the requirements of large pick forces or disturbance durations. As the level of uniaxial confining stress increased, the peak pick force and the insertion depth initially increased and then decreased, and the failure patterns varied from splitting to partial splitting and then to rock bursts with decreasing average fragment sizes. Rock bursts will occur under elastic compression via ultra-high uniaxial confining stresses. There are two critical uniaxial confining stress levels, namely stress values at which peak pick forces begin to decrease and improve rock cuttability, and those at which rock bursts initially occur and cutting safety decreases. In particular, hard rock is easiest to split safely and efficiently under stress-free conditions. Moreover, coupled static preloading and dynamic disturbance can increase the efficiency of rock fragmentation with increasing preloading levels and disturbance amplitudes. The concluding remarks confirm hard rock cuttability using conical pick, which can improve the applicability of mechanical excavation in

  6. Quantitative parameterization of mid-magnitude rockfalls at a sensitive stage of failure in the Bavarian Alps (Berchtesgaden)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sellmeier, Bettina; Krautblatter, Michael; Thuro, Kurosch

    2014-05-01

    Rockfall hazards regularly affect railways, roads and other key infrastructure. Rockfall modeling allows for analyzing, assessing and anticipating rockfall detachment and trajectories. Significant improvements of parameter estimation have been achieved for the rockfall modelling in 2D and 3D, i.e. in terms of roughness and vegetation. These parameters enable a detailed analysis of the falling, bouncing and rolling processes on vegetated slopes. However, we hypothesize that the failure process and fragmentation have not been covered sufficiently. Here, we apply multiple methods to parameterise the detachment and fragmentation processes exemplified for an approximately 250 m3 single limestone block in a critical state of failure preparation above a highly-frequented federal road. The detachment analysis framework is a limit equilibrium study assessing total friction of the rough failure plane and cohesive properties of the remaining rock bridges. The total friction is assessed in terms of profile gauge measurements determining the joint roughness coefficient (JRC) whereas the basic friction angle is assessed in a direct rock shear testing device. The joint wall compressive (JCS) is approached in situ with 200 clustered Schmidt Hammer rebound values and in the laboratory performing uniaxial compressive strength testing of 15 samples. Fragmentation scenarios are anticipated in terms of a 3D fracture analysis including joint persistence and mechanical performance assessed at the surface and along the accessible 40% of the failure plane. The current research fields do not cover mid-magnitude rockfalls, their failure mechanics and possible fragmentation processes. Therefore we suggest trying to link the field of failure mechanics in steep rock slopes to the topic of rock fall modelling by posing the following key questions: • How can a detailed field analysis of joint persistence and joint distribution contribute to magnitude assessment in terms of rock fall modelling

  7. Controlled fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arnold, Werner

    2002-01-01

    Contrary to natural fragmentation, controlled fragmentation offers the possibility to adapt fragment parameters like size and mass to the performance requirements in a very flexible way. Known mechanisms like grooves inside the casing, weaken the structure. This is, however, excluded for applications with high accelerations during launch or piercing requirements for example on a semi armor piercing penetrator. Another method to achieve controlled fragmentation with an additional grid layer is presented with which the required grooves are produced 'just in time' inside the casing during detonation of the high explosive. The process of generating the grooves aided by the grid layer was studied using the hydrocode HULL with respect to varying grid designs and material combinations. Subsequent to this, a large range of these theoretically investigated combinations was contemplated in substantial experimental tests. With an optimised grid design and a suitable material selection, the controlled fragment admits a very flexible adaptation to the set requirements. Additional advantages like the increase of perforation performance or incendiary amplification can be realized with the grid layer

  8. Fragmentation cross sections outside the limiting-fragmentation regime

    CERN Document Server

    Sümmerer, K

    2003-01-01

    The empirical parametrization of fragmentation cross sections, EPAX, has been successfully applied to estimate fragment production cross sections in reactions of heavy ions at high incident energies. It is checked whether a similar parametrization can be found for proton-induced spallation around 1 GeV, the range of interest for ISOL-type RIB facilities. The validity of EPAX for medium-energy heavy-ion induced reactions is also checked. Only a few datasets are available, but in general EPAX predicts the cross sections rather well, except for fragments close to the projectile, where the experimental cross sections are found to be larger.

  9. Universality of fragment shapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domokos, Gábor; Kun, Ferenc; Sipos, András Árpád; Szabó, Tímea

    2015-03-16

    The shape of fragments generated by the breakup of solids is central to a wide variety of problems ranging from the geomorphic evolution of boulders to the accumulation of space debris orbiting Earth. Although the statistics of the mass of fragments has been found to show a universal scaling behavior, the comprehensive characterization of fragment shapes still remained a fundamental challenge. We performed a thorough experimental study of the problem fragmenting various types of materials by slowly proceeding weathering and by rapid breakup due to explosion and hammering. We demonstrate that the shape of fragments obeys an astonishing universality having the same generic evolution with the fragment size irrespective of materials details and loading conditions. There exists a cutoff size below which fragments have an isotropic shape, however, as the size increases an exponential convergence is obtained to a unique elongated form. We show that a discrete stochastic model of fragmentation reproduces both the size and shape of fragments tuning only a single parameter which strengthens the general validity of the scaling laws. The dependence of the probability of the crack plan orientation on the linear extension of fragments proved to be essential for the shape selection mechanism.

  10. Anomalous nuclear fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karmanov, V.A.

    1983-01-01

    Experimental data are given, the status of anomalon problem is discussed, theoretical approaches to this problem are outlined. Anomalons are exotic objects formed following fragmentation of nuclei-targets under the effect of nuclei - a beam at the energy of several GeV/nucleon. These nuclear fragments have an anomalously large cross section of interaction and respectively, small free path, considerably shorter than primary nuclei have. The experimental daa are obtained in accelerators following irradiation of nuclear emulsions by 16 O, 56 Fe, 40 Ar beams, as well as propane by 12 C beams. The experimental data testify to dependence of fragment free path on the distance L from the point of the fragment formation. A decrease in the fragment free path is established more reliably than its dependence on L. The problem of the anomalon existence cannot be yet considered resolved. Theoretical models suggested for explanation of anomalously large cross sections of nuclear fragment interaction are variable and rather speculative

  11. Modeling Fragment Simulating Projectile Penetration into Steel Plates Using Finite Elements and Meshfree Particles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James O’Daniel

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Simulating fragment penetration into steel involves complicated modeling of severe behavior of the materials through multiple phases of response. Penetration of a fragment-like projectile was simulated using finite element (FE and meshfree particle formulations. Extreme deformation and failure of the material during the penetration event were modeled with several approaches to evaluate each as to how well it represents the actual physics of the material and structural response. A steel Fragment Simulating Projectile (FSP – designed to simulate a fragment of metal from a weapon casing – was simulated for normal impact into a flat square plate. A range of impact velocities was used to examine levels of exit velocity ranging from relatively small to one on the same level as the impact velocity. The numerical code EPIC, used for all the simulations presented herein, contains the element and particle formulations, as well as the explicit methodology and constitutive models needed to perform these simulations. These simulations were compared against experimental data, evaluating the damage caused to the projectile and the target plates, as well as comparing the residual velocity when the projectile perforated the target.

  12. Nuclear fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, K.C.

    1989-01-01

    An introduction to nuclear fragmentation, with emphasis in percolation ideas, is presented. The main theoretical models are discussed and as an application, the uniform expansion approximation is presented and the statistical multifragmentation model is used to calculate the fragment energy spectra. (L.C.)

  13. Failure by Fragmentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gardner, Sid

    1990-01-01

    Because of a lack of program coordination and community accountability, services to children and youth are failing to address the problems of young people at risk. Collaboration among agencies can help social services to bypass program mentality. Communitywide interagency cooperation will include local scorecards, program linkages, and strategic…

  14. String fragmentation; La fragmentation des cordes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Drescher, H.J.; Werner, K. [Laboratoire de Physique Subatomique et des Technologies Associees - SUBATECH, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 44 - Nantes (France)

    1997-10-01

    The classical string model is used in VENUS as a fragmentation model. For the soft domain simple 2-parton strings were sufficient, whereas for higher energies up to LHC, the perturbative regime of the QCD gives additional soft gluons, which are mapped on the string as so called kinks, energy singularities between the leading partons. The kinky string model is chosen to handle fragmentation of these strings by application of the Lorentz invariant area law. The `kinky strings` model, corresponding to the perturbative gluons coming from pQCD, takes into consideration this effect by treating the partons and gluons on the same footing. The decay law is always the Artru-Menessier area law which is the most realistic since it is invariant to the Lorentz and gauge transformations. For low mass strings a manipulation of the rupture point is necessary if the string corresponds already to an elementary particle determined by the mass and the flavor content. By means of the fragmentation model it will be possible to simulate the data from future experiments at LHC and RHIC 3 refs.

  15. Application of tomographics methods for determination of rock failure in situ

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pandula Blažej

    1996-03-01

    Full Text Available Rock Failure determination closely connects with optimalization of rock disintegration as well excavation of underground openings. The aim of this optimalization is than to reach desired fragmentation during the blasting as well as choose the most suitable excavation technology. Study of rock failure can be very useful to reach this goal. In practice it can be done on the basis of personal technological experiences of blasting operator obtained in long term experiences in situ conditions. Because in many cases that experiences can not be utilised, it is necessary to learn against more precise rock failure evaluation. It can also down the costs of disintegration as well as excavation. The paper deals with results of common geophysical methods and methods of seismic tomography achieved at the hidden rock failure determination in the rock masses of the Ruzin dam during projecting the outlet equipment.

  16. Nondetectability of restriction fragments and independence of DNA fragment sizes within and between loci in RFLP typing of DNA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chakraborty, R.; Zhong, Y.; Jin, L. (Univ. of Texas Health Science Center, Houston, TX (United States)); Budowle, B. (FBI Academy, Quantico, VA (United States))

    1994-08-01

    The authors provide experimental evidence showing that, during the restriction-enzyme digestion of DNA samples, some of the HaeIII-digested DNA fragments are small enough to prevent their reliable sizing on a Southern gel. As a result of such nondetectability of DNA fragments, individuals who show a single-band DNA profile at a VNTR locus may not necessarily be true homozygotes. In a population database, when the presence of such nondetectable alleles is ignored, they show that a pseudodependence of alleles within as well as across loci may occur. Using a known statistical method, under the hypothesis of independence of alleles within loci, they derive an efficient estimate of null allele frequency, which may be subsequently used for testing allelic independence within and across loci. The estimates of null allele frequencies, thus derived, are shown to agree with direct experimental data on the frequencies of HaeIII-null alleles. Incorporation of null alleles into the analysis of the forensic VNTR database suggests that the assumptions of allelic independence within and between loci are appropriate. In contrast, a failure to incorporate the occurrence of null alleles would provide a wrong inference regarding the independence of alleles within and between loci. 47 refs., 2 figs., 4 tabs.

  17. Fission fragment angular momentum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frenne, D. De

    1991-01-01

    Most of the energy released in fission is converted into translational kinetic energy of the fragments. The remaining excitation energy will be distributed among neutrons and gammas. An important parameter characterizing the scission configuration is the primary angular momentum of the nascent fragments. Neutron emission is not expected to decrease the spin of the fragments by more than one unit of angular momentum and is as such of less importance in the determination of the initial fragment spins. Gamma emission is a suitable tool in studying initial fragment spins because the emission time, number, energy, and multipolarity of the gammas strongly depend on the value of the primary angular momentum. The main conclusions of experiments on gamma emission were that the initial angular momentum of the fragments is large compared to the ground state spin and oriented perpendicular to the fission axis. Most of the recent information concerning initial fragment spin distributions comes from the measurement of isomeric ratios for isomeric pairs produced in fission. Although in nearly every mass chain isomers are known, only a small number are suitable for initial fission fragment spin studies. Yield and half-life considerations strongly limit the number of candidates. This has the advantage that the behavior of a specific isomeric pair can be investigated for a number of fissioning systems at different excitation energies of the fragments and fissioning nuclei. Because most of the recent information on primary angular momenta comes from measurements of isomeric ratios, the global deexcitation process of the fragments and the calculation of the initial fragment spin distribution from measured isomeric ratios are discussed here. The most important results on primary angular momentum determinations are reviewed and some theoretical approaches are given. 45 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs

  18. Azimuthal Anisotropies in Nuclear Fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dabrowska, A.; Szarska, M.; Trzupek, A.; Wolter, W.; Wosiek, B.

    2002-01-01

    The directed and elliptic flow of fragments emitted from the excited projectile nuclei has been observed for 158 AGeV Pb collisions with the lead and plastic targets. For comparison the flow analysis has been performed for 10.6 AGeV Au collisions with the emulsion target. The strong directed flow of heaviest fragments is found. Light fragments exhibit directed flow opposite to that of heavy fragments. The elliptic flow for all multiply charged fragments is positive and increases with the charge of the fragment. The observed flow patterns in the fragmentation of the projectile nucleus are practically independent of the mass of the target nucleus and the collision energy. Emission of fragments in nuclear multifragmentation shows similar, although weaker, flow effects. (author)

  19. Analysis of fission-fragment mass distribution within the quantum-mechanical fragmentation theory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, Pardeep; Kaur, Harjeet [Guru Nanak Dev University, Department of Physics, Amritsar (India)

    2016-11-15

    The fission-fragment mass distribution is analysed for the {sup 208}Pb({sup 18}O, f) reaction within the quantum-mechanical fragmentation theory (QMFT). The reaction potential has been calculated by taking the binding energies, Coulomb potential and proximity potential of all possible decay channels and a stationary Schroedinger equation has been solved numerically to calculate the fission-fragment yield. The overall results for mass distribution are compared with those obtained in experiment. Fine structure dips in yield, corresponding to fragment shell closures at Z = 50 and N=82, which are observed by Bogachev et al., are reproduced successfully in the present calculations. These calculations will help to estimate the formation probabilities of fission fragments and to understand many related phenomena occurring in the fission process. (orig.)

  20. Hypervelocity Impact Test Fragment Modeling: Modifications to the Fragment Rotation Analysis and Lightcurve Code

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gouge, Michael F.

    2011-01-01

    Hypervelocity impact tests on test satellites are performed by members of the orbital debris scientific community in order to understand and typify the on-orbit collision breakup process. By analysis of these test satellite fragments, the fragment size and mass distributions are derived and incorporated into various orbital debris models. These same fragments are currently being put to new use using emerging technologies. Digital models of these fragments are created using a laser scanner. A group of computer programs referred to as the Fragment Rotation Analysis and Lightcurve code uses these digital representations in a multitude of ways that describe, measure, and model on-orbit fragments and fragment behavior. The Dynamic Rotation subroutine generates all of the possible reflected intensities from a scanned fragment as if it were observed to rotate dynamically while in orbit about the Earth. This calls an additional subroutine that graphically displays the intensities and the resulting frequency of those intensities as a range of solar phase angles in a Probability Density Function plot. This document reports the additions and modifications to the subset of the Fragment Rotation Analysis and Lightcurve concerned with the Dynamic Rotation and Probability Density Function plotting subroutines.

  1. Fragment capture device

    Science.gov (United States)

    Payne, Lloyd R.; Cole, David L.

    2010-03-30

    A fragment capture device for use in explosive containment. The device comprises an assembly of at least two rows of bars positioned to eliminate line-of-sight trajectories between the generation point of fragments and a surrounding containment vessel or asset. The device comprises an array of at least two rows of bars, wherein each row is staggered with respect to the adjacent row, and wherein a lateral dimension of each bar and a relative position of each bar in combination provides blockage of a straight-line passage of a solid fragment through the adjacent rows of bars, wherein a generation point of the solid fragment is located within a cavity at least partially enclosed by the array of bars.

  2. Use of biomarkers to guide outpatient therapy of heart failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeBeradinis, Benedetta; Januzzi, James L

    2012-11-01

    Among patients with heart failure, concentrations of natriuretic peptides are strongly linked to the presence and severity of structural heart disease and are strongly prognostic in this setting. Additionally, favorable reduction in the concentration of either B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) or B-type natriuretic peptide and its amino-terminal cleavage fragment (NT-proBNP) may be seen during treatment of heart failure, with parallel improvement in prognosis. This has led to the hypothesis that intensified treatment directed at reducing natriuretic peptide concentrations may improve outcomes in heart failure. In chronic heart failure, studies suggest that a strategy of standard-of-care management together with a goal to suppress BNP or NT-proBNP concentrations leads to greater application of guideline-derived medical therapy and is well tolerated. In certain studies of this BNP or NT-proBNP 'guided' approach, patients treated with biomarker-guided care had superior outcomes when compared with standard heart failure management alone, particularly in younger study populations, in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction, and particularly when substantial reductions in natriuretic peptides were achieved in association with biomarker-guided care. Natriuretic peptide 'guided' management appears promising in patients suffering from chronic heart failure. Large-scale pivotal trials to confirm the approach are planned.

  3. Exact Solutions of Fragmentation Equations with General Fragmentation Rates and Separable Particles Distribution Kernels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. C. Oukouomi Noutchie

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We make use of Laplace transform techniques and the method of characteristics to solve fragmentation equations explicitly. Our result is a breakthrough in the analysis of pure fragmentation equations as this is the first instance where an exact solution is provided for the fragmentation evolution equation with general fragmentation rates. This paper is the key for resolving most of the open problems in fragmentation theory including “shattering” and the sudden appearance of infinitely many particles in some systems with initial finite particles number.

  4. Land fragmentation and production diversification

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ciaian, Pavel; Guri, Fatmir; Rajcaniova, Miroslava; Drabik, Dusan; Paloma, Sergio Gomez Y.

    2018-01-01

    We analyze the impact of land fragmentation on production diversification in rural Albania. Albania represents a particularly interesting case for studying land fragmentation as the fragmentation is a direct outcome of land reforms. The results indicate that land fragmentation is an important driver

  5. Fragmentation processes in nuclear reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Legrain, R.

    1984-08-01

    Projectile and nuclear fragmentation are defined and processes referred to are recalled. The two different aspects of fragmentation are considered but the emphasis is also put on heavy ion induced reactions. The preliminary results of an experiment performed at GANIL to study peripheral heavy ions induced reactions at intermediate energy are presented. The results of this experiment will illustrate the characteristics of projectile fragmentation and this will also give the opportunity to study projectile fragmentation in the transition region. Then nuclear fragmentation is considered which is associated with more central collisions in the case of heavy ion induced reactions. This aspect of fragmentation is also ilustrated with two heavy ion experiments in which fragments emitted at large angle have been observed

  6. Large scale meta-analysis of fragment-based screening campaigns: privileged fragments and complementary technologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutchukian, Peter S; Wassermann, Anne Mai; Lindvall, Mika K; Wright, S Kirk; Ottl, Johannes; Jacob, Jaison; Scheufler, Clemens; Marzinzik, Andreas; Brooijmans, Natasja; Glick, Meir

    2015-06-01

    A first step in fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) often entails a fragment-based screen (FBS) to identify fragment "hits." However, the integration of conflicting results from orthogonal screens remains a challenge. Here we present a meta-analysis of 35 fragment-based campaigns at Novartis, which employed a generic 1400-fragment library against diverse target families using various biophysical and biochemical techniques. By statistically interrogating the multidimensional FBS data, we sought to investigate three questions: (1) What makes a fragment amenable for FBS? (2) How do hits from different fragment screening technologies and target classes compare with each other? (3) What is the best way to pair FBS assay technologies? In doing so, we identified substructures that were privileged for specific target classes, as well as fragments that were privileged for authentic activity against many targets. We also revealed some of the discrepancies between technologies. Finally, we uncovered a simple rule of thumb in screening strategy: when choosing two technologies for a campaign, pairing a biochemical and biophysical screen tends to yield the greatest coverage of authentic hits. © 2014 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening.

  7. Fragment-based drug design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feyfant, Eric; Cross, Jason B; Paris, Kevin; Tsao, Désirée H H

    2011-01-01

    Fragment-based drug design (FBDD), which is comprised of both fragment screening and the use of fragment hits to design leads, began more than 15 years ago and has been steadily gaining in popularity and utility. Its origin lies on the fact that the coverage of chemical space and the binding efficiency of hits are directly related to the size of the compounds screened. Nevertheless, FBDD still faces challenges, among them developing fragment screening libraries that ensure optimal coverage of chemical space, physical properties and chemical tractability. Fragment screening also requires sensitive assays, often biophysical in nature, to detect weak binders. In this chapter we will introduce the technologies used to address these challenges and outline the experimental advantages that make FBDD one of the most popular new hit-to-lead process.

  8. Fragment informatics and computational fragment-based drug design: an overview and update.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheng, Chunquan; Zhang, Wannian

    2013-05-01

    Fragment-based drug design (FBDD) is a promising approach for the discovery and optimization of lead compounds. Despite its successes, FBDD also faces some internal limitations and challenges. FBDD requires a high quality of target protein and good solubility of fragments. Biophysical techniques for fragment screening necessitate expensive detection equipment and the strategies for evolving fragment hits to leads remain to be improved. Regardless, FBDD is necessary for investigating larger chemical space and can be applied to challenging biological targets. In this scenario, cheminformatics and computational chemistry can be used as alternative approaches that can significantly improve the efficiency and success rate of lead discovery and optimization. Cheminformatics and computational tools assist FBDD in a very flexible manner. Computational FBDD can be used independently or in parallel with experimental FBDD for efficiently generating and optimizing leads. Computational FBDD can also be integrated into each step of experimental FBDD and help to play a synergistic role by maximizing its performance. This review will provide critical analysis of the complementarity between computational and experimental FBDD and highlight recent advances in new algorithms and successful examples of their applications. In particular, fragment-based cheminformatics tools, high-throughput fragment docking, and fragment-based de novo drug design will provide the focus of this review. We will also discuss the advantages and limitations of different methods and the trends in new developments that should inspire future research. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Assessment of fragment projection hazard: probability distributions for the initial direction of fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tugnoli, Alessandro; Gubinelli, Gianfilippo; Landucci, Gabriele; Cozzani, Valerio

    2014-08-30

    The evaluation of the initial direction and velocity of the fragments generated in the fragmentation of a vessel due to internal pressure is an important information in the assessment of damage caused by fragments, in particular within the quantitative risk assessment (QRA) of chemical and process plants. In the present study an approach is proposed to the identification and validation of probability density functions (pdfs) for the initial direction of the fragments. A detailed review of a large number of past accidents provided the background information for the validation procedure. A specific method was developed for the validation of the proposed pdfs. Validated pdfs were obtained for both the vertical and horizontal angles of projection and for the initial velocity of the fragments. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Knowledge-based Fragment Binding Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Grace W.; Altman, Russ B.

    2014-01-01

    Target-based drug discovery must assess many drug-like compounds for potential activity. Focusing on low-molecular-weight compounds (fragments) can dramatically reduce the chemical search space. However, approaches for determining protein-fragment interactions have limitations. Experimental assays are time-consuming, expensive, and not always applicable. At the same time, computational approaches using physics-based methods have limited accuracy. With increasing high-resolution structural data for protein-ligand complexes, there is now an opportunity for data-driven approaches to fragment binding prediction. We present FragFEATURE, a machine learning approach to predict small molecule fragments preferred by a target protein structure. We first create a knowledge base of protein structural environments annotated with the small molecule substructures they bind. These substructures have low-molecular weight and serve as a proxy for fragments. FragFEATURE then compares the structural environments within a target protein to those in the knowledge base to retrieve statistically preferred fragments. It merges information across diverse ligands with shared substructures to generate predictions. Our results demonstrate FragFEATURE's ability to rediscover fragments corresponding to the ligand bound with 74% precision and 82% recall on average. For many protein targets, it identifies high scoring fragments that are substructures of known inhibitors. FragFEATURE thus predicts fragments that can serve as inputs to fragment-based drug design or serve as refinement criteria for creating target-specific compound libraries for experimental or computational screening. PMID:24762971

  11. Burnout and gate rupture of power MOS transistors with fission fragments of 252Cf

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Benqi; Wang Yanping; Geng Bin; Chen Xiaohua; He Chaohui; Yang Hailiang

    2000-01-01

    A study to determine the single event burnout (SEB) and single event gate rupture (SEGR) sensitivities of power MOSFET devices is carried out by exposure to fission fragments from 252 Cf source. The test method, test results, a description of observed burnout current waveforms and a discussion of a possible failure mechanism are presented. The test results include the observed dependence upon applied drain or gate to source bias and effect of external capacitors and limited resistors

  12. Fragmentation in the branching coral Acropora palmata (Lamarck): growth, survivorship, and reproduction of colonies and fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lirman

    2000-08-23

    Acropora palmata, a branching coral abundant on shallow reef environments throughout the Caribbean, is susceptible to physical disturbance caused by storms. Accordingly, the survivorship and propagation of this species are tied to its capability to recover after fragmentation. Fragments of A. palmata comprised 40% of ramets within populations that had experienced recent storms. While the survivorship of A. palmata fragments was not directly related to the size of fragments, removal of fragments from areas where they settled was influenced by size. Survivorship of fragments was also affected by type of substratum; the greatest mortality (58% loss within the first month) was observed on sand, whereas fragments placed on top of live colonies of A. palmata fused to the underlying tissue and did not experience any losses. Fragments created by Hurricane Andrew on a Florida reef in August 1992 began developing new growth (proto-branches) 7 months after the storm. The number of proto-branches on fragments was dependent on size, but growth was not affected by the size of fragments. Growth-rates of proto-branches increased exponentially with time (1.7 cm year(-1) for 1993-1994, 2.7 cm year(-1) for 1994-1995, 4.2 cm year(-1) for 1995-1996, and 6.5 cm year(-1) for 1996-1997), taking over 4 years for proto-branches to achieve rates comparable to those of adult colonies on the same reef (6.9 cm year(-1)). In addition to the initial mortality and reduced growth-rates, fragmentation resulted in a loss of reproductive potential. Neither colonies that experienced severe fragmentation nor fragments contained gametes until 4 years after the initial damage. Although A. palmata may survive periodic fragmentation, the long-term effects of this process will depend ultimately on the balance between the benefits and costs of this process.

  13. Plasminogen fragments K 1-3 and K 5 bind to different sites in fibrin fragment DD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grinenko, T V; Kapustianenko, L G; Yatsenko, T A; Yusova, O I; Rybachuk, V N

    2016-01-01

    Specific plasminogen-binding sites of fibrin molecule are located in Аα148-160 regions of C-terminal domains. Plasminogen interaction with these sites initiates the activation process of proenzyme and subsequent fibrin lysis. In this study we investigated the binding of plasminogen fragments K 1-3 and K 5 with fibrin fragment DD and their effect on Glu-plasminogen interaction with DD. It was shown that the level of Glu-plasminogen binding to fibrin fragment DD is decreased by 50-60% in the presence of K 1-3 and K 5. Fragments K 1-3 and K 5 have high affinity to fibrin fragment DD (Kd is 0.02 for K 1-3 and 0.054 μМ for K 5). K 5 interaction is independent and K 1-3 is partly dependent on C-terminal lysine residues. K 1-3 interacts with complex of fragment DD-immobilized K 5 as well as K 5 with complex of fragment DD-immobilized K 1-3. The plasminogen fragments do not displace each other from binding sites located in fibrin fragment DD, but can compete for the interaction. The results indicate that fibrin fragment DD contains different binding sites for plasminogen kringle fragments K 1-3 and K 5, which can be located close to each other. The role of amino acid residues of fibrin molecule Аα148-160 region in interaction with fragments K 1-3 and K 5 is discussed.

  14. Fractal statistics of brittle fragmentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Davydova

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The study of fragmentation statistics of brittle materials that includes four types of experiments is presented. Data processing of the fragmentation of glass plates under quasi-static loading and the fragmentation of quartz cylindrical rods under dynamic loading shows that the size distribution of fragments (spatial quantity is fractal and can be described by a power law. The original experimental technique allows us to measure, apart from the spatial quantity, the temporal quantity - the size of time interval between the impulses of the light reflected from the newly created surfaces. The analysis of distributions of spatial (fragment size and temporal (time interval quantities provides evidence of obeying scaling laws, which suggests the possibility of self-organized criticality in fragmentation.

  15. Habitat fragmentation reduces nest survival in an Afrotropical bird community in a biodiversity hotspot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newmark, William D; Stanley, Thomas R

    2011-07-12

    Ecologists have long hypothesized that fragmentation of tropical landscapes reduces avian nest success. However, this hypothesis has not been rigorously assessed because of the difficulty of finding large numbers of well-hidden nests in tropical forests. Here we report that in the East Usambara Mountains in Tanzania, which are part of the Eastern Arc Mountains, a global biodiversity hotspot, that daily nest survival rate and nest success for seven of eight common understory bird species that we examined over a single breeding season were significantly lower in fragmented than in continuous forest, with the odds of nest failure for these seven species ranging from 1.9 to 196.8 times higher in fragmented than continuous forest. Cup-shaped nests were particularly vulnerable in fragments. We then examined over six breeding seasons and 14 study sites in a multivariable survival analysis the influence of landscape structure and nest location on daily nest survival for 13 common species representing 1,272 nests and four nest types (plate, cup, dome, and pouch). Across species and nest types, area, distance of nest to edge, and nest height had a dominant influence on daily nest survival, with area being positively related to nest survival and distance of nest to edge and nest height being both positively and negatively associated with daily nest survival. Our results indicate that multiple environmental factors contribute to reduce nest survival within a tropical understory bird community in a fragmented landscape and that maintaining large continuous forest is important for enhancing nest survival for Afrotropical understory birds.

  16. Chameleon fragmentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brax, Philippe [Institut de Physique Théorique, CEA, IPhT, CNRS, URA 2306, F-91191Gif/Yvette Cedex (France); Upadhye, Amol, E-mail: philippe.brax@cea.fr, E-mail: aupadhye@anl.gov [Institute for the Early Universe, Ewha University, International Education, Building #601, 11-1, Daehyun-Dong Seodaemun-Gu, Seoul 120-750 (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-02-01

    A scalar field dark energy candidate could couple to ordinary matter and photons, enabling its detection in laboratory experiments. Here we study the quantum properties of the chameleon field, one such dark energy candidate, in an ''afterglow'' experiment designed to produce, trap, and detect chameleon particles. In particular, we investigate the possible fragmentation of a beam of chameleon particles into multiple particle states due to the highly non-linear interaction terms in the chameleon Lagrangian. Fragmentation could weaken the constraints of an afterglow experiment by reducing the energy of the regenerated photons, but this energy reduction also provides a unique signature which could be detected by a properly-designed experiment. We show that constraints from the CHASE experiment are essentially unaffected by fragmentation for φ{sup 4} and 1/φ potentials, but are weakened for steeper potentials, and we discuss possible future afterglow experiments.

  17. Chameleon fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brax, Philippe; Upadhye, Amol

    2014-01-01

    A scalar field dark energy candidate could couple to ordinary matter and photons, enabling its detection in laboratory experiments. Here we study the quantum properties of the chameleon field, one such dark energy candidate, in an ''afterglow'' experiment designed to produce, trap, and detect chameleon particles. In particular, we investigate the possible fragmentation of a beam of chameleon particles into multiple particle states due to the highly non-linear interaction terms in the chameleon Lagrangian. Fragmentation could weaken the constraints of an afterglow experiment by reducing the energy of the regenerated photons, but this energy reduction also provides a unique signature which could be detected by a properly-designed experiment. We show that constraints from the CHASE experiment are essentially unaffected by fragmentation for φ 4 and 1/φ potentials, but are weakened for steeper potentials, and we discuss possible future afterglow experiments

  18. Fragment library design: using cheminformatics and expert chemists to fill gaps in existing fragment libraries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutchukian, Peter S; So, Sung-Sau; Fischer, Christian; Waller, Chris L

    2015-01-01

    Fragment based screening (FBS) has emerged as a mainstream lead discovery strategy in academia, biotechnology start-ups, and large pharma. As a prerequisite of FBS, a structurally diverse library of fragments is desirable in order to identify chemical matter that will interact with the range of diverse target classes that are prosecuted in contemporary screening campaigns. In addition, it is also desirable to offer synthetically amenable starting points to increase the probability of a successful fragment evolution through medicinal chemistry. Herein we describe a method to identify biologically relevant chemical substructures that are missing from an existing fragment library (chemical gaps), and organize these chemical gaps hierarchically so that medicinal chemists can efficiently navigate the prioritized chemical space and subsequently select purchasable fragments for inclusion in an enhanced fragment library.

  19. Subchondral bone failure in overload arthrosis: a scanning electron microscopic study in horses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norrdin, R W; Stover, S M

    2006-01-01

    Mechanical overload leads to a common arthrosis in the metacarpal condyle of the fetlock joint of racehorses. This is usually asymptomatic but severe forms can cause lameness. Subchondral bone failure is often present and the predictability of the site provided an opportunity to study of the progression of bone failure from microcracks to actual collapse of subchondral bone. Twenty-five fetlock condyles from racehorses with various stages of disease were selected. Stages ranged from mild through severe subchondral bone sclerosis, to the collapse of bone and indentation or loss of cartilage known as 'traumatic osteochondrosis'. Parasagittal slices were radiographed and examined with scanning electron microscopy. Fine matrix cracks were seen in the subchondral bone layer above the calcified cartilage and suggested loss of water or other non-collagenous components. The earliest microcracks appeared to develop in the sclerotic bone within 1-3 mm of the calcified cartilage layer and extend parallel to it in irregular branching lines. Longer cracks or microfractures appeared to develop gaps as fragmentation occurred along the margins. Occasional osteoclastic resorption sites along the fracture lines indicated activated remodeling may have caused previous weakening. In one sample, smoothly ground fragments were found in a fracture gap. Bone collapse occurred when there was compaction of the fragmented matrix along the microfracture. Bone collapse and fracture lines through the calcified cartilage were associated with indentation of articular cartilage at the site.

  20. Universality of projectile fragmentation model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaudhuri, G.; Mallik, S.; Das Gupta, S.

    2012-01-01

    Presently projectile fragmentation reaction is an important area of research as it is used for the production of radioactive ion beams. In this work, the recently developed projectile fragmentation model with an universal temperature profile is used for studying the charge distributions of different projectile fragmentation reactions with different projectile target combinations at different incident energies. The model for projectile fragmentation consists of three stages: (i) abrasion, (ii) multifragmentation and (iii) evaporation

  1. Effective Fragment Potential Method for H-Bonding: How To Obtain Parameters for Nonrigid Fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dubinets, Nikita; Slipchenko, Lyudmila V

    2017-07-20

    Accuracy of the effective fragment potential (EFP) method was explored for describing intermolecular interaction energies in three dimers with strong H-bonded interactions, formic acid, formamide, and formamidine dimers, which are a part of HBC6 database of noncovalent interactions. Monomer geometries in these dimers change significantly as a function of intermonomer separation. Several EFP schemes were considered, in which fragment parameters were prepared for a fragment in its gas-phase geometry or recomputed for each unique fragment geometry. Additionally, a scheme in which gas-phase fragment parameters are shifted according to relaxed fragment geometries is introduced and tested. EFP data are compared against the coupled cluster with single, double, and perturbative triple excitations (CCSD(T)) method in a complete basis set (CBS) and the symmetry adapted perturbation theory (SAPT). All considered EFP schemes provide a good agreement with CCSD(T)/CBS for binding energies at equilibrium separations, with discrepancies not exceeding 2 kcal/mol. However, only the schemes that utilize relaxed fragment geometries remain qualitatively correct at shorter than equilibrium intermolecular distances. The EFP scheme with shifted parameters behaves quantitatively similar to the scheme in which parameters are recomputed for each monomer geometry and thus is recommended as a computationally efficient approach for large-scale EFP simulations of flexible systems.

  2. Dynamic Response and Failure Mechanism of Brittle Rocks Under Combined Compression-Shear Loading Experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yuan; Dai, Feng

    2018-03-01

    A novel method is developed for characterizing the mechanical response and failure mechanism of brittle rocks under dynamic compression-shear loading: an inclined cylinder specimen using a modified split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) system. With the specimen axis inclining to the loading direction of SHPB, a shear component can be introduced into the specimen. Both static and dynamic experiments are conducted on sandstone specimens. Given carefully pulse shaping, the dynamic equilibrium of the inclined specimens can be satisfied, and thus the quasi-static data reduction is employed. The normal and shear stress-strain relationships of specimens are subsequently established. The progressive failure process of the specimen illustrated via high-speed photographs manifests a mixed failure mode accommodating both the shear-dominated failure and the localized tensile damage. The elastic and shear moduli exhibit certain loading-path dependence under quasi-static loading but loading-path insensitivity under high loading rates. Loading rate dependence is evidently demonstrated through the failure characteristics involving fragmentation, compression and shear strength and failure surfaces based on Drucker-Prager criterion. Our proposed method is convenient and reliable to study the dynamic response and failure mechanism of rocks under combined compression-shear loading.

  3. Robust Object Tracking Using Valid Fragments Selection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Jin; Li, Bo; Tian, Peng; Luo, Gang

    Local features are widely used in visual tracking to improve robustness in cases of partial occlusion, deformation and rotation. This paper proposes a local fragment-based object tracking algorithm. Unlike many existing fragment-based algorithms that allocate the weights to each fragment, this method firstly defines discrimination and uniqueness for local fragment, and builds an automatic pre-selection of useful fragments for tracking. Then, a Harris-SIFT filter is used to choose the current valid fragments, excluding occluded or highly deformed fragments. Based on those valid fragments, fragment-based color histogram provides a structured and effective description for the object. Finally, the object is tracked using a valid fragment template combining the displacement constraint and similarity of each valid fragment. The object template is updated by fusing feature similarity and valid fragments, which is scale-adaptive and robust to partial occlusion. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm is accurate and robust in challenging scenarios.

  4. Self-organized criticality in fragmenting

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Oddershede, L.; Dimon, P.; Bohr, J.

    1993-01-01

    The measured mass distributions of fragments from 26 fractured objects of gypsum, soap, stearic paraffin, and potato show evidence of obeying scaling laws; this suggests the possibility of self-organized criticality in fragmenting. The probability of finding a fragment scales inversely to a power...

  5. Energy production using fission fragment rockets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chapline, G.; Matsuda, Y.

    1991-08-01

    Fission fragment rockets are nuclear reactors with a core consisting of thin fibers in a vacuum, and which use magnetic fields to extract the fission fragments from the reactor core. As an alternative to ordinary nuclear reactors, fission fragment rockets would have the following advantages: Approximately twice as efficient if one can directly convert the fission fragment energy into electricity; by reducing the buildup of a fission fragment inventory in the reactor one could avoid a Chernobyl type disaster; and collecting the fission fragments outside the reactor could simplify the waste disposal problem. 6 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

  6. Fragmentation of relativistic nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cork, B.

    1975-06-01

    Nuclei with energies of several GeV/n interact with hadrons and produce fragments that encompass the fields of nuclear physics, meson physics, and particle physics. Experimental results are now available to explore problems in nuclear physics such as the validity of the shell model to explain the momentum distribution of fragments, the contribution of giant dipole resonances to fragment production cross sections, the effective Coulomb barrier, and nuclear temperatures. A new approach to meson physics is possible by exploring the nucleon charge-exchange process. Particle physics problems are explored by measuring the energy and target dependence of isotope production cross sections, thus determining if limiting fragmentation and target factorization are valid, and measuring total cross sections to determine if the factorization relation, sigma/sub AB/ 2 = sigma/sub AA/ . sigma/sub BB/, is violated. Also, new experiments have been done to measure the angular distribution of fragments that could be explained as nuclear shock waves, and to explore for ultradense matter produced by very heavy ions incident on heavy atoms. (12 figures, 2 tables)

  7. Detection of fission fragments by secondary emission; Detection des fragments de fission par emission secondaire

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Audias, A [Commissariat a l' Energie Atomique, Saclay (France). Centre d' Etudes Nucleaires

    1965-07-01

    This fission fragment detecting apparatus is based on the principle that fragments traversing a thin foil will cause emission of secondary electrons. These electrons are then accelerated (10 kV) and directly detected by means of a plastic scintillator and associated photomultiplier. Some of the advantages of such a detector are, its rapidity, its discriminating power between alpha particles and fission fragments, its small energy loss in detecting the fragments and the relatively great amount of fissionable material which it can contain. This paper is subdivided as follows: a) theoretical considerations b) constructional details of apparatus and some experimental details and c) a study of the secondary emission effect itself. (author) [French] Le detecteur de fragments de fission que nous avons realise est base sur le principe de l'emission secondaire produite par les fragments de fission traversant une feuille mince: les electrons secondaires emis sont acceleres a des tensions telles (de l'ordre de 10 kV), qu'ils soient directement detectables par un scintillateur plastique associe a un photomultiplicateur. L'interet d'un tel detecteur reside: dans sa rapidite, sa tres bonne discrimination alpha, fission, la possibilite de detecter les fragments de fission avec une perte d'energie pouvant rester relativement faible, et la possibilite d'introduire des quantites de matiere fissile plus importantes que dans les autres types de detecteurs. Ce travail comporte: -) un apercu bibliographique de la theorie du phenomene, -) realisation et mise au point du detecteur avec etude experimentale de quelques parametres intervenant dans l'emission secondaire, -) etude de l'emission secondaire (sur la face d'emergence des fragments de fission) en fonction de l'energie du fragment et en fonction de l'epaisseur de matiere traversee avant emission secondaire, et -) une etude comparative de l'emission secondaire sur la face d'incidence et sur la face d'emergence des fragments de

  8. Thermodynamics of the fuel fragmentation gas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perez, R.B.; Alsmiller, R.G. Jr.

    1977-01-01

    In the context of nuclear reactor safety studies, a program is in progress at ORNL whereby fuel-fragmentation situations are mocked up by the application of high-current capacitor discharges through solid UO 2 samples. The goal of the present work is to predict such quantities as the number of gas and liquid fragments and their energy distributions. The point of view adopted is that upon fragmentation, a cloud of UO 2 vapor is formed containing ''primeval'' liquid fragments which act as condensation centers. In the evolution of time, fragment growth is controlled by nucleation, coagulation and evaporation processes. Eventually, the vapor-droplet system will reach a situation in which clusters (fragments) of various sizes and UO 2 vapor will coexist in an ''association-disassociation'' equilibrium. Thus, the physical model considered here consists of the identification of the fragmentation gas with an ''imperfect'' vapor, made up of interacting UO 2 vapor and liquid fragments. The results of the study are presented

  9. In situ fragmentation and rock particle sorting on arid hills

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGrath, Gavan S.; Nie, Zhengyao; Dyskin, Arcady; Byrd, Tia; Jenner, Rowan; Holbeche, Georgina; Hinz, Christoph

    2013-03-01

    Transport processes are often proposed to explain the sorting of rock particles on arid hillslopes, where mean rock particle size often decreases in the downslope direction. Here we show that in situ fragmentation of rock particles can also produce similar patterns. A total of 93,414 rock particles were digitized from 880 photographs of the surface of three mesa hills in the Great Sandy Desert, Australia. Rock particles were characterized by the projected Feret's diameter and circularity. Distance from the duricrust cap was found to be a more robust explanatory variable for diameter than the local hillslope gradient. Mean diameter decreased exponentially downslope, while the fractional area covered by rock particles decreased linearly. Rock particle diameters were distributed lognormally, with both the location and scale parameters decreasing approximately linearly downslope. Rock particle circularity distributions showed little change; only a slight shift in the mode to more circular particles was noted to occur downslope. A dynamic fragmentation model was used to assess whether in situ weathering alone could reproduce the observed downslope fining of diameters. Modeled and observed size distributions agreed well and both displayed a preferential loss of relatively large rock particles and an apparent approach to a terminal size distribution of the rocks downslope. We show this is consistent with a size effect in material strength, where large rocks are more susceptible to fatigue failure under stress than smaller rocks. In situ fragmentation therefore produces qualitatively similar patterns to those that would be expected to arise from selective transport.

  10. The dual role of fragments in fragment-assembly methods for de novo protein structure prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Handl, Julia; Knowles, Joshua; Vernon, Robert; Baker, David; Lovell, Simon C.

    2013-01-01

    In fragment-assembly techniques for protein structure prediction, models of protein structure are assembled from fragments of known protein structures. This process is typically guided by a knowledge-based energy function and uses a heuristic optimization method. The fragments play two important roles in this process: they define the set of structural parameters available, and they also assume the role of the main variation operators that are used by the optimiser. Previous analysis has typically focused on the first of these roles. In particular, the relationship between local amino acid sequence and local protein structure has been studied by a range of authors. The correlation between the two has been shown to vary with the window length considered, and the results of these analyses have informed directly the choice of fragment length in state-of-the-art prediction techniques. Here, we focus on the second role of fragments and aim to determine the effect of fragment length from an optimization perspective. We use theoretical analyses to reveal how the size and structure of the search space changes as a function of insertion length. Furthermore, empirical analyses are used to explore additional ways in which the size of the fragment insertion influences the search both in a simulation model and for the fragment-assembly technique, Rosetta. PMID:22095594

  11. Models of fragmentation with composite power laws

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tavassoli, Z.; Rodgers, G. J.

    1999-06-01

    Some models for binary fragmentation are introduced in which a time dependent transition size produces two regions of fragment sizes above and below the transition size. In the first model we assume a fixed rate of fragmentation for the largest fragment and two different rates of fragmentation in the two regions of sizes above and below the transition size. The model is solved exactly in the long time limit to reveal stable time-invariant solutions for the fragment size and mass distributions. These solutions exhibit composite power law behaviours; power laws with two different exponents for fragments in smaller and larger regions. A special case of the model with no fragmentation in the smaller size region is also examined. Another model is also introduced which have three regions of fragment sizes with different rates of fragmentation. The similarities between the stable distributions in our models and composite power law distributions from experimental work on shock fragmentation of long thin glass rods and thick clay plates are discussed.

  12. Kinetics of fragmentation-annihilation processes

    OpenAIRE

    Filipe, JAN; Rodgers, GJ

    1996-01-01

    We investigate the kinetics of systems in which particles of one species undergo binary fragmentation and pair annihilation. In the latter, nonlinear process, fragments react at collision to produce an inert species, causing loss of mass. We analyze these systems in the reaction-limited regime by solving a continuous model within the mean-field approximation. The rate of fragmentation for a particle of mass x to break into fragments of masses y and x-y has the form x(lambda-1) (lambda > 0), a...

  13. Fission fragment spins and spectroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Durell, J.L.

    1988-01-01

    Prompt γ-ray coincidence experiments have been carried out on γ-rays emitted from post-neutron emission fission fragments produced by the aup 19F + 197 Au and 18 O + 232 Th reactions. Decay schemes have been established for even-even nuclei ranging from 78 Se to 148 Nd. Many new states with spin up to ∼ 12h have been observed. Apart from providing a wealth of new information on the spectroscopy of neutron-rich nuclei, the data have been analyzed to determine the average spin of primary fission fragments as a function of fragment mass. The results suggest that the fragment spins are determined by the temperature and shape of the primary fragments at or near to scission

  14. Fragmentation of atomic clusters: A theoretical study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lopez, M.J.; Jellinek, J.

    1994-01-01

    Collisionless fragmentation of nonrotating model n-atom metal clusters (n=12, 13, and 14) is studied using isoergic molecular-dynamics simulations. Minimum-energy paths for fragmentation are mapped out as functions of the distance between the centers of mass of the fragments. These paths provide information on the fragmentation energies for the different fragmentation channels. Fragmentation patterns (distributions of the fragmentation channel probabilities) and global and channel-specific fragmentation rate constants are computed and analyzed as functions of the internal energy and of the size of the clusters. The trends derived from the dynamics are compared with those obtained using the RRK and TST statistical approaches. The dynamics of the fragmentation process is analyzed in terms of characteristic quantities such as the distance between the centers of mass of the fragments, their relative translational energy, and their interaction energy, all considered as functions of time

  15. Grand Bay-Banks Lake Stewardship Partnership - Phase 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    2006-11-01

    including smallpox, measles, typhus, tuberculosis, chicken pox and influenza, any of which could prove fatal. When the southeastern Indians were hit...Gulf of Mexico coastal plain within southeast Mississippi, Alabama, and southwest Georgia where they are called "Grady Ponds" because of the Grady

  16. DNA fragmentation in spermatozoa

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rex, A S; Aagaard, J.; Fedder, J

    2017-01-01

    Sperm DNA Fragmentation has been extensively studied for more than a decade. In the 1940s the uniqueness of the spermatozoa protein complex which stabilizes the DNA was discovered. In the fifties and sixties, the association between unstable chromatin structure and subfertility was investigated....... In the seventies, the impact of induced DNA damage was investigated. In the 1980s the concept of sperm DNA fragmentation as related to infertility was introduced as well as the first DNA fragmentation test: the Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay (SCSA). The terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase nick end labelling...... (TUNEL) test followed by others was introduced in the nineties. The association between DNA fragmentation in spermatozoa and pregnancy loss has been extensively investigated spurring the need for a therapeutic tool for these patients. This gave rise to an increased interest in the aetiology of DNA damage...

  17. Photon-hadron fragmentation: theoretical situation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peschanski, R.

    1983-07-01

    Using a selection of new experimental results models of hadronic fragmentation and their phenomenological comparison are presented. Indeed a convenient theory of hadronic fragmentation -for instance based on Q.C.D.- does not exist: low transverse momentum fragmentation involves the badly known hadronic long-range forces. Models should clarify the situation in the prospect of an eventual future theory

  18. Recent progress on perturbative QCD fragmentation functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheung, K.

    1995-05-01

    The recent development of perturbative QCD (PQCD) fragmentation functions has strong impact on quarkonium production. I shall summarize B c meson production based on these PQCD fragmentation functions, as well as, the highlights of some recent activities on applying these PQCD fragmentation functions to explain anomalous J/ψ and ψ' production at the Tevatron. Finally, I discuss a fragmentation model based on the PQCD fragmentation functions for heavy quarks fragmenting into heavy-light mesons

  19. Fragmentation and flow in central collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacak, B.V.; Doss, K.G.R.; Gustafsson, H.A.

    1987-01-01

    Investigation of the fragmentation mechanism requires the measurement of complicated observables. To identify what part of the reacting system gives rise to the fragments, it would be useful to tag them as participants or spectators. A large acceptance for all the reaction products and an event-by-event measurement of the fragment multiplicity is required to distinguish fragment formation via sequential emission from a large equilibrated system and multifragmentation. In order to address whether fragments are formed early or late in the collision, information about the dynamical evolution of the reaction is necessary. This can be provided by study of the global properties of the events. This paper discusses experimental techniques applicable to studying fragmentation processes. 25 refs., 8 figs

  20. Long-term effects of fragmentation and fragment properties on bird species richness in Hawaiian forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    David J. Flaspohler; Christian P. Giardina; Gregory P. Asner; Patrick Hart; Jonathan Price; Cassie Ka’apu Lyons; Xeronimo. Castaneda

    2010-01-01

    Forest fragmentation is a common disturbance affecting biological diversity, yet the impacts of fragmentation on many forest processes remain poorly understood. Forest restoration is likely to be more successful when it proceeds with an understanding of how native and exotic vertebrates utilize forest patches of different size. We used a system of forest fragments...

  1. Mass spectrometry for fragment screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Daniel Shiu-Hin; Whitehouse, Andrew J; Coyne, Anthony G; Abell, Chris

    2017-11-08

    Fragment-based approaches in chemical biology and drug discovery have been widely adopted worldwide in both academia and industry. Fragment hits tend to interact weakly with their targets, necessitating the use of sensitive biophysical techniques to detect their binding. Common fragment screening techniques include differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) and ligand-observed NMR. Validation and characterization of hits is usually performed using a combination of protein-observed NMR, isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and X-ray crystallography. In this context, MS is a relatively underutilized technique in fragment screening for drug discovery. MS-based techniques have the advantage of high sensitivity, low sample consumption and being label-free. This review highlights recent examples of the emerging use of MS-based techniques in fragment screening. © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society.

  2. Universal odd-even staggering in isotopic fragmentation and spallation cross sections of neutron-rich fragments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, B.; Tu, X. L.; Wang, M.

    2018-04-01

    An evident odd-even staggering (OES) in fragment cross sections has been experimentally observed in many fragmentation and spallation reactions. However, quantitative comparisons of this OES effect in different reaction systems are still scarce for neutron-rich nuclei near the neutron drip line. By employing a third-order difference formula, the magnitudes of this OES in extensive experimental cross sections are systematically investigated for many neutron-rich nuclei with (N -Z ) from 1 to 23 over a broad range of atomic numbers (Z ≈3 -50 ). A comparison of these magnitude values extracted from fragment cross sections measured in different fragmentation and spallation reactions with a large variety of projectile-target combinations over a wide energy range reveals that the OES magnitude is almost independent of the projectile-target combinations and the projectile energy. The weighted average of these OES magnitudes derived from cross sections accurately measured in different reaction systems is adopted as the evaluation value of the OES magnitude. These evaluated OES magnitudes are recommended to be used in fragmentation and spallation models to improve their predictions for fragment cross sections.

  3. Physics of projectile fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minamisono, Tadanori

    1982-01-01

    This is a study report on the polarization phenomena of the projectile fragments produced by heavy ion reactions, and the beta decay of fragments. The experimental project by using heavy ions with the energy from 50 MeV/amu to 250 MeV/amu was designed. Construction of an angle-dispersion spectrograph for projectile fragments was proposed. This is a two-stage spectrograph. The first stage is a QQDQQ type separator, and the second stage is QDQD type. Estimation shows that Co-66 may be separated from the nuclei with mass of 65 and 67. The orientation of fragments can be measured by detecting beta-ray. The apparatus consists of a uniform field magnet, an energy absorber, a stopper, a RF coil and a beta-ray hodoscope. This system can be used for not only this purpose but also for the measurement of hyperfine structure. (Kato, T.)

  4. MRI of displaced meniscal fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dunoski, Brian; Zbojniewicz, Andrew M.; Laor, Tal

    2012-01-01

    A torn meniscus frequently requires surgical fixation or debridement as definitive treatment. Meniscal tears with associated fragment displacement, such as bucket handle and flap tears, can be difficult to recognize and accurately describe on MRI, and displaced fragments can be challenging to identify at surgery. A displaced meniscal fragment can be obscured by synovium or be in a location not usually evaluated at arthroscopy. We present a pictorial essay of meniscal tears with displaced fragments in patients referred to a pediatric hospital in order to increase recognition and accurate interpretation by the radiologist, who in turn can help assist the surgeon in planning appropriate therapy. (orig.)

  5. MRI of displaced meniscal fragments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dunoski, Brian [University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH (United States); Children' s Hospital of Michigan, Department of Radiology, Detroit, MI (United States); Zbojniewicz, Andrew M.; Laor, Tal [University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH (United States)

    2012-01-15

    A torn meniscus frequently requires surgical fixation or debridement as definitive treatment. Meniscal tears with associated fragment displacement, such as bucket handle and flap tears, can be difficult to recognize and accurately describe on MRI, and displaced fragments can be challenging to identify at surgery. A displaced meniscal fragment can be obscured by synovium or be in a location not usually evaluated at arthroscopy. We present a pictorial essay of meniscal tears with displaced fragments in patients referred to a pediatric hospital in order to increase recognition and accurate interpretation by the radiologist, who in turn can help assist the surgeon in planning appropriate therapy. (orig.)

  6. Dimensional crossover in fragmentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sotolongo-Costa, Oscar; Rodriguez, Arezky H.; Rodgers, G. J.

    2000-11-01

    Experiments in which thick clay plates and glass rods are fractured have revealed different behavior of fragment mass distribution function in the small and large fragment regions. In this paper we explain this behavior using non-extensive Tsallis statistics and show how the crossover between the two regions is caused by the change in the fragments’ dimensionality during the fracture process. We obtain a physical criterion for the position of this crossover and an expression for the change in the power-law exponent between the small and large fragment regions. These predictions are in good agreement with the experiments on thick clay plates.

  7. Fission fragment assisted reactor concept for space propulsion: Foil reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wright, S.A.

    1991-01-01

    The concept is to fabricate a reactor using thin films or foils of uranium, uranium oxide and then to coat them on substrates. These coatings would be made so thin as to allow the escaping fission fragments to directly heat a hydrogen propellant. The idea was studied of direct gas heating and direct gas pumping in a nuclear pumped laser program. Fission fragments were used to pump lasers. In this concept two substrates are placed opposite each other. The internal faces are coated with thin foil of uranium oxide. A few of the advantages of this technology are listed. In general, however, it is felt that if one look at all solid core nuclear thermal rockets or nuclear thermal propulsion methods, one is going to find that they all pretty much look the same. It is felt that this reactor has higher potential reliability. It has low structural operating temperatures, very short burn times, with graceful failure modes, and it has reduced potential for energetic accidents. Going to a design like this would take the NTP community part way to some of the very advanced engine designs, such as the gas core reactor, but with reduced risk because of the much lower temperatures

  8. Fracture and embolization of a Björk-Shiley disc. Fatal failure of a prosthetic mitral valve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norenberg, D D; Evans, R W; Gundersen, A E; Abellera, R M

    1977-12-01

    A case of fracture of the disc occluder of a Bjork-Shiley mitral prosthesis with embolization of the disc fragments to distal aorta is presented. The possibility of valve dysfunction and the diagnostic value of echocardiography should be considered whenever acute heart failure occurs in a patient with an artificial valve.

  9. Analysis of multi-fragmentation reactions induced by relativistic heavy ions using the statistical multi-fragmentation model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ogawa, T., E-mail: ogawa.tatsuhiko@jaea.go.jp [Research Group for Radiation Protection, Division of Environment and Radiation Sciences, Nuclear Science and Engineering Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Shirakata-Shirane, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1195 (Japan); Sato, T.; Hashimoto, S. [Research Group for Radiation Protection, Division of Environment and Radiation Sciences, Nuclear Science and Engineering Directorate, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Shirakata-Shirane, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1195 (Japan); Niita, K. [Research Organization for Information Science and Technology, Shirakata-shirane, Tokai, Ibaraki 319-1188 (Japan)

    2013-09-21

    The fragmentation cross-sections of relativistic energy nucleus–nucleus collisions were analyzed using the statistical multi-fragmentation model (SMM) incorporated with the Monte-Carlo radiation transport simulation code particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS). Comparison with the literature data showed that PHITS-SMM reproduces fragmentation cross-sections of heavy nuclei at relativistic energies better than the original PHITS by up to two orders of magnitude. It was also found that SMM does not degrade the neutron production cross-sections in heavy ion collisions or the fragmentation cross-sections of light nuclei, for which SMM has not been benchmarked. Therefore, SMM is a robust model that can supplement conventional nucleus–nucleus reaction models, enabling more accurate prediction of fragmentation cross-sections.

  10. Analysis of multi-fragmentation reactions induced by relativistic heavy ions using the statistical multi-fragmentation model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ogawa, T.; Sato, T.; Hashimoto, S.; Niita, K.

    2013-01-01

    The fragmentation cross-sections of relativistic energy nucleus–nucleus collisions were analyzed using the statistical multi-fragmentation model (SMM) incorporated with the Monte-Carlo radiation transport simulation code particle and heavy ion transport code system (PHITS). Comparison with the literature data showed that PHITS-SMM reproduces fragmentation cross-sections of heavy nuclei at relativistic energies better than the original PHITS by up to two orders of magnitude. It was also found that SMM does not degrade the neutron production cross-sections in heavy ion collisions or the fragmentation cross-sections of light nuclei, for which SMM has not been benchmarked. Therefore, SMM is a robust model that can supplement conventional nucleus–nucleus reaction models, enabling more accurate prediction of fragmentation cross-sections

  11. In situ observation of ultrasonic cavitation-induced fragmentation of the primary crystals formed in Al alloys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Feng; Tzanakis, Iakovos; Eskin, Dmitry; Mi, Jiawei; Connolley, Thomas

    2017-11-01

    The cavitation-induced fragmentation of primary crystals formed in Al alloys were investigated for the first time by high-speed imaging using a novel experimental approach. Three representative primary crystal types, Al 3 Ti, Si and Al 3 V with different morphologies and mechanical properties were first extracted by deep etching of the corresponding Al alloys and then subjected to ultrasonic cavitation processing in distilled water. The dynamic interaction between the cavitation bubbles and primary crystals was imaged in situ and in real time. Based on the recorded image sequences, the fragmentation mechanisms of primary crystals were studied. It was found that there are three major mechanisms by which the primary crystals were fragmented by cavitation bubbles. The first one was a slow process via fatigue-type failure. A cyclic pressure exerted by stationary pulsating bubbles caused the propagation of a crack pre-existing in the primary crystal to a critical length which led to fragmentation. The second mechanism was a sudden process due to the collapse of bubbles in a passing cavitation cloud. The pressure produced upon the collapse of the cloud promoted rapid monotonic crack growth and fast fracture in the primary crystals. The third observed mechanism was normal bending fracture as a result of the high pressure arising from the collapse of a bubble cloud and the crack formation at the branch connection points of dendritic primary crystals. The fragmentation of dendrite branches due to the interaction between two freely moving dendritic primary crystals was also observed. A simplified fracture analysis of the observed phenomena was performed. The specific fragmentation mechanism for the primary crystals depended on their morphology and mechanical properties. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Fragment-based quantitative structure-activity relationship (FB-QSAR) for fragment-based drug design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Qi-Shi; Huang, Ri-Bo; Wei, Yu-Tuo; Pang, Zong-Wen; Du, Li-Qin; Chou, Kuo-Chen

    2009-01-30

    In cooperation with the fragment-based design a new drug design method, the so-called "fragment-based quantitative structure-activity relationship" (FB-QSAR) is proposed. The essence of the new method is that the molecular framework in a family of drug candidates are divided into several fragments according to their substitutes being investigated. The bioactivities of molecules are correlated with the physicochemical properties of the molecular fragments through two sets of coefficients in the linear free energy equations. One coefficient set is for the physicochemical properties and the other for the weight factors of the molecular fragments. Meanwhile, an iterative double least square (IDLS) technique is developed to solve the two sets of coefficients in a training data set alternately and iteratively. The IDLS technique is a feedback procedure with machine learning ability. The standard Two-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (2D-QSAR) is a special case, in the FB-QSAR, when the whole molecule is treated as one entity. The FB-QSAR approach can remarkably enhance the predictive power and provide more structural insights into rational drug design. As an example, the FB-QSAR is applied to build a predictive model of neuraminidase inhibitors for drug development against H5N1 influenza virus. (c) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  13. Causes of Contractor's Business Failure in Developing Countries: The Case of Palestine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sherif Mohamed

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available The construction industry has unique characteristics that sharply distinguish it from other sectors of the economy. It is fragmented, very sensitive to the economic cycles and political environment, and has a significantly high rate of business failure. Business failure, collapse and bankruptcy are common terms in the industry due to the many risks inherited in how the industry operates. Throughout the world, the relative ease of entry gives rise to a large number of contracting firms competing fiercely in the market exposing many of them to business failure, Palestine is no exception. The objectives of this paper are to report on a research study which aims at exploring the causes of contractor's business failure in Palestine, and investigating their severity from the contractor's point of view. The study's results shows that the main causes of business failure are delay in collecting debt from clients (donors, border closure, heavy dependence on bank loans and payment of high interest on these loans, lack of capital, absence of industry regulations, low profit margin due to high competition, awarding contracts by client to the lowest bidder, and lack of experience in contract management. Based on these findings, recommendations to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA and local contractors are presented in this paper.

  14. Reframing landscape fragmentation's effects on ecosystem services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Matthew G E; Suarez-Castro, Andrés F; Martinez-Harms, Maria; Maron, Martine; McAlpine, Clive; Gaston, Kevin J; Johansen, Kasper; Rhodes, Jonathan R

    2015-04-01

    Landscape structure and fragmentation have important effects on ecosystem services, with a common assumption being that fragmentation reduces service provision. This is based on fragmentation's expected effects on ecosystem service supply, but ignores how fragmentation influences the flow of services to people. Here we develop a new conceptual framework that explicitly considers the links between landscape fragmentation, the supply of services, and the flow of services to people. We argue that fragmentation's effects on ecosystem service flow can be positive or negative, and use our framework to construct testable hypotheses about the effects of fragmentation on final ecosystem service provision. Empirical efforts to apply and test this framework are critical to improving landscape management for multiple ecosystem services. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Fragment Size Distribution of Blasted Rock Mass

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jug, Jasmin; Strelec, Stjepan; Gazdek, Mario; Kavur, Boris

    2017-12-01

    Rock mass is a heterogeneous material, and the heterogeneity of rock causes sizes distribution of fragmented rocks in blasting. Prediction of blasted rock mass fragmentation has a significant role in the overall economics of opencast mines. Blasting as primary fragmentation can significantly decrease the cost of loading, transport, crushing and milling operations. Blast fragmentation chiefly depends on the specific blast design (geometry of blast holes drilling, the quantity and class of explosive, the blasting form, the timing and partition, etc.) and on the properties of the rock mass (including the uniaxial compressive strength, the rock mass elastic Young modulus, the rock discontinuity characteristics and the rock density). Prediction and processing of blasting results researchers can accomplish by a variety of existing software’s and models, one of them is the Kuz-Ram model, which is possibly the most widely used approach to estimating fragmentation from blasting. This paper shows the estimation of fragmentation using the "SB" program, which was created by the authors. Mentioned program includes the Kuz-Ram model. Models of fragmentation are confirmed and calibrated by comparing the estimated fragmentation with actual post-blast fragmentation from image processing techniques. In this study, the Kuz-Ram fragmentation model has been used for an open-pit limestone quarry in Dalmatia, southern Croatia. The resulting calibrated value of the rock factor enables the quality prognosis of fragmentation in further blasting works, with changed drilling geometry and blast design parameters. It also facilitates simulation in the program to optimize blasting works and get the desired fragmentations of the blasted rock mass.

  16. Medium-scale melt-sodium fragmentation experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chu, T.Y.; Beattie, A.G.; Drotning, W.D.; Powers, D.A.

    1979-01-01

    The results of a series of fragmentation experiments involving up to 20 Kg of thermitically produced high temperature melts and 23 Kg of sodium are presented. Except for one experiment where some centimeter size particles are observed, the fragment distributions seem to be in the range of previous data. Spatial distribution of the fragments in the debris bed appears to be stratified. Scanning electron micrographs of fragments indicate fragmentation to be occurring in the molten state for the more intense interactions observed. Interaction data obtained show quiescent periods of 0.5 to 1.5 second between pressure pulses. The force impulse values per unit mass of melt seems to be in the same range as previous experiments

  17. Dual Fragment Impact of PBX Charges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haskins, Peter; Briggs, Richard; Leeming, David; White, Nathan; Cheese, Philip; DE&S MoD UK Team; Ordnance Test Solutions Ltd Team

    2017-06-01

    Fragment impact can pose a significant hazard to many systems containing explosives or propellants. Testing for this threat is most commonly carried out using a single fragment. However, it can be argued that an initial fragment strike (or strikes) could sensitise the energetic material to subsequent impacts, which may then lead to a more violent reaction than would have been predicted based upon single fragment studies. To explore this potential hazard we have developed the capability to launch 2 fragments from the same gun at a range of velocities, and achieve impacts on an acceptor charge with good control over the spatial and temporal separation of the strikes. In this paper we will describe in detail the experimental techniques we have used, both to achieve the dual fragment launch and observe the acceptor charge response. In addition, we will describe the results obtained against PBX filled explosive targets; discuss the mechanisms controlling the target response and their significance for vulnerability assessment. Results of these tests have clearly indicated the potential for detonation upon the second strike, at velocities well below those needed for shock initiation by a single fragment.

  18. Fragmentation of massive dense cores down to ≲ 1000 AU: Relation between fragmentation and density structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palau, Aina; Girart, Josep M.; Estalella, Robert; Fuente, Asunción; Fontani, Francesco; Sánchez-Monge, Álvaro; Commerçon, Benoit; Hennebelle, Patrick; Busquet, Gemma; Bontemps, Sylvain; Zapata, Luis A.; Zhang, Qizhou; Di Francesco, James

    2014-01-01

    In order to shed light on the main physical processes controlling fragmentation of massive dense cores, we present a uniform study of the density structure of 19 massive dense cores, selected to be at similar evolutionary stages, for which their relative fragmentation level was assessed in a previous work. We inferred the density structure of the 19 cores through a simultaneous fit of the radial intensity profiles at 450 and 850 μm (or 1.2 mm in two cases) and the spectral energy distribution, assuming spherical symmetry and that the density and temperature of the cores decrease with radius following power-laws. Even though the estimated fragmentation level is strictly speaking a lower limit, its relative value is significant and several trends could be explored with our data. We find a weak (inverse) trend of fragmentation level and density power-law index, with steeper density profiles tending to show lower fragmentation, and vice versa. In addition, we find a trend of fragmentation increasing with density within a given radius, which arises from a combination of flat density profile and high central density and is consistent with Jeans fragmentation. We considered the effects of rotational-to-gravitational energy ratio, non-thermal velocity dispersion, and turbulence mode on the density structure of the cores, and found that compressive turbulence seems to yield higher central densities. Finally, a possible explanation for the origin of cores with concentrated density profiles, which are the cores showing no fragmentation, could be related with a strong magnetic field, consistent with the outcome of radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations.

  19. Fragmentation of massive dense cores down to ≲ 1000 AU: Relation between fragmentation and density structure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Palau, Aina; Girart, Josep M. [Institut de Ciències de l' Espai (CSIC-IEEC), Campus UAB-Facultat de Ciències, Torre C5-parell 2, E-08193 Bellaterra, Catalunya (Spain); Estalella, Robert [Departament d' Astronomia i Meteorologia (IEEC-UB), Institut de Ciències del Cosmos, Universitat de Barcelona, Martí i Franquès, 1, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain); Fuente, Asunción [Observatorio Astronómico Nacional, P.O. Box 112, E-28803 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid (Spain); Fontani, Francesco; Sánchez-Monge, Álvaro [Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, INAF, Lago E. Fermi 5, I-50125 Firenze (Italy); Commerçon, Benoit; Hennebelle, Patrick [Laboratoire de Radioastronomie, UMR CNRS 8112, École Normale Supérieure et Observatoire de Paris, 24 rue Lhomond, F-75231 Paris Cedex 05 (France); Busquet, Gemma [INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, Area di Recerca di Tor Vergata, Via Fosso Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma (Italy); Bontemps, Sylvain [Université de Bordeaux, LAB, UMR 5804, F-33270 Floirac (France); Zapata, Luis A. [Centro de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, P.O. Box 3-72, 58090 Morelia, Michoacán (Mexico); Zhang, Qizhou [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Di Francesco, James, E-mail: palau@ieec.uab.es [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 355, STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 3P6 (Canada)

    2014-04-10

    In order to shed light on the main physical processes controlling fragmentation of massive dense cores, we present a uniform study of the density structure of 19 massive dense cores, selected to be at similar evolutionary stages, for which their relative fragmentation level was assessed in a previous work. We inferred the density structure of the 19 cores through a simultaneous fit of the radial intensity profiles at 450 and 850 μm (or 1.2 mm in two cases) and the spectral energy distribution, assuming spherical symmetry and that the density and temperature of the cores decrease with radius following power-laws. Even though the estimated fragmentation level is strictly speaking a lower limit, its relative value is significant and several trends could be explored with our data. We find a weak (inverse) trend of fragmentation level and density power-law index, with steeper density profiles tending to show lower fragmentation, and vice versa. In addition, we find a trend of fragmentation increasing with density within a given radius, which arises from a combination of flat density profile and high central density and is consistent with Jeans fragmentation. We considered the effects of rotational-to-gravitational energy ratio, non-thermal velocity dispersion, and turbulence mode on the density structure of the cores, and found that compressive turbulence seems to yield higher central densities. Finally, a possible explanation for the origin of cores with concentrated density profiles, which are the cores showing no fragmentation, could be related with a strong magnetic field, consistent with the outcome of radiation magnetohydrodynamic simulations.

  20. Gallstone fragmentation by control electrohydraulic lithotripsy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tung, G.A.; Mueller, P.R.; Brink, J.A.; Saini, S.; Picus, D.; Simeone, J.F.; Ferrucci, J.T.

    1989-01-01

    The authors have performed in vitro contact electrohydraulic lithotripsy (EHL) of 100 gallstones > 10 mm in diameter to identify physical and technical factors that affect fragmentation success. Ninety-one of 100 stones were fragmented with a 3-F electrode (average, seven shocks; range, 1--42); only 12 stones were fragmented with a single shock. Of the nine stones refractory to 50 shocks, four were > 30 mm in diameter and five stones were densely calcified. The most important variable determining power requirements for fragmentation was gallstone size (R = .58), but radiographic calcification of gallstones was also important (R = .47). Stones < 15 mm tended to produce fragments of left-angle 2 mm; stones right-angle 20 mm tended to produce two to five large discrete fragments (P , .05). In addition, lithotripsy could be conducted equally well in 1:1 dilute diatrizoate contrast agent as in 1:6 normal saline, suggesting that contact EHL could be performed under fluoroscopy

  1. Fragmentation functions approach in pQCD fragmentation phenomena

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rolli, S.

    1996-07-01

    Next-to-leading order parton fragmentation functions into light mesons are presented. They have been extracted from real and simulated e + e - data and used to predict inclusive single particle distributions at different machines

  2. Fragmentation of neck-like structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montoya, C.; Bowman, D.R.; Peaslee, G.F.; Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI

    1994-01-01

    Evidence for intermediate mass fragment emission from neck-like structures joining projectile- and target-like residues has been observed for peripheral 129 Xe+ nat Cu collisions at E/A=50 MeV. These framents are emitted primarily at velocities intermediate between those of the projectile and the target. Relative to the charge distribution for fragments evaporated from the projectile-like residue, the distribution for ''neck'' emission shows an enhanced emission for fragments with 4 f < 8. (orig.)

  3. Forest Fragments Surrounded by Sugar Cane Are More Inhospitable to Terrestrial Amphibian Abundance Than Fragments Surrounded by Pasture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paula Eveline Ribeiro D’Anunciação

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, there has been increasing interest in matrix-type influence on forest fragments. Terrestrial amphibians are good bioindicators for this kind of research because of low vagility and high philopatry. This study compared richness, abundance, and species composition of terrestrial amphibians through pitfall traps in two sets of semideciduous seasonal forest fragments in southeastern Brazil, according to the predominant surrounding matrix (sugar cane and pasture. There were no differences in richness, but fragments surrounded by sugar cane had the lowest abundance of amphibians, whereas fragments surrounded by pastures had greater abundance. The most abundant species, Rhinella ornata, showed no biometric differences between fragment groups but like many other amphibians sampled showed very low numbers of individuals in fragments dominated by sugar cane fields. Our data indicate that the sugar cane matrix negatively influences the community of amphibians present in fragments surrounded by this type of land use.

  4. Percolation versus microcanonical fragmentation - comparison of fragment size distribution: Where is the liquid-gas transition in nuclei?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jaqaman, H.R.; Birzeit Univ.; Papp, G.; Eoetvoes Lorand Tudomanyegyetem, Budapest; Gross, D.H.E.; Freie Univ. Berlin

    1990-01-01

    The distributions of fragments produced by microcanonical multifragmentation of hot nuclei are compared with the cluster distributions predicted by a bond percolation model on a finite lattice. The conditional moments of these distributions are used together with the correlations between the largest three fragments in each event. Whereas percolation and statistical nuclear fragmentation agree in many details as in the usual plots of the averaged moments of the fragment distributions which yield the critical exponents, they turn out to be essentially different when less averaged quantities or correlations are considered. The differences between the predictions of the two models are mainly due to the particularities of the nuclear problem, especially the effect of the long-range Coulomb force which favours the break-up of the highly excited nucleus into two large fragments (pseudo-fission) and, to a somewhat lesser extent, enhances the possibility for the cracking of the nucleus into more than two large fragments. The fission events are, however, clearly separated from a second branch of critical correlations which shows up clearly in both nuclear fragmentation and percolation. We think that this critical correlation branch is due to the liquid-gas phase transition in finite nuclei. (orig.)

  5. Underwater Sensor System 2009 Field Trial Report

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-01

    31 Jul Milne, Wile, O’Grady, Clark, Tremblay travel to Ottawa and begin work at First Air who are loading a chartered Inuit Air 737. 1 Aug Hutt...Clark, and Tremblay board the chartered Inuit Air 737 for Resolute. 3 Aug Taylor, Hutt, Rouleau, Pelavas, Durling, Heard, Wile, O’Grady, Clark, and

  6. The formation of planets by disc fragmentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stamatellos Dimitris

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available I discuss the role that disc fragmentation plays in the formation of gas giant and terrestrial planets, and how this relates to the formation of brown dwarfs and low-mass stars, and ultimately to the process of star formation. Protostellar discs may fragment, if they are massive enough and can cool fast enough, but most of the objects that form by fragmentation are brown dwarfs. It may be possible that planets also form, if the mass growth of a proto-fragment is stopped (e.g. if this fragment is ejected from the disc, or suppressed and even reversed (e.g by tidal stripping. I will discuss if it is possible to distinguish whether a planet has formed by disc fragmentation or core accretion, and mention of a few examples of observed exoplanets that are suggestive of formation by disc fragmentation.

  7. Extraction of 16th Century Calender Fragments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holck, Jakob Povl; Etheridge, Christian

    at the Cultural Heritage & Archaeometric Research Team, SDU. Upon finding medieval manuscript fragments in the university library’s special collections, scholars at the Centre for Medieval Literature are consulted. In most cases, digital pictures of the finds will circulate in the international community...... fragments may require extensive use of Big Data and other forms of analysis in order to be identified. Usually, the university library prefers not to remove the fragments from their “fragment carriers”. In order to read fragments that are only partially visible or invisible, x-ray technology may be deployed...... of medieval scholars. Thousands of 16th and 17th Century books are stored in the University Library of Southern Denmark. One out of five of these books is expected to contain medieval manuscript fragments or fragments of rare prints, e.g. incunabula....

  8. Fragmentation of armor piercing steel projectiles upon oblique perforation of steel plates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aizik F.

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available In this study, a constitutive strength and failure model for a steel core of a14.5 mm API projectile was developed. Dynamic response of a projectile steel core was described by the Johnson-Cook constitutive model combined with principal tensile stress spall model. In order to obtain the parameters required for numerical description of projectile core material behavior, a series of planar impact experiments was done. The parameters of the Johnson-Cook constitutive model were extracted by matching simulated and experimental velocity profiles of planar impact. A series of oblique ballistic experiments with x-ray monitoring was carried out to study the effect of obliquity angle and armor steel plate thickness on shattering behavior of the 14.5 mm API projectile. According to analysis of x-ray images the fragmentation level increases with both steel plate thickness and angle of inclination. The numerical modeling of the ballistic experiments was done using commercial finite element code, LS-DYNA. Dynamic response of high hardness (HH armor steel was described using a modified Johnson-Cook strength and failure model. A series of simulations with various values of maximal principal tensile stress was run in order to capture the overall fracture behavior of the projectile’s core. Reasonable agreement between simulated and x-ray failure pattern of projectile core has been observed.

  9. Construction of a 3D-shaped, natural product like fragment library by fragmentation and diversification of natural products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prescher, Horst; Koch, Guido; Schuhmann, Tim; Ertl, Peter; Bussenault, Alex; Glick, Meir; Dix, Ina; Petersen, Frank; Lizos, Dimitrios E

    2017-02-01

    A fragment library consisting of 3D-shaped, natural product-like fragments was assembled. Library construction was mainly performed by natural product degradation and natural product diversification reactions and was complemented by the identification of 3D-shaped, natural product like fragments available from commercial sources. In addition, during the course of these studies, novel rearrangements were discovered for Massarigenin C and Cytochalasin E. The obtained fragment library has an excellent 3D-shape and natural product likeness, covering a novel, unexplored and underrepresented chemical space in fragment based drug discovery (FBDD). Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Fluctuations in the fragmentation process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Botet, R.; Ploszajczak, M.

    1993-01-01

    Some general framework of sequential fragmentation is presented, as provided by the newly proposed Fragmentation - Inactivation - Binary model, and to study briefly its basic and universal features. This model includes as particular cases most of the previous kinetic fragmentation models. In particular it is discussed how one arrives in this framework to the critical behaviour, called the shattering transition. This model is then compared to recent data on gold multifragmentation at 600 MeV/nucl. (authors) 20 refs., 5 figs

  11. The spectroscopy of fission fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phillips, W.R.

    1998-01-01

    High-resolution measurements on γ rays from fission fragments have provided a rich source of information, unobtainable at the moment in any other way, on the spectroscopy of neutron-rich nuclei. In recent years important data have been obtained on the yrast- and near yrast-structure of neutron-rich fission fragments. We discuss the scope of measurements which can be made on prompt gamma rays from secondary fission fragments, the techniques used in the experiments and some results recently obtained. (author)

  12. [Fragment-based drug discovery: concept and aim].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanaka, Daisuke

    2010-03-01

    Fragment-Based Drug Discovery (FBDD) has been recognized as a newly emerging lead discovery methodology that involves biophysical fragment screening and chemistry-driven fragment-to-lead stages. Although fragments, defined as structurally simple and small compounds (typically FBDD primarily turns our attention to weakly but specifically binding fragments (hit fragments) as the starting point of medicinal chemistry. Hit fragments are then promoted to more potent lead compounds through linking or merging with another hit fragment and/or attaching functional groups. Another positive aspect of FBDD is ligand efficiency. Ligand efficiency is a useful guide in screening hit selection and hit-to-lead phases to achieve lead-likeness. Owing to these features, a number of successful applications of FBDD to "undruggable targets" (where HTS and other lead identification methods failed to identify useful lead compounds) have been reported. As a result, FBDD is now expected to complement more conventional methodologies. This review, as an introduction of the following articles, will summarize the fundamental concepts of FBDD and will discuss its advantages over other conventional drug discovery approaches.

  13. Velocity distribution of fragments of catastrophic impacts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takagi, Yasuhiko; Kato, Manabu; Mizutani, Hitoshi

    1992-01-01

    Three dimensional velocities of fragments produced by laboratory impact experiments were measured for basalts and pyrophyllites. The velocity distribution of fragments obtained shows that the velocity range of the major fragments is rather narrow, at most within a factor of 3 and that no clear dependence of velocity on the fragment mass is observed. The NonDimensional Impact Stress (NDIS) defined by Mizutani et al. (1990) is found to be an appropriate scaling parameter to describe the overall fragment velocity as well as the antipodal velocity.

  14. Fragmentation in DNA double-strand breaks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wei Zhiyong; Suzhou Univ., Suzhou; Zhang Lihui; Li Ming; Fan Wo; Xu Yujie

    2005-01-01

    DNA double strand breaks are important lesions induced by irradiations. Random breakage model or quantification supported by this concept is suitable to analyze DNA double strand break data induced by low LET radiation, but deviation from random breakage model is more evident in high LET radiation data analysis. In this work we develop a new method, statistical fragmentation model, to analyze the fragmentation process of DNA double strand breaks. After charged particles enter the biological cell, they produce ionizations along their tracks, and transfer their energies to the cells and break the cellular DNA strands into fragments. The probable distribution of the fragments is obtained under the condition in which the entropy is maximum. Under the approximation E≅E 0 + E 1 l + E 2 l 2 , the distribution functions are obtained as exp(αl + βl 2 ). There are two components, the one proportional to exp(βl 2 ), mainly contributes to the low mass fragment yields, the other component, proportional to exp(αl), decreases slowly as the mass of the fragments increases. Numerical solution of the constraint equations provides parameters α and β. Experimental data, especially when the energy deposition is higher, support the statistical fragmentation model. (authors)

  15. Fission fragment yields from heavy-ion-induced reactions measured with a fragment separator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarasov, O. B.; Delaune, O.; Farget, F.; Morrissey, D. J.; Amthor, A. M.; Bastin, B.; Bazin, D.; Blank, B.; Cacéres, L.; Chbihi, A.; Fernández-Dominguez, B.; Grévy, S.; Kamalou, O.; Lukyanov, S. M.; Mittig, W.; Pereira, J.; Perrot, L.; Saint-Laurent, M.-G.; Savajols, H.; Sherrill, B. M.; Stodel, C.; Thomas, J. C.; Villari, A. C.

    2018-04-01

    The systematic study of fission fragment yields under different initial conditions has provided valuable experimental data for benchmarking models of fission product yields. Nuclear reactions using inverse kinematics coupled to the use of a high-resolution spectrometer with good fragment identification are shown here to be a powerful tool to measure the inclusive isotopic yields of fission fragments. In-flight fusion-fission was used in this work to produce secondary beams of neutron-rich isotopes in the collisions of a 238U beam at 24 MeV/u with 9Be and 12C targets at GANIL using the LISE3 fragment separator. Unique identification of the A, Z, and atomic charge state, q, of fission products was attained with the Δ E- TKE-B ρ- ToF measurement technique. Mass, and atomic number distributions are reported for the two reactions. The results show the importance of different reaction mechanisms in the two cases. The optimal target material for higher yields of neutron-rich high- Z isotopes produced in fusion-fission reactions as a function of projectile energy is discussed.

  16. Fragment emission from modestly excited nuclear systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lou, Y. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry]|[Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Cyclotron Facility; Souza, R.T. de [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry]|[Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Cyclotron Facility; Chen, S.L. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry]|[Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Cyclotron Facility; Cornell, E.W. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry]|[Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Cyclotron Facility; Davin, B. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry]|[Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Cyclotron Facility; Fox, D. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry]|[Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Cyclotron Facility; Hamilton, T.M. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry]|[Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Cyclotron Facility; Mcdonald, K. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry]|[Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Cyclotron Facility; Tsang, M.B. [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab.; Glasmacher, T. [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab.; Dinius, J. [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab.; Gelbke, C.K. [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab.; Handzy, D.O. [Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Dept. of Chemistry]|[Indiana Univ., Bloomington, IN (United States). Cyclotron Facility]|[Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab.; Hsi, W.C.

    1996-07-08

    Fragment emission patterns occurring in nuclear systems of modest excitation are studied. Exclusive measurement of fragment emission in {sup 14}N+{sup 197}Au reactions at E/A=100, 130 and 156 MeV allows selection of central collisions where a single source dominates the decay. Low threshold measurement of IMF emission for these events allows investigation of the influence of detector threshold effects. The time scale of fragment emission is deduced using fragment-fragment velocity correlations. Comparisons are made to the predictions of a statistical decay model. (orig.).

  17. The spectroscopy of fission fragments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Phillips, W.R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL (United Kingdom); Collaboration: La Direction des Sciences de la Matiere du CEA (FR); Le Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique de Belgique (BE)

    1998-12-31

    High-resolution measurements on {gamma} rays from fission fragments have provided a rich source of information, unobtainable at the moment in any other way, on the spectroscopy of neutron-rich nuclei. In recent years important data have been obtained on the yrast- and near yrast-structure of neutron-rich fission fragments. We discuss the scope of measurements which can be made on prompt gamma rays from secondary fission fragments, the techniques used in the experiments and some results recently obtained. (author) 24 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab.

  18. Endovascular Removal of Fractured Inferior Vena Cava Filter Fragments: 5-Year Registry Data with Prospective Outcomes on Retained Fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kesselman, Andrew J; Hoang, Nam Sao; Sheu, Alexander Y; Kuo, William T

    2018-06-01

    To evaluate the safety and efficacy of attempted percutaneous filter fragment removal during retrieval of fractured inferior vena cava (IVC) filters and to report outcomes associated with retained filter fragments. Over a 5-year period, 82 consecutive patients presenting with a fractured IVC filter were prospectively enrolled into an institutional review board-approved registry. There were 27 men and 55 women (mean, 47 y; range, 19-85 y). After main filter removal, percutaneous removal of fragments was attempted if they were deemed intravascular and accessible on preprocedural computed tomography (CT), cone-beam CT, and/or intravascular ultrasound; distal pulmonary artery (PA) fragments were left alone. A total of 185 fragments were identified (81 IVC, 33 PA, 16 cardiac, 2 hepatic vein, 1 renal vein, 1 aorta, 51 retroperitoneal). Mean filter dwell time was 2,183 days (range, 59-9,936 d). Eighty-seven of 185 fragments (47%) were deemed amenable to attempted removal: 65 IVC, 11 PA, 8 cardiac, 2 hepatic, and 1 aortic. Primary safety outcomes were major procedure-related complications. Fragment removal was successful in 78 of 87 cases (89.7%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 81.3-95.2). There were 6 minor complications with no consequence (6.9%; 95% CI, 2.6-14.4) involving intraprocedural fragment embolization and 1 major complication (1.1%; 95% CI, 0.0-6.2), a cardiac tamponade that was successfully treated. The complication rate from attempted cardiac fragment removal was 12.5% (1 of 8; 95% CI, 0.3-52.7). Among patients with retained cardiopulmonary fragments (n = 19), 81% remained asymptomatic during long-term clinical follow-up of 845 days (range, 386-2,071 d). Percutaneous removal of filter fragments from the IVC and proximal PAs is safe and effective overall, but attempted intracardiac fragment removal carries a higher risk of complication. Most residual filter fragments not amenable to percutaneous removal remain asymptomatic and may be monitored clinically

  19. Fragment Length of Circulating Tumor DNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Underhill, Hunter R; Kitzman, Jacob O; Hellwig, Sabine; Welker, Noah C; Daza, Riza; Baker, Daniel N; Gligorich, Keith M; Rostomily, Robert C; Bronner, Mary P; Shendure, Jay

    2016-07-01

    Malignant tumors shed DNA into the circulation. The transient half-life of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) may afford the opportunity to diagnose, monitor recurrence, and evaluate response to therapy solely through a non-invasive blood draw. However, detecting ctDNA against the normally occurring background of cell-free DNA derived from healthy cells has proven challenging, particularly in non-metastatic solid tumors. In this study, distinct differences in fragment length size between ctDNAs and normal cell-free DNA are defined. Human ctDNA in rat plasma derived from human glioblastoma multiforme stem-like cells in the rat brain and human hepatocellular carcinoma in the rat flank were found to have a shorter principal fragment length than the background rat cell-free DNA (134-144 bp vs. 167 bp, respectively). Subsequently, a similar shift in the fragment length of ctDNA in humans with melanoma and lung cancer was identified compared to healthy controls. Comparison of fragment lengths from cell-free DNA between a melanoma patient and healthy controls found that the BRAF V600E mutant allele occurred more commonly at a shorter fragment length than the fragment length of the wild-type allele (132-145 bp vs. 165 bp, respectively). Moreover, size-selecting for shorter cell-free DNA fragment lengths substantially increased the EGFR T790M mutant allele frequency in human lung cancer. These findings provide compelling evidence that experimental or bioinformatic isolation of a specific subset of fragment lengths from cell-free DNA may improve detection of ctDNA.

  20. Fragger: a protein fragment picker for structural queries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berenger, Francois; Simoncini, David; Voet, Arnout; Shrestha, Rojan; Zhang, Kam Y J

    2017-01-01

    Protein modeling and design activities often require querying the Protein Data Bank (PDB) with a structural fragment, possibly containing gaps. For some applications, it is preferable to work on a specific subset of the PDB or with unpublished structures. These requirements, along with specific user needs, motivated the creation of a new software to manage and query 3D protein fragments. Fragger is a protein fragment picker that allows protein fragment databases to be created and queried. All fragment lengths are supported and any set of PDB files can be used to create a database. Fragger can efficiently search a fragment database with a query fragment and a distance threshold. Matching fragments are ranked by distance to the query. The query fragment can have structural gaps and the allowed amino acid sequences matching a query can be constrained via a regular expression of one-letter amino acid codes. Fragger also incorporates a tool to compute the backbone RMSD of one versus many fragments in high throughput. Fragger should be useful for protein design, loop grafting and related structural bioinformatics tasks.

  1. Glycosylated Chromogranin A: Potential Role in the Pathogenesis of Heart Failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ottesen, Anett H; Christensen, Geir; Omland, Torbjørn; Røsjø, Helge

    2017-12-01

    Endocrine and paracrine factors influence the cardiovascular system and the heart by a number of different mechanisms. The chromogranin-secretogranin (granin) proteins seem to represent a new family of proteins that exerts both direct and indirect effects on cardiac and vascular functions. The granin proteins are produced in multiple tissues, including cardiac cells, and circulating granin protein concentrations provide incremental prognostic information to established risk indices in patients with myocardial dysfunction. In this review, we provide recent data for the granin proteins in relation with cardiovascular disease, and with a special focus on chromogranin A and heart failure. Chromogranin A is the most studied member of the granin protein family, and shorter, functionally active peptide fragments of chromogranin A exert protective effects on myocardial cell death, ischemia-reperfusion injury, and cardiomyocyte Ca 2+ handling. Granin peptides have also been found to induce angiogenesis and vasculogenesis. Protein glycosylation is an important post-translational regulatory mechanism, and we recently found chromogranin A molecules to be hyperglycosylated in the failing myocardium. Chromogranin A hyperglycosylation impaired processing of full-length chromogranin A molecules into physiologically active chromogranin A peptides, and patients with acute heart failure and low rate of chromogranin A processing had increased mortality compared to other acute heart failure patients. Other studies have also demonstrated that circulating granin protein concentrations increase in parallel with heart failure disease stage. The granin protein family seems to influence heart failure pathophysiology, and chromogranin A hyperglycosylation could directly be implicated in heart failure disease progression.

  2. Kaon fragmentation function from NJL-jet model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matevosyan, Hrayr H.; Thomas, Anthony W.; Bentz, Wolfgang

    2010-01-01

    The NJL-jet model provides a sound framework for calculating the fragmentation functions in an effective chiral quark theory, where the momentum and isospin sum rules are satisfied without the introduction of ad hoc parameters [1]. Earlier studies of the pion fragmentation functions using the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model within this framework showed good qualitative agreement with the empirical parameterizations. Here we extend the NJL-jet model by including the strange quark. The corrections to the pion fragmentation function and corresponding kaon fragmentation functions are calculated using the elementary quark to quark-meson fragmentation functions from NJL. The results for the kaon fragmentation function exhibit a qualitative agreement with the empirical parameterizations, while the unfavored strange quark fragmentation to pions is shown to be of the same order of magnitude as the unfavored light quark's. The results of these studies are expected to provide important guidance for the analysis of a large variety of semi-inclusive data.

  3. Environmental toxicants cause sperm DNA fragmentation as detected by the Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay (SCSA[reg])

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evenson, Donald P.; Wixon, Regina

    2005-01-01

    Studies over the past two decades have clearly shown that reproductive toxicants cause sperm DNA fragmentation. This DNA fragmentation can usually be detected prior to observing alterations of metaphase chromosomes in embryos. Thus, Sperm Chromatin Structure Assay (SCSA)-detected DNA damage is viewed as the molecular precursor to later gross chromosome damage observed under the light microscope. SCSA measurements of animal or human sperm consist of first obtaining a fresh or flash frozen neat semen sample in LN2 or dry ice. Samples are then sent to a SCSA diagnostic laboratory where the samples are thawed, diluted to ∼1-2 x 106 sperm/ml, treated for 30 s with a pH 1.2 detergent buffer and then stained with acridine orange (AO). The low pH partially denatures DNA at the sites of DNA strand breaks and the AO-ssDNA fluoresces red while the AO-dsDNA fluoresces green. Flow cytometry measurements of 5000 sperm/sample provide statistically robust data on the ratio of red to green sperm, the extent of the DNA fragmentation and the standard deviations of measures. Numerous experiments on rodents treated with reproductive toxicants clearly showed that SCSA measures are highly dose responsive and have a very low CV. Different agents that act on germ cells at various stages of development usually showed sperm DNA fragmentation when that germ cell fraction arrived in the epididymis or ejaculate. Some of these treated samples were capable of successful in vitro fertilization but with frequent embryo failure. A 2-year longitudinal study of men living a valley town with a reported abnormal level of infertility and spontaneous miscarriages and also a seasonal atmospheric smog pollution, showed, for the first time, that SCSA measurements of human sperm DNA fragmentation were detectable and correlated with dosage of air pollution while the classical semen measures were not correlated. Also, young men spraying pesticides without protective gear are at an increased risk for elevated

  4. Fragmentation of rotating protostellar clouds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tohline, J.E.

    1980-01-01

    We examine, with a three-dimensional hydrodynamic computer code, the behavior of rotating, isothermal gas clouds as they collapse from Jeans unstable configurations, in order to determine whether they are susceptible to fragmentation during the initial dynamic collapse phase of their evolution. We find that a gas cloud will not fragment unless (a) it begins collapsing from a radius much smaller than the Jeans radius (i.e., the cloud initially encloses many Jeans masses) and (b) irregularities in the cloud's initial structure (specifically, density inhomogeneities) enclose more than one Jeans mass of material. Gas pressure smooths out features that are not initially Jeans unstable while rotation plays no direct role in damping inhomogeneities. Instead of fragmenting, most of our models collapse to a ring configuration (as has been observed by other investigators in two-dimensional, axisymmetric models). The rings appear to be less susceptible to gragmentation from arbitrary perturbations in their structure than has previously been indicated in other work. Because our models, which include the effects of gas pressure, do not readily fragment during a phase of dynamic collapse, we suggest that gas clouds in the galactic disk undergo fragmentation only during quasi-equilibrium phases of their evolution

  5. Fragment-based approaches to TB drugs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchetti, Chiara; Chan, Daniel S H; Coyne, Anthony G; Abell, Chris

    2018-02-01

    Tuberculosis is an infectious disease associated with significant mortality and morbidity worldwide, particularly in developing countries. The rise of antibiotic resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) urgently demands the development of new drug leads to tackle resistant strains. Fragment-based methods have recently emerged at the forefront of pharmaceutical development as a means to generate more effective lead structures, via the identification of fragment molecules that form weak but high quality interactions with the target biomolecule and subsequent fragment optimization. This review highlights a number of novel inhibitors of Mtb targets that have been developed through fragment-based approaches in recent years.

  6. The Zero-Degree Detector system for fragmentation studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adams, J.H.; Christl, M.J.; Howell, L.W.; Kuznetsov, E.

    2007-01-01

    The measurement of nuclear fragmentation cross-sections requires the detection and identification of individual projectile fragments. If light and heavy fragments are recorded in the same detector, it may be impossible to distinguish the signal from the light fragment. To overcome this problem, we have developed the Zero-degree Detector System (ZDDS). The ZDDS enables the measurement of cross-sections for light fragment production by using pixelated detectors to separately measure the signals of each fragment. The system has been used to measure the fragmentation of beams as heavy as Fe at the NASA Space Radiation Laboratory at Brookhaven National Laboratory and the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba, Japan

  7. Introduction to fragment-based drug discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erlanson, Daniel A

    2012-01-01

    Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) has emerged in the past decade as a powerful tool for discovering drug leads. The approach first identifies starting points: very small molecules (fragments) that are about half the size of typical drugs. These fragments are then expanded or linked together to generate drug leads. Although the origins of the technique date back some 30 years, it was only in the mid-1990s that experimental techniques became sufficiently sensitive and rapid for the concept to be become practical. Since that time, the field has exploded: FBDD has played a role in discovery of at least 18 drugs that have entered the clinic, and practitioners of FBDD can be found throughout the world in both academia and industry. Literally dozens of reviews have been published on various aspects of FBDD or on the field as a whole, as have three books (Jahnke and Erlanson, Fragment-based approaches in drug discovery, 2006; Zartler and Shapiro, Fragment-based drug discovery: a practical approach, 2008; Kuo, Fragment based drug design: tools, practical approaches, and examples, 2011). However, this chapter will assume that the reader is approaching the field with little prior knowledge. It will introduce some of the key concepts, set the stage for the chapters to follow, and demonstrate how X-ray crystallography plays a central role in fragment identification and advancement.

  8. Mechanisms Affecting Population Density in Fragmented Habitat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lutz Tischendorf

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available We conducted a factorial simulation experiment to analyze the relative importance of movement pattern, boundary-crossing probability, and mortality in habitat and matrix on population density, and its dependency on habitat fragmentation, as well as inter-patch distance. We also examined how the initial response of a species to a fragmentation event may affect our observations of population density in post-fragmentation experiments. We found that the boundary-crossing probability from habitat to matrix, which partly determines the emigration rate, is the most important determinant for population density within habitat patches. The probability of crossing a boundary from matrix to habitat had a weaker, but positive, effect on population density. Movement behavior in habitat had a stronger effect on population density than movement behavior in matrix. Habitat fragmentation and inter-patch distance may have a positive or negative effect on population density. The direction of both effects depends on two factors. First, when the boundary-crossing probability from habitat to matrix is high, population density may decline with increasing habitat fragmentation. Conversely, for species with a high matrix-to-habitat boundary-crossing probability, population density may increase with increasing habitat fragmentation. Second, the initial distribution of individuals across the landscape: we found that habitat fragmentation and inter-patch distance were positively correlated with population density when individuals were distributed across matrix and habitat at the beginning of our simulation experiments. The direction of these relationships changed to negative when individuals were initially distributed across habitat only. Our findings imply that the speed of the initial response of organisms to habitat fragmentation events may determine the direction of observed relationships between habitat fragmentation and population density. The time scale of post-fragmentation

  9. Quark fragmentation in e+e- collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oddone, P.

    1984-12-01

    This brief review of new results in quark and gluon fragmentation observed in e + e - collisions concentrates mostly on PEP results and, within PEP, mostly on TPC results. The new PETRA results have been reported at this conference by M. Davier. It is restricted to results on light quark fragmentation since the results on heavy quark fragmentation have been reported by J. Chapman

  10. Fragmentation of a 500 MeV/nucleon 86Kr beam, investigated at the GSI projectile fragment separator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weber, M.; Donzaud, C.; Geissel, H.; Grewe, A.; Lewitowicz, M.; Magel, A.; Mueller, A.C.; Nickel, F.; Pfuetzner, M.; Piechaczek, A.; Pravikoff, M.; Roeckl, E.; Rykaczewski, K.; Saint-Laurent, M.G.; Schall, I.; Stephan, C.; Tassan-Got, L.; Voss, B.

    1993-10-01

    Production cross-sections and longitudinal momentum distributions have been investigated for reactions between a 500 MeV/nucleon 86 Kr beam and beryllium, copper and tantalum targets. Fragments in a wide A/Z range were studied at the projectile-fragment separator FRS at GSI. The experimental production cross-sections have been used for testing the predictions obtained from a semi-empirical parameterization, a statistical abrasion model and an intranuclear-cascade model. The present study allows to extrapolate the production cross-sections towards very neutron-rich isotopes such as the doubly magic nucleus 78 Ni. For fragments close to the projectile the measured longitudinal momentum distributions agrees qualitatively with a semi-empirical parameterization, which is based on the two-step picture of the fragmentation process. The momentum widths of lighter fragments, however, show deviations from this simple picture. (orig.)

  11. Ternary-fragmentation-driving potential energies of 252Cf

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karthikraj, C.; Ren, Zhongzhou

    2017-12-01

    Within the framework of a simple macroscopic model, the ternary-fragmentation-driving potential energies of 252Cf are studied. In this work, all possible ternary-fragment combinations of 252Cf are generated by the use of atomic mass evaluation-2016 (AME2016) data and these combinations are minimized by using a two-dimensional minimization approach. This minimization process can be done in two ways: (i) with respect to proton numbers (Z1, Z2, Z3) and (ii) with respect to neutron numbers (N1, N2, N3) of the ternary fragments. In this paper, the driving potential energies for the ternary breakup of 252Cf are presented for both the spherical and deformed as well as the proton-minimized and neutron-minimized ternary fragments. From the proton-minimized spherical ternary fragments, we have obtained different possible ternary configurations with a minimum driving potential, in particular, the experimental expectation of Sn + Ni + Ca ternary fragmentation. However, the neutron-minimized ternary fragments exhibit a driving potential minimum in the true-ternary-fission (TTF) region as well. Further, the Q -value energy systematics of the neutron-minimized ternary fragments show larger values for the TTF fragments. From this, we have concluded that the TTF region fragments with the least driving potential and high Q values have a strong possibility in the ternary fragmentation of 252Cf. Further, the role of ground-state deformations (β2, β3, β4, and β6) in the ternary breakup of 252Cf is also studied. The deformed ternary fragmentation, which involves Z3=12 -19 fragments, possesses the driving potential minimum due to the larger oblate deformations. We also found that the ground-state deformations, particularly β2, strongly influence the driving potential energies and play a major role in determining the most probable fragment combinations in the ternary breakup of 252Cf.

  12. Architectural fragments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bang, Jacob Sebastian

    2018-01-01

    I have created a large collection of plaster models: a collection of Obstructions, errors and opportunities that may develop into architecture. The models are fragments of different complex shapes as well as more simple circular models with different profiling and diameters. In this contect I have....... I try to invent the ways of drawing the models - that decode and unfold them into architectural fragments- into future buildings or constructions in the landscape. [1] Luigi Moretti: Italian architect, 1907 - 1973 [2] Man Ray: American artist, 1890 - 1976. in 2015, I saw the wonderful exhibition...... "Man Ray - Human Equations" at the Glyptotek in Copenhagen, organized by the Philips Collection in Washington D.C. and the Israel Museum in Jerusalem (in 2013). See also: "Man Ray - Human Equations" catalogue published by Hatje Cantz Verlag, Germany, 2014....

  13. Chemical Production using Fission Fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dawson, J. K.; Moseley, F.

    1960-01-01

    Some reactor design considerations of the use of fission recoil fragment energy for the production of chemicals of industrial importance have been discussed previously in a paper given at the Second United Nations International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy [A/Conf. 15/P.76]. The present paper summarizes more recent progress made on this topic at AERE, Harwell. The range-energy relationship for fission fragments is discussed in the context of the choice of fuel system for a chemical production reactor, and the experimental observation of a variation of chemical effect along the length of a fission fragment track is described for the irradiation of nitrogen-oxygen mixtures. Recent results are given on the effect of fission fragments on carbon monoxide-hydrogen gas mixtures and on water vapour. No system investigated to date shows any outstanding promise for large-scale chemical production. (author) [fr

  14. The dynamics of fragment formation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keane, D.

    1994-09-01

    We demonstrate that in the Quantum Molecular Dynamics model, dynamical correlations can result in the production rate for final state nucleon clusters (and hence composite fragments) being higher than would be expected if statistics and the available phase space were dominant in determining composite formation. An intranuclear cascade or a Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck model, combined with a statistical approach in the late stage of the collision to determine composites, provides an equivalent description only under limited conditions of centrality and beam energy. We use data on participant fragment production in Au + Au collisions in the Bevalac's BOS time projection chamber to map out the parameter space where statistical clustering provides a good description. In particular, we investigate momentum-space densities of fragments up to 4 He as a function of fragment transverse momentum, azimuth relative to the reaction plane, rapidity, multiplicity and beam energy

  15. Hands as markers of fragmentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Barnard

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available Margaret Atwood is an internationally read, translated, and critiqued writer whose novels have established her as one of the most esteemed authors in English (McCombs & Palmer, 1991:1. Critical studies of her work deal mainly with notions of identity from psychoanalytical perspectives. This study has identified a gap in current critical studies on Atwood’s works, namely the challenging of textual unity which is paralleled in the challenging of the traditional (single narrative voice. The challenging of textual unity and the single narrative voice brings about the fragmentation of both. This article will focus on the role that hands play as markers of fragmentation in “The Blind Assassin” (2000. In the novel, the writing hand destabilises the narrative voice, since it is not connected to the voice of a single author. If the author of the text – the final signified – is eliminated, the text becomes fragmentary and open, inviting the reader to contribute to the creation of meaning. Hands play a signficant role in foregrounding the narrator’s fragmented identity, and consequently, the fragmentation of the text. We will investigate this concept in the light of Roland Barthes’ notion of the scriptor, whose hand is metaphorically severed from his or her “voice”. Instead of the text being a unified entity, it becomes unstable and it displays the absence of hierarchical textual levels. Based mainly on Barthes’ writings, this article concludes that hands foreground the narrator’s fragmented identity, which is paralleled in the fragmented text.

  16. Wiring Techniques for the Fixation of Trochanteric Fragments during Bipolar Hemiarthroplasty for Femoral Intertrochanteric Fracture: Clinical Study and Technical Note.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Joong-Myung; Cho, Yongsuk; Kim, Junhyun; Kim, Dong-Won

    2017-03-01

    Femoral intertrochanteric fractures are common in the elderly. Appropriate surgical fixation of trochanteric fracture fragments can restore normal anatomical structure and ambulation, and can aid in the recovery of biomechanical function of the hip. We evaluated clinical outcomes of bipolar hemiarthroplasty using a wiring technique for trochanteric fracture fragment fixation. From September 2006 to February 2015, a total of 260 cases underwent simultaneous bipolar hemiarthroplasty and wire fixation. A total of 65 patients (69 hips) with an average age of 78 years and more than one year of follow-up was included in the study. Using pre-, postoperative and follow-up radiograms, we evaluated wire fixation failure and also assessed changes in walking ability. Loosening or osteolysis around the stem was not observed; however, we did observe bone growth around the stem (54 cases), cortical hypertrophy (6 cases), a wide range of sclerotic lines but no stem subsidence (1 case), wire breakage (9 cases), and fracture fragment migration with no significant functional deficiency (2 cases). Our study showed that additional wiring for trochanteric fracture fragment fixation following bipolar hemiarthroplasty can help restore normal anatomy. The added stability results in faster rehabilitation, and good clinical and radiographic outcomes. We recommend this procedure in this type of fracture.

  17. Heavy fragment radioactivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silisteanu, I.

    1991-06-01

    The effect of collective mode excitation in heavy fragment radioactivity (HFR) is explored and discussed in the light of current experimental data. It is found that the coupling and resonance effects in fragment interaction and also the proper angular momentum effects may lead to an important enhancing of the emission process. New useful procedures are proposed for the study of nuclear decay properties. The relations between different decay processes are investigated in detail. We are also trying to understand and explain in a unified way the reaction mechanisms in decay phenomena. (author). 17 refs, 4 figs, 3 tabs

  18. An Algebra for Program Fragments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Bent Bruun; Madsen, Ole Lehrmann; Møller-Pedersen, Birger

    1985-01-01

    Program fragments are described either by strings in the concrete syntax or by constructor applications in the abstract syntax. By defining conversions between these forms, both may be intermixed. Program fragments are constructed by terminal and nonterminal symbols from the grammar and by variab...

  19. Fragment Impact Toolkit (FIT)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shevitz, Daniel Wolf [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Key, Brian P. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Garcia, Daniel B. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-09-05

    The Fragment Impact Toolkit (FIT) is a software package used for probabilistic consequence evaluation of fragmenting sources. The typical use case for FIT is to simulate an exploding shell and evaluate the consequence on nearby objects. FIT is written in the programming language Python and is designed as a collection of interacting software modules. Each module has a function that interacts with the other modules to produce desired results.

  20. A model for projectile fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaudhuri, G; Mallik, S; Gupta, S Das

    2013-01-01

    A model for projectile fragmentation is developed whose origin can be traced back to the Bevalac era. The model positions itself between the phenomenological EPAX parametrization and transport models like 'Heavy Ion Phase Space Exploration' (HIPSE) model and antisymmetrised molecular dynamics (AMD) model. A very simple impact parameter dependence of input temperature is incorporated in the model which helps to analyze the more peripheral collisions. The model is applied to calculate the charge, isotopic distributions, average number of intermediate mass fragments and the average size of largest cluster at different Z bound of different projectile fragmentation reactions at different energies.

  1. Gamma Radiation from Fission Fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Higbie, Jack

    1969-10-01

    The gamma radiation from the fragments of the thermal neutron fission of 235 U has been investigated, and the preliminary data are presented here with suggestions for further lines of research and some possible interpretations of the data. The data have direct bearing on the fission process and the mode of fragment de-excitation. The parameters measured are the radiation decay curve for the time interval (1 - 7) x 10 -10 sec after fission, the photon yield, the total gamma ray energy yield, and the average photon energy. The last three quantities are measured as a function of the fragment mass

  2. Gamma Radiation from Fission Fragments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Higbie, Jack

    1969-10-15

    The gamma radiation from the fragments of the thermal neutron fission of {sup 235}U has been investigated, and the preliminary data are presented here with suggestions for further lines of research and some possible interpretations of the data. The data have direct bearing on the fission process and the mode of fragment de-excitation. The parameters measured are the radiation decay curve for the time interval (1 - 7) x 10{sup -10} sec after fission, the photon yield, the total gamma ray energy yield, and the average photon energy. The last three quantities are measured as a function of the fragment mass.

  3. Anisotropy in highly charged ion induced molecule fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Juhasz, Z.; Sulik, B.; Fremont, F.; Chesnel, J.Y.; Hajaji, A.

    2006-01-01

    Complete text of publication follows. Studying fragmentation processes of biologically relevant molecules due to highly charged ion impact is important to understand radiation damage in biological tissues. Energy spectra of the charged molecule fragments may reveal the different fragmentation patterns meanwhile the angular distributions of the fragments characterize the dependence of fragmentation probability on the initial orientation of the molecule. The research to explore the angular distribution of the molecule fragments has only recently been started[1]. In 2006 we performed measurements at ARIBE facility at GANIL, Caen (France), in order to investigate orientation effects in molecule fragmentation. Fragmentation of H 2 O, C 6 H 6 and CH 4 , which represent different level of symmetry, have been studied by 60 keV N 6+ ion impact. Energy spectra of the charged fragments at different observation angles have been taken. As our example spectra show the different protonic peaks can be attributed to different fragmentation processes. Significant anisotropy can be seen in the different processes. The strongest evidence for the anisotropy can be seen in the spectra of C 6 H 6 , where the spectra appear isotropic in almost the whole observed energy range except one peak, which has a strong angular dependence and is maximal around 90 deg. (author)

  4. Absolute fragmentation cross sections in atom-molecule collisions: Scaling laws for non-statistical fragmentation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, T.; Gatchell, M.; Stockett, M. H.; Alexander, J. D.; Schmidt, H. T.; Cederquist, H.; Zettergren, H., E-mail: henning@fysik.su.se [Department of Physics, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm (Sweden); Zhang, Y. [Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Physics, M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, 119991 Moscow (Russian Federation); Rousseau, P.; Maclot, S.; Delaunay, R.; Adoui, L. [CIMAP, UMR 6252, CEA/CNRS/ENSICAEN/Université de Caen Basse-Normandie, bd Henri Becquerel, BP 5133, F-14070 Caen Cedex 05 (France); Université de Caen Basse-Normandie, Esplanade de la Paix, F-14032 Caen (France); Domaracka, A.; Huber, B. A. [CIMAP, UMR 6252, CEA/CNRS/ENSICAEN/Université de Caen Basse-Normandie, bd Henri Becquerel, BP 5133, F-14070 Caen Cedex 05 (France); Schlathölter, T. [Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, 9747AG Groningen (Netherlands)

    2014-06-14

    We present scaling laws for absolute cross sections for non-statistical fragmentation in collisions between Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH/PAH{sup +}) and hydrogen or helium atoms with kinetic energies ranging from 50 eV to 10 keV. Further, we calculate the total fragmentation cross sections (including statistical fragmentation) for 110 eV PAH/PAH{sup +} + He collisions, and show that they compare well with experimental results. We demonstrate that non-statistical fragmentation becomes dominant for large PAHs and that it yields highly reactive fragments forming strong covalent bonds with atoms (H and N) and molecules (C{sub 6}H{sub 5}). Thus nonstatistical fragmentation may be an effective initial step in the formation of, e.g., Polycyclic Aromatic Nitrogen Heterocycles (PANHs). This relates to recent discussions on the evolution of PAHNs in space and the reactivities of defect graphene structures.

  5. Remarks about the hypothesis of limiting fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chou, T.T.; Yang, C.N.

    1987-01-01

    Remarks are made about the hypothesis of limiting fragmentation. In particular, the concept of favored and disfavored fragment distribution is introduced. Also, a sum rule is proved leading to a useful quantity called energy-fragmentation fraction. (author). 11 refs, 1 fig., 2 tabs

  6. Polarization and alignment of nucleus fission fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barabanov, A.L.; Grechukhin, D.P.

    1987-01-01

    Correlation of fragment orientation with orientation axis of fissile nucleus and with n-vector f vector of fragment divergence is considered. Estimations of polarization and alignment of fission fragments of preliminarily oriented nuclei in correlation (with n-vector f recording) and integral (with n-vector f averaging) experiments were conducted. It is shown that high sensitivity of polarization and fragment alignment to the character of nucleus movement at the stage of descent from barrier to rupture point exists

  7. Nuclear energy release from fragmentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Cheng [The Key Laboratory of Beam Technology and Material Modification of Ministry of Education, College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Beijing Radiation Center, Beijing 100875 (China); Souza, S.R. [Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Cidade Universitária, Caixa Postal 68528, 21945-970 Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Tsang, M.B. [The Key Laboratory of Beam Technology and Material Modification of Ministry of Education, College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Beijing Radiation Center, Beijing 100875 (China); National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory and Physics and Astronomy Department, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824 (United States); Zhang, Feng-Shou, E-mail: fszhang@bnu.edu.cn [The Key Laboratory of Beam Technology and Material Modification of Ministry of Education, College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Beijing Radiation Center, Beijing 100875 (China); Center of Theoretical Nuclear Physics, National Laboratory of Heavy Ion Accelerator of Lanzhou, Lanzhou 730000 (China)

    2016-08-15

    It is well known that binary fission occurs with positive energy gain. In this article we examine the energetics of splitting uranium and thorium isotopes into various numbers of fragments (from two to eight) with nearly equal size. We find that the energy released by splitting {sup 230,232}Th and {sup 235,238}U into three equal size fragments is largest. The statistical multifragmentation model (SMM) is applied to calculate the probability of different breakup channels for excited nuclei. By weighing the probability distributions of fragment multiplicity at different excitation energies, we find the peaks of energy release for {sup 230,232}Th and {sup 235,238}U are around 0.7–0.75 MeV/u at excitation energy between 1.2 and 2 MeV/u in the primary breakup process. Taking into account the secondary de-excitation processes of primary fragments with the GEMINI code, these energy peaks fall to about 0.45 MeV/u.

  8. Dihadron fragmentation function and its evolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Majumder, A.; Wang Xinnian

    2004-01-01

    Dihadron fragmentation functions and their evolution are studied in the process of e + e - annihilation. Under the collinear factorization approximation and facilitated by the cut-vertex technique, the two hadron inclusive cross section at leading order is shown to factorize into a short distance parton cross section and a long distance dihadron fragmentation function. We provide the definition of such a dihadron fragmentation function in terms of parton matrix elements and derive its Dokshitzer-Gribov-Lipatov-Altarelli-Parisi evolution equation at leading log. The evolution equation for the nonsinglet quark fragmentation function is solved numerically with a simple ansatz for the initial condition and results are presented for cases of physical interest

  9. SCEDS: protein fragments for molecular replacement in Phaser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McCoy, Airlie J., E-mail: ajm201@cam.ac.uk [University of Cambridge, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0XY (United Kingdom); Nicholls, Robert A. [MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QH (United Kingdom); Schneider, Thomas R. [Hamburg Unit c/o DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22603 Hamburg (Germany); University of Cambridge, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0XY (United Kingdom)

    2013-11-01

    Protein fragments suitable for use in molecular replacement can be generated by normal-mode perturbation, analysis of the difference distance matrix of the original versus normal-mode perturbed structures, and SCEDS, a score that measures the sphericity, continuity, equality and density of the resulting fragments. A method is described for generating protein fragments suitable for use as molecular-replacement (MR) template models. The template model for a protein suspected to undergo a conformational change is perturbed along combinations of low-frequency normal modes of the elastic network model. The unperturbed structure is then compared with each perturbed structure in turn and the structurally invariant regions are identified by analysing the difference distance matrix. These fragments are scored with SCEDS, which is a combined measure of the sphericity of the fragments, the continuity of the fragments with respect to the polypeptide chain, the equality in number of atoms in the fragments and the density of C{sup α} atoms in the triaxial ellipsoid of the fragment extents. The fragment divisions with the highest SCEDS are then used as separate template models for MR. Test cases show that where the protein contains fragments that undergo a change in juxtaposition between template model and target, SCEDS can identify fragments that lead to a lower R factor after ten cycles of all-atom refinement with REFMAC5 than the original template structure. The method has been implemented in the software Phaser.

  10. SCEDS: protein fragments for molecular replacement in Phaser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCoy, Airlie J.; Nicholls, Robert A.; Schneider, Thomas R.

    2013-01-01

    Protein fragments suitable for use in molecular replacement can be generated by normal-mode perturbation, analysis of the difference distance matrix of the original versus normal-mode perturbed structures, and SCEDS, a score that measures the sphericity, continuity, equality and density of the resulting fragments. A method is described for generating protein fragments suitable for use as molecular-replacement (MR) template models. The template model for a protein suspected to undergo a conformational change is perturbed along combinations of low-frequency normal modes of the elastic network model. The unperturbed structure is then compared with each perturbed structure in turn and the structurally invariant regions are identified by analysing the difference distance matrix. These fragments are scored with SCEDS, which is a combined measure of the sphericity of the fragments, the continuity of the fragments with respect to the polypeptide chain, the equality in number of atoms in the fragments and the density of C α atoms in the triaxial ellipsoid of the fragment extents. The fragment divisions with the highest SCEDS are then used as separate template models for MR. Test cases show that where the protein contains fragments that undergo a change in juxtaposition between template model and target, SCEDS can identify fragments that lead to a lower R factor after ten cycles of all-atom refinement with REFMAC5 than the original template structure. The method has been implemented in the software Phaser

  11. Experiments and modeling of ballistic penetration using an energy failure criterion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dolinski M.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the most intricate problems in terminal ballistics is the physics underlying penetration and perforation. Several penetration modes are well identified, such as petalling, plugging, spall failure and fragmentation (Sedgwick, 1968. In most cases, the final target failure will combine those modes. Some of the failure modes can be due to brittle material behavior, but penetration of ductile targets by blunt projectiles, involving plugging in particular, is caused by excessive localized plasticity, with emphasis on adiabatic shear banding (ASB. Among the theories regarding the onset of ASB, new evidence was recently brought by Rittel et al. (2006, according to whom shear bands initiate as a result of dynamic recrystallization (DRX, a local softening mechanism driven by the stored energy of cold work. As such, ASB formation results from microstructural transformations, rather than from thermal softening. In our previous work (Dolinski et al., 2010, a failure criterion based on plastic strain energy density was presented and applied to model four different classical examples of dynamic failure involving ASB formation. According to this criterion, a material point starts to fail when the total plastic strain energy density reaches a critical value. Thereafter, the strength of the element decreases gradually to zero to mimic the actual material mechanical behavior. The goal of this paper is to present a new combined experimental-numerical study of ballistic penetration and perforation, using the above-mentioned failure criterion. Careful experiments are carried out using a single combination of AISI 4340 FSP projectiles and 25[mm] thick RHA steel plates, while the impact velocity, and hence the imparted damage, are systematically varied. We show that our failure model, which includes only one adjustable parameter in this present work, can faithfully reproduce each of the experiments without any further adjustment. Moreover, it is shown that the

  12. Evolution equations for extended dihadron fragmentation functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ceccopieri, F.A.; Bacchetta, A.

    2007-03-01

    We consider dihadron fragmentation functions, describing the fragmentation of a parton in two unpolarized hadrons, and in particular extended dihadron fragmentation functions, explicitly dependent on the invariant mass, M h , of the hadron pair. We first rederive the known results on M h -integrated functions using Jet Calculus techniques, and then we present the evolution equations for extended dihadron fragmentation functions. Our results are relevant for the analysis of experimental measurements of two-particle-inclusive processes at different energies. (orig.)

  13. Quantitative experimental modelling of fragmentation during explosive volcanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thordén Haug, Ø.; Galland, O.; Gisler, G.

    2012-04-01

    Phreatomagmatic eruptions results from the violent interaction between magma and an external source of water, such as ground water or a lake. This interaction causes fragmentation of the magma and/or the host rock, resulting in coarse-grained (lapilli) to very fine-grained (ash) material. The products of phreatomagmatic explosions are classically described by their fragment size distribution, which commonly follows power laws of exponent D. Such descriptive approach, however, considers the final products only and do not provide information on the dynamics of fragmentation. The aim of this contribution is thus to address the following fundamental questions. What are the physics that govern fragmentation processes? How fragmentation occurs through time? What are the mechanisms that produce power law fragment size distributions? And what are the scaling laws that control the exponent D? To address these questions, we performed a quantitative experimental study. The setup consists of a Hele-Shaw cell filled with a layer of cohesive silica flour, at the base of which a pulse of pressurized air is injected, leading to fragmentation of the layer of flour. The fragmentation process is monitored through time using a high-speed camera. By varying systematically the air pressure (P) and the thickness of the flour layer (h) we observed two morphologies of fragmentation: "lift off" where the silica flour above the injection inlet is ejected upwards, and "channeling" where the air pierces through the layer along sub-vertical conduit. By building a phase diagram, we show that the morphology is controlled by P/dgh, where d is the density of the flour and g is the gravitational acceleration. To quantify the fragmentation process, we developed a Matlab image analysis program, which calculates the number and sizes of the fragments, and so the fragment size distribution, during the experiments. The fragment size distributions are in general described by power law distributions of

  14. Predicting "Hot" and "Warm" Spots for Fragment Binding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rathi, Prakash Chandra; Ludlow, R Frederick; Hall, Richard J; Murray, Christopher W; Mortenson, Paul N; Verdonk, Marcel L

    2017-05-11

    Computational fragment mapping methods aim to predict hotspots on protein surfaces where small fragments will bind. Such methods are popular for druggability assessment as well as structure-based design. However, to date researchers developing or using such tools have had no clear way of assessing the performance of these methods. Here, we introduce the first diverse, high quality validation set for computational fragment mapping. The set contains 52 diverse examples of fragment binding "hot" and "warm" spots from the Protein Data Bank (PDB). Additionally, we describe PLImap, a novel protocol for fragment mapping based on the Protein-Ligand Informatics force field (PLIff). We evaluate PLImap against the new fragment mapping test set, and compare its performance to that of simple shape-based algorithms and fragment docking using GOLD. PLImap is made publicly available from https://bitbucket.org/AstexUK/pli .

  15. Scaling and critical behaviour in nuclear fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Campi, X.

    1990-09-01

    These notes review recent results on nuclear fragmentation. An analysis of experimental data from exclusive experiments is made in the framework of modern theories of fragmentation of finite size objects. We discuss the existence of a critical regime of fragmentation and the relevance of scaling and finite size scaling

  16. SULF 1 gene polymorphism, rs6990375 is in significant association with fetus failure in IVF technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eskandar Taghizadeh

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Sulfatase 1 (SULF1 function is to remove the 6-O-sulphate group from heparan sulfate. This action changes the binding sites of extracellular growth factors. SULF1 expression has been reported to be changed in angiogenesis. We hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs of SULF1 would impact clinicopathologic characteristics. Objective: Study of SULF1 gene polymorphism with fetus failure in in vitro fertilization (IVF technique. Materials and Methods: We studied one common (minor allele frequency >0.05 regulatory SNP, rs6990375, with polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism method, in 53 infertile women with fetus failure in IVF technique and 53 women with at least one healthy child as controls. Results: We found that rs6990375 is significantly associated with an early failure in IVF and frequency of G allele is high in women with fetus failure in IVF technique (p<0.001. Conclusion: These findings suggest that SULF1genetic variations may play a role in IVF technique fetus failure. Further studies with large sample sizes on SULF1 SNPs may be useful in support of this claim.

  17. The politics of municipal fragmentation in Ghana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdulai Kuyini Mohammed

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The scholarly debate over the rival merits of local government consolidation and fragmentation is an old but enduring one. However, in this debate very little attention has been focused on the political dimension of council amalgamation and fragmentation – yet political considerations play a central role in both the formulation and outcomes of de-concentration policy. The purpose of this article is to fill a gap in the literature by examining local government fragmentation in Ghana from 1988 to 2014. The article does this by identifying the key players and analysing their interests and gains, as well as the tensions arising from the fragmentation exercise. The implications from the Ghanaian case for more general theories of fragmentation are drawn out.

  18. Heart Rate Fragmentation: A Symbolic Dynamical Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madalena D. Costa

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: We recently introduced the concept of heart rate fragmentation along with a set of metrics for its quantification. The term was coined to refer to an increase in the percentage of changes in heart rate acceleration sign, a dynamical marker of a type of anomalous variability. The effort was motivated by the observation that fragmentation, which is consistent with the breakdown of the neuroautonomic-electrophysiologic control system of the sino-atrial node, could confound traditional short-term analysis of heart rate variability.Objective: The objectives of this study were to: (1 introduce a symbolic dynamical approach to the problem of quantifying heart rate fragmentation; (2 evaluate how the distribution of the different dynamical patterns (“words” varied with the participants' age in a group of healthy subjects and patients with coronary artery disease (CAD; and (3 quantify the differences in the fragmentation patterns between the two sample populations.Methods: The symbolic dynamical method employed here was based on a ternary map of the increment NN interval time series and on the analysis of the relative frequency of symbolic sequences (words with a pre-defined set of features. We analyzed annotated, open-access Holter databases of healthy subjects and patients with CAD, provided by the University of Rochester Telemetric and Holter ECG Warehouse (THEW.Results: The degree of fragmentation was significantly higher in older individuals than in their younger counterparts. However, the fragmentation patterns were different in the two sample populations. In healthy subjects, older age was significantly associated with a higher percentage of transitions from acceleration/deceleration to zero acceleration and vice versa (termed “soft” inflection points. In patients with CAD, older age was also significantly associated with higher percentages of frank reversals in heart rate acceleration (transitions from acceleration to

  19. Baculovirus display of functional antibody Fab fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takada, Shinya; Ogawa, Takafumi; Matsui, Kazusa; Suzuki, Tasuku; Katsuda, Tomohisa; Yamaji, Hideki

    2015-08-01

    The generation of a recombinant baculovirus that displays antibody Fab fragments on the surface was investigated. A recombinant baculovirus was engineered so that the heavy chain (Hc; Fd fragment) of a mouse Fab fragment was expressed as a fusion to the N-terminus of baculovirus gp64, while the light chain of the Fab fragment was simultaneously expressed as a secretory protein. Following infection of Sf9 insect cells with the recombinant baculovirus, the culture supernatant was analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using antigen-coated microplates and either an anti-mouse IgG or an anti-gp64 antibody. A relatively strong signal was obtained in each case, showing antigen-binding activity in the culture supernatant. In western blot analysis of the culture supernatant using the anti-gp64 antibody, specific protein bands were detected at an electrophoretic mobility that coincided with the molecular weight of the Hc-gp64 fusion protein as well as that of gp64. Flow cytometry using a fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated antibody specific to mouse IgG successfully detected the Fab fragments on the surface of the Sf9 cells. These results suggest that immunologically functional antibody Fab fragments can be displayed on the surface of baculovirus particles, and that a fluorescence-activated cell sorter with a fluorescence-labeled antigen can isolate baculoviruses displaying specific Fab fragments. This successful baculovirus display of antibody Fab fragments may offer a novel approach for the efficient selection of specific antibodies.

  20. Molten aluminum alloy fuel fragmentation experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gabor, J.D.; Purviance, R.T.; Cassulo, J.C.; Spencer, B.W.

    1992-01-01

    Experiments were conducted in which molten aluminum alloys were injected into a 1.2 m deep pool of water. The parameters varied were (i) injectant material (8001 aluminum alloy and 12.3 wt% U-87.7 wt% Al), (ii) melt superheat (O to 50 K), (iii) water temperature (313, 343 and 373 K) and (iv) size and geometry of the pour stream (5, 10 and 20 mm diameter circular and 57 mm annular). The pour stream fragmentation was dominated by surface tension with large particles (∼30 mm) being formed from varicose wave breakup of the 10-mm circular pours and from the annular flow off a 57 mm diameter tube. The fragments produced by the 5 mm circular et were smaller (∼ mm), and the 20 mm jet which underwent sinuous wave breakup produced ∼100 mm fragments. The fragments froze to form solid particles in 313 K water, and when the water was ≥343 K, the melt fragments did not freeze during their transit through 1.2 m of water

  1. Simulations of High Speed Fragment Trajectories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeh, Peter; Attaway, Stephen; Arunajatesan, Srinivasan; Fisher, Travis

    2017-11-01

    Flying shrapnel from an explosion are capable of traveling at supersonic speeds and distances much farther than expected due to aerodynamic interactions. Predicting the trajectories and stable tumbling modes of arbitrary shaped fragments is a fundamental problem applicable to range safety calculations, damage assessment, and military technology. Traditional approaches rely on characterizing fragment flight using a single drag coefficient, which may be inaccurate for fragments with large aspect ratios. In our work we develop a procedure to simulate trajectories of arbitrary shaped fragments with higher fidelity using high performance computing. We employ a two-step approach in which the force and moment coefficients are first computed as a function of orientation using compressible computational fluid dynamics. The force and moment data are then input into a six-degree-of-freedom rigid body dynamics solver to integrate trajectories in time. Results of these high fidelity simulations allow us to further understand the flight dynamics and tumbling modes of a single fragment. Furthermore, we use these results to determine the validity and uncertainty of inexpensive methods such as the single drag coefficient model.

  2. Computer code for the analysis of destructive pressure generation process during a fuel failure accident, PULSE-2

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujishiro, Toshio

    1978-03-01

    The computer code PULSE-2 has been developed for the analysis of pressure pulse generation process when hot fuel particles come into contact with the coolant in a fuel rod failure accident. In the program, it is assumed that hot fuel fragments mix with the coolant instantly and homogeneously in the failure region. Then, the rapid vaporization of the coolant and transient pressure rise in failure region, and the movement of ejected coolant slugs are calculated. The effect of a fuel-particle size distribution is taken into consideration. Heat conduction in the fuel particles and heat transfer at fuel-coolant interface are calculated. Temperature, pressure and void fraction in the mixed region are calculated from the average enthalpy. With physical property subroutines for liquid sodium and water, the model is usable for both LMFBR and LWR conditions. (auth.)

  3. Microstructural characterization of pipe bomb fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gregory, Otto; Oxley, Jimmie; Smith, James; Platek, Michael; Ghonem, Hamouda; Bernier, Evan; Downey, Markus; Cumminskey, Christopher

    2010-01-01

    Recovered pipe bomb fragments, exploded under controlled conditions, have been characterized using scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy and microhardness. Specifically, this paper examines the microstructural changes in plain carbon-steel fragments collected after the controlled explosion of galvanized, schedule 40, continuously welded, steel pipes filled with various smokeless powders. A number of microstructural changes were observed in the recovered pipe fragments: deformation of the soft alpha-ferrite grains, deformation of pearlite colonies, twin formation, bands of distorted pearlite colonies, slip bands, and cross-slip bands. These microstructural changes were correlated with the relative energy of the smokeless powder fillers. The energy of the smokeless powder was reflected in a reduction in thickness of the pipe fragments (due to plastic strain prior to fracture) and an increase in microhardness. Moreover, within fragments from a single pipe, there was a radial variation in microhardness, with the microhardness at the outer wall being greater than that at the inner wall. These findings were consistent with the premise that, with the high energy fillers, extensive plastic deformation and wall thinning occurred prior to pipe fracture. Ultimately, the information collected from this investigation will be used to develop a database, where the fragment microstructure and microhardness will be correlated with type of explosive filler and bomb design. Some analyses, specifically wall thinning and microhardness, may aid in field characterization of explosive devices.

  4. Cryobiology of coral fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagedorn, Mary; Farrell, Ann; Carter, Virginia L

    2013-02-01

    Around the world, coral reefs are dying due to human influences, and saving habitat alone may not stop this destruction. This investigation focused on the biological processes that will provide the first steps in understanding the cryobiology of whole coral fragments. Coral fragments are a partnership of coral tissue and endosymbiotic algae, Symbiodinium sp., commonly called zooxanthellae. These data reflected their separate sensitivities to chilling and a cryoprotectant (dimethyl sulfoxide) for the coral Pocillopora damicornis, as measured by tissue loss and Pulse Amplitude Modulated fluorometry 3weeks post-treatment. Five cryoprotectant treatments maintained the viability of the coral tissue and zooxanthellae at control values (1M dimethyl sulfoxide at 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0h exposures, and 1.5M dimethyl sulfoxide at 1.0 and 1.5h exposures, P>0.05, ANOVA), whereas 2M concentrations did not (Pzooxanthellae. During the winter when the fragments were chilled, the coral tissue remained relatively intact (∼25% loss) post-treatment, but the zooxanthellae numbers in the tissue declined after 5min of chilling (Pzooxanthellae numbers declined in response to chilling alone (P0.05, ANOVA), but it did not protect against the loss of zooxanthellae (Pzooxanthellae are the most sensitive element in the coral fragment complex and future cryopreservation protocols must be guided by their greater sensitivity. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. MaRaCluster: A Fragment Rarity Metric for Clustering Fragment Spectra in Shotgun Proteomics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    The, Matthew; Käll, Lukas

    2016-03-04

    Shotgun proteomics experiments generate large amounts of fragment spectra as primary data, normally with high redundancy between and within experiments. Here, we have devised a clustering technique to identify fragment spectra stemming from the same species of peptide. This is a powerful alternative method to traditional search engines for analyzing spectra, specifically useful for larger scale mass spectrometry studies. As an aid in this process, we propose a distance calculation relying on the rarity of experimental fragment peaks, following the intuition that peaks shared by only a few spectra offer more evidence than peaks shared by a large number of spectra. We used this distance calculation and a complete-linkage scheme to cluster data from a recent large-scale mass spectrometry-based study. The clusterings produced by our method have up to 40% more identified peptides for their consensus spectra compared to those produced by the previous state-of-the-art method. We see that our method would advance the construction of spectral libraries as well as serve as a tool for mining large sets of fragment spectra. The source code and Ubuntu binary packages are available at https://github.com/statisticalbiotechnology/maracluster (under an Apache 2.0 license).

  6. Fragment approaches in structure-based drug discovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hubbard, Roderick E.

    2008-01-01

    Fragment-based methods are successfully generating novel and selective drug-like inhibitors of protein targets, with a number of groups reporting compounds entering clinical trials. This paper summarizes the key features of the approach as one of the tools in structure-guided drug discovery. There has been considerable interest recently in what is known as 'fragment-based lead discovery'. The novel feature of the approach is to begin with small low-affinity compounds. The main advantage is that a larger potential chemical diversity can be sampled with fewer compounds, which is particularly important for new target classes. The approach relies on careful design of the fragment library, a method that can detect binding of the fragment to the protein target, determination of the structure of the fragment bound to the target, and the conventional use of structural information to guide compound optimization. In this article the methods are reviewed, and experiences in fragment-based discovery of lead series of compounds against kinases such as PDK1 and ATPases such as Hsp90 are discussed. The examples illustrate some of the key benefits and issues of the approach and also provide anecdotal examples of the patterns seen in selectivity and the binding mode of fragments across different protein targets

  7. Fragmentation properties of 6Li

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lovas, R.G.; Kruppa, A.T.; Beck, R.; Dickmann, F.

    1987-01-01

    The α+d and t+τ cluster structure of 6 Li is described in a microscopic α+d cluster model through quantities that enter into the description of cluster fragmentation processes. The states of the separate clusters α, d, t and τ are described as superpositions of Os Slater determinants belonging to different potential size parameters. To describe both the 6 Li and fragment state realistically, nucleon-nucleon forces optimized for the used model state spaces were constructed. The fragmentation properties predicted by them slightly differ from those calculated with some forces of common use provided the latter are modified so as to reproduce the α, d and 6 Li energies. (author) 61 refs.; 9 figs

  8. Geometrical scaling of jet fragmentation photons

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hattori, Koichi, E-mail: koichi.hattori@riken.jp [RIKEN BNL Research Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton NY 11973 (United States); Theoretical Research Division, Nishina Center, RIKEN, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); McLerran, Larry, E-mail: mclerran@bnl.gov [RIKEN BNL Research Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton NY 11973 (United States); Physics Dept., Bdg. 510A, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY-11973 (United States); Physics Dept., China Central Normal University, Wuhan (China); Schenke, Björn, E-mail: bschenke@bnl.gov [Physics Dept., Bdg. 510A, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY-11973 (United States)

    2016-12-15

    We discuss jet fragmentation photons in ultrarelativistic heavy-ion collisions. We argue that, if the jet distribution satisfies geometrical scaling and an anisotropic spectrum, these properties are transferred to photons during the jet fragmentation.

  9. Bespoke Fragments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kruse Aagaard, Anders

    2017-01-01

    The PhD project Bespoke Fragments is investigating the space emerging in the exploration of the relationship between digital drawing and fabrication, and the field of materials and their properties and capacities. Through a series of different experiments, the project situates itself in a shuttli...

  10. Polymer fragmentation in extensional flow

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maroja, Armando M.; Oliveira, Fernando A.; Ciesla, Michal; Longa, Lech

    2001-06-01

    In this paper we present an analysis of fragmentation of dilute polymer solutions in extensional flow. The transition rate is investigated both from theoretical and computational approaches, where the existence of a Gaussian distribution for the breaking bonds has been controversial. We give as well an explanation for the low fragmentation frequency found in DNA experiments.

  11. Heavy-Quark Production in the Target Fragmentation Region

    CERN Document Server

    Graudenz, Dirk

    1997-01-01

    Fixed-target experiments permit the study of hadron production in the target fragmentation region. It is expected that the tagging of specific particles in the target fragments can be employed to introduce a bias in the hard scattering process towards a specific flavour content. The case of hadrons containing a heavy quark is particularly attractive because of the clear experimental signatures and the applicability of perturbative QCD. The standard approach to one-particle inclusive processes based on fragmentation functions is valid in the current fragmentation region and for large transverse momenta $p_T$ in the target fragmentation region, but it fails for particle production at small $p_T$ in the target fragmentation region. A collinear singularity, which cannot be absorbed in the standard way into the phenomenological distribution functions, prohibits the application of this procedure. This situation is remedied by the introduction of a new set of distribution functions, the target fragmentation function...

  12. Fragment Linking and Optimization of Inhibitors of the Aspartic Protease Endothiapepsin : Fragment-Based Drug Design Facilitated by Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mondal, Milon; Radeva, Nedyalka; Fanlo-Virgos, Hugo; Otto, Sijbren; Klebe, Gerhard; Hirsch, Anna K. H.

    2016-01-01

    Fragment-based drug design (FBDD) affords active compounds for biological targets. While there are numerous reports on FBDD by fragment growing/optimization, fragment linking has rarely been reported. Dynamic combinatorial chemistry (DCC) has become a powerful hit-identification strategy for

  13. Experimental modelling of fragmentation applied to volcanic explosions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haug, Øystein Thordén; Galland, Olivier; Gisler, Galen R.

    2013-12-01

    Explosions during volcanic eruptions cause fragmentation of magma and host rock, resulting in fragments with sizes ranging from boulders to fine ash. The products can be described by fragment size distributions (FSD), which commonly follow power laws with exponent D. The processes that lead to power-law distributions and the physical parameters that control D remain unknown. We developed a quantitative experimental procedure to study the physics of the fragmentation process through time. The apparatus consists of a Hele-Shaw cell containing a layer of cohesive silica flour that is fragmented by a rapid injection of pressurized air. The evolving fragmentation of the flour is monitored with a high-speed camera, and the images are analysed to obtain the evolution of the number of fragments (N), their average size (A), and the FSD. Using the results from our image-analysis procedure, we find transient empirical laws for N, A and the exponent D of the power-law FSD as functions of the initial air pressure. We show that our experimental procedure is a promising tool for unravelling the complex physics of fragmentation during phreatomagmatic and phreatic eruptions.

  14. Neighbouring charge fragmentations in low energy fission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montoya, M.

    1986-10-01

    Shell and odd-even effects in fission have been largely studied until now. The structure in fragment mass, charge and kinetic energy distributions of fragments were interpreted as shell and even-odd effects. In this paper, we want to show that the discret change of fragment charge symmetry should produce also structures in those distribution. 19 refs

  15. Aspect Ratio Dependence of Impact Fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inaoka, H.; Toyosawa, E.; Takayasu, H.; Inaoka, H.

    1997-01-01

    A numerical model of three-dimensional impact fragmentation produces a power-law cumulative fragment mass distribution followed by a flat tail. The result is consistent with an experimental result in a recent paper by Meibom and Balslev [Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 2492 (1996)]. Our numerical simulation also implies that the fragment mass distribution changes from a power law with a flat tail to a power law with a sudden cutoff, depending on the aspect ratio of the fractured object. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

  16. Fragment-assisted hit investigation involving integrated HTS and fragment screening: Application to the identification of phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varnes, Jeffrey G; Geschwindner, Stefan; Holmquist, Christopher R; Forst, Janet; Wang, Xia; Dekker, Niek; Scott, Clay W; Tian, Gaochao; Wood, Michael W; Albert, Jeffrey S

    2016-01-01

    Fragment-based drug design (FBDD) relies on direct elaboration of fragment hits and typically requires high resolution structural information to guide optimization. In fragment-assisted drug discovery (FADD), fragments provide information to guide selection and design but do not serve as starting points for elaboration. We describe FADD and high-throughput screening (HTS) campaign strategies conducted in parallel against PDE10A where fragment hit co-crystallography was not available. The fragment screen led to prioritized fragment hits (IC50's ∼500μM), which were used to generate a hypothetical core scaffold. Application of this scaffold as a filter to HTS output afforded a 4μM hit, which, after preparation of a small number of analogs, was elaborated into a 16nM lead. This approach highlights the strength of FADD, as fragment methods were applied despite the absence of co-crystallographical information to efficiently identify a lead compound for further optimization. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Gluon fragmentation in T(1S) decays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bienlein, J.K.

    1983-05-01

    In T(1S) decays most observables (sphericity, charged multiplicity, photonic energy fraction, inclusive spectra) can be understood assuming that gluons fragment like quarks. New results from LENA use the (axis-independent) Fox-Wolfram moments for the photonic energy deposition. Continuum reactions show 'standard' Field-Feynman fragmentation. T(1S) decays show a significant difference in the photonic energy topology. It is more isotropic than with the Field-Feynman fragmentation scheme. Gluon fragmentation into isoscalar mesons (a la Peterson and Walsh) is excluded. But if one forces the leading particle to be isoscalar, one gets good agreement with the data. (orig.)

  18. Fragmentation of Relativistic 56Fe Nuclei in Emulsion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chernov, G.M.; Gulamov, K.G.; Gulyamov, U.G.; Navotny, V.Sh.; Petrov, N.V.; Svechnikova, L.N.; Jakobsson, B.; Oskarsson, A.; Otterlund, I.

    1983-03-01

    Experimental data on general characteristics of projectile fragments in inelastic interactions of relativistic 56 Fe nuclei in emulsion (multiplicities, transverse momentum distributions, azimuthal correlations) are presented and discussed. A strong dependence on the mass number of the projectile nucleus is observed for the transverse momenta of the emitted projectile fragments. These fragments exhibit an azimuthal asymmetry caused by the transverse motion of the fragmenting residue, but it is shown that this motion can be responsible only for a part of the increase in the average transverse momentum of the fragments with increasing mass of the projectile. (author)

  19. Percutaneous transhepatic fragmentation of gall stones and extraction of fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guenther, R.; Klose, K.; Schmidt, H.D.; Staritz, M.; Mainz Univ.; Mainz Univ.

    1983-01-01

    Attempts at percutaneous removal have been made in 13 patients with solitary and multiple intra- and extra-hepatic biliary duct stones measuring 5 to 30 mm. The stones were fragmented with a Dormia basket and the fragments removed transhepatically. In ten patients the procedure was successful, including one patient with multiple intra-hepatic stones. The procedure can be recommended for cases of calculous obstruction of biliary anastomoses or of stones which could not be removed by endoscopy, or where there is already biliary drainage being carried out, or in patients with a high opertive risk. In two patients, dilatation of the papilla was also carried out, in four patients a stenosis was dilated and in a further two patients, electro-incision of a stenosis was performed. (orig.) [de

  20. The role of fragmentation mechanism in large-scale vapor explosions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Jie

    2003-01-01

    A non-equilibrium, multi-phase, multi-component code PROVER-I is developed for propagation phase of vapor explosion. Two fragmentation models are used. The hydrodynamic fragmentation model is the same as Fletcher's one. A new thermal fragmentation model is proposed with three kinds of time scale for modeling instant fragmentation, spontaneous nucleation fragmentation and normal boiling fragmentation. The role of fragmentation mechanisms is investigated by the simulations of the pressure wave propagation and energy conversion ratio of ex-vessel vapor explosion. The spontaneous nucleation fragmentation results in a much higher pressure peak and a larger energy conversion ratio than hydrodynamic fragmentation. The instant fragmentation gives a slightly larger energy conversion ratio than spontaneous nucleation fragmentation, and the normal boiling fragmentation results in a smaller energy conversion ratio. The detailed analysis of the structure of pressure wave makes it clear that thermal detonation exists only under the thermal fragmentation circumstance. The high energy conversion ratio is obtained in a small vapor volume fraction. However, in larger vapor volume fraction conditions, the vapor explosion is weak. In a large-scale vapor explosion, the hydrodynamic fragmentation is essential when the pressure wave becomes strong, so a small energy conversion ratio is expected. (author)

  1. Memory effects in nuclear fragmentation?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colonna, M.; Di Toro, M.; Guarnera, A.

    1994-01-01

    A general procedure to identify instability regions which lead to multifragmentation events is presented. The dominant mode at the instability point is determined from the knowledge of the mean properties (density and temperature) of the system at that point. For spinodal instabilities the dependence of fragment structures on the dynamical conditions is studied changing the beam energy and the considered equation of state. An important competition between two dynamical effects, expansion of the system and growth of fluctuations, is revealed. It is shown that in heavy-ion central collisions at medium energies memory effects of the configuration formed at the instability time could be observed in the final fragmentation pattern. Some hints towards a fully dynamical picture of fragmentation processes are finally suggested. ((orig.))

  2. Origin of fragments in multifragmentation reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zbiri, K.; Aichelin, J.

    2003-01-01

    Using the quantum molecular dynamics approach we have started analyzing the results of the recent INDRA experiments at GSI facilities. For the first time we could identify a midrapidity source in which fragments are formed from an almost identical fraction of projectile and target nucleons. In smaller systems we have found this source. Nevertheless the fragment spectra at small and large angles is completely determined by the dynamics. We discuss how fragments are formed in the different regions of phase space and what they tell us about the reaction mechanism. (authors)

  3. Gluon fragmentation into 3 PJ quarkonium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma, J.P.

    1995-01-01

    The functions of the gluon fragmentation into 3 P j quarkonium are calculated to order α 2 s . With the recent progress in analysing quarkonium systems in QCD it is possible show how the so called divergence in the limit of the zero-binding energy, which is related to P-wave quarkonia, is treated correctly in the case of fragmentation functions. The obtained fragmentation functions satisfy explicitly at the order of α 2 s the Altarelli-Parisi equation and when z → 0 they behave as z -1 as expected. 19 refs., 7 figs

  4. Origin of fragments in multifragmentation reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zbiri, K.; Aichelin, J.

    2005-01-01

    Using the quantum molecular dynamics approach we have started to analyze the results of the recent INDRA experiments at GSI experiments. For the first time we could identify a midrapidity source in which fragments are formed from a almost identical fraction of projectile and target nucleons. In smaller systems we have not found this source. Nevertheless the fragment spectra at small and large angles are completely determined by the dynamics. We discuss how fragments are formed in the different regions of phase space and what they tell us about the reaction mechanism. (author)

  5. Fuel fragmentation data review and separate effects testing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yueh, Ken. H.; Snis, N.; Mitchell, D.; Munoz-Reja, C.

    2014-01-01

    A simple alternative test has been developed to study the fuel fragmentation process at loss of coolant accident (LOCA) temperatures. The new test heats a short section of fuel, approximately two pellets worth of material, in a tube furnace open to air. An axial slit is cut in the test sample cladding to reduce radial restraint and to simulate ballooned condition. The tube furnace allows the fuel fragmentation process be observed during the experiment. The test was developed as a simple alternative so large number of tests could be conducted quickly and efficiently to identify key variables that influence fuel fragmentation and to zeroing on the fuel fragmentation burn-up threshold. Several tests were conducted, using fuel materials from fuel rods that were used in earlier integral tests to benchmark and validate the test technique. High burn-up fuel materials known to be above the fragmentation threshold was used to evaluate the fragmentation process as a function of temperature. Even with an axial slit and both ends open, no significant fuel detachment/release was detected until above 750°C. Additional tests were conducted with fuel materials at burn-ups closer to the fuel fragmentation burn-up threshold. Results from these tests indicate a minor power history effect on the fuel fragmentation burn-up threshold. An evaluation of available literature and data generated from this work suggest a fuel fragmentation burn-up threshold between 70 and 75 GWd/MTU. (author)

  6. High-throughput fragment screening by affinity LC-MS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duong-Thi, Minh-Dao; Bergström, Maria; Fex, Tomas; Isaksson, Roland; Ohlson, Sten

    2013-02-01

    Fragment screening, an emerging approach for hit finding in drug discovery, has recently been proven effective by its first approved drug, vemurafenib, for cancer treatment. Techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance, surface plasmon resonance, and isothemal titration calorimetry, with their own pros and cons, have been employed for screening fragment libraries. As an alternative approach, screening based on high-performance liquid chromatography separation has been developed. In this work, we present weak affinity LC/MS as a method to screen fragments under high-throughput conditions. Affinity-based capillary columns with immobilized thrombin were used to screen a collection of 590 compounds from a fragment library. The collection was divided into 11 mixtures (each containing 35 to 65 fragments) and screened by MS detection. The primary screening was performed in 3500 fragments per day). Thirty hits were defined, which subsequently entered a secondary screening using an active site-blocked thrombin column for confirmation of specificity. One hit showed selective binding to thrombin with an estimated dissociation constant (K (D)) in the 0.1 mM range. This study shows that affinity LC/MS is characterized by high throughput, ease of operation, and low consumption of target and fragments, and therefore it promises to be a valuable method for fragment screening.

  7. Biological effectiveness of high-energy protons - Target fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cucinotta, F.A.; Katz, R.; Wilson, J.W.; Townsend, L.W.; Shinn, J.; Hajnal, F.

    1991-01-01

    High-energy protons traversing tissue produce local sources of high-linear-energy-transfer ions through nuclear fragmentation. The contribution of these target fragments to the biological effectiveness of high-energy protons using the cellular track model is examined. The effects of secondary ions are treated in terms of the production collision density using energy-dependent parameters from a high-energy fragmentation model. Calculations for mammalian cell cultures show that at high dose, at which intertrack effects become important, protons deliver damage similar to that produced by gamma rays, and with fragmentation the relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of protons increases moderately from unity. At low dose, where sublethal damage is unimportant, the contribution from target fragments dominates, causing the proton effectiveness to be very different from that of gamma rays with a strongly fluence-dependent RBE. At high energies, the nuclear fragmentation cross sections become independent of energy. This leads to a plateau in the proton single-particle-action cross section, below 1 keV/micron, since the target fragments dominate. 29 refs

  8. Bootstrap embedding: An internally consistent fragment-based method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Welborn, Matthew; Tsuchimochi, Takashi; Van Voorhis, Troy [Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

    2016-08-21

    Strong correlation poses a difficult problem for electronic structure theory, with computational cost scaling quickly with system size. Fragment embedding is an attractive approach to this problem. By dividing a large complicated system into smaller manageable fragments “embedded” in an approximate description of the rest of the system, we can hope to ameliorate the steep cost of correlated calculations. While appealing, these methods often converge slowly with fragment size because of small errors at the boundary between fragment and bath. We describe a new electronic embedding method, dubbed “Bootstrap Embedding,” a self-consistent wavefunction-in-wavefunction embedding theory that uses overlapping fragments to improve the description of fragment edges. We apply this method to the one dimensional Hubbard model and a translationally asymmetric variant, and find that it performs very well for energies and populations. We find Bootstrap Embedding converges rapidly with embedded fragment size, overcoming the surface-area-to-volume-ratio error typical of many embedding methods. We anticipate that this method may lead to a low-scaling, high accuracy treatment of electron correlation in large molecular systems.

  9. Fragmentation of molten core material by sodium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chu, T.Y.

    1982-01-01

    A series of scoping experiments was performed to study the fragmentation of prototypic high temperature melts in sodium. The quantity of melt involved was at least one order of magnitude larger than previous experiments. Two modes of contact were used: melt streaming into sodium and sodium into melt. The average bulk fragment size distribution was found to be in the range of previous data and the average size distribution was found to be insensitive to mode of contact. SEM studies showed that the metal component typically fragmented in the molten phase while the oxide component fragmented in the solid phase. For UO 2 -ZrO 2 /stainless steel melts no sigificant spatial separation of the metal and oxide was observed. The fragment size distribution was stratified vertically in the debris bed in all cases. While the bulk fragment size showed generally consistent trends, the individual experiments were sufficiently different to cause different degrees of stratification in the debris bed. For the highly stratified beds the permeability can decrease by as much as a factor of 20 from the bottom to the top of the bed

  10. Quark fragmentation functions in NJL-jet model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bentz, Wolfgang; Matevosyan, Hrayr; Thomas, Anthony

    2014-09-01

    We report on our studies of quark fragmentation functions in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) - jet model. The results of Monte-Carlo simulations for the fragmentation functions to mesons and nucleons, as well as to pion and kaon pairs (dihadron fragmentation functions) are presented. The important role of intermediate vector meson resonances for those semi-inclusive deep inelastic production processes is emphasized. Our studies are very relevant for the extraction of transverse momentum dependent quark distribution functions from measured scattering cross sections. We report on our studies of quark fragmentation functions in the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) - jet model. The results of Monte-Carlo simulations for the fragmentation functions to mesons and nucleons, as well as to pion and kaon pairs (dihadron fragmentation functions) are presented. The important role of intermediate vector meson resonances for those semi-inclusive deep inelastic production processes is emphasized. Our studies are very relevant for the extraction of transverse momentum dependent quark distribution functions from measured scattering cross sections. Supported by Grant in Aid for Scientific Research, Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Project No. 20168769.

  11. Fragment-based drug discovery using rational design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jhoti, H

    2007-01-01

    Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) is established as an alternative approach to high-throughput screening for generating novel small molecule drug candidates. In FBDD, relatively small libraries of low molecular weight compounds (or fragments) are screened using sensitive biophysical techniques to detect their binding to the target protein. A lower absolute affinity of binding is expected from fragments, compared to much higher molecular weight hits detected by high-throughput screening, due to their reduced size and complexity. Through the use of iterative cycles of medicinal chemistry, ideally guided by three-dimensional structural data, it is often then relatively straightforward to optimize these weak binding fragment hits into potent and selective lead compounds. As with most other lead discovery methods there are two key components of FBDD; the detection technology and the compound library. In this review I outline the two main approaches used for detecting the binding of low affinity fragments and also some of the key principles that are used to generate a fragment library. In addition, I describe an example of how FBDD has led to the generation of a drug candidate that is now being tested in clinical trials for the treatment of cancer.

  12. Critical Features of Fragment Libraries for Protein Structure Prediction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trevizani, Raphael; Custódio, Fábio Lima; Dos Santos, Karina Baptista; Dardenne, Laurent Emmanuel

    2017-01-01

    The use of fragment libraries is a popular approach among protein structure prediction methods and has proven to substantially improve the quality of predicted structures. However, some vital aspects of a fragment library that influence the accuracy of modeling a native structure remain to be determined. This study investigates some of these features. Particularly, we analyze the effect of using secondary structure prediction guiding fragments selection, different fragments sizes and the effect of structural clustering of fragments within libraries. To have a clearer view of how these factors affect protein structure prediction, we isolated the process of model building by fragment assembly from some common limitations associated with prediction methods, e.g., imprecise energy functions and optimization algorithms, by employing an exact structure-based objective function under a greedy algorithm. Our results indicate that shorter fragments reproduce the native structure more accurately than the longer. Libraries composed of multiple fragment lengths generate even better structures, where longer fragments show to be more useful at the beginning of the simulations. The use of many different fragment sizes shows little improvement when compared to predictions carried out with libraries that comprise only three different fragment sizes. Models obtained from libraries built using only sequence similarity are, on average, better than those built with a secondary structure prediction bias. However, we found that the use of secondary structure prediction allows greater reduction of the search space, which is invaluable for prediction methods. The results of this study can be critical guidelines for the use of fragment libraries in protein structure prediction.

  13. Developments in SPR Fragment Screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chavanieu, Alain; Pugnière, Martine

    2016-01-01

    Fragment-based approaches have played an increasing role alongside high-throughput screening in drug discovery for 15 years. The label-free biosensor technology based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is now sensitive and informative enough to serve during primary screens and validation steps. In this review, the authors discuss the role of SPR in fragment screening. After a brief description of the underlying principles of the technique and main device developments, they evaluate the advantages and adaptations of SPR for fragment-based drug discovery. SPR can also be applied to challenging targets such as membrane receptors and enzymes. The high-level of immobilization of the protein target and its stability are key points for a relevant screening that can be optimized using oriented immobilized proteins and regenerable sensors. Furthermore, to decrease the rate of false negatives, a selectivity test may be performed in parallel on the main target bearing the binding site mutated or blocked with a low-off-rate ligand. Fragment-based drug design, integrated in a rational workflow led by SPR, will thus have a predominant role for the next wave of drug discovery which could be greatly enhanced by new improvements in SPR devices.

  14. Rockfall failure mechanisms in Yosemite Valley, California (USA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matasci, Battista; Guerin, Antoine; Carrea, Dario; Stock, Greg M.; Jaboyedoff, Michel; Collins, Brian

    2014-05-01

    Rockfall hazard is especially high in Yosemite Valley, with tens of rockfalls inventoried every year. A rockfall on 5 October 2013 from Ahwiyah Point consisted of a volume of 740 cubic meters and occurred within the perimeter of a larger event on 28 March 2009 that released 25'400 cubic meters of rock (Zimmer et al., 2012). In both events (2009 and 2013), the initial rockfall volumes dislodged a second one approximately equivalent in size by impacting the cliff below the source area during the fall. Rock fragments of up to several cubic meters were deposited on the talus slope, damaging a heavily used and recently reconstructed hiking path. We performed extensive mapping of structural features for several cliffs of Yosemite Valley to improve the assessment of the most susceptible rockfall areas. In particular we mapped and characterized the main brittle structures, the exfoliation joints and the failure mechanisms of the past rockfalls. Several failure mechanisms exist in Yosemite including the propagation of brittle structures that may lead to tensile, planar sliding, wedge sliding or toppling failures. Frequently, topographically-parallel exfoliation joints and topographically-oblique discontinuities coexist, resulting in complex failures. We also developed a methodology to examine how the distribution of joints within the cliff faces of Yosemite Valley affects overall stability with respect to the identified failure mechanisms. For these analyses, we used terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) to collect high resolution point clouds of the vertical and overhanging rock faces throughout the Valley. This provided the necessary 3D data to identify the main joint sets, perform spacing and trace length measurements, and calculate volumes of previous and potential rockfalls. We integrated this information with stability calculations to identify the likely failure mechanisms for each area of cliff and to obtain the number of potential failures per square meter of cliff face

  15. The VERDI fission fragment spectrometer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frégeau M.O.

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The VERDI time-of-flight spectrometer is dedicated to measurements of fission product yields and of prompt neutron emission data. Pre-neutron fission-fragment masses will be determined by the double time-of-flight (TOF technique. For this purpose an excellent time resolution is required. The time of flight of the fragments will be measured by electrostatic mirrors located near the target and the time signal coming from silicon detectors located at 50 cm on both sides of the target. This configuration, where the stop detector will provide us simultaneously with the kinetic energy of the fragment and timing information, significantly limits energy straggling in comparison to legacy experimental setup where a thin foil was usually used as a stop detector. In order to improve timing resolution, neutron transmutation doped silicon will be used. The high resistivity homogeneity of this material should significantly improve resolution in comparison to standard silicon detectors. Post-neutron fission fragment masses are obtained form the time-of-flight and the energy signal in the silicon detector. As an intermediary step a diamond detector will also be used as start detector located very close to the target. Previous tests have shown that poly-crystalline chemical vapour deposition (pCVD diamonds provides a coincidence time resolution of 150 ps not allowing complete separation between very low-energy fission fragments, alpha particles and noise. New results from using artificial single-crystal diamonds (sCVD show similar time resolution as from pCVD diamonds but also sufficiently good energy resolution.

  16. A linear relationship between crystal size and fragment binding time observed crystallographically: implications for fragment library screening using acoustic droplet ejection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krystal Cole

    Full Text Available High throughput screening technologies such as acoustic droplet ejection (ADE greatly increase the rate at which X-ray diffraction data can be acquired from crystals. One promising high throughput screening application of ADE is to rapidly combine protein crystals with fragment libraries. In this approach, each fragment soaks into a protein crystal either directly on data collection media or on a moving conveyor belt which then delivers the crystals to the X-ray beam. By simultaneously handling multiple crystals combined with fragment specimens, these techniques relax the automounter duty-cycle bottleneck that currently prevents optimal exploitation of third generation synchrotrons. Two factors limit the speed and scope of projects that are suitable for fragment screening using techniques such as ADE. Firstly, in applications where the high throughput screening apparatus is located inside the X-ray station (such as the conveyor belt system described above, the speed of data acquisition is limited by the time required for each fragment to soak into its protein crystal. Secondly, in applications where crystals are combined with fragments directly on data acquisition media (including both of the ADE methods described above, the maximum time that fragments have to soak into crystals is limited by evaporative dehydration of the protein crystals during the fragment soak. Here we demonstrate that both of these problems can be minimized by using small crystals, because the soak time required for a fragment hit to attain high occupancy depends approximately linearly on crystal size.

  17. An Enumerative Combinatorics Model for Fragmentation Patterns in RNA Sequencing Provides Insights into Nonuniformity of the Expected Fragment Starting-Point and Coverage Profile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prakash, Celine; Haeseler, Arndt Von

    2017-03-01

    RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has emerged as the method of choice for measuring the expression of RNAs in a given cell population. In most RNA-seq technologies, sequencing the full length of RNA molecules requires fragmentation into smaller pieces. Unfortunately, the issue of nonuniform sequencing coverage across a genomic feature has been a concern in RNA-seq and is attributed to biases for certain fragments in RNA-seq library preparation and sequencing. To investigate the expected coverage obtained from fragmentation, we develop a simple fragmentation model that is independent of bias from the experimental method and is not specific to the transcript sequence. Essentially, we enumerate all configurations for maximal placement of a given fragment length, F, on transcript length, T, to represent every possible fragmentation pattern, from which we compute the expected coverage profile across a transcript. We extend this model to incorporate general empirical attributes such as read length, fragment length distribution, and number of molecules of the transcript. We further introduce the fragment starting-point, fragment coverage, and read coverage profiles. We find that the expected profiles are not uniform and that factors such as fragment length to transcript length ratio, read length to fragment length ratio, fragment length distribution, and number of molecules influence the variability of coverage across a transcript. Finally, we explore a potential application of the model where, with simulations, we show that it is possible to correctly estimate the transcript copy number for any transcript in the RNA-seq experiment.

  18. Effective Fragmentation and Flyrock Control Strategies at Quarries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sedat Esen

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the effective fragmentation and flyrock control strategies that could be applied at quarries to improve the productivity and safety. Fragmentation measurement and modelling as well as a comprehensive drill and blast audit are essential for improving the fragmentation. Face profiling and bore tracking are good tools to manage the ―as-designed‖ and ―as-drilled‖ conditions to get reasonable fragmentation from face burden zone and minimise the flyrock risk. In general, a large scatter in fragmentation data was observed at sites and the causes should be analysed by a detailed root-cause analysis technique. Two case studies were presented in this paper showing some of the effective fragmentation strategies. Finally, a flyrock model was shown to determine the safe blast exclusion zone for the mining equipment and personnel. Some key guidelines were suggested to minimise the occurrence of the flyrock.

  19. Release and characteristics of fungal fragments in various conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mensah-Attipoe, Jacob [Department of Environmental Science, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1D, P. O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio (Finland); Saari, Sampo [Department of Physics, Tampere University of Technology, Korkeakoulunkatu 3, 33720 Tampere (Finland); Veijalainen, Anna-Maria; Pasanen, Pertti [Department of Environmental Science, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1D, P. O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio (Finland); Keskinen, Jorma [Department of Physics, Tampere University of Technology, Korkeakoulunkatu 3, 33720 Tampere (Finland); Leskinen, Jari T.T. [SIB Labs, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1E, P. O. Box 1627, FI-70211, Kuopio (Finland); Reponen, Tiina, E-mail: reponeta@ucmail.uc.edu [Department of Environmental Science, University of Eastern Finland, Yliopistonranta 1D, P. O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio (Finland); Department of Environmental Health, University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box 670056, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0056 (United States)

    2016-03-15

    Intact spores and submicrometer size fragments are released from moldy building materials during growth and sporulation. It is unclear whether all fragments originate from fungal growth or if small pieces of building materials are also aerosolized as a result of microbial decomposition. In addition, particles may be formed through nucleation from secondary metabolites of fungi, such as microbial volatile organic compounds (MVOCs). In this study, we used the elemental composition of particles to characterize the origin of submicrometer fragments released from materials contaminated by fungi. Particles from three fungal species (Aspergillus versicolor, Cladosporium cladosporioides and Penicillium brevicompactum), grown on agar, wood and gypsum board were aerosolized using the Fungal Spore Source Strength Tester (FSSST) at three air velocities (5, 16 and 27 m/s). Released spores (optical size, d{sub p} ≥ 0.8 μm) and fragments (d{sub p} ≤ 0.8 μm) were counted using direct-reading optical aerosol instruments. Particles were also collected on filters, and their morphology and elemental composition analyzed using scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) coupled with an Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). Among the studied factors, air velocity resulted in the most consistent trends in the release of fungal particles. Total concentrations of both fragments and spores increased with an increase in air velocity for all species whereas fragment–spore (F/S) ratios decreased. EDX analysis showed common elements, such as C, O, Mg and Ca, for blank material samples and fungal growth. However, N and P were exclusive to the fungal growth, and therefore were used to differentiate biological fragments from non-biological ones. Our results indicated that majority of fragments contained N and P. Because we observed increased release of fragments with increased air velocities, nucleation of MVOCs was likely not a relevant process in the formation of fungal fragments. Based

  20. Graph Theory. 1. Fragmentation of Structural Graphs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorentz JÄNTSCHI

    2002-12-01

    Full Text Available The investigation of structural graphs has many fields of applications in engineering, especially in applied sciences like as applied chemistry and physics, computer sciences and automation, electronics and telecommunication. The main subject of the paper is to express fragmentation criteria in graph using a new method of investigation: terminal paths. Using terminal paths are defined most of the fragmentation criteria that are in use in molecular topology, but the fields of applications are more generally than that, as I mentioned before. Graphical examples of fragmentation are given for every fragmentation criteria. Note that all fragmentation is made with a computer program that implements a routine for every criterion.[1] A web routine for tracing all terminal paths in graph can be found at the address: http://vl.academicdirect.ro/molecular_topology/tpaths/ [1] M. V. Diudea, I. Gutman, L. Jäntschi, Molecular Topology, Nova Science, Commack, New York, 2001, 2002.

  1. Route to three-dimensional fragments using diversity-oriented synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Alvin W; Ramek, Alex; Wang, Yikai; Kaya, Taner; Wilson, J Anthony; Clemons, Paul A; Young, Damian W

    2011-04-26

    Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) has proven to be an effective means of producing high-quality chemical ligands as starting points for drug-discovery pursuits. The increasing number of clinical candidate drugs developed using FBDD approaches is a testament of the efficacy of this approach. The success of fragment-based methods is highly dependent on the identity of the fragment library used for screening. The vast majority of FBDD has centered on the use of sp(2)-rich aromatic compounds. An expanded set of fragments that possess more 3D character would provide access to a larger chemical space of fragments than those currently used. Diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) aims to efficiently generate a set of molecules diverse in skeletal and stereochemical properties. Molecules derived from DOS have also displayed significant success in the modulation of function of various "difficult" targets. Herein, we describe the application of DOS toward the construction of a unique set of fragments containing highly sp(3)-rich skeletons for fragment-based screening. Using cheminformatic analysis, we quantified the shapes and physical properties of the new 3D fragments and compared them with a database containing known fragment-like molecules.

  2. Fragment-based discovery of a potent NAMPT inhibitor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korepanova, Alla; Longenecker, Kenton L; Pratt, Steve D; Panchal, Sanjay C; Clark, Richard F; Lake, Marc; Gopalakrishnan, Sujatha M; Raich, Diana; Sun, Chaohong; Petros, Andrew M

    2017-12-12

    NAMPT expression is elevated in many cancers, making this protein a potential target for anticancer therapy. We have carried out both NMR based and TR-FRET based fragment screens against human NAMPT and identified six novel binders with a range of potencies. Co-crystal structures were obtained for two of the fragments bound to NAMPT while for the other four fragments force-field driven docking was employed to generate a bound pose. Based on structural insights arising from comparison of the bound fragment poses to that of bound FK866 we were able to synthetically elaborate one of the fragments into a potent NAMPT inhibitor. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Light fragment formation at intermediate energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boal, D.H.

    1982-03-01

    This paper concerns itself mainly with the production of energetic protons and light fragments at wide angles. The experiments point to nucleon emission in proton-induced reactions as involving a mechanism in which the observed nucleon is directly knocked out of the nucleus. A similar feature seems to be required to explain (p,F) and (e,F) reactions: an energetic nucleon is produced in one scattering of the projectile, and the struck nucleon subsequently loses some of its energy as it traverses the remaining part of the nucleus, gathering up other nucleons as it goes, to become a fragment. This is what one might call the extreme snowball model, and a more accurate description probably involves multiple scattering of the projectile in addition to the extreme snowball contribution. This will be particularly true for fragments in the mass 6 to 9 region. This scenario also appears to apply to deuteron-induced fragment production. However, for alpha-induced reactions it would appear that the nucleons forming a fragment can originate from collisions involving different incident nucleons in the projectile. For heavy ions, this effect is even stronger, and the snowball contribution is greatly reduced compared to that of the traditional coalescence model

  4. Measuring the temperature of hot nuclear fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wuenschel, S.; Bonasera, A.; May, L.W.; Souliotis, G.A.; Tripathi, R.; Galanopoulos, S.; Kohley, Z.; Hagel, K.; Shetty, D.V.; Huseman, K.; Soisson, S.N.; Stein, B.C.; Yennello, S.J.

    2010-01-01

    A new thermometer based on fragment momentum fluctuations is presented. This thermometer exhibited residual contamination from the collective motion of the fragments along the beam axis. For this reason, the transverse direction has been explored. Additionally, a mass dependence was observed for this thermometer. This mass dependence may be the result of the Fermi momentum of nucleons or the different properties of the fragments (binding energy, spin, etc.) which might be more sensitive to different densities and temperatures of the exploding fragments. We expect some of these aspects to be smaller for protons (and/or neutrons); consequently, the proton transverse momentum fluctuations were used to investigate the temperature dependence of the source.

  5. QGP and Modified Jet Fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Xin-Nian

    2005-01-01

    Recent progresses in the study of jet modification in hotmedium and their consequences in high-energy heavy-ion collisions are reviewed. In particular, I will discuss energy loss for propagating heavy quarks and the resulting modified fragmentation function. Medium modification of the parton fragmentation function due to quark recombination are formulated within finite temperature field theory and their implication on the search for deconfined quark-gluon plasma is also discussed

  6. Fragment Linking and Optimization of Inhibitors of the Aspartic Protease Endothiapepsin: Fragment-Based Drug Design Facilitated by Dynamic Combinatorial Chemistry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mondal, Milon; Radeva, Nedyalka; Fanlo-Virgós, Hugo; Otto, Sijbren; Klebe, Gerhard; Hirsch, Anna K H

    2016-08-01

    Fragment-based drug design (FBDD) affords active compounds for biological targets. While there are numerous reports on FBDD by fragment growing/optimization, fragment linking has rarely been reported. Dynamic combinatorial chemistry (DCC) has become a powerful hit-identification strategy for biological targets. We report the synergistic combination of fragment linking and DCC to identify inhibitors of the aspartic protease endothiapepsin. Based on X-ray crystal structures of endothiapepsin in complex with fragments, we designed a library of bis-acylhydrazones and used DCC to identify potent inhibitors. The most potent inhibitor exhibits an IC50 value of 54 nm, which represents a 240-fold improvement in potency compared to the parent hits. Subsequent X-ray crystallography validated the predicted binding mode, thus demonstrating the efficiency of the combination of fragment linking and DCC as a hit-identification strategy. This approach could be applied to a range of biological targets, and holds the potential to facilitate hit-to-lead optimization. © 2016 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

  7. Fragmentation of dimethyl ether in femtosecond intense field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Jingyi; Guo, Wei; Wang, Yanqiu; Wang, Li

    2006-08-01

    The fragmentation of dimethyl ether (DME) in intense femtosecond laser field has been studied at 810, 405 and 270 nm with intensities up to 2.48 × 10 15, 3.86 × 10 15 and 1.62 × 10 14 W/cm 2, respectively. At 405 nm, DME is possibly firstly ionized by multiphoton absorption, and then parent ion DME + dissociates into fragments via filed-induced dissociation. For 810 and 270 nm laser fields, DME firstly dissociates into CH 3O and CH 3 fragments and then these neutral fragments are ionized by field tunneling. Another possible way for DME to dissociate at 810 and 270 nm is that DME is ionized by intense field ejection of inner valance electron and then the excited DME + dissociates into fragment ions. Ultrafast rearrangement of DME or DME + in intense field may be responsible to the unpredictable fragment ions, CHO+/C2H5+andH2+.

  8. Fragments of Time

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christiansen, Steen Ledet

    Time travel films necessarily fragment linear narratives, as scenes are revisited with differences from the first time we saw it. Popular films such as Back to the Future mine comedy from these visitations, but there are many different approaches. One extreme is Chris Marker's La Jetée - a film...... made almost completely of still images, recounting the end of the world. These stills can be viewed as fragments that have survived the end of the world and now provide the only access to the events that occured. Shane Carruth's Primer has a different approach to time travel, the narrative diegesis...... that is presented; how do we understand such films and to what extent is it even possible to make sense of a film that has no real beginning, middle or end?...

  9. Identifying Interactions that Determine Fragment Binding at Protein Hotspots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radoux, Chris J; Olsson, Tjelvar S G; Pitt, Will R; Groom, Colin R; Blundell, Tom L

    2016-05-12

    Locating a ligand-binding site is an important first step in structure-guided drug discovery, but current methods do little to suggest which interactions within a pocket are the most important for binding. Here we illustrate a method that samples atomic hotspots with simple molecular probes to produce fragment hotspot maps. These maps specifically highlight fragment-binding sites and their corresponding pharmacophores. For ligand-bound structures, they provide an intuitive visual guide within the binding site, directing medicinal chemists where to grow the molecule and alerting them to suboptimal interactions within the original hit. The fragment hotspot map calculation is validated using experimental binding positions of 21 fragments and subsequent lead molecules. The ligands are found in high scoring areas of the fragment hotspot maps, with fragment atoms having a median percentage rank of 97%. Protein kinase B and pantothenate synthetase are examined in detail. In each case, the fragment hotspot maps are able to rationalize a Free-Wilson analysis of SAR data from a fragment-based drug design project.

  10. Tooth fragment reattachment techniques-A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Fernanda Cristina P; Poubel, Déborah L N; Almeida, Júlio César F; Toledo, Isabela P; Poi, Wilson R; Guerra, Eliete N S; Rezende, Liliana V M L

    2018-03-07

    Several strategies have been developed for tooth fragment reattachment following fracture. Although many techniques have been reported, there is no consensus on which one has the best results in terms of the bond strength between the fragment and the dentin over time. The aim of this study was to assess the currently reported tooth fragment reattachment techniques for fractured crowns of anterior teeth. The PubMed, LILACS, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Scopus databases were searched in October 2016, and the search was updated in February 2017. A search of the gray literature was performed in Google Scholar and OpenGrey. Reference lists of eligible studies were cross-checked to identify additional studies; gray literature and ongoing trials were investigated. Two authors assessed studies to determine inclusion and undertook data extraction. Case reports/series of three or more cases, cross-sectional studies, cohort studies, and in vivo clinical trials in all languages were included. Five articles remained after screening. These studies predominantly reported on fragment reattachment with composite resin and resin cement. There was little consistency among the studies in regard to the technique used for tooth fragment reattachment and length of the follow-up period. According to the evidence found in the studies included in this review, simple tooth fragment reattachment was the preferred reattachment technique. An increase in the bond strength between tooth fragment and dentin was observed when an intermediate material was used. Further investigation is needed, using standard follow-up periods and larger samples. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Fragmentation Main Model

    Data.gov (United States)

    Earth Data Analysis Center, University of New Mexico — The fragmentation model combines patch size and patch continuity with diversity of vegetation types per patch and rarity of vegetation types per patch. A patch was...

  12. Habitat Fragmentation and Native Bees: a Premature Verdict?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James H. Cane

    2001-06-01

    Full Text Available Few studies directly address the consequences of habitat fragmentation for communities of pollinating insects, particularly for the key pollinator group, bees (Hymenoptera: Apiformes. Bees typically live in habitats where nesting substrates and bloom are patchily distributed and spatially dissociated. Bee studies have all defined habitat fragments as remnant patches of floral hosts or forests, overlooking the nesting needs of bees. Several authors conclude that habitat fragmentation is broadly deleterious, but their own data show that some native species proliferate in sampled fragments. Other studies report greater densities and comparable diversities of native bees at flowers in some fragment size classes relative to undisrupted habitats, but find dramatic shifts in species composition. Insightful studies of habitat fragmentation and bees will consider fragmentation, alteration, and loss of nesting habitats, not just patches of forage plants, as well as the permeability of the surrounding matrix to interpatch movement. Inasmuch as the floral associations and nesting habits of bees are often attributes of species or subgenera, ecological interpretations hinge on authoritative identifications. Study designs must accommodate statistical problems associated with bee community samples, especially non-normal data and frequent zero values. The spatial scale of fragmentation must be appreciated: bees of medium body size can regularly fly 1-2 km from nest site to forage patch. Overall, evidence for prolonged persistence of substantial diversity and abundances of native bee communities in habitat fragments of modest size promises practical solutions for maintaining bee populations. Provided that reserve selection, design, and management can address the foraging and nesting needs of bees, networks of even small reserves may hold hope for sustaining considerable pollinator diversity and the ecological services pollinators provide.

  13. Fragmentation Point Detection of JPEG Images at DHT Using Validator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohamad, Kamaruddin Malik; Deris, Mustafa Mat

    File carving is an important, practical technique for data recovery in digital forensics investigation and is particularly useful when filesystem metadata is unavailable or damaged. The research on reassembly of JPEG files with RST markers, fragmented within the scan area have been done before. However, fragmentation within Define Huffman Table (DHT) segment is yet to be resolved. This paper analyzes the fragmentation within the DHT area and list out all the fragmentation possibilities. Two main contributions are made in this paper. Firstly, three fragmentation points within DHT area are listed. Secondly, few novel validators are proposed to detect these fragmentations. The result obtained from tests done on manually fragmented JPEG files, showed that all three fragmentation points within DHT are successfully detected using validators.

  14. Dynamical effects in the Colomb expansion following nuclear fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, K.C.; Donangelo, R.J.; Schechter, H.

    1987-01-01

    The effects of the Colomb expansion on the fragment Kinetic energy spectrum for a fragmentating hot nuclear system is investigated. In particular, 12 C fragment spectra are calculated and compared with those predicted by the uniform expansion approximation. The results indicate that energy spectra of fragments are quite sensitive to the details of the Coulomb expansion treatment. (Author) [pt

  15. Bone fragments a body can make

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stout, S.D.; Ross, L.M. Jr. (Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia (USA))

    1991-05-01

    Data obtained from various analytical techniques applied to a number of small bone fragments recovered from a crime scene were used to provide evidence for the occurrence of a fatality. Microscopic and histomorphometric analyses confirmed that the fragments were from a human skull. X-ray microanalysis of darkened areas on the bone fragments revealed a chemical signature that matched the chemical signature of a shotgun pellet recovered at the scene of the crime. The above findings supported the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) fingerprint evidence which, along with other evidence, was used to convict a man for the murder of his wife, even though her body was never recovered.

  16. HETC-3STEP included fragmentation process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shigyo, Nobuhiro; Iga, Kiminori; Ishibashi, Kenji [Kyushu Univ., Fukuoka (Japan). Faculty of Engineering

    1997-03-01

    High Energy Transport Code (HETC) based on the cascade-evaporation model is modified to calculate the fragmentation cross section. For the cascade process, nucleon-nucleon cross sections are used for collision computation; effective in-medium-corrected cross sections are adopted instead of the original free-nucleon collision. The exciton model is adopted for improvement of backward nucleon-emission cross section for low-energy nucleon-incident events. The fragmentation reaction is incorporated into the original HETC as a subroutine set by the use of the systematics of the reaction. The modified HETC (HETC-3STEP/FRG) reproduces experimental fragment yields to a reasonable degree. (author)

  17. Integration of fragment screening and library design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegal, Gregg; Ab, Eiso; Schultz, Jan

    2007-12-01

    With more than 10 years of practical experience and theoretical analysis, fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) has entered the mainstream of the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. An array of biophysical techniques has been used to detect the weak interaction between a fragment and the target. Each technique presents its own requirements regarding the fragment collection and the target; therefore, in order to optimize the potential of FBDD, the nature of the target should be a driving factor for simultaneous development of both the library and the screening technology. A roadmap is now available to guide fragment-to-lead evolution when structural information is available. The next challenge is to apply FBDD to targets for which high-resolution structural information is not available.

  18. Rock fragmentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brown, W.S.; Green, S.J.; Hakala, W.W.; Hustrulid, W.A.; Maurer, W.C. (eds.)

    1976-01-01

    Experts in rock mechanics, mining, excavation, drilling, tunneling and use of underground space met to discuss the relative merits of a wide variety of rock fragmentation schemes. Information is presented on novel rock fracturing techniques; tunneling using electron beams, thermocorer, electric spark drills, water jets, and diamond drills; and rock fracturing research needs for mining and underground construction. (LCL)

  19. Light particles emitted with the fission fragments of thorium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    San-Tsiang, T; Faraggi, H

    1947-01-01

    The traces produced by the fission of thorium with fast neutrons have been recorded photographically and studied. The formation of a light fragment of long range by either quadripartition or tripartition was not observed. The release of a short-range light fragment by bipartition was observed about one hundred times more frequently than was the release of such a fragment by tripartition. The ratio of the range of the two heavy fragments produced by tripartition was 1:2; this compares with a ratio of 1:3 for the heavy fragments produced by bipartition.

  20. Complex fragment emission from hot compound nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moretto, L.G.

    1986-03-01

    The experimental evidence for compound nucleus emission of complex fragments at low energies is used to interpret the emission of the same fragments at higher energies. The resulting experimental picture is that of highly excited compound nuclei formed in incomplete fusion processes which decay statistically. In particular, complex fragments appear to be produced mostly through compound nucleus decay. In the appendix a geometric-kinematic theory for incomplete fusion and the associated momentum transfer is outlined. 10 refs., 19 figs

  1. Advancement of magma fragmentation by inhomogeneous bubble distribution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kameda, M; Ichihara, M; Maruyama, S; Kurokawa, N; Aoki, Y; Okumura, S; Uesugi, K

    2017-12-01

    Decompression times reported in previous studies suggest that thoroughly brittle fragmentation is unlikely in actual explosive volcanic eruptions. What occurs in practice is brittle-like fragmentation, which is defined as the solid-like fracture of a material whose bulk rheological properties are close to those of a fluid. Through laboratory experiments and numerical simulation, the link between the inhomogeneous structure of bubbles and the development of cracks that may lead to brittle-like fragmentation was clearly demonstrated here. A rapid decompression test was conducted to simulate the fragmentation of a specimen whose pore morphology was revealed by X-ray microtomography. The dynamic response during decompression was observed by high-speed photography. Large variation was observed in the responses of the specimens even among specimens with equal bulk rheological properties. The stress fields of the specimens under decompression computed by finite element analysis shows that the presence of satellite bubbles beneath a large bubble induced the stress concentration. On the basis of the obtained results, a new mechanism for brittle-like fragmentation is proposed. In the proposed scenario, the second nucleation of bubbles near the fragmentation surface is an essential process for the advancement of fragmentation in an upward magma flow in a volcanic conduit.

  2. Global-Scale Patterns of Forest Fragmentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kurt Riitters

    2000-12-01

    Full Text Available We report an analysis of forest fragmentation based on 1-km resolution land-cover maps for the globe. Measurements in analysis windows from 81 km 2 (9 x 9 pixels, "small" scale to 59,049 km 2 (243 x 243 pixels, "large" scale were used to characterize the fragmentation around each forested pixel. We identified six categories of fragmentation (interior, perforated, edge, transitional, patch, and undetermined from the amount of forest and its occurrence as adjacent forest pixels. Interior forest exists only at relatively small scales; at larger scales, forests are dominated by edge and patch conditions. At the smallest scale, there were significant differences in fragmentation among continents; within continents, there were significant differences among individual forest types. Tropical rain forest fragmentation was most severe in North America and least severe in Europe-Asia. Forest types with a high percentage of perforated conditions were mainly in North America (five types and Europe-Asia (four types, in both temperate and subtropical regions. Transitional and patch conditions were most common in 11 forest types, of which only a few would be considered as "naturally patchy" (e.g., dry woodland. The five forest types with the highest percentage of interior conditions were in North America; in decreasing order, they were cool rain forest, coniferous, conifer boreal, cool mixed, and cool broadleaf.

  3. Global-scale patterns of forest fragmentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riitters, K.; Wickham, J.; O'Neill, R.; Jones, B.; Smith, E.

    2000-01-01

    We report an analysis of forest fragmentation based on 1-km resolution land-cover maps for the globe. Measurements in analysis windows from 81 km 2 (9 ?? 9 pixels, "small" scale) to 59,049 km 2 (243 ?? 243 pixels, "large" scale) were used to characterize the fragmentation around each forested pixel. We identified six categories of fragmentation (interior, perforated, edge, transitional, patch, and undetermined) from the amount of forest and its occurrence as adjacent forest pixels. Interior forest exists only at relatively small scales; at larger scales, forests are dominated by edge and patch conditions. At the smallest scale, there were significant differences in fragmentation among continents; within continents, there were significant differences among individual forest types. Tropical rain forest fragmentation was most severe in North America and least severe in Europe - Asia. Forest types with a high percentage of perforated conditions were mainly in North America (five types) and Europe - Asia (four types), in both temperate and subtropical regions. Transitional and patch conditions were most common in 11 forest types, of which only a few would be considered as "naturally patchy" (e.g., dry woodland). The five forest types with the highest percentage of interior conditions were in North America; in decreasing order, they were cool rain forest, coniferous, conifer boreal, cool mixed, and cool broadleaf. Copyright ?? 2000 by The Resilience Alliance.

  4. A measure of the interfacial shear strength between SiC(CVD)/B(CVD) filament--aluminum matrix by fragmentation method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, Y.Q.; Chen, X.J.; Yang, D.M.; Fei, X.; Pan, J.

    1993-01-01

    The tensile specimens used are of dog-bone shape and consist of single axial SiC (CVD) /B (CVD) filament processed by CVD and embedded in a LD-2 aluminum alloy. Model composite specimens have been fabricated by a high pressure squeeze casting technique. This paper describes the application of an Acoustic Emission Technique for locating the position of fiber breaks and thus determining the length distribution of fiber fragments resulting when a composite specimen containing a single fiber is loaded to failure. The critical lengths (minimal lengths) are checked by Corrosion Method

  5. The failure of earthquake failure models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomberg, J.

    2001-01-01

    In this study I show that simple heuristic models and numerical calculations suggest that an entire class of commonly invoked models of earthquake failure processes cannot explain triggering of seismicity by transient or "dynamic" stress changes, such as stress changes associated with passing seismic waves. The models of this class have the common feature that the physical property characterizing failure increases at an accelerating rate when a fault is loaded (stressed) at a constant rate. Examples include models that invoke rate state friction or subcritical crack growth, in which the properties characterizing failure are slip or crack length, respectively. Failure occurs when the rate at which these grow accelerates to values exceeding some critical threshold. These accelerating failure models do not predict the finite durations of dynamically triggered earthquake sequences (e.g., at aftershock or remote distances). Some of the failure models belonging to this class have been used to explain static stress triggering of aftershocks. This may imply that the physical processes underlying dynamic triggering differs or that currently applied models of static triggering require modification. If the former is the case, we might appeal to physical mechanisms relying on oscillatory deformations such as compaction of saturated fault gouge leading to pore pressure increase, or cyclic fatigue. However, if dynamic and static triggering mechanisms differ, one still needs to ask why static triggering models that neglect these dynamic mechanisms appear to explain many observations. If the static and dynamic triggering mechanisms are the same, perhaps assumptions about accelerating failure and/or that triggering advances the failure times of a population of inevitable earthquakes are incorrect.

  6. Comparison of interfacial properties of electrodeposited single carbon fiber/epoxy composites using tensile and compressive fragmentation tests and acoustic emission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Joung-Man; Kim, Jin-Won; Yoon, Dong-Jin

    2002-03-01

    Interfacial and microfailure properties of carbon fiber/epoxy composites were evaluated using both tensile fragmentation and compressive Broutman tests with an aid of acoustic emission (AE). A monomeric and two polymeric coupling agents were applied via the electrodeposition (ED) and the dipping applications. A monomeric and a polymeric coupling agent showed significant and comparable improvements in interfacial shear strength (IFSS) compared to the untreated case under both tensile and compressive tests. Typical microfailure modes including cone-shaped fiber break, matrix cracking, and partial interlayer failure were observed under tension, whereas the diagonal slipped failure at both ends of the fractured fiber exhibited under compression. Adsorption and shear displacement mechanisms at the interface were described in terms of electrical attraction and primary and secondary bonding forces. For both the untreated and the treated cases AE distributions were separated well in tension, whereas AE distributions were rather closely overlapped in compression. It might be because of the difference in molecular failure energies and failure mechanisms between tension and compression. The maximum AE voltage for the waveform of either carbon or large-diameter basalt fiber breakages in tension exhibited much larger than that in compression. AE could provide more likely the quantitative information on the interfacial adhesion and microfailure.

  7. Fragman: an R package for fragment analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Covarrubias-Pazaran, Giovanny; Diaz-Garcia, Luis; Schlautman, Brandon; Salazar, Walter; Zalapa, Juan

    2016-04-21

    Determination of microsatellite lengths or other DNA fragment types is an important initial component of many genetic studies such as mutation detection, linkage and quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping, genetic diversity, pedigree analysis, and detection of heterozygosity. A handful of commercial and freely available software programs exist for fragment analysis; however, most of them are platform dependent and lack high-throughput applicability. We present the R package Fragman to serve as a freely available and platform independent resource for automatic scoring of DNA fragment lengths diversity panels and biparental populations. The program analyzes DNA fragment lengths generated in Applied Biosystems® (ABI) either manually or automatically by providing panels or bins. The package contains additional tools for converting the allele calls to GenAlEx, JoinMap® and OneMap software formats mainly used for genetic diversity and generating linkage maps in plant and animal populations. Easy plotting functions and multiplexing friendly capabilities are some of the strengths of this R package. Fragment analysis using a unique set of cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) genotypes based on microsatellite markers is used to highlight the capabilities of Fragman. Fragman is a valuable new tool for genetic analysis. The package produces equivalent results to other popular software for fragment analysis while possessing unique advantages and the possibility of automation for high-throughput experiments by exploiting the power of R.

  8. Advances in fragment-based drug discovery platforms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orita, Masaya; Warizaya, Masaichi; Amano, Yasushi; Ohno, Kazuki; Niimi, Tatsuya

    2009-11-01

    Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) has been established as a powerful alternative and complement to traditional high-throughput screening techniques for identifying drug leads. At present, this technique is widely used among academic groups as well as small biotech and large pharmaceutical companies. In recent years, > 10 new compounds developed with FBDD have entered clinical development, and more and more attention in the drug discovery field is being focused on this technique. Under the FBDD approach, a fragment library of relatively small compounds (molecular mass = 100 - 300 Da) is screened by various methods and the identified fragment hits which normally weakly bind to the target are used as starting points to generate more potent drug leads. Because FBDD is still a relatively new drug discovery technology, further developments and optimizations in screening platforms and fragment exploitation can be expected. This review summarizes recent advances in FBDD platforms and discusses the factors important for the successful application of this technique. Under the FBDD approach, both identifying the starting fragment hit to be developed and generating the drug lead from that starting fragment hit are important. Integration of various techniques, such as computational technology, X-ray crystallography, NMR, surface plasmon resonance, isothermal titration calorimetry, mass spectrometry and high-concentration screening, must be applied in a situation-appropriate manner.

  9. Temperatures of fragment kinetic energy spectra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bauer, W.

    1995-01-01

    Multifragmentation reactions without large compression in the initial state (proton-induced reactions, reverse kinematics, projectile fragmentation) are examined, and it is verified quantitatively that the high temperatures obtained from fragment kinetic energy spectra and lower temperatures obtained from observables such as level population or isotope ratios can be understood in a common framework

  10. The ways and means of fragment-based drug design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doak, Bradley C; Norton, Raymond S; Scanlon, Martin J

    2016-11-01

    Fragment-based drug design (FBDD) has emerged as a mainstream approach for the rapid and efficient identification of building blocks that can be used to develop high-affinity ligands against protein targets. One of the strengths of FBDD is the relative ease and low cost of the primary screen to identify fragments that bind. However, the fragments that emerge from primary screens often have low affinities, with K D values in the high μM to mM range, and a significant challenge for FBDD is to develop the initial fragments into more potent ligands. Successful fragment elaboration often requires co-structures of the fragments bound to their target proteins, as well as a range of biophysical and biochemical assays to track potency and efficacy. These challenges have led to the development of specific chemical strategies for the elaboration of weakly-binding fragments into more potent "hits" and lead compounds. In this article we review different approaches that have been employed to meet these challenges and describe some of the strategies that have resulted in several fragment-derived compounds entering clinical trials. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Temporal change in fragmentation of continental US forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    James D. Wickham; Kurt H. Riitters; Timothy G. Wade; Collin Homer

    2008-01-01

    Changes in forest ecosystem function and condition arise from changes in forest fragmentation. Previous studies estimated forest fragmentation for the continental United States (US). In this study, new temporal land-cover data from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) were used to estimate changes in forest fragmentation at multiple scales for the continental US....

  12. Inclusive breakup of three-fragment weakly bound nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carlson, B.V.; Frederico, T.; Hussein, M.S.

    2017-01-01

    The inclusive breakup of three-fragment projectiles is discussed within a four-body spectator model. Both the elastic breakup and the non-elastic breakup are obtained in a unified framework. Originally developed in the 80's for two-fragment projectiles such as the deuteron, in this paper the theory is successfully generalized to three-fragment projectiles. The expression obtained for the inclusive cross section allows the extraction of the incomplete fusion cross section, and accordingly generalizes the surrogate method to cases such as (t, p) and (t, n) reactions. It is found that two-fragment correlations inside the projectile affect in a conspicuous way the elastic breakup cross section. The inclusive non-elastic breakup cross section is calculated and is found to contain the contribution of a three-body absorption term that is also strongly influenced by the two-fragment correlations. This latter cross section contains the so-called incomplete fusion where more than one compound nuclei are formed. Our theory describes both stable weakly bound three-fragment projectiles and unstable ones such as the Borromean nuclei.

  13. Inclusive breakup of three-fragment weakly bound nuclei

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carlson, B.V.; Frederico, T. [Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, DCTA, 12.228-900 São José dos Campos, SP (Brazil); Hussein, M.S., E-mail: hussein@if.usp.br [Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, DCTA, 12.228-900 São José dos Campos, SP (Brazil); Instituto de Estudos Avançados, Universidade de São Paulo, C.P. 72012, 05508-970 São Paulo, SP (Brazil); Instituto de Física, Universidade de São Paulo, C.P. 66318, 05314-970 São Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2017-04-10

    The inclusive breakup of three-fragment projectiles is discussed within a four-body spectator model. Both the elastic breakup and the non-elastic breakup are obtained in a unified framework. Originally developed in the 80's for two-fragment projectiles such as the deuteron, in this paper the theory is successfully generalized to three-fragment projectiles. The expression obtained for the inclusive cross section allows the extraction of the incomplete fusion cross section, and accordingly generalizes the surrogate method to cases such as (t, p) and (t, n) reactions. It is found that two-fragment correlations inside the projectile affect in a conspicuous way the elastic breakup cross section. The inclusive non-elastic breakup cross section is calculated and is found to contain the contribution of a three-body absorption term that is also strongly influenced by the two-fragment correlations. This latter cross section contains the so-called incomplete fusion where more than one compound nuclei are formed. Our theory describes both stable weakly bound three-fragment projectiles and unstable ones such as the Borromean nuclei.

  14. Agricultural matrices affect ground ant assemblage composition inside forest fragments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diego Santana Assis

    Full Text Available The establishment of agricultural matrices generally involves deforestation, which leads to fragmentation of the remaining forest. This fragmentation can affect forest dynamics both positively and negatively. Since most animal species are affected, certain groups can be used to measure the impact of such fragmentation. This study aimed to measure the impacts of agricultural crops (matrices on ant communities of adjacent lower montane Atlantic rainforest fragments. We sampled nine forest fragments at locations surrounded by different agricultural matrices, namely: coffee (3 replicates; sugarcane (3; and pasture (3. At each site we installed pitfall traps along a 500 m transect from the interior of the matrix to the interior of the fragment (20 pitfall traps ~25 m apart. Each transect was partitioned into four categories: interior of the matrix; edge of the matrix; edge of the fragment; and interior of the fragment. For each sample site, we measured ant species richness and ant community composition within each transect category. Ant richness and composition differed between fragments and matrices. Each sample location had a specific composition of ants, probably because of the influence of the nature and management of the agricultural matrices. Species composition in the coffee matrix had the highest similarity to its corresponding fragment. The variability in species composition within forest fragments surrounded by pasture was greatest when compared with forest fragments surrounded by sugarcane or, to a lesser extent, coffee. Functional guild composition differed between locations, but the most representative guild was 'generalist' both in the agricultural matrices and forest fragments. Our results are important for understanding how agricultural matrices act on ant communities, and also, how these isolated forest fragments could act as an island of biodiversity in an 'ocean of crops'.

  15. Agricultural matrices affect ground ant assemblage composition inside forest fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Assis, Diego Santana; Dos Santos, Iracenir Andrade; Ramos, Flavio Nunes; Barrios-Rojas, Katty Elena; Majer, Jonathan David; Vilela, Evaldo Ferreira

    2018-01-01

    The establishment of agricultural matrices generally involves deforestation, which leads to fragmentation of the remaining forest. This fragmentation can affect forest dynamics both positively and negatively. Since most animal species are affected, certain groups can be used to measure the impact of such fragmentation. This study aimed to measure the impacts of agricultural crops (matrices) on ant communities of adjacent lower montane Atlantic rainforest fragments. We sampled nine forest fragments at locations surrounded by different agricultural matrices, namely: coffee (3 replicates); sugarcane (3); and pasture (3). At each site we installed pitfall traps along a 500 m transect from the interior of the matrix to the interior of the fragment (20 pitfall traps ~25 m apart). Each transect was partitioned into four categories: interior of the matrix; edge of the matrix; edge of the fragment; and interior of the fragment. For each sample site, we measured ant species richness and ant community composition within each transect category. Ant richness and composition differed between fragments and matrices. Each sample location had a specific composition of ants, probably because of the influence of the nature and management of the agricultural matrices. Species composition in the coffee matrix had the highest similarity to its corresponding fragment. The variability in species composition within forest fragments surrounded by pasture was greatest when compared with forest fragments surrounded by sugarcane or, to a lesser extent, coffee. Functional guild composition differed between locations, but the most representative guild was 'generalist' both in the agricultural matrices and forest fragments. Our results are important for understanding how agricultural matrices act on ant communities, and also, how these isolated forest fragments could act as an island of biodiversity in an 'ocean of crops'.

  16. Simplified technique for auxiliary orthotopic liver transplantation using a whole graft

    Science.gov (United States)

    ROCHA-SANTOS, Vinicius; NACIF, Lucas Souto; PINHEIRO, Rafael Soares; DUCATTI, Liliana; ANDRAUS, Wellington; D'ALBURQUERQUE, Luiz Carneiro

    2015-01-01

    Background Acute liver failure is associated with a high mortality rate and the main purposes of treatment are to prevent cerebral edema and infections, which often are responsible for patient death. The orthotopic liver transplantation is the gold standard treatment and improves the 1-year survival. Aim To describe an alternative technique to auxiliary liver transplant on acute liver failure. Method Was performed whole auxiliary liver transplantation as an alternative technique for a partial auxiliary liver transplantation using a whole liver graft from a child removing the native right liver performed a right hepatectomy. The patient met the O´Grady´s criteria and the rational to indicate an auxiliary orthotopic liver transplantation was the acute classification without hemodynamic instability or renal failure in a patient with deterioration in consciousness. Results The procedure improved liver function and decreased intracranial hypertension in the postoperative period. Conclusion This technique can overcome some postoperative complications that are associated with partial grafts. As far as is known, this is the first case of auxiliary orthotopic liver transplantation in Brazil. PMID:26176253

  17. Fragmentation and structure of silicon microclusters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feuston, B.P.; Kalia, R.K.; Vashishta, P.

    1987-01-01

    It may be possible to determine the magic numbers and fragmentation spectra from the ground-state binding energies and structure, but the relationship between the lowest-energy zero-temperature configurations and the energetics of finite-temperature microclusters is not obvious. Recall fragmentation of Si clusters occurs at temperatures the order of the melting temperature (T∼2000 K). What is needed, a first-principles finite-temperature calculation, allowing the determination of all possible structures, their corresponding binding energies, and fragmentation spectra, is not presently possible. However, a molecular dynamics calculation does allow one to study the nature of fragmentation in addition to determination of the global ground-state structure and all mechanically stable configurations underlying the finite-temperature cluster, once given an interaction potential. The authors present results for such a calculation for Si/sub 2-14/ using the Stillinger-Weber 3-body potential. Their results indicate that the existence of magic numbers is determined by the topology and energetics of high-energy bound structures rather than the structure and ground-state energies at zero temperature

  18. Modelling of the PELE fragmentation dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verreault, J.

    2014-05-01

    The Penetrator with Enhanced Lateral Effect (PELE) is a type of explosive-free projectile that undergoes radial fragmentation upon an impact with a target plate. This type of projectile is composed of a brittle cylindrical shell (the jacket) filled in its core with a material characterized with a large Poisson's ratio. Upon an impact with a target, the axial compression causes the filling to expand in the radial direction. However, due to the brittleness of the jacket material, very little radial deformation can occur which creates a radial stress between the two materials and a hoop stress in the jacket. Fragmentation of the jacket occurs if the hoop stress exceeds the material's ultimate stress. The PELE fragmentation dynamics is explored via Finite-Element Method (FEM) simulations using the Autodyn explicit dynamics hydrocode. The numerical results are compared with an analytical model based on wave interactions, as well as with the experimental investigation of Paulus and Schirm (1996). The comparison is based on the mechanical stress in the filling and the qualitative fragmentation of the jacket.

  19. Modelling of the PELE fragmentation dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Verreault, J

    2014-01-01

    The Penetrator with Enhanced Lateral Effect (PELE) is a type of explosive-free projectile that undergoes radial fragmentation upon an impact with a target plate. This type of projectile is composed of a brittle cylindrical shell (the jacket) filled in its core with a material characterized with a large Poisson's ratio. Upon an impact with a target, the axial compression causes the filling to expand in the radial direction. However, due to the brittleness of the jacket material, very little radial deformation can occur which creates a radial stress between the two materials and a hoop stress in the jacket. Fragmentation of the jacket occurs if the hoop stress exceeds the material's ultimate stress. The PELE fragmentation dynamics is explored via Finite-Element Method (FEM) simulations using the Autodyn explicit dynamics hydrocode. The numerical results are compared with an analytical model based on wave interactions, as well as with the experimental investigation of Paulus and Schirm (1996). The comparison is based on the mechanical stress in the filling and the qualitative fragmentation of the jacket.

  20. Molecular markers. Amplified fragment length polymorphism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pržulj Novo

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism molecular markers (AFLPs has been developed combining procedures of RFLPs and RAPDs molekular markers, i.e. the first step is restriction digestion of the genomic DNA that is followed by selective amplification of the restricted fragments. The advantage of the AFLP technique is that it allows rapid generation of a large number of reproducible markers. The reproducibility of AFLPs markers is assured by the use of restriction site-specific adapters and adapter-specific primers for PCR reaction. Only fragments containing the restriction site sequence plus the additional nucleotides will be amplified and the more selected nucleotides added on the primer sequence the fewer the number of fragments amplified by PCR. The amplified products are normally separated on a sequencing gel and visualized after exposure to X-ray film or by using fluorescent labeled primers. AFLP shave proven to be extremely proficient in revealing diversity at below the species level. A disadvantage of AFLP technique is that AFLPs are essentially a dominant marker system and not able to identify heterozygotes.

  1. Projectile rapidity dependence in target fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haustein, P.E.; Cumming, J.B.; Hseuh, H.C.

    1979-01-01

    The thick-target, thick-catcher technique was used to determine mean kinetic properties of selected products of the fragmentation of Cu by 1 H, 4 He, and 12 C ions (180 to 28,000 MeV/amu). Momentum transfer, as inferred from F/B ratios, is ovserved to occur most efficiently for the lower velocity projectiles. Recoil properties of target fragments vary strongly with product mass, but show only a weak dependence on projectile type. The projectile's rapidity is shown to be a useful variable for quantitative intercomparison of different reactions. These results indicate that E/sub proj//A/sub proj/ is the dominant parameter which governs the mean recoil behavior of target fragments. 20 references

  2. The split comets: gravitational interaction between the fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sekanina, Z.

    1979-01-01

    The n-body computer program by Schubart and Stumpff (1966) has been slightly modified to study the gravitational interaction between two fragments of a split comet nucleus in the sun's gravitational field. All calculations refer to the orbit of Comet West (1976 VI), the velocity of separation of the fragments is assumed to be equal in magnitude to the velocity of escape from the parent nucleus, and the numerical integration of the relative motion of one fragment (called the companion) with respect to the other (principal fragment) is carried over the period of 200 days from separation. (Auth.)

  3. Momentum sum rules for fragmentation functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meissner, S.; Metz, A.; Pitonyak, D.

    2010-01-01

    Momentum sum rules for fragmentation functions are considered. In particular, we give a general proof of the Schaefer-Teryaev sum rule for the transverse momentum dependent Collins function. We also argue that corresponding sum rules for related fragmentation functions do not exist. Our model-independent analysis is supplemented by calculations in a simple field-theoretical model.

  4. Stochastic failure modelling of unidirectional composite ply failure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Whiteside, M.B.; Pinho, S.T.; Robinson, P.

    2012-01-01

    Stochastic failure envelopes are generated through parallelised Monte Carlo Simulation of a physically based failure criteria for unidirectional carbon fibre/epoxy matrix composite plies. Two examples are presented to demonstrate the consequence on failure prediction of both statistical interaction of failure modes and uncertainty in global misalignment. Global variance-based Sobol sensitivity indices are computed to decompose the observed variance within the stochastic failure envelopes into contributions from physical input parameters. The paper highlights a selection of the potential advantages stochastic methodologies offer over the traditional deterministic approach.

  5. Rock fragmentation control in opencast blasting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P.K. Singh

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The blasting operation plays a pivotal role in the overall economics of opencast mines. The blasting sub-system affects all the other associated sub-systems, i.e. loading, transport, crushing and milling operations. Fragmentation control through effective blast design and its effect on productivity are the challenging tasks for practicing blasting engineer due to inadequate knowledge of actual explosive energy released in the borehole, varying initiation practice in blast design and its effect on explosive energy release characteristic. This paper describes the result of a systematic study on the impact of blast design parameters on rock fragmentation at three mines in India. The mines use draglines and shovel–dumper combination for removal of overburden. Despite its pivotal role in controlling the overall economics of a mining operation, the expected blasting performance is often judged almost exclusively on the basis of poorly defined parameters such as powder factor and is often qualitative which results in very subjective assessment of blasting performance. Such an approach is very poor substitutes for accurate assessment of explosive and blasting performance. Ninety one blasts were conducted with varying blast designs and charging patterns, and their impacts on the rock fragmentation were documented. A high-speed camera was deployed to record the detonation sequences of the blasts. The efficiency of the loading machines was also correlated with the mean fragment size obtained from the fragmentation analyses.

  6. ACFIS: a web server for fragment-based drug discovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Ge-Fei; Jiang, Wen; Ye, Yuan-Nong; Wu, Feng-Xu; Zhu, Xiao-Lei; Guo, Feng-Biao; Yang, Guang-Fu

    2016-01-01

    In order to foster innovation and improve the effectiveness of drug discovery, there is a considerable interest in exploring unknown ‘chemical space’ to identify new bioactive compounds with novel and diverse scaffolds. Hence, fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) was developed rapidly due to its advanced expansive search for ‘chemical space’, which can lead to a higher hit rate and ligand efficiency (LE). However, computational screening of fragments is always hampered by the promiscuous binding model. In this study, we developed a new web server Auto Core Fragment in silico Screening (ACFIS). It includes three computational modules, PARA_GEN, CORE_GEN and CAND_GEN. ACFIS can generate core fragment structure from the active molecule using fragment deconstruction analysis and perform in silico screening by growing fragments to the junction of core fragment structure. An integrated energy calculation rapidly identifies which fragments fit the binding site of a protein. We constructed a simple interface to enable users to view top-ranking molecules in 2D and the binding mode in 3D for further experimental exploration. This makes the ACFIS a highly valuable tool for drug discovery. The ACFIS web server is free and open to all users at http://chemyang.ccnu.edu.cn/ccb/server/ACFIS/. PMID:27150808

  7. The effective fragment molecular orbital method for fragments connected by covalent bonds.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Casper Steinmann

    Full Text Available We extend the effective fragment molecular orbital method (EFMO into treating fragments connected by covalent bonds. The accuracy of EFMO is compared to FMO and conventional ab initio electronic structure methods for polypeptides including proteins. Errors in energy for RHF and MP2 are within 2 kcal/mol for neutral polypeptides and 6 kcal/mol for charged polypeptides similar to FMO but obtained two to five times faster. For proteins, the errors are also within a few kcal/mol of the FMO results. We developed both the RHF and MP2 gradient for EFMO. Compared to ab initio, the EFMO optimized structures had an RMSD of 0.40 and 0.44 Å for RHF and MP2, respectively.

  8. arXiv Generalized Fragmentation Functions for Fractal Jet Observables

    CERN Document Server

    Elder, Benjamin T.; Thaler, Jesse; Waalewijn, Wouter J.; Zhou, Kevin

    2017-06-15

    We introduce a broad class of fractal jet observables that recursively probe the collective properties of hadrons produced in jet fragmentation. To describe these collinear-unsafe observables, we generalize the formalism of fragmentation functions, which are important objects in QCD for calculating cross sections involving identified final-state hadrons. Fragmentation functions are fundamentally nonperturbative, but have a calculable renormalization group evolution. Unlike ordinary fragmentation functions, generalized fragmentation functions exhibit nonlinear evolution, since fractal observables involve correlated subsets of hadrons within a jet. Some special cases of generalized fragmentation functions are reviewed, including jet charge and track functions. We then consider fractal jet observables that are based on hierarchical clustering trees, where the nonlinear evolution equations also exhibit tree-like structure at leading order. We develop a numeric code for performing this evolution and study its phen...

  9. Impact fragmentation of a brittle metal compact

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Megan; Hooper, Joseph P.

    2018-05-01

    The fragmentation behavior of a metal powder compact which is ductile in compression but brittle in tension is studied via impact experiments and analytical models. Consolidated metal compacts were prepared via cold-isostatic pressing of powder at 380 MPa followed by moderate annealing at 365 °C. The resulting zinc material is ductile and strain-hardening in high-rate uniaxial compression like a traditional metal, but is elastic-brittle in tension with a fracture toughness comparable to a ceramic. Cylindrical samples were launched up to 800 m/s in a gas gun into thin aluminum perforation targets, subjecting the projectile to a complex multiaxial and time-dependent stress state that leads to catastrophic fracture. A soft-catch mechanism using low-density artificial snow was developed to recover the impact debris, and collected fragments were analyzed to determine their size distribution down to 30 μm. Though brittle fracture occurs along original particle boundaries, no power-law fragmentation behavior was observed as is seen in other low-toughness materials. An analytical theory is developed to predict the characteristic fragment size accounting for both the sharp onset of fragmentation and the effect of increasing impact velocity.

  10. Supramolecular gel electrophoresis of large DNA fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tazawa, Shohei; Kobayashi, Kazuhiro; Oyoshi, Takanori; Yamanaka, Masamichi

    2017-10-01

    Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis is a frequent technique used to separate exceptionally large DNA fragments. In a typical continuous field electrophoresis, it is challenging to separate DNA fragments larger than 20 kbp because they migrate at a comparable rate. To overcome this challenge, it is necessary to develop a novel matrix for the electrophoresis. Here, we describe the electrophoresis of large DNA fragments up to 166 kbp using a supramolecular gel matrix and a typical continuous field electrophoresis system. C 3 -symmetric tris-urea self-assembled into a supramolecular hydrogel in tris-boric acid-EDTA buffer, a typical buffer for DNA electrophoresis, and the supramolecular hydrogel was used as a matrix for electrophoresis to separate large DNA fragments. Three types of DNA marker, the λ-Hind III digest (2 to 23 kbp), Lambda DNA-Mono Cut Mix (10 to 49 kbp), and Marker 7 GT (10 to 165 kbp), were analyzed in this study. Large DNA fragments of greater than 100 kbp showed distinct mobility using a typical continuous field electrophoresis system. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. An Alternative to Conventional Rock Fragmentation Methods Using SCDA: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radhika Vidanage De Silva

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Global energy and material consumption are expected to rise in exponential proportions during the next few decades, generating huge demands for deep earth energy (oil/gas recovery and mineral processing. Under such circumstances, the continuation of existing methods in rock fragmentation in such applications is questionable due to the proven adverse environmental impacts associated with them. In this regard; the possibility of using more environmentally friendly options as Soundless Chemical Demolition Agents (SCDAs play a vital role in replacing harmful conventional rock fragmentation techniques for gas; oil and mineral recovery. This study reviews up to date research on soundless cracking demolition agent (SCDA application on rock fracturing including its limitations and strengths, possible applications in the petroleum industry and the possibility of using existing rock fragmentation models for SCDA-based rock fragmentation; also known as fracking. Though the expansive properties of SCDAs are currently used in some demolition works, the poor usage guidelines available reflect the insufficient research carried out on its material’s behavior. SCDA is a cementitious powdery substance with quicklime (CaO as its primary ingredient that expands upon contact with water; which results in a huge expansive pressure if this CaO hydration reaction occurs in a confined condition. So, the mechanism can be used for rock fragmentation by injecting the SCDA into boreholes of a rock mass; where the resulting expansive pressure is sufficient to create an effective fracture network in the confined rock mass around the borehole. This expansive pressure development, however, dependent on many factors, where formation water content creates a negative influence on this due to required greater degree of hydration under greater water contents and temperature creates a positive influence by accelerating the reaction. Having a precise understanding of the fracture

  12. An improved algorithm for MFR fragment assembly

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kontaxis, Georg

    2012-01-01

    A method for generating protein backbone models from backbone only NMR data is presented, which is based on molecular fragment replacement (MFR). In a first step, the PDB database is mined for homologous peptide fragments using experimental backbone-only data i.e. backbone chemical shifts (CS) and residual dipolar couplings (RDC). Second, this fragment library is refined against the experimental restraints. Finally, the fragments are assembled into a protein backbone fold using a rigid body docking algorithm using the RDCs as restraints. For improved performance, backbone nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) may be included at that stage. Compared to previous implementations of MFR-derived structure determination protocols this model-building algorithm offers improved stability and reliability. Furthermore, relative to CS-ROSETTA based methods, it provides faster performance and straightforward implementation with the option to easily include further types of restraints and additional energy terms.

  13. Extracellular matrix fragmentation in young, healthy cartilaginous tissues.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Craddock, R J; Hodson, N W; Ozols, M; Shearer, T; Hoyland, J A; Sherratt, M J

    2018-02-09

    Although the composition and structure of cartilaginous tissues is complex, collagen II fibrils and aggrecan are the most abundant assemblies in both articular cartilage (AC) and the nucleus pulposus (NP) of the intervertebral disc (IVD). Whilst structural heterogeneity of intact aggrecan ( containing three globular domains) is well characterised, the extent of aggrecan fragmentation in healthy tissues is poorly defined. Using young, yet skeletally mature (18-30 months), bovine AC and NP tissues, it was shown that, whilst the ultrastructure of intact aggrecan was tissue-dependent, most molecules (AC: 95 %; NP: 99.5 %) were fragmented (lacking one or more globular domains). Fragments were significantly smaller and more structurally heterogeneous in the NP compared with the AC (molecular area; AC: 8543 nm2; NP: 4625 nm2; p tissue-invariant. Molecular fragmentation is considered indicative of a pathology; however, these young, skeletally mature tissues were histologically and mechanically (reduced modulus: AC: ≈ 500 kPa; NP: ≈ 80 kPa) comparable to healthy tissues and devoid of notable gelatinase activity (compared with rat dermis). As aggrecan fragmentation was prevalent in neonatal bovine AC (99.5 % fragmented, molecular area: 5137 nm2) as compared with mature AC (95.0 % fragmented, molecular area: 8667 nm2), it was hypothesised that targeted proteolysis might be an adaptive process that modified aggrecan packing (as simulated computationally) and, hence, tissue charge density, mechanical properties and porosity. These observations provided a baseline against which pathological and/or age-related fragmentation of aggrecan could be assessed and suggested that new strategies might be required to engineer constructs that mimic the mechanical properties of native cartilaginous tissues.

  14. The association of ghrelin polymorphisms with coronary artery disease and ischemic chronic heart failure in an elderly Chinese population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Qin; Huang, Wei-Dong; Lv, Xue-Ying; Yang, Yun-Mei

    2011-04-01

    To investigate the association of coronary artery disease (CAD) and ischemic heart failure (IHF) with polymorphisms of the ghrelin gene in elderly Chinese patients. Fifty-six patients with ischemic heart failure, sixty patients with coronary artery disease without heart failure, and one hundred healthy control subjects participated in the study. The polymorphisms were evaluated by polymerase chain reaction, sequencing, and fragment length polymorphism analysis. Only one single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), Leu72Met (408C/A), was observed across all samples. Gene frequencies of CC and allele frequencies of C were significantly greater in the CAD with IHF group than those in the CAD without IHF group (p=0.025, p=0.011). There was no significant association between the Leu72Met SNP with coronary artery disease risk factors. Our results suggest that a C allele at position 408 of the ghrelin gene is associated with genetic susceptibility to ischemic heart failure in Chinese elders. Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  15. Modelling the fragmentation mechanisms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bougault, R.; Durand, D.; Gulminelli, F.

    1998-01-01

    We have investigated the role of high amplitude collective motion in the nuclear fragmentation by using semi-classical macroscopic, as well as, microscopic simulations (BUU). These studies are motivated by the search of instabilities responsible for nuclear fragmentation. Two cases were examined: the bubble formation following the collective expansion of the compressed nucleus in case of very central reactions and, in the case of the semi-central collisions, the fast fission of the two partners issued from a binary reaction, in their corresponding Coulomb field. In the two cases the fragmentation channel is dominated by the inter-relation between the Coulomb and nuclear fields, and it is possible to obtain semi-quantitative predictions as functions of interaction parameters. The transport equations of BUU type predicts for central reactions formation of a high density transient state. Of much interest is the mechanism subsequent to de-excitation. It seems reasonable to conceive that the pressure stocked in the compressional mode manifests itself as a collective expansion of the system. As the pressure is a increasing function of the available energy one can conceive a variety of energy depending exit channels, starting from the fragmentation due the amplification of fluctuations interior to the spinodal zone up to the complete vaporization of the highly excited system. If the reached pressure is sufficiently high the reaction final state may preserve the memory of the entrance channel as a collective radial energy superimposed to the thermal disordered motion. Distributions of particles in the configuration space for both central and semi-central reactions for the Pb+Au system are presented. The rupture time is estimated to the order of 300 fm/c, and is strongly dependent on the initial temperature. The study of dependence of the rupture time on the interaction parameters is under way

  16. Limestone fragmentation and attrition during fluidized bed oxyfiring

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fabrizio Scala; Piero Salatino [Istituto di Ricerche sulla Combustione - CNR, Napoli (Italy)

    2010-04-15

    Attrition/fragmentation of limestone under simulated fluidized bed oxyfiring conditions was investigated by means of an experimental protocol that had been previously developed for characterization of attrition/fragmentation of sorbents in air-blown atmospheric fluidized bed combustors. The protocol was based on the use of different and mutually complementary techniques. The extent and pattern of attrition by surface wear in the dense phase of a fluidized bed were assessed in experiments carried out with a bench scale fluidized bed combustor under simulated oxyfiring conditions. Sorbent samples generated during simulated oxyfiring tests were further characterized from the standpoint of fragmentation upon high velocity impact by means of a purposely designed particle impactor. Results showed that under calcination-hindered conditions attrition and fragmentation patterns are much different from those occurring under air-blown atmospheric combustion conditions. Noteworthy, attrition/fragmentation enhanced particle sulfation by continuously regenerating the exposed particle surface. 13 refs., 8 figs.

  17. Residue preference mapping of ligand fragments in the Protein Data Bank.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lirong; Xie, Zhaojun; Wipf, Peter; Xie, Xiang-Qun

    2011-04-25

    The interaction between small molecules and proteins is one of the major concerns for structure-based drug design because the principles of protein-ligand interactions and molecular recognition are not thoroughly understood. Fortunately, the analysis of protein-ligand complexes in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) enables unprecedented possibilities for new insights. Herein, we applied molecule-fragmentation algorithms to split the ligands extracted from PDB crystal structures into small fragments. Subsequently, we have developed a ligand fragment and residue preference mapping (LigFrag-RPM) algorithm to map the profiles of the interactions between these fragments and the 20 proteinogenic amino acid residues. A total of 4032 fragments were generated from 71 798 PDB ligands by a ring cleavage (RC) algorithm. Among these ligand fragments, 315 unique fragments were characterized with the corresponding fragment-residue interaction profiles by counting residues close to these fragments. The interaction profiles revealed that these fragments have specific preferences for certain types of residues. The applications of these interaction profiles were also explored and evaluated in case studies, showing great potential for the study of protein-ligand interactions and drug design. Our studies demonstrated that the fragment-residue interaction profiles generated from the PDB ligand fragments can be used to detect whether these fragments are in their favorable or unfavorable environments. The algorithm for a ligand fragment and residue preference mapping (LigFrag-RPM) developed here also has the potential to guide lead chemistry modifications as well as binding residues predictions.

  18. Fragmentation of Continental United States Forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurt H. Riitters; James D. Wickham; Robert V. O' Neill; K. Bruce Jones; Elizabeth R. Smith; John W. Coulston; Timothy G. Wade; Jonathan H. Smith

    2002-01-01

    We report a multiple-scale analysis of forest fragmentation based on 30-m (0.09 ha pixel-1) land- cover maps for the conterminous United States. Each 0.09-ha unit of forest was classified according to fragmentation indexes measured within the surrounding landscape, for five landscape sizes including 2.25, 7.29, 65.61, 590.49, and 5314.41 ha....

  19. High efficiency hydrodynamic DNA fragmentation in a bubbling system

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Li, Lanhui; Jin, Mingliang; Sun, Chenglong; Wang, Xiaoxue; Xie, Shuting; Zhou, Guofu; Van Den Berg, Albert; Eijkel, Jan C.T.; Shui, Lingling

    2017-01-01

    DNA fragmentation down to a precise fragment size is important for biomedical applications, disease determination, gene therapy and shotgun sequencing. In this work, a cheap, easy to operate and high efficiency DNA fragmentation method is demonstrated based on hydrodynamic shearing in a bubbling

  20. PELE fragmentation dynamics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Verreault, J.; Hinsberg, N.P. van; Abadjieva, E.

    2013-01-01

    An analytical model that describes the PELE fragmentation dynamics is presented and compared with experimental results from literature. The model accounts for strong shock effects and detailed interactions taking place between the filling – the inner core of the ammunition – and the target

  1. Fragmented Work Stories

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Humle, Didde Maria; Reff Pedersen, Anne

    2015-01-01

    stories. We argue that meaning by story making is not always created by coherence and causality; meaning is created by different types of fragmentation: discontinuities, tensions and editing. The objective of this article is to develop and advance antenarrative practice analysis of work stories...

  2. Collision induced fragmentation dynamics of small metallic clusters; Dynamique de fragmentation induite par collision de petits agregats metalliques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Picard, Y

    1999-04-15

    The goal of this work is the complete analysis of the fragmentation of alkali clusters (Na{sub n}{sup +} (n < 10), NaK{sup +} and K{sub 2}{sup +}) induced by collision with light atomic (He) or molecular (H{sub 2}) targets. The main point is to study how the energy is transmitted to the cluster during the collision and how this energy is shared among the various degrees of freedom of the system and leads to its fragmentation. Two types of interactions govern the collision induced dissociation processes: on one hand, the electronic mechanisms where the target perturbs the electronic cloud and brings the molecule into a dissociative state, and on the other hand, the impulsive mechanisms where the momentum transferred to the atomic cores leads to the rotational-vibrational dissociation of the molecule. The experimental procedure is based on the measurement of the velocity vectors of the outgoing fragments detected in coincidence. This allows to reconstruct the full kinematics of the fragmentation and to separate and characterize for the first time the two types of interactions. The two basic mechanisms of collision induced dissociation are then clearly resolved for the diatomic molecule Na{sub 2}{sup +}. For the heteronuclear molecular ion NaK{sup +}, it is shown that the dissociation process is due to a combination of electronic and impulsive mechanisms in some of the dissociation pathways. The extension to the study of metallic clusters Na{sub n}{sup +} (n < 10) fragmentation shows the role and the relative importance of the electronic and impulsive mechanisms and their evolution with the cluster size. The complete analysis of Na{sub 3}{sup +} multi-fragmentation is also presented. (author)

  3. Microbial platform technology for recombinant antibody fragment production: A review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Sanjeev Kumar; Shukla, Pratyoosh

    2017-02-01

    Recombinant antibody fragments are being used for the last few years as an important therapeutic protein to cure various critical and life threatening human diseases. Several expression platforms now days employed for the production of these recombinant fragments, out of which bacterial system has emerged a promising host for higher expression. Since, a small antibody fragment unlike full antibody does not require human-like post-translational modification therefore it is potentially expressed in prokaryotic production system. Recently, small antibody fragments such as scFvs (single-chain variable fragments) and Fabs (antibody fragments) which does not require glycosylation are successfully produced in bacteria and have commercially launched for therapeutic use as these fragments shows better tissue penetration and less immunogenic to human body compared to full-size antibody. Recently developed Wacker's ESETEC secretion technology is an efficient technology for the expression and secretion of the antibody fragment (Fab) exceeded up to 4.0 g/L while scFv up to 3.5 g/L into the fermentation broth. The Pfenex system and pOP prokaryotic expression vector are another platform used for the considerably good amount of antibody fragment production successfully. In this review, we summarize the recent progress on various expression platforms and cloning approaches for the production of different forms of antibody fragments in E. coli.

  4. A fragment separator at LBL for beta-NMR experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuta, K.; Ozawa, A.; Nojiri, Y.; Minamisono, T.; Fukuda, M.; Kitagawa, A.; Ohtsubo, T.; Momota, S.; Fukuda, S.; Matsuo, Y.; Takechi, H.; Minami, I.; Sugimoto, K.; Tanihata, I.; Omata, K.; Alonso, J.R.; Krebs, G.F.; Symons, T.J.M.

    1992-03-01

    The Beam 44 fragment separator was built at the Bevalac of LBL for NMR studies of beta emitting nuclei. 37 K, 39 Ca, and 43 Ti fragments originating from 40 Ca and 46 Ti primary beams were separated by the separator for NMR studies on these nuclei. Nuclear spin polarization was created in 39 Ca and 43 Ti using the tilted foil technique (TFT), and the magnetic moment of 43 Ti was deduced. Fragment polarization was measured for 37 K and 39 Ca emitted to finite deflection angles. The Beam 44 fragment separator in combination with a proper polarization technique, such as TFT or fragment polarization, has been very effective for such NMR studies

  5. Pollen and gene flow in fragmented habitats

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kwak, Manja M.; Velterop, Odilia; van Andel, Jelte

    . Habitat fragmentation affects both plants and pollinators. Habitat fragmentation leads to changes in species richness, population number and size, density, and shape, thus to changes in the spatial arrangement of flowers. These changes influence the amount of food for flower-visiting insects and

  6. ACFIS: a web server for fragment-based drug discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hao, Ge-Fei; Jiang, Wen; Ye, Yuan-Nong; Wu, Feng-Xu; Zhu, Xiao-Lei; Guo, Feng-Biao; Yang, Guang-Fu

    2016-07-08

    In order to foster innovation and improve the effectiveness of drug discovery, there is a considerable interest in exploring unknown 'chemical space' to identify new bioactive compounds with novel and diverse scaffolds. Hence, fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) was developed rapidly due to its advanced expansive search for 'chemical space', which can lead to a higher hit rate and ligand efficiency (LE). However, computational screening of fragments is always hampered by the promiscuous binding model. In this study, we developed a new web server Auto Core Fragment in silico Screening (ACFIS). It includes three computational modules, PARA_GEN, CORE_GEN and CAND_GEN. ACFIS can generate core fragment structure from the active molecule using fragment deconstruction analysis and perform in silico screening by growing fragments to the junction of core fragment structure. An integrated energy calculation rapidly identifies which fragments fit the binding site of a protein. We constructed a simple interface to enable users to view top-ranking molecules in 2D and the binding mode in 3D for further experimental exploration. This makes the ACFIS a highly valuable tool for drug discovery. The ACFIS web server is free and open to all users at http://chemyang.ccnu.edu.cn/ccb/server/ACFIS/. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

  7. Searching Fragment Spaces with feature trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lessel, Uta; Wellenzohn, Bernd; Lilienthal, Markus; Claussen, Holger

    2009-02-01

    Virtual combinatorial chemistry easily produces billions of compounds, for which conventional virtual screening cannot be performed even with the fastest methods available. An efficient solution for such a scenario is the generation of Fragment Spaces, which encode huge numbers of virtual compounds by their fragments/reagents and rules of how to combine them. Similarity-based searches can be performed in such spaces without ever fully enumerating all virtual products. Here we describe the generation of a huge Fragment Space encoding about 5 * 10(11) compounds based on established in-house synthesis protocols for combinatorial libraries, i.e., we encode practically evaluated combinatorial chemistry protocols in a machine readable form, rendering them accessible to in silico search methods. We show how such searches in this Fragment Space can be integrated as a first step in an overall workflow. It reduces the extremely huge number of virtual products by several orders of magnitude so that the resulting list of molecules becomes more manageable for further more elaborated and time-consuming analysis steps. Results of a case study are presented and discussed, which lead to some general conclusions for an efficient expansion of the chemical space to be screened in pharmaceutical companies.

  8. Laser-assisted shape selective fragmentation of nanoparticles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kazakevich, P.V. [Wave Research Center, General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 38, Vavilov street, 117942 Moscow (Russian Federation); Simakin, A.V. [Wave Research Center, General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 38, Vavilov street, 117942 Moscow (Russian Federation); Shafeev, G.A. [Wave Research Center, General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 38, Vavilov street, 117942 Moscow (Russian Federation)]. E-mail: shafeev@kapella.gpi.ru; Viau, G. [ITODYS, UMR 7086, Universite Paris 7-Denis Diderot, case 7090, 2 place Jussieu, 75251 Paris Cedex 05 (France); Soumare, Y. [ITODYS, UMR 7086, Universite Paris 7-Denis Diderot, case 7090, 2 place Jussieu, 75251 Paris Cedex 05 (France); Bozon-Verduraz, F. [ITODYS, UMR 7086, Universite Paris 7-Denis Diderot, case 7090, 2 place Jussieu, 75251 Paris Cedex 05 (France)

    2007-07-31

    Experimental results are presented on laser-assisted fragmentation of gold-containing nanoparticles suspended in liquids (either ethanol or water). Two kinds of nanoparticles are considered: (i) elongated Au nanorods synthesized by laser ablation of a gold target immersed in liquid phase; (ii) gold-covered NiCo nanorods with high aspect ratio ({theta} {approx} 10) synthesized by wet chemistry processes. The shape selectivity induced by laser fragmentation of these nanorods is gained via tuning the wavelength of laser radiation into different parts of the spectrum of their plasmon resonance corresponding to different aspect ratios {theta}. Fragmentation is performed using three laser wavelengths, involving a Cu vapour laser (510 and 578 nm) and a Nd:YAG (1064 nm). Nanoparticles are characterized by UV-vis spectrometry, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The effect of laser pulse duration (nanosecond against picosecond range) is also studied in the case of fragmentation with an IR laser radiation.

  9. NJL-jet model for quark fragmentation functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ito, T.; Bentz, W.; Cloeet, I. C.; Thomas, A. W.; Yazaki, K.

    2009-01-01

    A description of fragmentation functions which satisfy the momentum and isospin sum rules is presented in an effective quark theory. Concentrating on the pion fragmentation function, we first explain why the elementary (lowest order) fragmentation process q→qπ is completely inadequate to describe the empirical data, although the crossed process π→qq describes the quark distribution functions in the pion reasonably well. Taking into account cascadelike processes in a generalized jet-model approach, we then show that the momentum and isospin sum rules can be satisfied naturally, without the introduction of ad hoc parameters. We present results for the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model in the invariant mass regularization scheme and compare them with the empirical parametrizations. We argue that the NJL-jet model, developed herein, provides a useful framework with which to calculate the fragmentation functions in an effective chiral quark theory.

  10. A Microstructure-Based Model to Characterize Micromechanical Parameters Controlling Compressive and Tensile Failure in Crystallized Rock

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazerani, T.; Zhao, J.

    2014-03-01

    A discrete element model is proposed to examine rock strength and failure. The model is implemented by UDEC which is developed for this purpose. The material is represented as a collection of irregular-sized deformable particles interacting at their cohesive boundaries. The interface between two adjacent particles is viewed as a flexible contact whose stress-displacement law is assumed to control the material fracture and fragmentation process. To reproduce rock anisotropy, an innovative orthotropic cohesive law is developed for contact which allows the interfacial shear and tensile behaviours to be different from each other. The model is applied to a crystallized igneous rock and the individual and interactional effects of the microstructural parameters on the material compressive and tensile failure response are examined. A new methodical calibration process is also established. It is shown that the model successfully reproduces the rock mechanical behaviour quantitatively and qualitatively. Ultimately, the model is used to understand how and under what circumstances micro-tensile and micro-shear cracking mechanisms control the material failure at different loading paths.

  11. Fragment screening by SPR and advanced application to GPCRs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shepherd, Claire A; Hopkins, Andrew L; Navratilova, Iva

    2014-01-01

    Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is one of the primary biophysical methods for the screening of low molecular weight 'fragment' libraries, due to its low protein consumption and 'label-free' methodology. SPR biosensor interaction analysis is employed to both screen and confirm the binding of compounds in fragment screening experiments, as it provides accurate information on the affinity and kinetics of molecular interactions. The most advanced application of the use of SPR for fragment screening is against membrane protein drug targets, such G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Biophysical GPCR assays using SPR have been validated with pharmacological measurements approximate to cell-based methods, yet provide the advantage of biophysical methods in their ability to measure the weak affinities of low molecular weight fragments. A number of SPR fragment screens against GPCRs have now been disclosed in the literature. SPR fragment screening is proving versatile to screen both thermostabilised GPCRs and solubilised wild type receptors. In this chapter, we discuss the state-of-the-art in GPCR fragment screening by SPR and the technical considerations in performing such experiments. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  12. Clustering document fragments using background color and texture information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chanda, Sukalpa; Franke, Katrin; Pal, Umapada

    2012-01-01

    Forensic analysis of questioned documents sometimes can be extensively data intensive. A forensic expert might need to analyze a heap of document fragments and in such cases to ensure reliability he/she should focus only on relevant evidences hidden in those document fragments. Relevant document retrieval needs finding of similar document fragments. One notion of obtaining such similar documents could be by using document fragment's physical characteristics like color, texture, etc. In this article we propose an automatic scheme to retrieve similar document fragments based on visual appearance of document paper and texture. Multispectral color characteristics using biologically inspired color differentiation techniques are implemented here. This is done by projecting document color characteristics to Lab color space. Gabor filter-based texture analysis is used to identify document texture. It is desired that document fragments from same source will have similar color and texture. For clustering similar document fragments of our test dataset we use a Self Organizing Map (SOM) of dimension 5×5, where the document color and texture information are used as features. We obtained an encouraging accuracy of 97.17% from 1063 test images.

  13. Observation for really cold fragmentation of heavy nucleus

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goverdovskij, A.A.; Ketlerov, V.V.; Mitrofanov, V.F.; Ostapenko, Yu.B.; Khryachkov, V.A.

    1998-01-01

    The results of the detailed study on mass-energy charged correlations of the thorium-232 fission fragments, produced by the 5 MeV neutrons are presented. The event of the thorium nucleus really cold fragmentation into tellurium-134 and strontium-99 at the basic quantum states is identified. It is shown that the whole reaction energy is exhausted by the motion kinetic energy of the fragments in the mutual field

  14. Extracellular matrix fragmentation in young, healthy cartilaginous tissues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RJ Craddock

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Although the composition and structure of cartilaginous tissues is complex, collagen II fibrils and aggrecan are the most abundant assemblies in both articular cartilage (AC and the nucleus pulposus (NP of the intervertebral disc (IVD. Whilst structural heterogeneity of intact aggrecan ( containing three globular domains is well characterised, the extent of aggrecan fragmentation in healthy tissues is poorly defined. Using young, yet skeletally mature (18-30 months, bovine AC and NP tissues, it was shown that, whilst the ultrastructure of intact aggrecan was tissue-dependent, most molecules (AC: 95 %; NP: 99.5 % were fragmented (lacking one or more globular domains. Fragments were significantly smaller and more structurally heterogeneous in the NP compared with the AC (molecular area; AC: 8543 nm2; NP: 4625 nm2; p < 0.0001. In contrast, fibrillar collagen appeared structurally intact and tissue-invariant. Molecular fragmentation is considered indicative of a pathology; however, these young, skeletally mature tissues were histologically and mechanically (reduced modulus: AC: ≈ 500 kPa; NP: ≈ 80 kPa comparable to healthy tissues and devoid of notable gelatinase activity (compared with rat dermis. As aggrecan fragmentation was prevalent in neonatal bovine AC (99.5 % fragmented, molecular area: 5137 nm2 as compared with mature AC (95.0 % fragmented, molecular area: 8667 nm2, it was hypothesised that targeted proteolysis might be an adaptive process that modified aggrecan packing (as simulated computationally and, hence, tissue charge density, mechanical properties and porosity. These observations provided a baseline against which pathological and/or age-related fragmentation of aggrecan could be assessed and suggested that new strategies might be required to engineer constructs that mimic the mechanical properties of native cartilaginous tissues.

  15. FRAGSION: ultra-fast protein fragment library generation by IOHMM sampling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharya, Debswapna; Adhikari, Badri; Li, Jilong; Cheng, Jianlin

    2016-07-01

    Speed, accuracy and robustness of building protein fragment library have important implications in de novo protein structure prediction since fragment-based methods are one of the most successful approaches in template-free modeling (FM). Majority of the existing fragment detection methods rely on database-driven search strategies to identify candidate fragments, which are inherently time-consuming and often hinder the possibility to locate longer fragments due to the limited sizes of databases. Also, it is difficult to alleviate the effect of noisy sequence-based predicted features such as secondary structures on the quality of fragment. Here, we present FRAGSION, a database-free method to efficiently generate protein fragment library by sampling from an Input-Output Hidden Markov Model. FRAGSION offers some unique features compared to existing approaches in that it (i) is lightning-fast, consuming only few seconds of CPU time to generate fragment library for a protein of typical length (300 residues); (ii) can generate dynamic-size fragments of any length (even for the whole protein sequence) and (iii) offers ways to handle noise in predicted secondary structure during fragment sampling. On a FM dataset from the most recent Critical Assessment of Structure Prediction, we demonstrate that FGRAGSION provides advantages over the state-of-the-art fragment picking protocol of ROSETTA suite by speeding up computation by several orders of magnitude while achieving comparable performance in fragment quality. Source code and executable versions of FRAGSION for Linux and MacOS is freely available to non-commercial users at http://sysbio.rnet.missouri.edu/FRAGSION/ It is bundled with a manual and example data. chengji@missouri.edu Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Quantifying Urban Fragmentation under Economic Transition in Shanghai City, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heyuan You

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Urban fragmentation affects sustainability through multiple impacts on economic, social, and environmental cost. Characterizing the dynamics of urban fragmentation in relation to economic transition should provide implications for sustainability. However, rather few efforts have been made in this issue. Using the case of Shanghai (China, this paper quantifies urban fragmentation in relation to economic transition. In particular, urban fragmentation is quantified by a time-series of remotely sensed images and a set of landscape metrics; and economic transition is described by a set of indicators from three aspects (globalization, decentralization, and marketization. Results show that urban fragmentation presents an increasing linear trend. Multivariate regression identifies positive linear correlation between urban fragmentation and economic transition. More specifically, the relative influence is different for the three components of economic transition. The relative influence of decentralization is stronger than that of globalization and marketization. The joint influences of decentralization and globalization are the strongest for urban fragmentation. The demonstrated methodology can be applicable to other places after making suitable adjustment of the economic transition indicators and fragmentation metrics.

  17. Refolding Technologies for Antibody Fragments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsutomu Arakawa

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Refolding is one of the production technologies for pharmaceutical grade antibody fragments. Detergents and denaturants are primarily used to solubilize the insoluble proteins. The solubilized and denatured proteins are refolded by reducing the concentration of the denaturants or detergents. Several refolding technologies have been used for antibody fragments, comprising dilution, dialysis, solid phase solvent exchange and size exclusion chromatography, as reviewed here. Aggregation suppressor or folding-assisting agents, including arginine hydrochloride, ionic liquids and detergents or denaturants at low concentrations, are included in the refolding solvent to enhance refolding yield.

  18. Parton fragmentation in the vacuum and in the medium

    CERN Document Server

    Albino, S.; Arleo, F.; Besson, Dave Z.; Brooks, William K.; Buschbeck, B.; Cacciari, M.; Christova, E.; Corcella, G.; D'Enterria, David G.; Dolejsi, Jiri; Domdey, S.; Estienne, M.; Hamacher, Klaus; Heinz, M.; Hicks, K.; Kettler, D.; Kumano, S.; Moch, S.O.; Muccifora, V.; Pacetti, S.; Perez-Ramos, R.; Pirner, H.J.; Pronko, Alexandre Pavlovich; Radici, M.; Rak, J.; Roland, C.; Rudolph, Gerald; Rurikova, Z.; Salgado, C.A.; Sapeta, S.; Saxon, David H.; Seidl, Ralf-Christian; Seuster, R.; Stratmann, M.; Tannenbaum, Michael J.; Tasevsky, M.; Trainor, T.; Traynor, D.; Werlen, M.; Zhou, C.

    2008-01-01

    We present the mini-proceedings of the workshop on ``Parton fragmentation in the vacuum and in the medium'' held at the European Centre for Theoretical Studies in Nuclear Physics and Related Areas (ECT*, Trento) in February 2008. The workshop gathered both theorists and experimentalists to discuss the current status of investigations of quark and gluon fragmentation into hadrons at different accelerator facilities (LEP, B-factories, JLab, HERA, RHIC, and Tevatron) as well as preparations for extension of these studies at the LHC. The main physics topics covered were: (i) light-quark and gluon fragmentation in the vacuum including theoretical (global fits analyses and MLLA) and experimental (data from e+e-, p-p, e-p collisions) aspects, (ii) strange and heavy-quark fragmentation, (iii) parton fragmentation in cold QCD matter (nuclear DIS), and (iv) medium-modified fragmentation in hot and dense QCD matter (high-energy nucleus-nucleus collisions). These mini-proceedings consist of an introduction and short summ...

  19. Binding-site assessment by virtual fragment screening.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Niu Huang

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available The accurate prediction of protein druggability (propensity to bind high-affinity drug-like small molecules would greatly benefit the fields of chemical genomics and drug discovery. We have developed a novel approach to quantitatively assess protein druggability by computationally screening a fragment-like compound library. In analogy to NMR-based fragment screening, we dock approximately 11,000 fragments against a given binding site and compute a computational hit rate based on the fraction of molecules that exceed an empirically chosen score cutoff. We perform a large-scale evaluation of the approach on four datasets, totaling 152 binding sites. We demonstrate that computed hit rates correlate with hit rates measured experimentally in a previously published NMR-based screening method. Secondly, we show that the in silico fragment screening method can be used to distinguish known druggable and non-druggable targets, including both enzymes and protein-protein interaction sites. Finally, we explore the sensitivity of the results to different receptor conformations, including flexible protein-protein interaction sites. Besides its original aim to assess druggability of different protein targets, this method could be used to identifying druggable conformations of flexible binding site for lead discovery, and suggesting strategies for growing or joining initial fragment hits to obtain more potent inhibitors.

  20. Universal Rim Thickness in Unsteady Sheet Fragmentation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Y.; Dandekar, R.; Bustos, N.; Poulain, S.; Bourouiba, L.

    2018-05-01

    Unsteady fragmentation of a fluid bulk into droplets is important for epidemiology as it governs the transport of pathogens from sneezes and coughs, or from contaminated crops in agriculture. It is also ubiquitous in industrial processes such as paint, coating, and combustion. Unsteady fragmentation is distinct from steady fragmentation on which most theoretical efforts have been focused thus far. We address this gap by studying a canonical unsteady fragmentation process: the breakup from a drop impact on a finite surface where the drop fluid is transferred to a free expanding sheet of time-varying properties and bounded by a rim of time-varying thickness. The continuous rim destabilization selects the final spray droplets, yet this process remains poorly understood. We combine theory with advanced image analysis to study the unsteady rim destabilization. We show that, at all times, the rim thickness is governed by a local instantaneous Bond number equal to unity, defined with the instantaneous, local, unsteady rim acceleration. This criterion is found to be robust and universal for a family of unsteady inviscid fluid sheet fragmentation phenomena, from impacts of drops on various surface geometries to impacts on films. We discuss under which viscous and viscoelastic conditions the criterion continues to govern the unsteady rim thickness.

  1. Oral lead bullet fragment exposure in northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerr, Richard; Holladay, Jeremy; Holladay, Steven; Tannenbaum, Lawrence; Selcer, Barbara; Meldrum, Blair; Williams, Susan; Jarrett, Timothy; Gogal, Robert

    2011-11-01

    Lead (Pb) is a worldwide environmental contaminant known to adversely affect multiple organ systems in both mammalian and avian species. In birds, a common route of exposure is via oral ingestion of lead particles. Data are currently lacking for the retention and clearance of Pb bullet fragments in gastrointestinal (GI) tract of birds while linking toxicity with blood Pb levels. In the present study, northern bobwhite quail fed a seed-based diet were orally gavaged with Pb bullet fragments (zero, one or five fragments/bird) and evaluated for rate of fragment clearance, and changes in peripheral blood, renal, immune, and gastrointestinal parameters. Based on radiographs, the majority of the birds cleared or absorbed the fragments by seven days, with the exception of one five-fragment bird which took between 7 and 14 days. Blood Pb levels were higher in males than females, which may be related to egg production in females. In males but not females, feed consumption, body weight gain, packed cell volume (PCV), plasma protein concentration, and δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (δ-ALAD) activity were all adversely affected by five Pb fragments. Birds of both sexes that received a single Pb fragment displayed depressed δ-ALAD, suggesting altered hematologic function, while all birds dosed with five bullet fragments exhibited greater morbidity.

  2. Meta-analysis of the effects of forest fragmentation on interspecific interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magrach, Ainhoa; Laurance, William F; Larrinaga, Asier R; Santamaria, Luis

    2014-10-01

    Forest fragmentation dramatically alters species persistence and distribution and affects many ecological interactions among species. Recent studies suggest that mutualisms, such as pollination and seed dispersal, are more sensitive to the negative effects of forest fragmentation than antagonisms, such as predation or herbivory. We applied meta-analytical techniques to evaluate this hypothesis and quantified the relative contributions of different components of the fragmentation process (decreases in fragment size, edge effects, increased isolation, and habitat degradation) to the overall effect. The effects of fragmentation on mutualisms were primarily driven by habitat degradation, edge effects, and fragment isolation, and, as predicted, they were consistently more negative on mutualisms than on antagonisms. For the most studied interaction type, seed dispersal, only certain components of fragmentation had significant (edge effects) or marginally significant (fragment size) effects. Seed size modulated the effect of fragmentation: species with large seeds showed stronger negative impacts of fragmentation via reduced dispersal rates. Our results reveal that different components of the habitat fragmentation process have varying impacts on key mutualisms. We also conclude that antagonistic interactions have been understudied in fragmented landscapes, most of the research has concentrated on particular types of mutualistic interactions such as seed dispersal, and that available studies of interspecific interactions have a strong geographical bias (arising mostly from studies carried out in Brazil, Chile, and the United States). © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

  3. Scission configurations and their implication in fission-fragment angular momenta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonneau, L.; Quentin, P.; Mikhailov, I. N.

    2007-01-01

    The generation of sizable angular momenta in fragments formed in low-energy nuclear fission is described microscopically within the general quantum-mechanical framework of orientation pumping due to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. Within this framework, we make use of the results of Skyrme-Hartree-Fock plus BCS-pairing calculations of fragment deformabilities to deduce a distribution of fission-fragment spins as a function of the fragment total excitation energy. We consider a fragmentation corresponding to a pair of deformed fragments and for which fission data are available. The properties of the scission configurations determine to a large extent the fission-fragment spins. This is why we pay particular attention to quantitatively defining the scission configurations and to studying the various implications of such a specific choice. A fair qualitative agreement with data is demonstrated and discussed within the limits of the simple scission-configuration model used here

  4. Recombinant Kinase Production and Fragment Screening by NMR Spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Byeonggu; Ahn, Hee-Chul

    2016-01-01

    During the past decade fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) has rapidly evolved and several drugs or drug candidates developed by FBDD approach are clinically in use or in clinical trials. For example, vemurafenib, a V600E mutated BRAF inhibitor, was developed by utilizing FBDD approach and approved by FDA in 2011. In FBDD, screening of fragments is the starting step for identification of hits and lead generation. Fragment screening usually relies on biophysical techniques by which the protein-bound small molecules can be detected. NMR spectroscopy has been extensively used to study the molecular interaction between the protein and the ligand, and has many advantages in fragment screening over other biophysical techniques. This chapter describes the practical aspects of fragment screening by saturation transfer difference NMR.

  5. Evolution of fragment-fragment correlations in reactions of 197Au and 107,109Ag with 40Ar from 7A to 34A MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ethvignot, T.; Ajitanand, N.N.; Alexander, J.M.; Bauge, E.; Elmaani, A.; Kowalski, L.; Lopez, M.; Magda, M.T.; Desesquelles, P.; Elhage, H.; Giorni, A.; Heuer, D.; Kox, S.; Lleres, A.; Merchez, F.; Morand, C.; Rebreyend, D.; Stassi, P.; Viano, J.B.; Benrachi, F.; Chambon, B.; Cheynis, B.; Drain, D.; Pastor, C.

    1992-01-01

    In-plane and out-of-plane angular correlations have been measured between fragments of Z>3, Li fragments, 3,4 He, and 1,2,3 H. The changing patterns for 40 Ar induced reactions of 7A, 17A, 27A, and 34A MeV give an overview of the decreasing importance of mass-symmetric fissionlike reactions at the expense of a broad range of more mass-asymmetric breakups. Evidence is given that these fragments come from a central collision group of reactions that have similar violence and from which many combinations of fragments and particles are ejected. Very similar azimuthal angular correlations are observed for particles with a Li fragment and for particles with a pair of heavier fragments (Z>3). This similarity suggests comparable strengths of association with the reaction plane for single Li fragments and for fragment pairs of Z>3. Azimuthal angular correlations for Li-Li pairs exhibit distinct asymmetries; their interpretation via trajectory-model calculations indicates mean delay times of ∼5x10 -22 s

  6. Resilient networks of ant-plant mutualists in Amazonian forest fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Passmore, Heather A; Bruna, Emilio M; Heredia, Sylvia M; Vasconcelos, Heraldo L

    2012-01-01

    The organization of networks of interacting species, such as plants and animals engaged in mutualisms, strongly influences the ecology and evolution of partner communities. Habitat fragmentation is a globally pervasive form of spatial heterogeneity that could profoundly impact the structure of mutualist networks. This is particularly true for biodiversity-rich tropical ecosystems, where the majority of plant species depend on mutualisms with animals and it is thought that changes in the structure of mutualist networks could lead to cascades of extinctions. We evaluated effects of fragmentation on mutualistic networks by calculating metrics of network structure for ant-plant networks in continuous Amazonian forests with those in forest fragments. We hypothesized that networks in fragments would have fewer species and higher connectance, but equal nestedness and resilience compared to forest networks. Only one of the nine metrics we compared differed between continuous forest and forest fragments, indicating that networks were resistant to the biotic and abiotic changes that accompany fragmentation. This is partially the result of the loss of only specialist species with one connection that were lost in forest fragments. We found that the networks of ant-plant mutualists in twenty-five year old fragments are similar to those in continuous forest, suggesting these interactions are resistant to the detrimental changes associated with habitat fragmentation, at least in landscapes that are a mosaic of fragments, regenerating forests, and pastures. However, ant-plant mutualistic networks may have several properties that may promote their persistence in fragmented landscapes. Proactive identification of key mutualist partners may be necessary to focus conservation efforts on the interactions that insure the integrity of network structure and the ecosystems services networks provide.

  7. Resilient networks of ant-plant mutualists in Amazonian forest fragments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heather A Passmore

    Full Text Available The organization of networks of interacting species, such as plants and animals engaged in mutualisms, strongly influences the ecology and evolution of partner communities. Habitat fragmentation is a globally pervasive form of spatial heterogeneity that could profoundly impact the structure of mutualist networks. This is particularly true for biodiversity-rich tropical ecosystems, where the majority of plant species depend on mutualisms with animals and it is thought that changes in the structure of mutualist networks could lead to cascades of extinctions.We evaluated effects of fragmentation on mutualistic networks by calculating metrics of network structure for ant-plant networks in continuous Amazonian forests with those in forest fragments. We hypothesized that networks in fragments would have fewer species and higher connectance, but equal nestedness and resilience compared to forest networks. Only one of the nine metrics we compared differed between continuous forest and forest fragments, indicating that networks were resistant to the biotic and abiotic changes that accompany fragmentation. This is partially the result of the loss of only specialist species with one connection that were lost in forest fragments.We found that the networks of ant-plant mutualists in twenty-five year old fragments are similar to those in continuous forest, suggesting these interactions are resistant to the detrimental changes associated with habitat fragmentation, at least in landscapes that are a mosaic of fragments, regenerating forests, and pastures. However, ant-plant mutualistic networks may have several properties that may promote their persistence in fragmented landscapes. Proactive identification of key mutualist partners may be necessary to focus conservation efforts on the interactions that insure the integrity of network structure and the ecosystems services networks provide.

  8. Contraceptive failure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasch, Vibeke

    2002-01-01

    Most studies focusing on contraceptive failure in relation to pregnancy have focused on contraceptive failure among women having induced abortions, thereby neglecting those women who, despite contraceptive failure, accept the pregnancy and intend to carry the fetus to term. To get a more complete...... picture of the problem of contraceptive failure, this study focuses on contraceptive failure among women with diverse pregnancy outcomes. In all, 3520 pregnant women attending Odense University Hospital were included: 373 had induced abortions, 435 had spontaneous abortions, 97 had ectopic pregnancies......, and 2614 received antenatal care. The variables studied comprise age, partner relationship, number of births, occupational and economical situation, and contraceptive use.Contraceptive failure, defined as contraceptive use (condom, diaphragm, IUD, oral contraception, or another modern method...

  9. Absolute fragmentation cross sections in atom-molecule collisions : Scaling laws for non-statistical fragmentation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Chen, T.; Gatchell, M.; Stockett, M. H.; Alexander, J. D.; Zhang, Y.; Rousseau, P.; Domaracka, A.; Maclot, S.; Delaunay, R.; Adoui, L.; Huber, B. A.; Schlathölter, T.; Schmidt, H. T.; Cederquist, H.; Zettergren, H.

    2014-01-01

    We present scaling laws for absolute cross sections for non-statistical fragmentation in collisions between Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH/PAH+) and hydrogen or helium atoms with kinetic energies ranging from 50 eV to 10 keV. Further, we calculate the total fragmentation cross sections

  10. Sub-fragmentation of structural-reactive-material casings under explosion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Fan

    2015-06-01

    The sub-fragmentation of structural reactive material (SRM) thick-casings is to generate fine fragments during casing fragmentation under explosive loading for their efficient energy release to enhance air blast. This has been investigated using a cylindrical casing made from either rich Al-MoO3 or Al-W-based granular composites. The former composite was to study the concept of reactive hot spots where the reaction of reactive particles, which were distributed into base SRM in a fuel-rich equivalence ratio, created heat and gas products during SRM fragmentation. The expansion of these distributed hot spots initiated local fractures of the casing, leading to fine fragments. The Al-W-based composite investigated the concept of impedance mismatch, where shock dynamics at the interfaces of different impedance ingredients resulted in non-uniform, high local temperatures and stresses and late in times the dissimilar inertia resulted in different accelerations, leading to material separation and fine fragments. The casings were manufactured through both hot iso-static pressing and cold gas dynamic spray deposition. Explosion experiments were conducted in a 3 m diameter, 23 m3 cylindrical chamber for these cased charges in a casing-to-explosive mass ratio of 1.75. The results demonstrated the presence of fine fragments and more efficient fragment combustion, compared with previous results, and indicated the effectiveness of both concepts. This work was jointly funded by Defence R&D Canada and the Advanced Energetics Program of DTRA (Dr. William H. Wilson).

  11. Studies of complex fragment emission in heavy ion reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sobotka, L.G.

    1989-01-01

    The production of large fragments, fragments with mass between light particles and fission fragments, in intermediate and high energy nuclear reactions has fostered the proposal of a number of novel reaction mechanisms. These include liquid-vapor equilibrium and nuclear shattering. Temporarily left in the wake of these exciting proposed mechanisms was the old standard, statistical decay of compound nuclei. To be sure, the standard treatment of compound nucleus decay did not deal with large fragment production. However, this omission was not due to any fundamental deficiency of statistical models, but rather an uncertainty concerning exactly how to splice large fragment emission into statistical models. A large portion of our program deals with this problem. Specifically, by studying the yields of large fragments produced in sufficiently low energy reactions we are attempting to deduce the asymmetry and l-wave dependence of large fragment emission from compound nuclear intermediates. This, however, is only half of the problem. Since the novel mechanisms proposed for large fragment emission were spawned by intermediate and high energy reaction data, we must also realize the relevance of the compound nucleus mechanisms at high energies. It is not unreasonable to suspect that compound nucleus-like objects are formed with less than complete momentum transfer and perhaps less than complete mass transfer. Therefore the study of energy, mass, and angular momentum transfer in incomplete fusion and non-compound reactions. This thread joins the apparently divergent subjects covered in this report

  12. Residual Fragments after Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaan Özdedeli

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Clinically insignificant residual fragments (CIRFs are described as asymptomatic, noninfectious and nonobstructive stone fragments (≤4 mm remaining in the urinary system after the last session of any intervention (ESWL, URS or PCNL for urinary stones. Their insignificance is questionable since CIRFs could eventually become significant, as their presence may result in recurrent stone growth and they may cause pain and infection due to urinary obstruction. They may become the source of persistent infections and a significant portion of the patients will have a stone-related event, requiring auxilliary interventions. CT seems to be the ultimate choice of assessment. Although there is no concensus about the timing, recent data suggests that it may be performed one month after the procedure. However, imaging can be done in the immediate postoperative period, if there are no tubes blurring the assessment. There is some evidence indicating that selective medical therapy may have an impact on decreasing stone formation rates. Retrograde intrarenal surgery, with its minimally invasive nature, seems to be the best way to deal with residual fragments.

  13. Policy Failures in the Graveyard of Empires: How Policymakers Let the Soldiers Down in the British, the Soviet, and the American Wars in Afghanistan

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-19

    Afghanistan’s history and its socio -cultural environment, the study critically analyzes the negative impact of policy failures - acts of both omission as well...wars in Afghanistan. Set in the context of Afghanistan’s history and its socio -cultural environment, the study critically analyzes the negative... franchise and Westminster democracy. 83 Rubin, The Fragmentation of Afghanistan, 28

  14. WHAT IS CONTROLLING THE FRAGMENTATION IN THE INFRARED DARK CLOUD G14.225–0.506?: DIFFERENT LEVELS OF FRAGMENTATION IN TWIN HUBS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Busquet, Gemma; Girart, Josep Miquel [Institut de Ciències de l’Espai (CSIC-IEEC), Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans, S/N, E-08193, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalunya (Spain); Estalella, Robert [Departament d’Astronomia i Meteorologia, Institut de Ciències del Cosmos (ICC), Universitat de Barcelona (IEEC-UB), Martí i Franquès, 1, E-08028 Barcelona, Catalunya (Spain); Palau, Aina [Instituto de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, P.O. Box 3-72, 58090 Morelia, Michoacán, México (Mexico); Liu, Hauyu Baobab; Ho, Paul T. P. [Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Zhang, Qizhou [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); De Gregorio-Monsalvo, Itziar [European Southern Observatory (ESO), Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2, D-85748 Garching (Germany); Pillai, Thushara [Max Planck Institut für Radioastronomie, Auf dem Hügel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany); Anglada, Guillem, E-mail: busquet@ice.cat [Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía, s/n, E-18008, Granada (Spain)

    2016-03-20

    We present observations of the 1.3 mm continuum emission toward hub-N and hub-S of the infrared dark cloud G14.225–0.506 carried out with the Submillimeter Array, together with observations of the dust emission at 870 and 350 μm obtained with APEX and CSO telescopes. The large-scale dust emission of both hubs consists of a single peaked clump elongated in the direction of the associated filament. At small scales, the SMA images reveal that both hubs fragment into several dust condensations. The fragmentation level was assessed under the same conditions and we found that hub-N presents 4 fragments while hub-S is more fragmented, with 13 fragments identified. We studied the density structure by means of a simultaneous fit of the radial intensity profile at 870 and 350 μm and the spectral energy distribution adopting a Plummer-like function to describe the density structure. The parameters inferred from the model are remarkably similar in both hubs, suggesting that density structure could not be responsible for determining the fragmentation level. We estimated several physical parameters, such as the level of turbulence and the magnetic field strength, and we found no significant differences between these hubs. The Jeans analysis indicates that the observed fragmentation is more consistent with thermal Jeans fragmentation compared with a scenario in which turbulent support is included. The lower fragmentation level observed in hub-N could be explained in terms of stronger UV radiation effects from a nearby H ii region, evolutionary effects, and/or stronger magnetic fields at small scales, a scenario that should be further investigated.

  15. WHAT IS CONTROLLING THE FRAGMENTATION IN THE INFRARED DARK CLOUD G14.225–0.506?: DIFFERENT LEVELS OF FRAGMENTATION IN TWIN HUBS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Busquet, Gemma; Girart, Josep Miquel; Estalella, Robert; Palau, Aina; Liu, Hauyu Baobab; Ho, Paul T. P.; Zhang, Qizhou; De Gregorio-Monsalvo, Itziar; Pillai, Thushara; Anglada, Guillem

    2016-01-01

    We present observations of the 1.3 mm continuum emission toward hub-N and hub-S of the infrared dark cloud G14.225–0.506 carried out with the Submillimeter Array, together with observations of the dust emission at 870 and 350 μm obtained with APEX and CSO telescopes. The large-scale dust emission of both hubs consists of a single peaked clump elongated in the direction of the associated filament. At small scales, the SMA images reveal that both hubs fragment into several dust condensations. The fragmentation level was assessed under the same conditions and we found that hub-N presents 4 fragments while hub-S is more fragmented, with 13 fragments identified. We studied the density structure by means of a simultaneous fit of the radial intensity profile at 870 and 350 μm and the spectral energy distribution adopting a Plummer-like function to describe the density structure. The parameters inferred from the model are remarkably similar in both hubs, suggesting that density structure could not be responsible for determining the fragmentation level. We estimated several physical parameters, such as the level of turbulence and the magnetic field strength, and we found no significant differences between these hubs. The Jeans analysis indicates that the observed fragmentation is more consistent with thermal Jeans fragmentation compared with a scenario in which turbulent support is included. The lower fragmentation level observed in hub-N could be explained in terms of stronger UV radiation effects from a nearby H ii region, evolutionary effects, and/or stronger magnetic fields at small scales, a scenario that should be further investigated

  16. Study on penetration-induced initiation of energetic fragment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiao, Xiangxin; Xu, Heyang

    2017-09-01

    In order to investigate penetration-induced initiation of energetic fragment penetrating target, PTFE/Al (mass ratio 73.5/26.5) pressed and sintered into a Ф8mm × 8mm cylinder. To form energetic fragment, the cylinder was put into a closed container made by 35CrMnSiA. The container is 12mm long, 2mm thick. Energetic fragments were launched by a 14.5mm ballistic gun with a series of velocities and the penetrate process was simulated by AUTODYN-3D. The results show that the stress peak of energetic material exceed the initiation threshold, and energetic material will deflagrate, when energetic fragments impact velocity more than 800 m/s. The research results can provide reference for designs of energetic warhead.

  17. Jet Fragmentation Function Moments in Heavy Ion Collisions

    CERN Document Server

    Cacciari, Matteo; Salam, Gavin P; Soyez, Gregory

    2013-01-01

    The nature of a jet's fragmentation in heavy-ion collisions has the potential to cast light on the mechanism of jet quenching. However the presence of the huge underlying event complicates the reconstruction of the jet fragmentation function as a function of the momentum fraction z of hadrons in the jet. Here we propose the use of moments of the fragmentation function. These quantities appear to be as sensitive to quenching modifications as the fragmentation function directly in z. We show that they are amenable to background subtraction using the same jet-area based techniques proposed in the past for jet p_t's. Furthermore, complications due to correlations between background-fluctuation contributions to the jet's p_t and to its particle content are easily corrected for.

  18. Break-up fragment topology in statistical multifragmentation models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raduta, Ad. R.

    2009-01-01

    Break-up fragmentation patterns together with kinetic and configurational energy fluctuations are investigated in the framework of a microcanonical model with fragment degrees of freedom over a broad excitation energy range. As long as fragment partitioning is approximately preserved, energy fluctuations are found to be rather insensitive to both the way in which the freeze-out volume is constrained and the trajectory followed by the system in the excitation-energy-freeze-out volume space. Due to hard-core repulsion, the freeze-out volume is found to be populated nonuniformly, its highly depleted core giving the source a bubble-like structure. The most probable localization of the largest fragments in the freeze-out volume may be inferred experimentally from their kinematic properties, largely dictated by Coulomb repulsion.

  19. Primary and secondary fragmentation of crystal-bearing intermediate magma

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Thomas J.; McNamara, Keri; Eychenne, Julia; Rust, Alison C.; Cashman, Katharine V.; Scheu, Bettina; Edwards, Robyn

    2016-11-01

    Crystal-rich intermediate magmas are subjected to both primary and secondary fragmentation processes, each of which may produce texturally distinct tephra. Of particular interest for volcanic hazards is the extent to which each process contributes ash to volcanic plumes. One way to address this question is by fragmenting pyroclasts under controlled conditions. We fragmented pumice samples from Soufriere Hills Volcano (SHV), Montserrat, by three methods: rapid decompression in a shock tube-like apparatus, impact by a falling piston, and milling in a ball mill. Grain size distributions of the products reveal that all three mechanisms produce fractal breakage patterns, and that the fractal dimension increases from a minimum of 2.1 for decompression fragmentation (primary fragmentation) to a maximum of 2.7 by repeated impact (secondary fragmentation). To assess the details of the fragmentation process, we quantified the shape, texture and components of constituent ash particles. Ash shape analysis shows that the axial ratio increases during milling and that particle convexity increases with repeated impacts. We also quantify the extent to which the matrix is separated from the crystals, which shows that secondary processes efficiently remove adhering matrix from crystals, particularly during milling (abrasion). Furthermore, measurements of crystal size distributions before (using x-ray computed tomography) and after (by componentry of individual grain size classes) decompression-driven fragmentation show not only that crystals influence particular size fractions across the total grain size distribution, but also that free crystals are smaller in the fragmented material than in the original pumice clast. Taken together, our results confirm previous work showing both the control of initial texture on the primary fragmentation process and the contributions of secondary processes to ash formation. Critically, however, our extension of previous analyses to characterisation

  20. Quantification of habitat fragmentation reveals extinction risk in terrestrial mammals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crooks, Kevin R.; Burdett, Christopher L.; Theobald, David M.; King, Sarah R. B.; Rondinini, Carlo; Boitani, Luigi

    2017-01-01

    Although habitat fragmentation is often assumed to be a primary driver of extinction, global patterns of fragmentation and its relationship to extinction risk have not been consistently quantified for any major animal taxon. We developed high-resolution habitat fragmentation models and used phylogenetic comparative methods to quantify the effects of habitat fragmentation on the world’s terrestrial mammals, including 4,018 species across 26 taxonomic Orders. Results demonstrate that species with more fragmentation are at greater risk of extinction, even after accounting for the effects of key macroecological predictors, such as body size and geographic range size. Species with higher fragmentation had smaller ranges and a lower proportion of high-suitability habitat within their range, and most high-suitability habitat occurred outside of protected areas, further elevating extinction risk. Our models provide a quantitative evaluation of extinction risk assessments for species, allow for identification of emerging threats in species not classified as threatened, and provide maps of global hotspots of fragmentation for the world’s terrestrial mammals. Quantification of habitat fragmentation will help guide threat assessment and strategic priorities for global mammal conservation. PMID:28673992

  1. Scaling and universality in binary fragmenting with inhibition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ploszajczak, M.; Botet, R.

    1994-01-01

    We investigate a new model of binary fragmentation with inhibition, driven by the white noise. In a broad range of fragmentation probabilities, the power-law spatio-temporal correlations ar found to arise due to self-organized criticality (SOC). We find in the SOC phase a non-trivial power spectrum of the temporal sequence of the fragmentation events. The 1/∫ behaviour is recovered in the irreversible, near-equilibrium part of this phase. (authors). 13 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

  2. Scaling and universality in binary fragmenting with inhibition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ploszajczak, M [Grand Accelerateur National d` Ions Lourds (GANIL), 14 - Caen (France); Botet, R [Paris-11 Univ., 91 - Orsay (France). Lab. de Physique des Solides

    1994-12-31

    We investigate a new model of binary fragmentation with inhibition, driven by the white noise. In a broad range of fragmentation probabilities, the power-law spatio-temporal correlations ar found to arise due to self-organized criticality (SOC). We find in the SOC phase a non-trivial power spectrum of the temporal sequence of the fragmentation events. The 1/{integral} behaviour is recovered in the irreversible, near-equilibrium part of this phase. (authors). 13 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.

  3. In silico fragment-based drug discovery: setup and validation of a fragment-to-lead computational protocol using S4MPLE.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffer, Laurent; Renaud, Jean-Paul; Horvath, Dragos

    2013-04-22

    This paper describes the use and validation of S4MPLE in Fragment-Based Drug Design (FBDD)--a strategy to build drug-like ligands starting from small compounds called fragments. S4MPLE is a conformational sampling tool based on a hybrid genetic algorithm that is able to simulate one (conformer enumeration) or more molecules (docking). The goal of the current paper is to show that due to the judicious design of genetic operators, S4MPLE may be used without any specific adaptation as an in silico FBDD tool. Such fragment-to-lead evolution involves either growing of one or linking of several fragment-like binder(s). The native ability to specifically "dock" a substructure that is covalently anchored to its target (here, some prepositioned fragment formally part of the binding site) enables it to act like dedicated de novo builders and differentiates it from most classical docking tools, which may only cope with non-covalent interactions. Besides, S4MPLE may address growing/linking scenarios involving protein site flexibility, and it might also suggest "growth" moves by bridging the ligand to the site via water-mediated interactions if H2O molecules are simply appended to the input files. Therefore, the only development overhead required to build a virtual fragment→ligand growing/linking strategy based on S4MPLE were two chemoinformatics programs meant to provide a minimalistic management of the linker library. The first creates a duplicate-free library by fragmenting a compound database, whereas the second builds new compounds, attaching chemically compatible linkers to the starting fragments. S4MPLE is subsequently used to probe the optimal placement of the linkers within the binding site, with initial restraints on atoms from initial fragments, followed by an optimization of all kept poses after restraint removal. Ranking is mainly based on two criteria: force-field potential energy and RMSD shifts of the original fragment moieties. This strategy was applied to

  4. Analyzing Internal Fragmentation of Electrosprayed Ubiquitin Ions During Beam-Type Collisional Dissociation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durbin, Kenneth R.; Skinner, Owen S.; Fellers, Ryan T.; Kelleher, Neil L.

    2015-05-01

    Gaseous fragmentation of intact proteins is multifaceted and can be unpredictable by current theories in the field. Contributing to the complexity is the multitude of precursor ion states and fragmentation channels. Terminal fragment ions can be re-fragmented, yielding product ions containing neither terminus, termed internal fragment ions. In an effort to better understand and capitalize upon this fragmentation process, we collisionally dissociated the high (13+), middle (10+), and low (7+) charge states of electrosprayed ubiquitin ions. Both terminal and internal fragmentation processes were quantified through step-wise increases of voltage potential in the collision cell. An isotope fitting algorithm matched observed product ions to theoretical terminal and internal fragment ions. At optimal energies for internal fragmentation of the 10+, nearly 200 internal fragments were observed; on average each of the 76 residues in ubiquitin was covered by 24.1 internal fragments. A pertinent finding was that formation of internal ions occurs at similar energy thresholds as terminal b- and y-ion types in beam-type activation. This large amount of internal fragmentation is frequently overlooked during top-down mass spectrometry. As such, we present several new approaches to visualize internal fragments through modified graphical fragment maps. With the presented advances of internal fragment ion accounting and visualization, the total percentage of matched fragment ions increased from approximately 40% to over 75% in a typical beam-type MS/MS spectrum. These sequence coverage improvements offer greater characterization potential for whole proteins with no needed experimental changes and could be of large benefit for future high-throughput intact protein analysis.

  5. Fragmentation in central collisions of heavy systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Claesson, G.; Doss, K.G.R.; Ferguson, R.

    1987-01-01

    One of the goals of heavy ion reaction studies is to understand the fragmentation of hot nuclei. The LBL/GSI Plastic Ball detector system has been used to achieve a very high solid angle for detection of light and medium-heavy fragments emitted in 200 Mev/A Au + Au and Au + Fe reactions. The simultaneous measurement of almost all of the nucleons and nuclei resulting from each collision allows an estimation of the total charged particle multiplicity and hence the impact parameter. By choosing subsets of the data corresponding to a peripheral or central collision, the assumptions inherent in various models of nuclear fragmentation can be tested. 3 refs., 3 figs

  6. Global patterns of fragmentation and connectivity of mammalian carnivore habitat

    OpenAIRE

    Crooks, Kevin R.; Burdett, Christopher L.; Theobald, David M.; Rondinini, Carlo; Boitani, Luigi

    2011-01-01

    Although mammalian carnivores are vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and require landscape connectivity, their global patterns of fragmentation and connectivity have not been examined. We use recently developed high-resolution habitat suitability models to conduct comparative analyses and to identify global hotspots of fragmentation and connectivity for the world's terrestrial carnivores. Species with less fragmentation (i.e. more interior high-quality habitat) had larger geographical ranges...

  7. NMR screening in fragment-based drug design: a practical guide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hai-Young; Wyss, Daniel F

    2015-01-01

    Fragment-based drug design (FBDD) comprises both fragment-based screening (FBS) to find hits and elaboration of these hits to lead compounds. Typical fragment hits have lower molecular weight (FBDD since it identifies and localizes the binding site of weakly interacting hits on the target protein. Here we describe ligand-based NMR methods for hit identification from fragment libraries and for functional cross-validation of primary hits.

  8. Label free fragment screening using surface plasmon resonance as a tool for fragment finding - analyzing parkin, a difficult CNS target.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karin Regnström

    Full Text Available Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR is rarely used as a primary High-throughput Screening (HTS tool in fragment-based approaches. With SPR instruments becoming increasingly high-throughput it is now possible to use SPR as a primary tool for fragment finding. SPR becomes, therefore, a valuable tool in the screening of difficult targets such as the ubiquitin E3 ligase Parkin. As a prerequisite for the screen, a large number of SPR tests were performed to characterize and validate the active form of Parkin. A set of compounds was designed and used to define optimal SPR assay conditions for this fragment screen. Using these conditions, more than 5000 pre-selected fragments from our in-house library were screened for binding to Parkin. Additionally, all fragments were simultaneously screened for binding to two off target proteins to exclude promiscuous binding compounds. A low hit rate was observed that is in line with hit rates usually obtained by other HTS screening assays. All hits were further tested in dose responses on the target protein by SPR for confirmation before channeling the hits into Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR and other hit-confirmation assays.

  9. Fragment-based approaches to the discovery of kinase inhibitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mortenson, Paul N; Berdini, Valerio; O'Reilly, Marc

    2014-01-01

    Protein kinases are one of the most important families of drug targets, and aberrant kinase activity has been linked to a large number of disease areas. Although eminently targetable using small molecules, kinases present a number of challenges as drug targets, not least obtaining selectivity across such a large and relatively closely related target family. Fragment-based drug discovery involves screening simple, low-molecular weight compounds to generate initial hits against a target. These hits are then optimized to more potent compounds via medicinal chemistry, usually facilitated by structural biology. Here, we will present a number of recent examples of fragment-based approaches to the discovery of kinase inhibitors, detailing the construction of fragment-screening libraries, the identification and validation of fragment hits, and their optimization into potent and selective lead compounds. The advantages of fragment-based methodologies will be discussed, along with some of the challenges associated with using this route. Finally, we will present a number of key lessons derived both from our own experience running fragment screens against kinases and from a large number of published studies.

  10. Effective progression of nuclear magnetic resonance-detected fragment hits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eaton, Hugh L; Wyss, Daniel F

    2011-01-01

    Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) has become increasingly popular over the last decade as an alternate lead generation tool to HTS approaches. Several compounds have now progressed into the clinic which originated from a fragment-based approach, demonstrating the utility of this emerging field. While fragment hit identification has become much more routine and may involve different screening approaches, the efficient progression of fragment hits into quality lead series may still present a major bottleneck for the broadly successful application of FBDD. In our laboratory, we have extensive experience in fragment-based NMR screening (SbN) and the subsequent iterative progression of fragment hits using structure-assisted chemistry. To maximize impact, we have applied this approach strategically to early- and high-priority targets, and those struggling for leads. Its application has yielded a clinical candidate for BACE1 and lead series in about one third of the SbN/FBDD projects. In this chapter, we will give an overview of our strategy and focus our discussion on NMR-based FBDD approaches. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. High Efficiency Hydrodynamic DNA Fragmentation in a Bubbling System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Lanhui; Jin, Mingliang; Sun, Chenglong; Wang, Xiaoxue; Xie, Shuting; Zhou, Guofu; van den Berg, Albert; Eijkel, Jan C T; Shui, Lingling

    2017-01-18

    DNA fragmentation down to a precise fragment size is important for biomedical applications, disease determination, gene therapy and shotgun sequencing. In this work, a cheap, easy to operate and high efficiency DNA fragmentation method is demonstrated based on hydrodynamic shearing in a bubbling system. We expect that hydrodynamic forces generated during the bubbling process shear the DNA molecules, extending and breaking them at the points where shearing forces are larger than the strength of the phosphate backbone. Factors of applied pressure, bubbling time and temperature have been investigated. Genomic DNA could be fragmented down to controllable 1-10 Kbp fragment lengths with a yield of 75.30-91.60%. We demonstrate that the ends of the genomic DNAs generated from hydrodynamic shearing can be ligated by T4 ligase and the fragmented DNAs can be used as templates for polymerase chain reaction. Therefore, in the bubbling system, DNAs could be hydrodynamically sheared to achieve smaller pieces in dsDNAs available for further processes. It could potentially serve as a DNA sample pretreatment technique in the future.

  12. Reconstruction of Banknote Fragments Based on Keypoint Matching Method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gwo, Chih-Ying; Wei, Chia-Hung; Li, Yue; Chiu, Nan-Hsing

    2015-07-01

    Banknotes may be shredded by a scrap machine, ripped up by hand, or damaged in accidents. This study proposes an image registration method for reconstruction of multiple sheets of banknotes. The proposed method first constructs different scale spaces to identify keypoints in the underlying banknote fragments. Next, the features of those keypoints are extracted to represent their local patterns around keypoints. Then, similarity is computed to find the keypoint pairs between the fragment and the reference banknote. The banknote fragments can determine the coordinate and amend the orientation. Finally, an assembly strategy is proposed to piece multiple sheets of banknote fragments together. Experimental results show that the proposed method causes, on average, a deviation of 0.12457 ± 0.12810° for each fragment while the SIFT method deviates 1.16893 ± 2.35254° on average. The proposed method not only reconstructs the banknotes but also decreases the computing cost. Furthermore, the proposed method can estimate relatively precisely the orientation of the banknote fragments to assemble. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  13. Embedded Fragments Registry (EFR)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Veterans Affairs — In 2009, the Department of Defense estimated that approximately 40,000 service members who served in OEF/OIF may have embedded fragment wounds as the result of small...

  14. Land reform and land fragmentation in Central and Eastern Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hartvigsen, Morten B.

    2014-01-01

    It has often been stated that land fragmentation and farm structures characterized by small agricultural holdings and farms divided in a large number of parcels have been the side-effect of land reform in Central and Eastern Europe. This article reports the findings of a study of land reform in 25...... countries in the region from 1989 and onwards and provides an overview of applied land reform approaches. With a basis in theory on land fragmentation, the linkage between land reform approaches and land fragmentation is explored. It is discussed in which situations land fragmentation is a barrier...... for the development of the agricultural and rural sector. The main finding is that land fragmentation is often hampering agricultural and rural development when both land ownership and land use is highly fragmented....

  15. On the application of gluon to heavy quarkonium fragmentation function

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qi Wei; Wang Jianxiong

    2007-01-01

    We analyze the uncertainties induced by different definitions of the momentum fraction z in the application of gluon to heavy quarkonium fragmentation function. We numerically calculate the initial g→J/ψ fragmentation functions by using the non-covariant definitions of z with finite gluon momentum and find that these fragmentation functions have strong dependence on the gluon momentum k. As |k|→∞, these fragmentation functions approach to the fragmentation function in the light-cone definition. We find that when |k| is small (for instance in the typical energy scale (about 4-20GeV) of the gluon production at the hadron colliders, such as Tevatron and LHC), large uncertainty remains while the in-covariant definitions of z are employed in the application of the fragmentation functions. (authors)

  16. Fission fragment mass distributions via prompt γ-ray spectroscopy

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The distribution of fragment masses formed in nuclear fission is one of the most strik- ing features .... 80. 100. 120. 140. 160. 10. 3. 10. 4. Fragment Mass. Relative yield. Sn. Cd. Te. Pd ... the secondary fragment at Z = 50 and N = 82 shells, where the yields are depleted. Both ... More systematic experimental data are required.

  17. Validation of Geant4 fragmentation for Heavy Ion Therapy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bolst, David; Cirrone, Giuseppe A. P.; Cuttone, Giacomo; Folger, Gunter; Incerti, Sebastien; Ivanchenko, Vladimir; Koi, Tatsumi; Mancusi, Davide; Pandola, Luciano; Romano, Francesco; Rosenfeld, Anatoly B.; Guatelli, Susanna

    2017-10-01

    12C ion therapy has had growing interest in recent years for its excellent dose conformity. However at therapeutic energies, which can be as high as 400 MeV/u, carbon ions produce secondary fragments. For an incident 400 MeV/u 12C ion beam, ∼ 70 % of the beam will undergo fragmentation before the Bragg Peak. The dosimetric and radiobiological impact of these fragments must be accurately characterised, as it can result in increasing the risk of secondary cancer for the patient as well as altering the relative biological effectiveness. This work investigates the accuracy of three different nuclear fragmentation models available in the Monte Carlo Toolkit Geant4, the Binary Intranuclear Cascade (BIC), the Quantum Molecular Dynamics (QMD) and the Liege Intranuclear Cascade (INCL++). The models were benchmarked against experimental data for a pristine 400 MeV/u 12C beam incident upon a water phantom, including fragment yield, angular and energy distribution. For fragment yields the three alternative models agreed between ∼ 5 and ∼ 35 % with experimental measurements, the QMD using the "Frag" option gave the best agreement for lighter fragments but had reduced agreement for larger fragments. For angular distributions INCL++ was seen to provide the best agreement among the models for all elements with the exception of Hydrogen, while BIC and QMD was seen to produce broader distributions compared to experiment. BIC and QMD performed similar to one another for kinetic energy distributions while INCL++ suffered from producing lower energy distributions compared to the other models and experiment.

  18. A molecular fragment cheminformatics roadmap for mesoscopic simulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Truszkowski, Andreas; Daniel, Mirco; Kuhn, Hubert; Neumann, Stefan; Steinbeck, Christoph; Zielesny, Achim; Epple, Matthias

    2014-12-01

    Mesoscopic simulation studies the structure, dynamics and properties of large molecular ensembles with millions of atoms: Its basic interacting units (beads) are no longer the nuclei and electrons of quantum chemical ab-initio calculations or the atom types of molecular mechanics but molecular fragments, molecules or even larger molecular entities. For its simulation setup and output a mesoscopic simulation kernel software uses abstract matrix (array) representations for bead topology and connectivity. Therefore a pure kernel-based mesoscopic simulation task is a tedious, time-consuming and error-prone venture that limits its practical use and application. A consequent cheminformatics approach tackles these problems and provides solutions for a considerably enhanced accessibility. This study aims at outlining a complete cheminformatics roadmap that frames a mesoscopic Molecular Fragment Dynamics (MFD) simulation kernel to allow its efficient use and practical application. The molecular fragment cheminformatics roadmap consists of four consecutive building blocks: An adequate fragment structure representation (1), defined operations on these fragment structures (2), the description of compartments with defined compositions and structural alignments (3), and the graphical setup and analysis of a whole simulation box (4). The basis of the cheminformatics approach (i.e. building block 1) is a SMILES-like line notation (denoted f SMILES) with connected molecular fragments to represent a molecular structure. The f SMILES notation and the following concepts and methods for building blocks 2-4 are outlined with examples and practical usage scenarios. It is shown that the requirements of the roadmap may be partly covered by already existing open-source cheminformatics software. Mesoscopic simulation techniques like MFD may be considerably alleviated and broadened for practical use with a consequent cheminformatics layer that successfully tackles its setup subtleties and

  19. Spent fuel waste form characteristics: Grain and fragment size statistical dependence for dissolution response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stout, R.B.; Leider, H.; Weed, H.; Nguyen, S.; McKenzie, W.; Prussin, S.; Wilson, C.N.; Gray, W.J.

    1991-04-01

    The Yucca Mountain Project of the US Department of Energy is investigating the suitability of the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain, NV, for a high-level nuclear waste repository. All of the nuclear waste will be enclosed in a container package. Most of the nuclear waste will be in the form of fractured UO 2 spent fuel pellets in Zircaloy-clad rods from electric power reactors. If failure of both the container and its enclosed clad rods occurs, then the fragments of the fractured UO 2 spent fuel will be exposed to their surroundings. Even though the surroundings are an unsaturated zone, a possibility of water transport exists, and consequently, UO 2 spent fuel dissolution may occur. A repository requirement imposes a limit on the nuclide release per year during a 10,000 year period; thus the short term dissolution response from fragmented fuel pellet surfaces in any given year must be understood. This requirement necessitates that both experimental and analytical activities be directed toward predicting the relatively short term dissolution response of UO 2 spent fuel. The short term dissolution response involves gap nuclides, grain boundary nuclides, and grain volume nuclides. Analytical expressions are developed that describe the combined geometrical influences of grain boundary nuclides and grain volume nuclides on the dissolution rate of spent fuel. 7 refs., 1 fig

  20. Jet fragmentation function moments in heavy ion collisions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cacciari, Matteo [UPMC Univ. Paris 6 et CNRS UMR 7589, LPTHE, Paris (France); Universite Paris Diderot, Paris (France); Quiroga-Arias, Paloma [UPMC Univ. Paris 6 et CNRS UMR 7589, LPTHE, Paris (France); Salam, Gavin P. [UPMC Univ. Paris 6 et CNRS UMR 7589, LPTHE, Paris (France); CERN, Department of Physics, Theory Unit, Geneva 23 (Switzerland); Princeton University, Department of Physics, Princeton, NJ (United States); Soyez, Gregory [CNRS URA 2306, Institut de Physique Theorique, CEA Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

    2013-03-15

    The nature of a jet's fragmentation in heavy-ion collisions has the potential to cast light on the mechanism of jet quenching. However, the presence of the huge underlying event complicates the reconstruction of the jet fragmentation function as a function of the momentum fraction z of hadrons in the jet. Here we propose the use of moments of the fragmentation function. These quantities appear to be as sensitive to quenching modifications as the fragmentation function directly in z. We show that they are amenable to background subtraction using the same jet-area-based techniques proposed in the past for jet p{sub t} 's. Furthermore, complications due to correlations between background-fluctuation contributions to the jet's p{sub t} and to its particle content are easily corrected for. (orig.)

  1. Jet fragmentation function moments in heavy ion collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cacciari, Matteo; Quiroga-Arias, Paloma; Salam, Gavin P.; Soyez, Gregory

    2013-01-01

    The nature of a jet's fragmentation in heavy-ion collisions has the potential to cast light on the mechanism of jet quenching. However, the presence of the huge underlying event complicates the reconstruction of the jet fragmentation function as a function of the momentum fraction z of hadrons in the jet. Here we propose the use of moments of the fragmentation function. These quantities appear to be as sensitive to quenching modifications as the fragmentation function directly in z. We show that they are amenable to background subtraction using the same jet-area-based techniques proposed in the past for jet p t 's. Furthermore, complications due to correlations between background-fluctuation contributions to the jet's p t and to its particle content are easily corrected for. (orig.)

  2. Experimental studies on the heavy quark fragmentation functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bethke, S.

    1985-07-01

    The influence of perturbative QCD gluon radiation and initial state photon radiation on the experimental determination of the heavy quark fragmentation functions is studied in order to extract , the mean of the charm fragmentation function, from the recent measurements of inclusive Dsup(*) production in e + e - annihilation processes. The result is =0.71+-0.014+-0.03, which is scale invariant in the c.m. energy range of 10 GeV to 34 GeV. This result is interpreted in terms of kinematical calculations on heavy quark fragmentation and also compared with results from ν-N-reactions and from investigations of inclusive lepton production in e + e - annihilation. Results of a QCD shower model are in good agreement with the data and offer an alternative description of phenomenological fragmentation functions. (orig.)

  3. Fragmentation in 28Si-emulsion interactions at 3.7A GeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, B.K.; Tuli, S.K.

    1999-01-01

    The results on fragmentation of a 3.7A GeV 28 Si projectile in interactions with different target nuclei in nuclear emulsion are presented. Limiting fragmentation behaviour of the projectile fragments is achieved at this energy. It is shown that the factorization principle for fragmentation cross-sections holds for light fragments only. A bond percolation prescription is able to reproduce the experimental observations for fragments with charge 4≤Z≤10. A rise in the production of helium fragments is also predicted by bond percolation

  4. Forest edge disturbance increases rattan abundance in tropical rain forest fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Mason J; Edwards, Will; Magrach, Ainhoa; Laurance, Susan G; Alamgir, Mohammed; Porolak, Gabriel; Laurance, William F

    2017-07-20

    Human-induced forest fragmentation poses one of the largest threats to global diversity yet its impact on rattans (climbing palms) has remained virtually unexplored. Rattan is arguably the world's most valuable non-timber forest product though current levels of harvesting and land-use change place wild populations at risk. To assess rattan response to fragmentation exclusive of harvesting impacts we examined rattan abundance, demography and ecology within the forests of northeastern, Australia. We assessed the community abundance of rattans, and component adult (>3 m) and juvenile (≤3 m) abundance in five intact forests and five fragments (23-58 ha) to determine their response to a range of environmental and ecological parameters. Fragmented forests supported higher abundances of rattans than intact forests. Fragment size and edge degradation significantly increased adult rattan abundance, with more in smaller fragments and near edges. Our findings suggest that rattan increase within fragments is due to canopy disturbance of forest edges resulting in preferential, high-light habitat. However, adult and juvenile rattans may respond inconsistently to fragmentation. In managed forest fragments, a rattan abundance increase may provide economic benefits through sustainable harvesting practices. However, rattan increases in protected area forest fragments could negatively impact conservation outcomes.

  5. Revisiting the even-odd staggering in fission-fragment yields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caamano, M.; Rejmund, F.; Schmidt, K. H.

    2010-01-01

    The even-odd staggering observed in the experimental fission-fragment nuclear-charge yields is investigated over a wide systematics of fission fragments measured at Lohengrin in direct kinematics and at GSI in inverse kinematics. The general increase of the even-odd staggering in the fission-fragment charge yields towards asymmetric charge splits is explained by the absorption of the unpaired nucleons by the heavy fragment. As a consequence, the well established trend of even-odd staggering in the fission fragment charge yields to decrease with the fissility is attributed in part to the asymmetry evolution of the charge distribution. This interpretation is strongly supported by the data measured at GSI, which cover the complete charge distribution and include precise yields at symmetry. They reveal that the even-odd effect around symmetry remains constant over a large range of fissility. (authors)

  6. Charge distribution in the ternary fragmentation of {sup 252}Cf

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Senthil Kannan, M.T.; Balasubramaniam, M. [Bharathiar University, Department of Physics, Coimbatore (India)

    2017-08-15

    We present here, for the first time, a study on ternary fragmentation charge distribution of {sup 252}Cf using the convolution integral method and the statistical theory. The charge distribution for all possible charge combinations of a ternary breakup are grouped as a bin containing different mass partitions. Different bins corresponding to various third fragments with mass numbers from A{sub 3} = 16 to 84 are identified with the available experimental masses. The corresponding potential energy surfaces are calculated using the three cluster model for the two arrangements A{sub 1} + A{sub 2} + A{sub 3} and A{sub 1} + A{sub 3} + A{sub 2}. The ternary fragmentation yield values are calculated for the ternary combination from each bin possessing minimum potential energy. The yields of the resulting ternary combinations as a function of the charge numbers of the three fragments are analyzed for both the arrangements. The calculations are carried out at different excitation energies of the parent nucleus. For each excitation energy the temperature of the three fragments are iteratively computed conserving the total energy. The distribution of fragment temperatures corresponding to different excitation energies for some fixed third fragments are discussed. The presence of the closed shell nucleus Sn in the favourable ternary fragmentation is highlighted. (orig.)

  7. Process Fragment Libraries for Easier and Faster Development of Process-based Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Schumm

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The term “process fragment” is recently gaining momentum in business process management research. We understand a process fragment as a connected and reusable process structure, which has relaxed completeness and consistency criteria compared to executable processes. We claim that process fragments allow for an easier and faster development of process-based applications. As evidence to this claim we present a process fragment concept and show a sample collection of concrete, real-world process fragments. We present advanced application scenarios for using such fragments in development of process-based applications. Process fragments are typically managed in a repository, forming a process fragment library. On top of a process fragment library from previous work, we discuss the potential impact of using process fragment libraries in cross-enterprise collaboration and application integration.

  8. HIERARCHICAL FRAGMENTATION OF THE ORION MOLECULAR FILAMENTS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Satoko; Ho, Paul T. P.; Su, Yu-Nung; Teixeira, Paula S.; Zapata, Luis A.

    2013-01-01

    We present a high angular resolution map of the 850 μm continuum emission of the Orion Molecular Cloud-3 (OMC 3) obtained with the Submillimeter Array (SMA); the map is a mosaic of 85 pointings covering an approximate area of 6.'5 × 2.'0 (0.88 × 0.27 pc). We detect 12 spatially resolved continuum sources, each with an H 2 mass between 0.3-5.7 M ☉ and a projected source size between 1400-8200 AU. All the detected sources are on the filamentary main ridge (n H 2 ≥10 6 cm –3 ), and analysis based on the Jeans theorem suggests that they are most likely gravitationally unstable. Comparison of multi-wavelength data sets indicates that of the continuum sources, 6/12 (50%) are associated with molecular outflows, 8/12 (67%) are associated with infrared sources, and 3/12 (25%) are associated with ionized jets. The evolutionary status of these sources ranges from prestellar cores to protostar phase, confirming that OMC-3 is an active region with ongoing embedded star formation. We detect quasi-periodical separations between the OMC-3 sources of ≈17''/0.035 pc. This spatial distribution is part of a large hierarchical structure that also includes fragmentation scales of giant molecular cloud (≈35 pc), large-scale clumps (≈1.3 pc), and small-scale clumps (≈0.3 pc), suggesting that hierarchical fragmentation operates within the Orion A molecular cloud. The fragmentation spacings are roughly consistent with the thermal fragmentation length in large-scale clumps, while for small-scale cores it is smaller than the local fragmentation length. These smaller spacings observed with the SMA can be explained by either a helical magnetic field, cloud rotation, or/and global filament collapse. Finally, possible evidence for sequential fragmentation is suggested in the northern part of the OMC-3 filament.

  9. A note on convex renorming and fragmentability

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

    Abstract. Using the game approach to fragmentability, we give new and simpler proofs of the following known results: (a) If the Banach space admits an equivalent. Kadec norm, then its weak topology is fragmented by a metric which is stronger than the norm topology. (b) If the Banach space admits an equivalent rotund ...

  10. Synthesis of the C(18)-C(34) fragment of amphidinolide C and the C(18)-C(29) fragment of amphidinolide F.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, Sudeshna; Spilling, Christopher D

    2010-11-19

    A convergent synthesis of the C(18)-C(34) fragment of amphidinolide C and the C(18)-C(29) fragment of amphidinolide F is reported. The approach involves the synthesis of the common intermediate tetrahydrofuranyl-β-ketophosphonate via cross metathesis, Pd(0)-catalyzed cyclization, and hydroboration-oxidation. The β-ketophosphonate was coupled to three side chain aldehydes using a Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) olefination reaction to give dienones, which were reduced with l-selectride to give the fragments of amphidinolide C and F.

  11. Complete photo-fragmentation of the deuterium molecule

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Weber, Thorsten; Czasch, Achim O.; Jagutzki, Ottmar; Muller, Alkis K.; Mergel, Volker; Kheifets, A.; Rotenberg, Eli; Meigs, George; Prior, Mike H.; Daveau, Sebastian; Landers, Allen; Cocke, C.L.; Osipov, Timur; Diez Muino, Ricardo; Schmidt-Bocking, Horst; Dorner, Reinhard

    2004-01-01

    All properties of molecules, from binding and excitation energies to their geometry, are determined by the highly correlated initial state wavefunction of the electrons and nuclei. Perhaps surprisingly, details of these correlations can be revealed by studying the break-up of these systems into their constituents. The fragmentation might be initiated by the absorption of a single photon [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6], collision with a charged particle [7, 8] or exposure to a strong laser pulse [9, 10]. If the exciting interaction is sufficiently understood, one can use the fragmentation process as a tool to learn about the bound initial state [11, 12]. However, often the interaction and the fragment motions pose formidable challenges to quantum theory [13, 14, 15]. Here we report the coincident measurement of the momenta of both nuclei and both electrons from the single photon induced fragmentation of the deuterium molecule. The results reveal that the correlated motion of the electrons is strongly dependent on the inter-nuclear separation in the molecular ground state at the instant of photon absorption

  12. OSCILLATING FILAMENTS. I. OSCILLATION AND GEOMETRICAL FRAGMENTATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gritschneder, Matthias; Heigl, Stefan; Burkert, Andreas, E-mail: gritschm@usm.uni-muenchen.de [University Observatory Munich, LMU Munich, Scheinerstrasse 1, D-81679 Munich (Germany)

    2017-01-10

    We study the stability of filaments in equilibrium between gravity and internal as well as external pressure using the grid-based AMR code RAMSES. A homogeneous, straight cylinder below a critical line mass is marginally stable. However, if the cylinder is bent, such as with a slight sinusoidal perturbation, an otherwise stable configuration starts to oscillate, is triggered into fragmentation, and collapses. This previously unstudied behavior allows a filament to fragment at any given scale, as long as it has slight bends. We call this process “geometrical fragmentation.” In our realization, the spacing between the cores matches the wavelength of the sinusoidal perturbation, whereas up to now, filaments were thought to be only fragmenting on the characteristic scale set by the mass-to-line ratio. Using first principles, we derive the oscillation period as well as the collapse timescale analytically. To enable a direct comparison with observations, we study the line-of-sight velocity for different inclinations. We show that the overall oscillation pattern can hide the infall signature of cores.

  13. Efficient clustering aggregation based on data fragments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Ou; Hu, Weiming; Maybank, Stephen J; Zhu, Mingliang; Li, Bing

    2012-06-01

    Clustering aggregation, known as clustering ensembles, has emerged as a powerful technique for combining different clustering results to obtain a single better clustering. Existing clustering aggregation algorithms are applied directly to data points, in what is referred to as the point-based approach. The algorithms are inefficient if the number of data points is large. We define an efficient approach for clustering aggregation based on data fragments. In this fragment-based approach, a data fragment is any subset of the data that is not split by any of the clustering results. To establish the theoretical bases of the proposed approach, we prove that clustering aggregation can be performed directly on data fragments under two widely used goodness measures for clustering aggregation taken from the literature. Three new clustering aggregation algorithms are described. The experimental results obtained using several public data sets show that the new algorithms have lower computational complexity than three well-known existing point-based clustering aggregation algorithms (Agglomerative, Furthest, and LocalSearch); nevertheless, the new algorithms do not sacrifice the accuracy.

  14. Element Distribution and Multiplicity of Heavy Fragments

    CERN Multimedia

    2002-01-01

    This experiment will measure the energy and angular distribution of heavy fragments produced in the reactions of |1|2C on several targets between |2|7Al and |2|3|8U at 86~MeV/u. The systematic investigation of a highly excited interaction region (fireball) by means of a clean N and Z identification of heavy tar fragments, may result in a better understanding of temperature concept and of the degree of equilibration of the local interaction region with respect to the total system. For this investigation a large-area position sensitive ionization chamber of 50~msr solid angle in conjunction with a time-of-flight telescope consisting of parallel-plate detectors will be used. \\\\ \\\\ In order to get information on the transverse momentum transfer and the inelasticity of the collision, the energy of the PROJECTILE-FRAGMENTS will be measured at forward angles with a plastic scintillator hodoscope. In addition to this inclusive measurement correlations between heavy fragments will be investigated by means of three pos...

  15. Albumin modification and fragmentation in renal disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donadio, Carlo; Tognotti, Danika; Donadio, Elena

    2012-02-18

    Albumin is the most important antioxidant substance in plasma and performs many physiological functions. Furthermore, albumin is the major carrier of endogenous molecules and exogenous ligands. This paper reviews the importance of post-translational modifications of albumin and fragments thereof in patients with renal disease. First, current views and controversies on renal handling of proteins, mainly albumin, will be discussed. Post-translational modifications, namely the fragmentation of albumin found with proteomic techniques in nephrotic patients, diabetics, and ESRD patients will be presented and discussed. It is reasonable to hypothesize that proteolytic fragmentation of serum albumin is due to a higher susceptibility to proteases, induced by oxidative stress. The clinical relevance of the fragmentation of albumin has not yet been established. These modifications could affect some physiological functions of albumin and have a patho-physiological role in uremic syndrome. Proteomic analysis of serum allows the identification of over-expressed proteins and can detect post-translational modifications of serum proteins, hitherto hidden, using standard laboratory techniques. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Cross sections and kinematics of proton induced fragmentation of carbon

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Streibel, T.; Roecher, H.; Huentrup, G.; Heinrich, W.

    1997-01-01

    Charge changing fragmentation cross sections for C at a proton energy of about 70 MeV were measured. The discrepancies between measurement and model predictions indicate the necessity of further investigations. We have also measured distributions of fragment emission angles which can be described using a model with a momentum transfer to the fragmenting nucleus. The developed model leads to predictions for momentum distributions of proton induced target fragments of C at small energies. (orig.)

  17. Cross sections and kinematics of proton induced fragmentation of carbon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Streibel, T; Roecher, H; Huentrup, G; Heinrich, W [Siegen Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Physics

    1997-09-01

    Charge changing fragmentation cross sections for C at a proton energy of about 70 MeV were measured. The discrepancies between measurement and model predictions indicate the necessity of further investigations. We have also measured distributions of fragment emission angles which can be described using a model with a momentum transfer to the fragmenting nucleus. The developed model leads to predictions for momentum distributions of proton induced target fragments of C at small energies. (orig.)

  18. Quark fragmentation into 3PJ quarkonium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma, J.P.

    1996-01-01

    The functions of parton fragmentation into 3 P J quarkonium at order α 2 s are calculated, where the parton can be a heavy or a light quark. The obtained functions explicitly satisfy the Altarelli-Parisi equation and they are divergent, behaving as z -1 near z = O. However, if one choses the renormalization scale as twice of the heavy quark mass, the fragmentation functions are regular over the whole range of z. 15 refs., 2 figs

  19. Forest fragmentation in Vietnam : Effects on tree diversity, populations and genetics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ha, V.T.

    2015-01-01

    Millions of square kilometers of the Earth’s surface is covered by forest fragments, and a quarter of remaining tropical forest has been fragmented. In Southeast Asia, about 650,000 ha of natural forests are fragmented per year. Fragmentation of old growth forests is considered to be the greatest

  20. Experiences in fragment-based drug discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Christopher W; Verdonk, Marcel L; Rees, David C

    2012-05-01

    Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) has become established in both industry and academia as an alternative approach to high-throughput screening for the generation of chemical leads for drug targets. In FBDD, specialised detection methods are used to identify small chemical compounds (fragments) that bind to the drug target, and structural biology is usually employed to establish their binding mode and to facilitate their optimisation. In this article, we present three recent and successful case histories in FBDD. We then re-examine the key concepts and challenges of FBDD with particular emphasis on recent literature and our own experience from a substantial number of FBDD applications. Our opinion is that careful application of FBDD is living up to its promise of delivering high quality leads with good physical properties and that in future many drug molecules will be derived from fragment-based approaches. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Does tropical forest fragmentation increase long-term variability of butterfly communities?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allison K Leidner

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Habitat fragmentation is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Yet, the overall effects of fragmentation on biodiversity may be obscured by differences in responses among species. These opposing responses to fragmentation may be manifest in higher variability in species richness and abundance (termed hyperdynamism, and in predictable changes in community composition. We tested whether forest fragmentation causes long-term hyperdynamism in butterfly communities, a taxon that naturally displays large variations in species richness and community composition. Using a dataset from an experimentally fragmented landscape in the central Amazon that spanned 11 years, we evaluated the effect of fragmentation on changes in species richness and community composition through time. Overall, adjusted species richness (adjusted for survey duration did not differ between fragmented forest and intact forest. However, spatial and temporal variation of adjusted species richness was significantly higher in fragmented forests relative to intact forest. This variation was associated with changes in butterfly community composition, specifically lower proportions of understory shade species and higher proportions of edge species in fragmented forest. Analysis of rarefied species richness, estimated using indices of butterfly abundance, showed no differences between fragmented and intact forest plots in spatial or temporal variation. These results do not contradict the results from adjusted species richness, but rather suggest that higher variability in butterfly adjusted species richness may be explained by changes in butterfly abundance. Combined, these results indicate that butterfly communities in fragmented tropical forests are more variable than in intact forest, and that the natural variability of butterflies was not a buffer against the effects of fragmentation on community dynamics.

  2. Does Tropical Forest Fragmentation Increase Long-Term Variability of Butterfly Communities?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leidner, Allison K.; Haddad, Nick M.; Lovejoy, Thomas E.

    2010-01-01

    Habitat fragmentation is a major driver of biodiversity loss. Yet, the overall effects of fragmentation on biodiversity may be obscured by differences in responses among species. These opposing responses to fragmentation may be manifest in higher variability in species richness and abundance (termed hyperdynamism), and in predictable changes in community composition. We tested whether forest fragmentation causes long-term hyperdynamism in butterfly communities, a taxon that naturally displays large variations in species richness and community composition. Using a dataset from an experimentally fragmented landscape in the central Amazon that spanned 11 years, we evaluated the effect of fragmentation on changes in species richness and community composition through time. Overall, adjusted species richness (adjusted for survey duration) did not differ between fragmented forest and intact forest. However, spatial and temporal variation of adjusted species richness was significantly higher in fragmented forests relative to intact forest. This variation was associated with changes in butterfly community composition, specifically lower proportions of understory shade species and higher proportions of edge species in fragmented forest. Analysis of rarefied species richness, estimated using indices of butterfly abundance, showed no differences between fragmented and intact forest plots in spatial or temporal variation. These results do not contradict the results from adjusted species richness, but rather suggest that higher variability in butterfly adjusted species richness may be explained by changes in butterfly abundance. Combined, these results indicate that butterfly communities in fragmented tropical forests are more variable than in intact forest, and that the natural variability of butterflies was not a buffer against the effects of fragmentation on community dynamics. PMID:20224772

  3. Analytical and experimental evaluation of a proposed self-forging fragment munition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tuft, D.B.; Folsom, E.N.

    1982-01-01

    Analytical and experimental tools have been used to study the formation of a proposed self-forging fragment projectile. The primary objective of this study is the determination of the interior and exterior shape of the fully formed fragment, and to determine if the fragment tumbles in flight. In addition, it is of interest to compare computer predictions to experimental results. An experiment was performed using high speed photography and high-energy flash x-ray radiography to study liner and case motion and projectile formation. Fabrication and assembly tolerances were closely controlled in an effort to eliminate tolerances as a possible source of fragment instability. X-ray film-density contours were analyzed to determine the fully formed fragment interior and exterior shape. Down-range yaw screens showed fragment tumbling in flight. The computed fragment shape was compared to experimental results and it was found that a retaining ring in the computational model near the liner periphery had a significant effect on the final computed fragment shape. With the retaining ring in the computational model and full two-way sliding between all material interfaces, the final computed fragment showed very good agreement with the experiment on both exterior and interior shapes

  4. Saturating representation of loop conformational fragments in structure databanks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fiser András

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Short fragments of proteins are fundamental starting points in various structure prediction applications, such as in fragment based loop modeling methods but also in various full structure build-up procedures. The applicability and performance of these approaches depend on the availability of short fragments in structure databanks. Results We studied the representation of protein loop fragments up to 14 residues in length. All possible query fragments found in sequence databases (Sequence Space were clustered and cross referenced with available structural fragments in Protein Data Bank (Structure Space. We found that the expansion of PDB in the last few years resulted in a dense coverage of loop conformational fragments. For each loops of length 8 in the current Sequence Space there is at least one loop in Structure Space with 50% or higher sequence identity. By correlating sequence and structure clusters of loops we found that a 50% sequence identity generally guarantees structural similarity. These percentages of coverage at 50% sequence cutoff drop to 96, 94, 68, 53, 33 and 13% for loops of length 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14, respectively. There is not a single loop in the current Sequence Space at any length up to 14 residues that is not matched with a conformational segment that shares at least 20% sequence identity. This minimum observed identity is 40% for loops of 12 residues or shorter and is as high as 50% for 10 residue or shorter loops. We also assessed the impact of rapidly growing sequence databanks on the estimated number of new loop conformations and found that while the number of sequentially unique sequence segments increased about six folds during the last five years there are almost no unique conformational segments among these up to 12 residues long fragments. Conclusion The results suggest that fragment based prediction approaches are not limited any more by the completeness of fragments in databanks but

  5. Linkage map of the fragments of herpesvirus papio DNA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Y S; Tanaka, A; Lau, R Y; Nonoyama, M; Rabin, H

    1981-01-01

    Herpesvirus papio (HVP), an Epstein-Barr-like virus, causes lymphoblastoid disease in baboons. The physical map of HVP DNA was constructed for the fragments produced by cleavage of HVP DNA with restriction endonucleases EcoRI, HindIII, SalI, and PvuI, which produced 12, 12, 10, and 4 fragments, respectively. The total molecular size of HVP DNA was calculated as close to 110 megadaltons. The following methods were used for construction of the map; (i) fragments near the ends of HVP DNA were identified by treating viral DNA with lambda exonuclease before restriction enzyme digestion; (ii) fragments containing nucleotide sequences in common with fragments from the second enzyme digest of HVP DNA were examined by Southern blot hybridization; and (iii) the location of some fragments was determined by isolating individual fragments from agarose gels and redigesting the isolated fragments with a second restriction enzyme. Terminal heterogeneity and internal repeats were found to be unique features of HVP DNA molecule. One to five repeats of 0.8 megadaltons were found at both terminal ends. Although the repeats of both ends shared a certain degree of homology, it was not determined whether they were identical repeats. The internal repeat sequence of HVP DNA was found in the EcoRI-C region, which extended from 8.4 to 23 megadaltons from the left end of the molecule. The average number of the repeats was calculated to be seven, and the molecular size was determined to be 1.8 megadaltons. Similar unique features have been reported in EBV DNA (D. Given and E. Kieff, J. Virol. 28:524-542, 1978). Images PMID:6261015

  6. Fragmentation of eastern United States forest types

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurt H. Riitters; John W. Coulston

    2013-01-01

    Fragmentation is a continuing threat to the sustainability of forests in the Eastern United States, where land use changes supporting a growing human population are the primary driver of forest fragmentation (Stein and others 2009). While once mostly forested, approximately 40 percent of the original forest area has been converted to other land uses, and most of the...

  7. MAFF–The Munich accelerator for fission fragments

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Research reactors; linear accelerator; beam transport; particle sources and targets; ion sources. Abstract. At the new high flux reactor FRM-II in Munich the accelerator MAFF (Munich accelerator for fission fragments) is under design. In the high neutron flux of 1014 n/cm2 s up to 1014 neutron-rich fission fragments per ...

  8. Universality of spectator fragmentation at relativistic bombarding energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schuettauf, A.; Woerner, A.

    1996-06-01

    Multi-fragment decays of 129 Xe, 197 Au, and 238 U projectiles in collisions with Be, C, Al, Cu, In, Au, and U targets at energies between E/A=400 MeV and 1000 MeV have been studied with the ALADIN forward-spectrometer at SIS. By adding an array of 84 Si-CsI(Tl) telescopes the solid-angle coverage of the setup was extended to θ lab =16 . This permitted the complete detection of fragments from the projectile-spectator source. The dominant feature of the systematic set of data is the Z bound universality that is obeyed by the fragment multiplicities and correlations. These observables are invariant with respect to the entrance channel if plotted as a function of Z bound , where Z bound is the sum of the atomic numbers Z i of all projectile fragments with Z i ≥2. No significant dependence on the bombarding energy nor on the target mass is observed. The dependence of the fragment multiplicity on the projectile mass follows a linear scaling law. The reasons for and the limits of the observed universality of spectator fragmentation are explored within the realm of the available data and with model studies. It is found that the universal properties should persist up to much higher bombarding energies than explored in this work and that they are consistent with universal features exhibited by the intranuclear cascade and statistical multifragmentation models. (orig.)

  9. Fragmentation measurement using image processing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farhang Sereshki

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In this research, first of all, the existing problems in fragmentation measurement are reviewed for the sake of its fast and reliable evaluation. Then, the available methods used for evaluation of blast results are mentioned. The produced errors especially in recognizing the rock fragments in computer-aided methods, and also, the importance of determination of their sizes in the image analysis methods are described. After reviewing the previous work done, an algorithm is proposed for the automated determination of rock particles’ boundary in the Matlab software. This method can determinate automatically the particles boundary in the minimum time. The results of proposed method are compared with those of Split Desktop and GoldSize software in two automated and manual states. Comparing the curves extracted from different methods reveals that the proposed approach is accurately applicable in measuring the size distribution of laboratory samples, while the manual determination of boundaries in the conventional software is very time-consuming, and the results of automated netting of fragments are very different with the real value due to the error in separation of the objects.

  10. Intermittency in 197Au fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dabrowska, A.; Holynski, R.; Olszewski, A.; Szarska, M.; Wilczynska, B.; Wolter, W.; Wosiek, B.; Cherry, M.L.; Deines-Jones, P.; Jones, W.V.; Sengupta, K.; Wefel, B.

    1995-07-01

    The concept of factorial moments was applied to an analysis of the dynamical fluctuations in the charge distributions of the fragments emitted from gold nuclei with energies 10.6 and < 1.0 GeV/n interacting with emulsion nuclei. Clear evidence for intermittent fluctuations has been found in an analysis using all the particles released from the gold projectile, with a stronger effect observed below 1 GeV/n than at 10.6 GeV/n. For the full data sets, however, the intermittency effect was found to be very sensitive to the singly charged particles, and neglecting these particles strongly reduces the intermittency signal. When the analysis is restricted to the multiply charged fragments, an intermittency effect is revealed only for multifragmentation events, although one that is enhanced as compared to the analysis of all, singly and multiply charged, particles. The properties of the anomalous fractal dimensions suggest a sequential decay mechanism, rather than the existence of possible critical behaviour in the process of nuclear fragmentation. The likely influence of the charge conservation effects and the finite size of decaying systems on the observed intermittency signals was pointed out. (author). 37 refs, 9 figs, 5 tabs

  11. Plutonium-contaminated fragments at the Taranaki site at Maralinga

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burns, P.A.; Cooper, M.B.; Duggleby, J.C.; Mika, J.F.; Williams, G.A.

    1986-07-01

    A detailed assessment is presented of the distribution of plutonium-contaminated fragments and sub-millimetre particles in the vicinity of the Taranaki site at the former U.K. Atomic Weapons Test Range at Maralinga in South Australia. The area which is contaminated with fragments has been divided into three general regions with the designations 'heavily contaminated', 'moderately contaminated' and 'plumes'. The average surface density, activity and estimated total number of fragments are presented for each region. Average surface densities of all fragments with americium-241 activities greater than 2 kBq are estimated to be 33, 7 and 2 m -2 for the 'heavily contaminated', 'moderately contaminated' and 'plumes' regions respectively. The total number of such fragments is estimated to be in excess of three million which accounts for a total plutonium activity of approximately 0.8 TBq. The implications of these results for a rehabilitation program are discussed

  12. Determination of diquark fragmentation functions in pp collisions

    CERN Document Server

    Beavis, D

    1981-01-01

    The recent data of the Aachen-CERN-Harvard-Munich-Northwestern- Riverside collaboration on pp collisions involving a high-p/sub T/ pion trigger at 30 degrees with forward production of pion and proton in the same hemisphere is analyzed in terms of fragmentation functions of the forward diquark and a quantum-chromodynamic model for the ejected parton. The pion diquark fragmentation functions obtained from leptoproduction give excellent fits to the data and confirm the conclusions of ACHMNR that the diquark within a proton act as a single entity. This single-entity hypothesis can also explain proton fragmentation. The gluon contribution (triquark fragmentation) is significant in the proton distribution and accounts for the difference in pi /sup +/ and pi /sup -/ distributions. Its importance in backward-hemisphere production of hadrons with the same pion trigger is emphasized and the cross sections are predicted. (8 refs).

  13. The multi-step prompt particle emission from fission fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhivopistsev, A.; Oprea, C.; Oprea, I.

    2003-01-01

    The purpose of this work is the study of non-equilibrium high-energy gamma emission from 252 Cf. In the framework of the formalism of statistical multi-step compound processes in nuclear reactions. A relation was found between the shape of the high-energy part of the gamma spectrum and different mechanisms of excitation of the fission fragments. Agreement with experimental data for different groups of fission fragments was obtained. The analysis of the experimental high-energy part of gamma spectra yields information about the mechanism of excitation of fission fragments. The influence of dissipation of the deformation excess on intrinsic excitation of fission fragments was studied. (authors)

  14. Effect of fragmentation on the Costa Rican dry forest avifauna

    OpenAIRE

    Barrantes, Gilbert; Ocampo, Diego; Ram?rez-Fern?ndez, Jos? D.; Fuchs, Eric J.

    2016-01-01

    Deforestation and changes in land use have reduced the tropical dry forest to isolated forest patches in northwestern Costa Rica. We examined the effect of patch area and length of the dry season on nestedness of the entire avian community, forest fragment assemblages, and species occupancy across fragments for the entire native avifauna, and for a subset of forest dependent species. Species richness was independent of both fragment area and distance between fragments. Similarity in bird comm...

  15. Protein-Templated Fragment Ligations-From Molecular Recognition to Drug Discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaegle, Mike; Wong, Ee Lin; Tauber, Carolin; Nawrotzky, Eric; Arkona, Christoph; Rademann, Jörg

    2017-06-19

    Protein-templated fragment ligation is a novel concept to support drug discovery and can help to improve the efficacy of protein ligands. Protein-templated fragment ligations are chemical reactions between small molecules ("fragments") utilizing a protein's surface as a reaction vessel to catalyze the formation of a protein ligand with increased binding affinity. The approach exploits the molecular recognition of reactive small-molecule fragments by proteins both for ligand assembly and for the identification of bioactive fragment combinations. In this way, chemical synthesis and bioassay are integrated in one single step. This Review discusses the biophysical basis of reversible and irreversible fragment ligations and gives an overview of the available methods to detect protein-templated ligation products. The chemical scope and recent applications as well as future potential of the concept in drug discovery are reviewed. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Heart Failure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heart failure is a condition in which the heart can't pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. Heart failure does not mean that your heart has stopped ... and shortness of breath Common causes of heart failure are coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and ...

  17. Fragmentation processes in nuclear reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baur, G.; Roesel, F.; Trautmann, D.; Shyam, R.

    1983-10-01

    Fragmentation processes in nuclear collisions are reviewed. The main emphasis is put on light ion breakup at nonrelativistic energies. The post- and prior-form DWBA theories are discussed. The post-form DWBA, appropriate for the ''spectator breakup'' describes elastic as well as inelastic breakup modes. This theory can also account for the stripping to unbound states. The theoretical models are compared to typical experimental results to illustrate the various possible mechanisms. It is discussed, how breakup reactions can be used to study high-lying single particle strength in the continuum; how it can yield information about momentum distributions of fragments in the nucleus. (orig.)

  18. B-type natriuretic peptides. A diagnostic breakthrough in heart failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCullough, P A

    2003-04-01

    B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a neurohormone synthesized in the cardiac ventricles, which is released as N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and then enzymatically cleaved in to the NT fragment and the immunoreactive BNP. Both tests have been used to identify patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Important considerations for these tests include their half-lives in plasma, dependence on renal function for clearance, and the interpretation of their units of measure. In general, a BNP level below 100 pg/mL has strong negative predictive value in the assessment of patients with dyspnea caused by a disorder other than CHF. In addition, BNP levels can be used to gauge the effect of short-term treatment of acutely decompensated heart failure, and the peptide has been shown to be a reliable independent predictor of sudden cardiac death. In the absence of renal dysfunction NT-proBNP has also been shown to be an independent predictor of sudden death in CHF patients. Because both a large area of myonecrosis or concomitant left ventricular failure are related to prognosis in acute coronary syndromes, B-type natriuretic peptides have also been linked to outcomes in this condition. This article describes the physiology and timing of release of B-type natriuretic peptides and the rationale for their use in the following settings: 1) evaluation of decompensated CHF, 2) screening for chronic CHF, 3) prognosis of CHF and sudden death, and 4) prognosis in acute coronary syndromes with inferred left ventricular dysfunction.

  19. Fragment screening of cyclin G-associated kinase by weak affinity chromatography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meiby, Elinor; Knapp, Stefan; Elkins, Jonathan M; Ohlson, Sten

    2012-11-01

    Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) has become a new strategy for drug discovery where lead compounds are evolved from small molecules. These fragments form low affinity interactions (dissociation constant (K(D)) = mM - μM) with protein targets, which require fragment screening methods of sufficient sensitivity. Weak affinity chromatography (WAC) is a promising new technology for fragment screening based on selective retention of fragments by a drug target. Kinases are a major pharmaceutical target, and FBDD has been successfully applied to several of these targets. In this work, we have demonstrated the potential to use WAC in combination with mass spectrometry (MS) detection for fragment screening of a kinase target-cyclin G-associated kinase (GAK). One hundred seventy fragments were selected for WAC screening by virtual screening of a commercial fragment library against the ATP-binding site of five different proteins. GAK protein was immobilized on a capillary HPLC column, and compound binding was characterized by frontal affinity chromatography. Compounds were screened in sets of 13 or 14, in combination with MS detection for enhanced throughput. Seventy-eight fragments (46 %) with K(D) < 200 μM were detected, including a few highly efficient GAK binders (K(D) of 2 μM; ligand efficiency = 0.51). Of special interest is that chiral screening by WAC may be possible, as two stereoisomeric fragments, which both contained one chiral center, demonstrated twin peaks. This ability, in combination with the robustness, sensitivity, and simplicity of WAC makes it a new method for fragment screening of considerable potential.

  20. An Imaging System for Automated Characteristic Length Measurement of Debrisat Fragments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moraguez, Mathew; Patankar, Kunal; Fitz-Coy, Norman; Liou, J.-C.; Sorge, Marlon; Cowardin, Heather; Opiela, John; Krisko, Paula H.

    2015-01-01

    The debris fragments generated by DebriSat's hypervelocity impact test are currently being processed and characterized through an effort of NASA and USAF. The debris characteristics will be used to update satellite breakup models. In particular, the physical dimensions of the debris fragments must be measured to provide characteristic lengths for use in these models. Calipers and commercial 3D scanners were considered as measurement options, but an automated imaging system was ultimately developed to measure debris fragments. By automating the entire process, the measurement results are made repeatable and the human factor associated with calipers and 3D scanning is eliminated. Unlike using calipers to measure, the imaging system obtains non-contact measurements to avoid damaging delicate fragments. Furthermore, this fully automated measurement system minimizes fragment handling, which reduces the potential for fragment damage during the characterization process. In addition, the imaging system reduces the time required to determine the characteristic length of the debris fragment. In this way, the imaging system can measure the tens of thousands of DebriSat fragments at a rate of about six minutes per fragment, compared to hours per fragment in NASA's current 3D scanning measurement approach. The imaging system utilizes a space carving algorithm to generate a 3D point cloud of the article being measured and a custom developed algorithm then extracts the characteristic length from the point cloud. This paper describes the measurement process, results, challenges, and future work of the imaging system used for automated characteristic length measurement of DebriSat fragments.

  1. Target Immobilization as a Strategy for NMR-Based Fragment Screening: Comparison of TINS, STD, and SPR for Fragment Hit Identification

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kobayashi, M.; Retra, K.; Figaroa, F.; Hollander, J.G.; Ab, E.; Heetebrij, R.J.; Irth, H.; Siegal, G.

    2010-01-01

    Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) has become a widely accepted tool that is complementary to high-throughput screening (HTS) in developing small-molecule inhibitors of pharmaceutical targets. Because a fragment campaign can only be as successful as the hit matter found, it is critical that the

  2. Multi-fragment visibility determination in the context of order-independent transparency rendering

    OpenAIRE

    Marilena Maule

    2015-01-01

    Multi-fragment effects, in the computer-generated imagery context, are effects that determine pixel color based on information computed from more than one fragment. In such effects, the contribution of each fragment is extracted from its visibility with respect to a point of view. Seen through a pixel’s point of view, the visibility of one fragment depends on its spatial relationship with other fragments. This relationship can be reduced to the problem of sorting multiple fragments. Therefore...

  3. SAPhIR: a fission-fragment detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Theisen, Ch.; Gautherin, C.; Houry, M.; Korten, W.; Le Coz, Y.; Lucas, R.; Barreau, G.; Doan, T. P.; Belier, G.; Meot, V.; Ethvignot, Th.; Cahan, B.; Le Coguie, A.; Coppolani, X.; Delaitre, B.; Le Bourlout, P.; Legou, Ph.; Maillard, O.; Durand, G.; Bouillac, A.

    1998-01-01

    SAPhIR is the acronym for S a clay A q uitaine P ho tovoltaic cells for I s omer R e search. It consists of solar cells, used for fission-fragment detection. It is a collaboration between 3 laboratories: CEA Saclay, CENBG Bordeaux and CEA Bruyeres le Chatel. The coupling of a highly efficient fission-fragment detector like SAPhIR with EUROBALL will provide new insights in the study of very deformed nuclear matter and in the spectroscopy of neutron-rich nuclei

  4. Forest Fragmentation and Driving Forces in Yingkou, Northeastern China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei Zhang

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Forest fragmentation, the process of changing original large and intact forest patches into smaller and isolated areas, significantly influences the balance of surface physical environment, biodiversity, and species richness. Sufficient knowledge of forest fragmentation is necessary to maintain ecological balance and promote sustainable resource utilization. This study combines remote sensing, geographical information systems, and landscape metrics to assess forest fragmentation at landscape and pixel levels during different time periods (2000–2005, 2005–2010, and 2010–2015 in the Yingkou region. Spatial statistical analysis is also used to analyze the relationship between forest landscape fragmentation and its determinants (e.g., natural factors, socioeconomic factors, and proximity factors. Results show that forest patches became smaller, subdivided, and isolated during 2010–2015 at the total landscape level. Local changes occurred in the southwest of the study region or around the development area. Our data also indicate that shrinkage and subdivision were the main forest fragmentation processes during three times, and attrition became the main forest fragmentation process from 2010 to 2015. These changes were significantly influenced by natural factors (e.g., elevation and slope, proximity factors (e.g., distance to city and distance to province roads, and socioeconomic factors (e.g., gross domestic product. Results presented in this study provide valuable insights into the pattern and processes of forest fragmentation and present direct implications for the protection and reasonable utilization of forest resources.

  5. Advanced Heart Failure

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Artery Disease Venous Thromboembolism Aortic Aneurysm More Advanced Heart Failure Updated:May 9,2017 When heart failure (HF) ... Making This content was last reviewed May 2017. Heart Failure • Home • About Heart Failure • Causes and Risks for ...

  6. Bespoke Fragments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kruse Aagaard, Anders

    2016-01-01

    , investigating levels of control and uncertainty encountering with these. Through tangible experiments, the project discusses materiality and digitally controlled fabrications tools as direct expansions of the architect's digital drawing and workflow. The project sees this expansion as an opportunity to connect...... architectural designs, tectonics and aesthetics. In this Ph.D.-project a series a physical, but conceptual, experiment plays the central role in the knowledge production. The experiments result in materialised architectural fragments and tangible experiences. However, these creations also become the driving...

  7. Fragment size distribution in viscous bag breakup of a drop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulkarni, Varun; Bulusu, Kartik V.; Plesniak, Michael W.; Sojka, Paul E.

    2015-11-01

    In this study we examine the drop size distribution resulting from the fragmentation of a single drop in the presence of a continuous air jet. Specifically, we study the effect of Weber number, We, and Ohnesorge number, Oh on the disintegration process. The regime of breakup considered is observed between 12 phase Doppler anemometry. Both the number and volume fragment size probability distributions are plotted. The volume probability distribution revealed a bi-modal behavior with two distinct peaks: one corresponding to the rim fragments and the other to the bag fragments. This behavior was suppressed in the number probability distribution. Additionally, we employ an in-house particle detection code to isolate the rim fragment size distribution from the total probability distributions. Our experiments showed that the bag fragments are smaller in diameter and larger in number, while the rim fragments are larger in diameter and smaller in number. Furthermore, with increasing We for a given Ohwe observe a large number of small-diameter drops and small number of large-diameter drops. On the other hand, with increasing Oh for a fixed We the opposite is seen.

  8. Stone fragmentation by ultrasound

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    In the present work, enhancement of the kidney stone fragmentation by using ultrasound is studied. The cavi- ... ment system like radiation pressure balance, the power is given by ... Thus the bubble size has direct relationship with its life and.

  9. The Injured Body: Humiliation and Fragmentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Graciela Mayet

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Simone de Beauvoir’s nouvelles and Titus Andronicus by Shakespeare present us opposite and complementary corporeal nature. In the first case, two women about their sixties are in front of the personal drama of their lost which happen through the years of ageing. It is a kind of fragmentation of existence. Ageing is the most authentic state of the human condition because the human being can only hang on to himself. In Titus Andronicus, are shown mutilations, murderers as fragmentation of biological body and social body. Individualism of modernity doesn’t forgive the bodies deteriorated by the years. In the early modernity, in the times of Elizabeth the First, like in the Ancient Rome, it wasn’t spared humiliations and violence towards the enemy body in order to impose power and authority. In this Shakespeare’s play, the fragmentation of the other’s body and murder are the emergence of social and individual violence.

  10. Oxidative stress induces mitochondrial fragmentation in frataxin-deficient cells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lefevre, Sophie [Mitochondria, Metals and Oxidative Stress Laboratory, Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS-Universite Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite, 15 rue Helene Brion, 75205 Paris cedex 13 (France); ED515 UPMC, 4 place Jussieu 75005 Paris (France); Sliwa, Dominika [Mitochondria, Metals and Oxidative Stress Laboratory, Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS-Universite Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite, 15 rue Helene Brion, 75205 Paris cedex 13 (France); Rustin, Pierre [Inserm, U676, Physiopathology and Therapy of Mitochondrial Disease Laboratory, 75019 Paris (France); Universite Paris-Diderot, Faculte de Medecine Denis Diderot, IFR02 Paris (France); Camadro, Jean-Michel [Mitochondria, Metals and Oxidative Stress Laboratory, Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS-Universite Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite, 15 rue Helene Brion, 75205 Paris cedex 13 (France); Santos, Renata, E-mail: santos.renata@ijm.univ-paris-diderot.fr [Mitochondria, Metals and Oxidative Stress Laboratory, Institut Jacques Monod, CNRS-Universite Paris-Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cite, 15 rue Helene Brion, 75205 Paris cedex 13 (France)

    2012-02-10

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Yeast frataxin-deficiency leads to increased proportion of fragmented mitochondria. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Oxidative stress induces complete mitochondrial fragmentation in {Delta}yfh1 cells. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Oxidative stress increases mitochondrial fragmentation in patient fibroblasts. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Inhibition of mitochondrial fission in {Delta}yfh1 induces oxidative stress resistance. -- Abstract: Friedreich ataxia (FA) is the most common recessive neurodegenerative disease. It is caused by deficiency in mitochondrial frataxin, which participates in iron-sulfur cluster assembly. Yeast cells lacking frataxin ({Delta}yfh1 mutant) showed an increased proportion of fragmented mitochondria compared to wild-type. In addition, oxidative stress induced complete fragmentation of mitochondria in {Delta}yfh1 cells. Genetically controlled inhibition of mitochondrial fission in these cells led to increased resistance to oxidative stress. Here we present evidence that in yeast frataxin-deficiency interferes with mitochondrial dynamics, which might therefore be relevant for the pathophysiology of FA.

  11. The analysis of failure data in the presence of critical and degraded failures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haugen, Knut; Hokstad, Per; Sandtorv, Helge

    1997-01-01

    Reported failures are often classified into severityclasses, e.g., as critical or degraded. The critical failures correspond to loss of function(s) and are those of main concern. The rate of critical failures is usually estimated by the number of observed critical failures divided by the exposure time, thus ignoring the observed degraded failures. In the present paper failure data are analyzed, applying an alternative estimate for the critical failure rate, also taking the number of observed degraded failures into account. The model includes two alternative failure mechanisms, one being of the shock type, immediately leading to a critical failure, another resulting in a gradual deterioration, leading to a degraded failure before the critical failure occurs. Failure data on safety valves from the OREDA (Offshore REliability DAta) data base are analyzed using this model. The estimate for the critical failure rate is obtained and compared with the standard estimate

  12. The importance of hydration thermodynamics in fragment-to-lead optimization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichihara, Osamu; Shimada, Yuzo; Yoshidome, Daisuke

    2014-12-01

    Using a computational approach to assess changes in solvation thermodynamics upon ligand binding, we investigated the effects of water molecules on the binding energetics of over 20 fragment hits and their corresponding optimized lead compounds. Binding activity and X-ray crystallographic data of published fragment-to-lead optimization studies from various therapeutically relevant targets were studied. The analysis reveals a distinct difference between the thermodynamic profile of water molecules displaced by fragment hits and those displaced by the corresponding optimized lead compounds. Specifically, fragment hits tend to displace water molecules with notably unfavorable excess entropies-configurationally constrained water molecules-relative to those displaced by the newly added moieties of the lead compound during the course of fragment-to-lead optimization. Herein we describe the details of this analysis with the goal of providing practical guidelines for exploiting thermodynamic signatures of binding site water molecules in the context of fragment-to-lead optimization. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  13. Effects of clonal fragmentation on intraspecific competition of a stoloniferous floating plant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, P; Xu, Y-S; Dong, B-C; Xue, W; Yu, F-H

    2014-11-01

    Disturbance is common and can fragment clones of plants. Clonal fragmentation may affect the density and growth of ramets so that it could alter intraspecific competition. To test this hypothesis, we grew one (low density), five (medium density) or nine (high density) parent ramets of the floating invasive plant Pistia stratiotes in buckets, and newly produced offspring ramets were either severed (with fragmentation) or remained connected to parent ramets (no fragmentation). Increasing density reduced biomass of the whole clone (i.e. parent ramet plus its offspring ramets), showing intense intraspecific competition. Fragmentation decreased biomass of offspring ramets, but increased biomass of parent ramets and the whole clone, suggesting significant resource translocation from parent to offspring ramets when clones were not fragmented. There was no interaction effect of density x fragmentation on biomass of the whole clone, and fragmentation did not affect competition intensity index. We conclude that clonal fragmentation does not alter intraspecific competition between clones of P. stratiotes, but increases biomass production of the whole clone. Thus, fragmentation may contribute to its interspecific competitive ability and invasiveness, and intentional fragmentation should not be recommended as a measure to stop the rapid growth of this invasive species. © 2014 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  14. Multiplicity distributions and multiplicity correlations in sequential, off-equilibrium fragmentation process

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Botet, R.

    1996-01-01

    A new kinetic fragmentation model, the Fragmentation - Inactivation -Binary (FIB) model is described where a dissipative process stops randomly the sequential, conservative and off-equilibrium fragmentation process. (K.A.)

  15. The biokinetics of uranium migrating from embedded DU fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leggett, R.W.; Pellmar, T.C.

    2003-01-01

    Military uses of depleted uranium (DU) munitions have resulted in casualties with embedded DU fragments. Assessment of radiological or chemical health risks from these fragments requires a model relating urinary U to the rate of migration of U from the fragments, and its accumulation in systemic tissues. A detailed biokinetic model for U has been published by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), but its applicability to U migrating from embedded DU fragments is uncertain. Recently, ) conducted a study at the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFRRI) on the redistribution and toxicology of U in rats with implanted DU pellets, simulating embedded fragments. This paper compares the biokinetic data from that study with the behavior of commonly studied forms of U in rats (e.g., intravenously injected U nitrate). The comparisons indicate that the biokinetics of U migrating from embedded DU is similar to that of commonly studied forms of U with regard to long-term accumulation in kidneys, bone, and liver. The results provide limited support for the application of the ICRP's model to persons with embedded DU fragments. Additional information is needed with regard to the short-term behavior of migrating U and its accumulation in lymph nodes, brain, testicles, and other infrequently studied U repositories

  16. Multicharged Ion-induced simple molecule fragmentation dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tarisien, M.

    2003-10-01

    The aim of this work is to study the dynamics of swift multicharged ion-induced fragmentation of diatomic (CO) and triatomic (CO 2 ) molecules. Performed at the GANIL facility, this study used the Recoil Ion Momentum Spectroscopy technique (RIMS), which consists of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer, coupled with a multi-hit capability position sensitive detector (delay line anode). The high-resolution measurement of the kinetic energy distribution released (KER) during the CO fragmentation points out the limitation of the Coulomb Explosion Model, revealing, for example, the di-cation CO 2 + electronic state contribution in the case of C + /O + fragmentation pathway. Furthermore, the multi-ionization cross section dependence with the orientation of the internuclear axis of CO is compared with a geometrical model calculation. Finally, different behaviours are observed for the dissociation dynamics of a triatomic molecule (CO 2 ). While triple ionization leads mainly to a synchronous concerted fragmentation dynamics, a weak fraction of dissociating molecule follows a sequential dynamics involving CO 2 + metastable states. In the case of double ionization, (CO 2 ) 2+ di-cation dissociation dynamics is asynchronously concerted and has been interpreted using a simple model involving an asymmetrical vibration of the molecule. (author)

  17. Chronic heart failure

    OpenAIRE

    Hopper, Ingrid; Easton, Kellie

    2017-01-01

    1. The common symptoms and signs of chronic heart failure are dyspnoea, ankle swelling, raised jugular venous pressure and basal crepitations. Other conditions may be confused with chronic heart failure, including dependent oedema or oedema due to renal or hepatic disease. Shortness of breath may be due to respiratory disease or severe anaemia. Heart failure secondary to lung disease (cor pulmonale) should be distinguished from congestive cardiac failure. Heart failure may also present with l...

  18. Detecting fragmentation extinction thresholds for forest understory plant species in peninsular Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rueda, Marta; Moreno Saiz, Juan Carlos; Morales-Castilla, Ignacio; Albuquerque, Fabio S; Ferrero, Mila; Rodríguez, Miguel Á

    2015-01-01

    Ecological theory predicts that fragmentation aggravates the effects of habitat loss, yet empirical results show mixed evidences, which fail to support the theory instead reinforcing the primary importance of habitat loss. Fragmentation hypotheses have received much attention due to their potential implications for biodiversity conservation, however, animal studies have traditionally been their main focus. Here we assess variation in species sensitivity to forest amount and fragmentation and evaluate if fragmentation is related to extinction thresholds in forest understory herbs and ferns. Our expectation was that forest herbs would be more sensitive to fragmentation than ferns due to their lower dispersal capabilities. Using forest cover percentage and the proportion of this percentage occurring in the largest patch within UTM cells of 10-km resolution covering Peninsular Spain, we partitioned the effects of forest amount versus fragmentation and applied logistic regression to model occurrences of 16 species. For nine models showing robustness according to a set of quality criteria we subsequently defined two empirical fragmentation scenarios, minimum and maximum, and quantified species' sensitivity to forest contraction with no fragmentation, and to fragmentation under constant forest cover. We finally assessed how the extinction threshold of each species (the habitat amount below which it cannot persist) varies under no and maximum fragmentation. Consistent with their preference for forest habitats probability occurrences of all species decreased as forest cover contracted. On average, herbs did not show significant sensitivity to fragmentation whereas ferns were favored. In line with theory, fragmentation yielded higher extinction thresholds for two species. For the remaining species, fragmentation had either positive or non-significant effects. We interpret these differences as reflecting species-specific traits and conclude that although forest amount is of

  19. Detecting fragmentation extinction thresholds for forest understory plant species in peninsular Spain.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Rueda

    Full Text Available Ecological theory predicts that fragmentation aggravates the effects of habitat loss, yet empirical results show mixed evidences, which fail to support the theory instead reinforcing the primary importance of habitat loss. Fragmentation hypotheses have received much attention due to their potential implications for biodiversity conservation, however, animal studies have traditionally been their main focus. Here we assess variation in species sensitivity to forest amount and fragmentation and evaluate if fragmentation is related to extinction thresholds in forest understory herbs and ferns. Our expectation was that forest herbs would be more sensitive to fragmentation than ferns due to their lower dispersal capabilities. Using forest cover percentage and the proportion of this percentage occurring in the largest patch within UTM cells of 10-km resolution covering Peninsular Spain, we partitioned the effects of forest amount versus fragmentation and applied logistic regression to model occurrences of 16 species. For nine models showing robustness according to a set of quality criteria we subsequently defined two empirical fragmentation scenarios, minimum and maximum, and quantified species' sensitivity to forest contraction with no fragmentation, and to fragmentation under constant forest cover. We finally assessed how the extinction threshold of each species (the habitat amount below which it cannot persist varies under no and maximum fragmentation. Consistent with their preference for forest habitats probability occurrences of all species decreased as forest cover contracted. On average, herbs did not show significant sensitivity to fragmentation whereas ferns were favored. In line with theory, fragmentation yielded higher extinction thresholds for two species. For the remaining species, fragmentation had either positive or non-significant effects. We interpret these differences as reflecting species-specific traits and conclude that although

  20. Gene Prediction in Metagenomic Fragments with Deep Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shao-Wu Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Next generation sequencing technologies used in metagenomics yield numerous sequencing fragments which come from thousands of different species. Accurately identifying genes from metagenomics fragments is one of the most fundamental issues in metagenomics. In this article, by fusing multifeatures (i.e., monocodon usage, monoamino acid usage, ORF length coverage, and Z-curve features and using deep stacking networks learning model, we present a novel method (called Meta-MFDL to predict the metagenomic genes. The results with 10 CV and independent tests show that Meta-MFDL is a powerful tool for identifying genes from metagenomic fragments.

  1. NMR-Fragment Based Virtual Screening: A Brief Overview.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Meenakshi; Tam, Benjamin; Akabayov, Barak

    2018-01-25

    Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) using NMR has become a central approach over the last twenty years for development of small molecule inhibitors against biological macromolecules, to control a variety of cellular processes. Yet, several considerations should be taken into account for obtaining a therapeutically relevant agent. In this review, we aim to list the considerations that make NMR fragment screening a successful process for yielding potent inhibitors. Factors that may govern the competence of NMR in fragment based drug discovery are discussed, as well as later steps that involve optimization of hits obtained by NMR-FBDD.

  2. NMR-Fragment Based Virtual Screening: A Brief Overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meenakshi Singh

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD using NMR has become a central approach over the last twenty years for development of small molecule inhibitors against biological macromolecules, to control a variety of cellular processes. Yet, several considerations should be taken into account for obtaining a therapeutically relevant agent. In this review, we aim to list the considerations that make NMR fragment screening a successful process for yielding potent inhibitors. Factors that may govern the competence of NMR in fragment based drug discovery are discussed, as well as later steps that involve optimization of hits obtained by NMR-FBDD.

  3. Fragmentation of molecular ions in slow electron collisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novotny, Steffen

    2008-01-01

    The fragmentation of positively charged hydrogen molecular ions by the capture of slow electrons, the so called dissociative recombination (DR), has been investigated in storage ring experiments at the TSR, Heidelberg, where an unique twin-electron-beam arrangement was combined with high resolution fragment imaging detection. Provided with well directed cold electrons the fragmentation kinematics were measured down to meV collision energies where pronounced rovibrational Feshbach resonances appear in the DR cross section. For thermally excited HD + the fragmentation angle and the kinetic energy release were studied at variable precisely controlled electron collision energies on a dense energy grid from 10 to 80 meV. The anisotropy described for the first time by Legendre polynomials higher 2 nd order and the extracted rotational state contributions were found to vary on a likewise narrow energy scale as the rotationally averaged DR rate coefficient. Ro-vibrationally resolved DR experiments were performed on H 2 + produced in distinct internal excitations by a novel ion source. Both the low-energy DR rate as well as the fragmentation dynamics at selected resonances were measured individually in the lowest two vibrational and first three excited rotational states. State-specific DR rates and angular dependences are reported. (orig.)

  4. Fragmentation of molecular ions in slow electron collisions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Novotny, Steffen

    2008-06-25

    The fragmentation of positively charged hydrogen molecular ions by the capture of slow electrons, the so called dissociative recombination (DR), has been investigated in storage ring experiments at the TSR, Heidelberg, where an unique twin-electron-beam arrangement was combined with high resolution fragment imaging detection. Provided with well directed cold electrons the fragmentation kinematics were measured down to meV collision energies where pronounced rovibrational Feshbach resonances appear in the DR cross section. For thermally excited HD{sup +} the fragmentation angle and the kinetic energy release were studied at variable precisely controlled electron collision energies on a dense energy grid from 10 to 80 meV. The anisotropy described for the first time by Legendre polynomials higher 2{sup nd} order and the extracted rotational state contributions were found to vary on a likewise narrow energy scale as the rotationally averaged DR rate coefficient. Ro-vibrationally resolved DR experiments were performed on H{sub 2}{sup +} produced in distinct internal excitations by a novel ion source. Both the low-energy DR rate as well as the fragmentation dynamics at selected resonances were measured individually in the lowest two vibrational and first three excited rotational states. State-specific DR rates and angular dependences are reported. (orig.)

  5. Intermediate Fragment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kruse Aagaard, Anders

    2015-01-01

    This text and its connected exhibition are aiming to reflect both on the thoughts, the processes and the outcome of the design and production of the artefact ‘Intermediate Fragment’ and making as a contemporary architectural tool in general. Intermediate Fragment was made for the exhibition ‘Enga...... of realising an exhibition object was conceived, but expanded, refined and concretised through this process. The context of the work shown here is an interest in a tighter, deeper connection between experimentally obtained material knowledge and architectural design....

  6. Influence of plutonium contents in MOX fuel on destructive forces at fuel failure in the NSRR experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nakamura, Jinichi; Sugiyama, Tomoyuki; Nakamura, Takehiko; Kanazawa, Toru; Sasajima, Hideo [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    2003-03-01

    In order to confirm safety margins of the Mixed Oxide (MOX) fuel use in LWRs, pulse irradiation tests are planned in the Nuclear Safety Research Reactor (NSRR) with the MOX fuel with plutonium content up to 12.8%. Impacts of the higher plutonium contents on safety of the reactivity-initiated-accident (RIA) tests are examined in terms of generation of destructive forces to threat the integrity of test capsules. Pressure pulses would be generated at fuel rod failure by releases of high pressure gases. The strength of the pressure pulses, therefore, depends on rod internal - external pressure difference, which is independent to plutonium content of the fuel. The other destructive forces, water hammer, would be generated by thermal interaction between fuel fragments and coolant water. Heat flux from the fragments to the water was calculated taking account of changes in thermal properties of MOX fuels at higher plutonium contents. The results showed that the heat transfer from the MOX fuel would be slightly smaller than that from UO{sub 2} fuel fragments at similar size in a short period to cause the water hammer. Therefore, the destructive forces were not expected to increase in the new tests with higher plutonium content MOX fuels. (author)

  7. Calculating kaon fragmentation functions from the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio jet model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matevosyan, Hrayr H.; Thomas, Anthony W.; Bentz, Wolfgang

    2011-01-01

    The Nambu-Jona-Lasinio (NJL)-jet model provides a sound framework for calculating the fragmentation functions in an effective chiral quark theory, where the momentum and isospin sum rules are satisfied without the introduction of ad hoc parameters. Earlier studies of the pion fragmentation functions using the NJL model within this framework showed qualitative agreement with the empirical parametrizations. Here we extend the NJL-jet model by including the strange quark. The corrections to the pion fragmentation functions and corresponding kaon fragmentation functions are calculated using the elementary quark to quark-meson fragmentation functions from NJL. The results for the kaon fragmentation functions exhibit a qualitative agreement with the empirical parametrizations, while the unfavored strange quark fragmentation to pions is shown to be of the same order of magnitude as the unfavored light quark. The results of these studies are expected to provide important guidance for the analysis of a large variety of semi-inclusive data.

  8. Experimental and numerical studies of high-velocity impact fragmentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kipp, M.E.; Grady, D.E.; Swegle, J.W.

    1993-08-01

    Developments are reported in both experimental and numerical capabilities for characterizing the debris spray produced in penetration events. We have performed a series of high-velocity experiments specifically designed to examine the fragmentation of the projectile during impact. High-strength, well-characterized steel spheres (6.35 mm diameter) were launched with a two-stage light-gas gun to velocities in the range of 3 to 5 km/s. Normal impact with PMMA plates, thicknesses of 0.6 to 11 mm, applied impulsive loads of various amplitudes and durations to the steel sphere. Multiple flash radiography diagnostics and recovery techniques were used to assess size, velocity, trajectory and statistics of the impact-induced fragment debris. Damage modes to the primary target plate (plastic) and to a secondary target plate (aluminum) were also evaluated. Dynamic fragmentation theories, based on energy-balance principles, were used to evaluate local material deformation and fracture state information from CTH, a three-dimensional Eulerian solid dynamics shock wave propagation code. The local fragment characterization of the material defines a weighted fragment size distribution, and the sum of these distributions provides a composite particle size distribution for the steel sphere. The calculated axial and radial velocity changes agree well with experimental data, and the calculated fragment sizes are in qualitative agreement with the radiographic data. A secondary effort involved the experimental and computational analyses of normal and oblique copper ball impacts on steel target plates. High-resolution radiography and witness plate diagnostics provided impact motion and statistical fragment size data. CTH simulations were performed to test computational models and numerical methods.

  9. Fragment separator momentum compression schemes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bandura, Laura, E-mail: bandura@anl.gov [Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), 1 Cyclotron, East Lansing, MI 48824-1321 (United States); National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab, Michigan State University, 1 Cyclotron, East Lansing, MI 48824-1321 (United States); Erdelyi, Bela [Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL 60115 (United States); Hausmann, Marc [Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), 1 Cyclotron, East Lansing, MI 48824-1321 (United States); Kubo, Toshiyuki [RIKEN Nishina Center, RIKEN, Wako (Japan); Nolen, Jerry [Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States); Portillo, Mauricio [Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), 1 Cyclotron, East Lansing, MI 48824-1321 (United States); Sherrill, Bradley M. [National Superconducting Cyclotron Lab, Michigan State University, 1 Cyclotron, East Lansing, MI 48824-1321 (United States)

    2011-07-21

    We present a scheme to use a fragment separator and profiled energy degraders to transfer longitudinal phase space into transverse phase space while maintaining achromatic beam transport. The first order beam optics theory of the method is presented and the consequent enlargement of the transverse phase space is discussed. An interesting consequence of the technique is that the first order mass resolving power of the system is determined by the first dispersive section up to the energy degrader, independent of whether or not momentum compression is used. The fragment separator at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams is a specific application of this technique and is described along with simulations by the code COSY INFINITY.

  10. Fragment separator momentum compression schemes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bandura, Laura; Erdelyi, Bela; Hausmann, Marc; Kubo, Toshiyuki; Nolen, Jerry; Portillo, Mauricio; Sherrill, Bradley M.

    2011-01-01

    We present a scheme to use a fragment separator and profiled energy degraders to transfer longitudinal phase space into transverse phase space while maintaining achromatic beam transport. The first order beam optics theory of the method is presented and the consequent enlargement of the transverse phase space is discussed. An interesting consequence of the technique is that the first order mass resolving power of the system is determined by the first dispersive section up to the energy degrader, independent of whether or not momentum compression is used. The fragment separator at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams is a specific application of this technique and is described along with simulations by the code COSY INFINITY.

  11. Mass distribution of fission fragments using SSNTDs based image analysis system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolekar, R.V.; Sharma, D.N.

    2006-01-01

    Lexan polycarbonate track detector was used to obtain mass distribution of fission fragments from 252 Cf planchette source, Normally, if the fission fragments are incident perpendicular to the lexan surface, the diameter of heavy fragment is greater than that of lighter fragment. In practical problems fission fragments are incident on the detector at all angles. So, in the present experiment, lexan detector was exposed to 252 Cf planchette source in 2π geometry. Fission fragments were incident on the detector with various angles. So the projected fission track length for fission fragment of same energy is different because of different angle of incidence. Image analysis software was used to measure the projected track length. But the problem is that for fission fragment having greater angle of incidence the entire track length is not focused on the surface. So reduced track length is measured. This problem is solved by taking two images, one at the surface and one at the tip of track and then overlapping both the images using image analysis software. The projected track length and the depth of the track were used to get the angle of incidence. Fission track lengths were measured for same angle of incidence. In all 500 track lengths were measured and plot for mass distribution for fission fragment was obtained.(author)

  12. Global patterns of fragmentation and connectivity of mammalian carnivore habitat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crooks, Kevin R; Burdett, Christopher L; Theobald, David M; Rondinini, Carlo; Boitani, Luigi

    2011-09-27

    Although mammalian carnivores are vulnerable to habitat fragmentation and require landscape connectivity, their global patterns of fragmentation and connectivity have not been examined. We use recently developed high-resolution habitat suitability models to conduct comparative analyses and to identify global hotspots of fragmentation and connectivity for the world's terrestrial carnivores. Species with less fragmentation (i.e. more interior high-quality habitat) had larger geographical ranges, a greater proportion of habitat within their range, greater habitat connectivity and a lower risk of extinction. Species with higher connectivity (i.e. less habitat isolation) also had a greater proportion of high-quality habitat, but had smaller, not larger, ranges, probably reflecting shorter distances between habitat patches for species with restricted distributions; such species were also more threatened, as would be expected given the negative relationship between range size and extinction risk. Fragmentation and connectivity did not differ among Carnivora families, and body mass was associated with connectivity but not fragmentation. On average, only 54.3 per cent of a species' geographical range comprised high-quality habitat, and more troubling, only 5.2 per cent of the range comprised such habitat within protected areas. Identification of global hotspots of fragmentation and connectivity will help guide strategic priorities for carnivore conservation.

  13. Regional Forest Fragmentation and the Nesting Success of Migratory Birds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott K. Robinson; Frank R. Thompson III; Therese M. Donovan; Donald R. Whitehead; John Faaborg

    1995-01-01

    Forest fragmentation, the disruption in the continuity of forest habitat, is hypothesized to be a major cause of population decline for, some species of forest birds because fragmentation reduces nesting (reproductive) success. Nest predation and parasitism by cowbirds increased with forest fragmentation in nine midwestern (United States)landscapes that varied from 6...

  14. The dynamical fate of self-gravitating disc fragments after tidal downsizing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forgan, Duncan; Parker, Richard J.; Rice, Ken

    2015-02-01

    The gravitational instability model of planet/brown dwarf formation proposes that protostellar discs can fragment into objects with masses above a few Jupiter masses at large semimajor axis. Tidal downsizing may reduce both the object mass and semimajor axis. However, most studies of tidal downsizing end when the protostellar disc disperses, while the system is embedded in its parent star-forming region. To compare disc fragment descendants with exoplanet and brown dwarf observations, the subsequent dynamical evolution must be explored. We carry out N-body integrations of fragment-fragment scattering in multi-object star systems, and star systems embedded in substructured clusters. In both cases, we use initial conditions generated by population synthesis models of tidal downsizing. The scattering simulations produce a wide range of eccentricities. The ejection rate is around 25 per cent. The ejecta mass distribution is similar to that for all objects, with a velocity dispersion consistent with those produced by full hydrodynamic simulations. The semimajor axis distribution after scattering extends to parsec scales. In the cluster simulations, 13 per cent of the objects are ejected from their planetary system, and around 10 per cent experience significant orbit modification. A small number of objects are recaptured on high-eccentricity, high-inclination orbits. The velocity distribution of ejecta is similar to that produced by fragment-fragment scattering. If fragment-fragment scattering and cluster stripping act together, then disc fragmentation should be efficient at producing free-floating substellar objects, and hence characterizing the free-floating planet population will provide strong constraints on the frequency of disc fragmentation.

  15. Changes in seed rain across Atlantic Forest fragments in Northeast Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freitas, Cíntia Gomes; Dambros, Cristian; Camargo, José Luís Campana

    2013-11-01

    The objectives of this study were to characterize the distribution of seeds in remnant fragments of the Atlantic Coastal Forest and to determine whether the species diversity, seed weight, and species composition of plant communities are altered by forest fragmentation. A transect of 100 m was established in the core of each of nine fragments of Atlantic Coastal Forest in a private sugarcane plantation in the state of Alagoas, NE Brazil, and ten seed-traps were distributed at intervals of 10 m each along the transects. For 12 consecutive months seeds were collected, dried, counted, weighed, and identified to species. Seeds were assigned to categories according to their size, dispersal mode, and shade tolerance. Multiple regression models and Mantel correlation tests were used to detect the effects of fragment size, percent forest cover nearby, distance from the source area, and distance from the nearest fragment on species diversity, mean seed weight, and species similarity. Analyses were carried out for all species and for subsets corresponding to each seed category. A total of 21,985 diaspores of 190 species were collected. Most seeds were small, shade-intolerant, and zoochoric, which corroborates other studies of fragmented forest landscapes and reflects the high disturbance levels in isolated forest remnants. Our data indicate that fragmentation processes such as habitat loss can alter species diversity and species composition by reducing habitat availability and increasing fragment isolation. We also found that large-seeded species are more affected by fragment isolation, possibly because their seed dispersers rarely cross non-forested areas between fragments, while zoochoric species are more strongly affected by fragment size and apparently more strongly associated with local edaphic conditions than with distance from seed sources.

  16. Univalents and fragments in the meiosis of mammals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vyglenov, A.

    1987-01-01

    The manifestation of univalents and fragments in spermatocytes in diakinese-metaphase was studied on mice, rats, Syrian hamsters and rabbits irradiated with various dose rates. It was established that the incidence of the univalents resulting from the separation of the XY and autosomic bivalents and of the fragments did not depend on the dose rate and there were no differences between the control and the irradiated animals. A species specificity was found in the manifestation of the gonosomic and to some extent of the autosomic univalents. To a certain extent the differences in the incidence of the autosomic univalents and particularly of the fragments most probably were a consequence of the various measuring methods. In comparative aspect, the investigated mammals rank as follows: with the lowest incidence of univalents and fragments was the macaque-rhesus, with higher was the rat, followed by the Syrian hamster and with very high - the mouse and rabbit

  17. Inner-shell excitation and ionic fragmentation of molecules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hitchcock, A.P.; Tyliszczak, T.; Cavell, R.G.

    1997-01-01

    Inner-shell excitation and associated decay spectroscopies are site specific probes of electronic and geometrical structure and photoionization dynamics. X-ray absorption probes the geometric and electronic structure, while time-of-flight mass spectrometry with multi-coincidence detection provides information on the photofragmentation dynamics of the initially produced inner-shell state. Auger decay of inner-shell excited and ionised states is an efficient source of multiply charged ions. The charge separation and fragmentation of these species, studied by photoelectron-photoion-photoion coincidence (also called charge separation mass spectrometry) gives insights into bonding and electronic structure. In molecules, the dependence of the fragmentation process on the X-ray energy can reveal cases of site and/or state selective fragmentation. At the ALS the authors have examined the soft X-ray spectroscopy and ionic fragmentation of a number of molecules, including carboranes, silylenes, phosphorus halides, SF 6 and CO 2 . Their work is illustrated using results from the carborane and PF 3 studies

  18. Long-term carbon loss in fragmented Neotropical forests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pütz, Sandro; Groeneveld, Jürgen; Henle, Klaus; Knogge, Christoph; Martensen, Alexandre Camargo; Metz, Markus; Metzger, Jean Paul; Ribeiro, Milton Cezar; de Paula, Mateus Dantas; Huth, Andreas

    2014-10-07

    Tropical forests play an important role in the global carbon cycle, as they store a large amount of carbon (C). Tropical forest deforestation has been identified as a major source of CO2 emissions, though biomass loss due to fragmentation--the creation of additional forest edges--has been largely overlooked as an additional CO2 source. Here, through the combination of remote sensing and knowledge on ecological processes, we present long-term carbon loss estimates due to fragmentation of Neotropical forests: within 10 years the Brazilian Atlantic Forest has lost 69 (±14) Tg C, and the Amazon 599 (±120) Tg C due to fragmentation alone. For all tropical forests, we estimate emissions up to 0.2 Pg C y(-1) or 9 to 24% of the annual global C loss due to deforestation. In conclusion, tropical forest fragmentation increases carbon loss and should be accounted for when attempting to understand the role of vegetation in the global carbon balance.

  19. Comparison of midvelocity fragment formation with projectilelike decay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudan, S.; Alfaro, R.; Davin, B.; Larochelle, Y.; Xu, H.; Beaulieu, L.; Lefort, T.; Yanez, R.; Souza, R.T. de; Charity, R.J.; Sobotka, L.G.; Liu, T.X.; Liu, X.D.; Lynch, W.G.; Shomin, R.; Tan, W.P.; Tsang, M.B.; Molen, A. van der; Wagner, A.; Xi, H.F.

    2005-01-01

    The characteristics of intermediate mass fragments (IMFs: 3≤ Z≤ 20) produced in midperipheral and central collisions are compared. We compare IMFs detected at midvelocity with those evaporated from the excited projectilelike fragment (PLF*). On average, the IMFs produced at midvelocity are larger in atomic number, exhibit broader transverse velocity distributions, and are more neutron rich as compared to IMFs evaporated from the PLF*. These characteristics of midvelocity fragments are consistent with the low-density formation of the fragments. We present in the different kinematical regions studied, the perpendicular > for isotopically identified IMFs. For a given Z, perpendicular > is either constant or decreases slightly with increasing A, in contradiction with a mass-dependent collective expansion in which all IMFs are emitted on average at the same time. Neutron-deficient isotopes of even Z elements manifest higher kinetic energies than heavier isotopes of the same element for both PLF* and midvelocity emission. This result may be because of the charged-particle decay of long-lived excited states

  20. Inner-shell excitation and ionic fragmentation of molecules

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hitchcock, A.P.; Tyliszczak, T. [McMaster Univ., Hamilton, Ontario (Canada); Cavell, R.G. [Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton (Canada)] [and others

    1997-04-01

    Inner-shell excitation and associated decay spectroscopies are site specific probes of electronic and geometrical structure and photoionization dynamics. X-ray absorption probes the geometric and electronic structure, while time-of-flight mass spectrometry with multi-coincidence detection provides information on the photofragmentation dynamics of the initially produced inner-shell state. Auger decay of inner-shell excited and ionised states is an efficient source of multiply charged ions. The charge separation and fragmentation of these species, studied by photoelectron-photoion-photoion coincidence (also called charge separation mass spectrometry) gives insights into bonding and electronic structure. In molecules, the dependence of the fragmentation process on the X-ray energy can reveal cases of site and/or state selective fragmentation. At the ALS the authors have examined the soft X-ray spectroscopy and ionic fragmentation of a number of molecules, including carboranes, silylenes, phosphorus halides, SF{sub 6} and CO{sub 2}. Their work is illustrated using results from the carborane and PF{sub 3} studies.

  1. Rates of species loss from Amazonian forest fragments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferraz, Gonçalo; Russell, Gareth J.; Stouffer, Philip C.; Bierregaard, Richard O.; Pimm, Stuart L.; Lovejoy, Thomas E.

    2003-01-01

    In the face of worldwide habitat fragmentation, managers need to devise a time frame for action. We ask how fast do understory bird species disappear from experimentally isolated plots in the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, central Amazon, Brazil. Our data consist of mist-net records obtained over a period of 13 years in 11 sites of 1, 10, and 100 hectares. The numbers of captures per species per unit time, analyzed under different simplifying assumptions, reveal a set of species-loss curves. From those declining numbers, we derive a scaling rule for the time it takes to lose half the species in a fragment as a function of its area. A 10-fold decrease in the rate of species loss requires a 1,000-fold increase in area. Fragments of 100 hectares lose one half of their species in <15 years, too short a time for implementing conservation measures. PMID:14614134

  2. Inclusive characteristics of the nuclear target fragmentation products induced by relativistic particles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bogatin, V.I.; Ganza, E.A.; Lozhkin, O.V.; Murin, Yu.A.; Oplavin, V.S.; Perfilov, N.A.; Yakovlev, Yu.P.

    1981-01-01

    An experimental investigation of inclusive characteristics of nuclei-target fragmentation is conducted for further development and test of physical value of the earlier suggested nuclear fragmentation model based on the connection of the fragmentation with fluctuations of the quasiparticle density in the two-component quantum liquid, an experimental investigation of the inclusive characteristics of the nuclei-target fragmentation is carried out. The processes of sup(3, 4, 6, 8)He and sup(6, 7, 8, 9, 11)Li fragment formation during the interaction of relativistic protons (Esub(p)=6.7 GeV) and deutrons (Esub(d)=3.1 GeV) with 112 Sn and 124 Sn isotopes are studied by the method of semiconductive ΔE-E detectors. Differential energy spectra of fragments and isotopic ratio of cross sections of their formation as well as data on the dependence of isotopic ratios of fragmentation cross sections on the energy of incident particles and on the fragment energy are obtained. Presented is a phenomenological model of fragmentation within the frames of which the obtained experimental data are analyzed [ru

  3. Dynamics and instabilities in nuclear fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colonna, M.; Guarnera, A.; Di Toro, M.; Latora, V.; Smerzi, A.; Catania Univ.

    1993-01-01

    A general procedure to identify instability regions which lead to multifragmentation events is presented. The method covers all possible sources of dynamical instabilities. Informations on the instability point, like the time when the nuclear system enters the critical region, the most unstable modes and the time constant of the exponential growing of the relative variances, are deduced without any numerical bias. Important memory effects in the fragmentation pattern are revealed. Some hints towards a fully dynamical picture of fragmentation processes are finally suggested. (author) 7 refs., 3 figs

  4. Observation of different isoscaling behavior between emitted fragments and residues

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Youngs, M., E-mail: mdyoungs@comp.tamu.edu [Cyclotron Institute, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); McIntosh, A.B.; Hagel, K. [Cyclotron Institute, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Heilborn, L. [Cyclotron Institute, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Chemistry Department, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Huang, M. [Cyclotron Institute, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Jedele, A.; Kohley, Z.; May, L.W. [Cyclotron Institute, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Chemistry Department, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); McCleskey, E. [Cyclotron Institute, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Zarrella, A.; Yennello, S.J. [Cyclotron Institute, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Chemistry Department, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States)

    2017-06-15

    The traditional isoscaling technique has been used to analyze all isotopically identified particles from {sup 70}Zn+{sup 70}Zn and {sup 64}Zn+{sup 64}Zn collisions at 35 MeV/u. Two additional techniques, using an energy-averaged ratio and using the data present in the tail of energy spectra, are compared to the traditional method and show similar results. Isoscaling fit parameters α and β are found both globally and for each individual series of constant Z and N. The data are then split up between emitted fragments and projectile-like fragments. Isoscaling values for the two different types of fragments are shown to be different, emphasizing the importance of experimentally distinguishing between projectile-like fragments and emitted fragments in order to achieve accurate isoscaling parameters.

  5. High-energy nuclear reaction mechanisms - fission, fragmentation and spallation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaufman, S.B.

    1987-01-01

    Measurements of the correlations in kinetic energy, mass, charge, and angle of coincident fragments formed in high-energy nuclear reactions have helped to characterize the processes of fission, fragmentation and spallation. For example, fission or fission-like two-body breakup mechanisms result in a strong angular correlation between two heavy fragments; in addition, the momentum transfer in the reaction can be deduced from the correlation. Another example is the multiplicity of light charged particles associated with a given heavy fragment, which is a measure of the violence of the collision, thus distinguishing between central and peripheral collisions. A summary of what has been learned about these processes from such studies will be given, along with some suggestions for further experiments

  6. Towards novel therapeutics for HIV through fragment-based screening and drug design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiefendbrunn, Theresa; Stout, C David

    2014-01-01

    Fragment-based drug discovery has been applied with varying levels of success to a number of proteins involved in the HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) life cycle. Fragment-based approaches have led to the discovery of novel binding sites within protease, reverse transcriptase, integrase, and gp41. Novel compounds that bind to known pockets within CCR5 have also been identified via fragment screening, and a fragment-based approach to target the TAR-Tat interaction was explored. In the context of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT), fragment-based approaches have yielded fragment hits with mid-μM activity in an in vitro activity assay, as well as fragment hits that are active against drug-resistant variants of RT. Fragment-based drug discovery is a powerful method to elucidate novel binding sites within proteins, and the method has had significant success in the context of HIV proteins.

  7. On the nuclear fragmentation mechanisms in nuclear collisions at intermediate and high energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jipa, Al.; Besliu, C.; Felea, D.; Iliescu, B.; Ristea, O.; Ristea, M.; Calin, C.; Horbuniev, A.; Arsene, I.; Esanu, T.; Ochesanu, S.; Caramarcu, C.; Bordeianu, C.; Rosu, I.; Grossu, V.; Zgura, I.S.; Stan, E.; Mitu, C.; Potlog, M.; Cherciu, M.; Stefan, I.

    2004-01-01

    The nuclear fragmentation mechanisms can be discussed taking into account different scales. These scales are related to the fragment sizes. Taking into account the possible different fragmentation mechanisms of the nuclei at the same incident energy an analysis of the experimental results obtained in different experiments performed at the JINR Dubna (Russia), KEK Tsukuba (Japan), GSI Darmstadt (Germany) is done. Results on apparent temperatures, angular distributions, fragment momentum spectra, multiplicities of the intermediate mass fragments are used to analyse the competition between two possible nuclear fragmentation mechanisms, namely: a sudden fragmentation by explosive mechanisms, like shock waves, and a slow fragmentation by the 'fission' of the spectator regions, mainly, because of the interactions with the particles or fragments emitted from the participant region at transverse angles on the incident nucleus, in CMS.Some connections with chaos dynamics and fractal structure of the fragmentation patterns are included. (authors)

  8. Cascading Failures and Recovery in Networks of Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Havlin, Shlomo

    Network science have been focused on the properties of a single isolated network that does not interact or depends on other networks. In reality, many real-networks, such as power grids, transportation and communication infrastructures interact and depend on other networks. I will present a framework for studying the vulnerability and the recovery of networks of interdependent networks. In interdependent networks, when nodes in one network fail, they cause dependent nodes in other networks to also fail. This is also the case when some nodes like certain locations play a role in two networks -multiplex. This may happen recursively and can lead to a cascade of failures and to a sudden fragmentation of the system. I will present analytical solutions for the critical threshold and the giant component of a network of n interdependent networks. I will show, that the general theory has many novel features that are not present in the classical network theory. When recovery of components is possible global spontaneous recovery of the networks and hysteresis phenomena occur and the theory suggests an optimal repairing strategy of system of systems. I will also show that interdependent networks embedded in space are significantly more vulnerable compared to non embedded networks. In particular, small localized attacks may lead to cascading failures and catastrophic consequences.Thus, analyzing data of real network of networks is highly required to understand the system vulnerability. DTRA, ONR, Israel Science Foundation.

  9. Habitat connectivity and fragmented nuthatch populations in agricultural landscapes

    OpenAIRE

    Langevelde, van, F.

    1999-01-01

    In agricultural landscapes, the habitat of many species is subject to fragmentation. When the habitat of a species is fragmented and the distances between patches of habitat are large relative to the movement distances of the species, it can be expected that the degree of habitat connectivity affects processes at population and individual level. In this thesis, I report on a study of effects of habitat fragmentation and opportunities to mitigate these effects by planning ecological n...

  10. Topology of White Stars in Relativistic Fragmentation of Light Nuclei

    CERN Document Server

    Andreeva, N P; Vokal, S; Vokalova, A; Gaitinov, A Sh; Gerassimov, S G; Goncharova, L A; Dronov, V A; Zarubin, P I; Zarubina, I G; Kovalenko, A D; Kravchakova, A; Larionova, V G; Levitskaja, O V; Lepehin, F G; Malakhov, A I; Moiseenko, A A; Orlova, G I; Peresadko, N G; Polukhina, N G; Rukojatkin, P A; Rusakova, V V; Salmanova, N A; Sarkisian, V R; Simonov, B B; Stan, E; Stanoeva, R; Chernyavsky, M M; Haidue, M; Kharlamov, S P; Tsakov, I; Shchedrina, T V

    2004-01-01

    In the present paper, experimental observation of the multifragmentation processes of light relativistic nuclei carried out by means of emulsions are reviewed. Events of the type of "white stars" in which the dissociation of relativistic nuclei is not accompanied by the production of mesons and the target-nucleus fragments are considered. A distinctive feature of the charge topology in the dissociation of the Ne, Mg, Si and S nuclei is an almost total suppression of the binary splitting of nuclei to fragments with charges higher than 2. The growth of the nuclear fragmentation degree is revealed in an increase in the multiplicity of singly and doubly charged fragments with decreasing charge of the main non-excited part of the fragmenting nucleus. The processes of dissociation of stable Li, Be, B, C, N, and O isotopes to charged fragments were used to study special features of the formation of systems consisting of the lightest nuclei - alpha, d and t. Clustering of the 3He nucleus can be detected in "white sta...

  11. Experimental determination of fragment excitation energies in multifragmentation events

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Marie, N.; Natowitz, J.B. [Texas A and M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Cyclotron Inst.; Chbihi, A.; Le Fevre, A.; Salou, S.; Wieleczko, J.P.; Gingras, L.; Auger, G. [Grand Accelerateur National d`Ions Lourds, 14 - Caen (France); Assenard, M. [Nantes Univ., 44 (France); Bacri, Ch.O. [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CNRS, 91 - Orsay (France)] [and others

    1998-03-17

    For 50 MeV/nucleon {sup 129}Xe + {sup nat}Sn multifragmentation events, by means of correlation techniques, the multiplicities of the hydrogen and helium isotopes which were emitted by the hot primary excited fragments produced at the stage of the disassembly of an equilibrated hot source are determined. The relative kinetic energy distributions between the primary clusters and the light charged particles that they evaporate are also derived. From the comparison between the secondary multiplicities observed experimentally and the multiplicities predicted by the GEMINI model, it is concluded that the source breaks into primary fragments which are characterized by the same N/Z ratio as the combined system. Knowing the secondary light charged particle multiplicities and kinetic energies, the average charges of the hot fragments and are reconstructed their mean excitation energies are estimated. The fragment excitation energies are equal to 3.0 MeV/nucleon for the full range of intermediate mass fragment atomic number. This global constancy indicates that, on the average, thermodynamical equilibrium was achieved at the disassembly stage of the source. (author) 25 refs.

  12. Metabolite identification through multiple kernel learning on fragmentation trees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Huibin; Dührkop, Kai; Böcker, Sebastian; Rousu, Juho

    2014-06-15

    Metabolite identification from tandem mass spectrometric data is a key task in metabolomics. Various computational methods have been proposed for the identification of metabolites from tandem mass spectra. Fragmentation tree methods explore the space of possible ways in which the metabolite can fragment, and base the metabolite identification on scoring of these fragmentation trees. Machine learning methods have been used to map mass spectra to molecular fingerprints; predicted fingerprints, in turn, can be used to score candidate molecular structures. Here, we combine fragmentation tree computations with kernel-based machine learning to predict molecular fingerprints and identify molecular structures. We introduce a family of kernels capturing the similarity of fragmentation trees, and combine these kernels using recently proposed multiple kernel learning approaches. Experiments on two large reference datasets show that the new methods significantly improve molecular fingerprint prediction accuracy. These improvements result in better metabolite identification, doubling the number of metabolites ranked at the top position of the candidates list. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

  13. Experimental determination of fragment excitation energies in multifragmentation events

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marie, N.; Natowitz, J.B.; Assenard, M.; Bacri, Ch.O.

    1998-01-01

    For 50 MeV/nucleon 129 Xe + nat Sn multifragmentation events, by means of correlation techniques, the multiplicities of the hydrogen and helium isotopes which were emitted by the hot primary excited fragments produced at the stage of the disassembly of an equilibrated hot source are determined. The relative kinetic energy distributions between the primary clusters and the light charged particles that they evaporate are also derived. From the comparison between the secondary multiplicities observed experimentally and the multiplicities predicted by the GEMINI model, it is concluded that the source breaks into primary fragments which are characterized by the same N/Z ratio as the combined system. Knowing the secondary light charged particle multiplicities and kinetic energies, the average charges of the hot fragments and are reconstructed their mean excitation energies are estimated. The fragment excitation energies are equal to 3.0 MeV/nucleon for the full range of intermediate mass fragment atomic number. This global constancy indicates that, on the average, thermodynamical equilibrium was achieved at the disassembly stage of the source. (author)

  14. Excited nuclei fragmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ngo, C.

    1986-11-01

    Experimental indications leading to the thought of a very excited nucleus fragmentation are resumed. Theoretical approaches are briefly described; they are used to explain the phenomenon in showing off they are based on a minimum information principle. This model is based on time dependent Thomas-Fermi calculation which allows the mean field effect description, and with a site-bound percolation model which allows the fluctuation description [fr

  15. Target fragmentation in 1 A GeV Au + Pb reaction

    CERN Document Server

    Grabez, B

    1999-01-01

    We investigated the production of target fragments in interaction of 1 A GeV Au projectile with Pb. The behaviour of the atomic numbers of fragments and of the relative velocities has been examined in dependence of the centrality of collision. The results have been compared with the data of other authors obtained for projectile fragmentation.

  16. Targeted habitat restoration can reduce extinction rates in fragmented forests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newmark, William D; Jenkins, Clinton N; Pimm, Stuart L; McNeally, Phoebe B; Halley, John M

    2017-09-05

    The Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania and the Atlantic Forest of Brazil are two of the most fragmented biodiversity hotspots. Species-area relationships predict that their habitat fragments will experience a substantial loss of species. Most of these extinctions will occur over an extended time, and therefore, reconnecting fragments could prevent species losses and allow locally extinct species to recolonize former habitats. An empirical relaxation half-life vs. area relationship for tropical bird communities estimates the time that it takes to lose one-half of all species that will be eventually lost. We use it to estimate the increase in species persistence by regenerating a forest connection 1 km in width among the largest and closest fragments at 11 locations. In the Eastern Arc Mountains, regenerating 8,134 ha of forest would create >316,000 ha in total of restored contiguous forest. More importantly, it would increase the persistence time for species by a factor of 6.8 per location or ∼2,272 years, on average, relative to individual fragments. In the Atlantic Forest, regenerating 6,452 ha of forest would create >251,000 ha in total of restored contiguous forest and enhance species persistence by a factor of 13.0 per location or ∼5,102 years, on average, relative to individual fragments. Rapidly regenerating forest among fragments is important, because mean time to the first determined extinction across all fragments is 7 years. We estimate the cost of forest regeneration at $21-$49 million dollars. It could provide one of the highest returns on investment for biodiversity conservation worldwide.

  17. Fragmentation based

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shashank Srivastava

    2014-01-01

    Gaining the understanding of mobile agent architecture and the security concerns, in this paper, we proposed a security protocol which addresses security with mitigated computational cost. The protocol is a combination of self decryption, co-operation and obfuscation technique. To circumvent the risk of malicious code execution in attacking environment, we have proposed fragmentation based encryption technique. Our encryption technique suits the general mobile agent size and provides hard and thorny obfuscation increasing attacker’s challenge on the same plane providing better performance with respect to computational cost as compared to existing AES encryption.

  18. A CRITICAL THOUGHT OF INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY: DEVELOPING ANALYTICAL CAPABILITY OF AUTOMOTIVE STUDENTS BY MANAGING MORE APPLICABLE MOVIE FRAGMENTS, POWER POINT, AND INTERACTIVE TEST

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agus Riyanto -

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available What most sensed about Technical High School (known as SMK students is their lack of analytical capability. As their nature of academic orientation is aimed at job fullfillment, the students are enhanced to follow Standard Operational Procedure (SOP without questioning why such SOP should be followed. As for automotive students, they simply following the steps of doing things related to any activities of repairing car and other mechanical work required just because the job will be done well when the procedure completed.  This kind of mentality “following order or SOP” fits to those who only want to be workers not the men who take higher responsibilities. The progress of automotive technology demand on understanding the concept of how some system used in a car. Failure to comprehend to concept will jeopardize the performance of a car. At the same time, the progress of automotive technology is also propelled by the progress of information technology which provides more open resources that can be used to promote the quality of instuctional process.  Realizing that having analysis compentence is terribly important to run higher responsibilites and continuing education to a university, automotive students need to learn how to analyze. To promote this, teacher can use some automotive movies or animations and then chop them into many fragments related to instructional objectives. The way how the teachers arrange and present the fragments can be combined into power point and ended up with an interactive test with different model of methods, strategies, or techniques. Movies, movie cutter application, interactive test Creator ,  paint into fragments can be obtained freely from the internet. The using of movie fragments integrated into power point, arrange the fragment into various strategies, ended up with interactive test will likely focus the students into more realistic understanding toward the concept taught in the classroom. In return the

  19. Simultaneous investigation of fission fragments and neutrons in 252Cf(s,f)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Budtz-Joergensen, C.; Knitter, H.H.

    1986-01-01

    The gridded twin ion chamber developed at CBNM is used to measure the kinetic energy-, mass- and angular distributions of the fission fragments of 252 Cf in an advantageous 4π-geometry. Together with a neutron time-of-flight detector this experimental arrangement permits to measure the correlation between neutron emission, fragment angle, mass and energy in the spontaneous fission of 252 Cf. With the present experimental set-up a mass resolution for fission fragments of 0.5 a.m.u., an angular resolution of Δcosθ = 0.05 and a timing resolution of 0.7 ns FWHM were observed. Preliminary evaluations of the raw experimental data are presented for the fission fragment mass distribution, the average total kinetic energy and their variance as function of mass, the angular distribution between fragments and neutrons, the number of neutrons emitted per fragment as function of fragment mass, the average neutron emission energies as function of mass, and the prompt fission neutron spectrum averaged over all fragments. (author)

  20. Heart failure - tests

    Science.gov (United States)

    CHF - tests; Congestive heart failure - tests; Cardiomyopathy - tests; HF - tests ... the best test to: Identify which type of heart failure (systolic, diastolic, valvular) Monitor your heart failure and ...

  1. Gamma Radiation from Fission Fragments Experimental Apparatus-Mass Spectrum Resolution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Higbie, Jack

    1969-08-15

    The gamma-radiation from fission fragments was studied as a function of the fragment mass. The mass was determined from the fragment energies using solid state detectors. The mass resolution which can be achieved by this method is treated in detail. The average initial fragment mass and the initial mass resolution is calculated as a function of the measured (apparent) mass yield for three different thicknesses of the fissile material deposit. This treatment gives a clear indication of those factors most important for good mass resolution work. A detailed description of the experimental apparatus is given in the appendices.

  2. Types of Heart Failure

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Introduction Types of Heart Failure Classes of Heart Failure Heart Failure in Children Advanced Heart Failure • Causes and ... and procedures related to heart disease and stroke. Heart Failure Questions to Ask Your Doctor Use these questions ...

  3. De novo analysis of electron impact mass spectra using fragmentation trees

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hufsky, Franziska; Rempt, Martin; Rasche, Florian; Pohnert, Georg; Böcker, Sebastian

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► We present a method for de novo analysis of accurate mass EI mass spectra of small molecules. ► This method identifies the molecular ion and thus the molecular formula where the molecular ion is present in the spectrum. ► Fragmentation trees are constructed by automated signal extraction and evaluation. ► These trees explain relevant fragmentation reactions. ► This method will be very helpful in the automated analysis of unknown metabolites. - Abstract: The automated fragmentation analysis of high resolution EI mass spectra based on a fragmentation tree algorithm is introduced. Fragmentation trees are constructed from EI spectra by automated signal extraction and evaluation. These trees explain relevant fragmentation reactions and assign molecular formulas to fragments. The method enables the identification of the molecular ion and the molecular formula of a metabolite if the molecular ion is present in the spectrum. These identifications are independent of existing library knowledge and, thus, support assignment and structural elucidation of unknown compounds. The method works even if the molecular ion is of very low abundance or hidden under contaminants with higher masses. We apply the algorithm to a selection of 50 derivatized and underivatized metabolites and demonstrate that in 78% of cases the molecular ion can be correctly assigned. The automatically constructed fragmentation trees correspond very well to published mechanisms and allow the assignment of specific relevant fragments and fragmentation pathways even in the most complex EI-spectra in our dataset. This method will be very helpful in the automated analysis of metabolites that are not included in common libraries and it thus has the potential to support the explorative character of metabolomics studies.

  4. Solitary (unicameral) bone cyst. The fallen fragment sign revisted

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Struhl, S.; Edelson, C.; Pritzker, H.; Seimon, L.P.; Dorfman, H.D. (Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY (USA). Dept. of Orthopaedic Surgery; Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY (USA). Dept. of Radiology)

    1989-07-01

    The fallen fragment sign is a prominent radiologic feature in a minority of cases of unicameral bone cyst (20% in this series). This sign is always associated with pathologic fracture. Intramedullary fracture fragments may be single or multiple and may or may not be entirely dislodged from overlying periosteum. The finding appears limited to unicameral bone cysts in patients with open physes. When present, the fallen fragment is a pathognomonic finding as it defines the interior of the cyst as nonsolid. (orig./GDG).

  5. Process of Fragment-Based Lead Discovery—A Perspective from NMR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rongsheng Ma

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Fragment-based lead discovery (FBLD has proven fruitful during the past two decades for a variety of targets, even challenging protein–protein interaction (PPI systems. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR spectroscopy plays a vital role, from initial fragment-based screening to lead generation, because of its power to probe the intrinsically weak interactions between targets and low-molecular-weight fragments. Here, we review the NMR FBLD process from initial library construction to lead generation. We describe technical aspects regarding fragment library design, ligand- and protein-observed screening, and protein–ligand structure model generation. For weak binders, the initial hit-to-lead evolution can be guided by structural information retrieved from NMR spectroscopy, including chemical shift perturbation, transferred pseudocontact shifts, and paramagnetic relaxation enhancement. This perspective examines structure-guided optimization from weak fragment screening hits to potent leads for challenging PPI targets.

  6. Computational Fragment-Based Drug Design: Current Trends, Strategies, and Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bian, Yuemin; Xie, Xiang-Qun Sean

    2018-04-09

    Fragment-based drug design (FBDD) has become an effective methodology for drug development for decades. Successful applications of this strategy brought both opportunities and challenges to the field of Pharmaceutical Science. Recent progress in the computational fragment-based drug design provide an additional approach for future research in a time- and labor-efficient manner. Combining multiple in silico methodologies, computational FBDD possesses flexibilities on fragment library selection, protein model generation, and fragments/compounds docking mode prediction. These characteristics provide computational FBDD superiority in designing novel and potential compounds for a certain target. The purpose of this review is to discuss the latest advances, ranging from commonly used strategies to novel concepts and technologies in computational fragment-based drug design. Particularly, in this review, specifications and advantages are compared between experimental and computational FBDD, and additionally, limitations and future prospective are discussed and emphasized.

  7. SPIN EFFECTS IN THE FRAGMENTATION OF TRANSVERSELY POLARIZED AND UNPOLARIZED QUARKS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    ANSELMINO, M.; BOER, D.; DALESIO, U.; MURGIA, F.

    2001-01-01

    We study the fragmentation of a transversely polarized quark into a non-collinear (kperpendicular ≠ 0) spinless hadron and the fragmentation of an unpolarized quark into a non collinear transversely polarized spin 1/2 baryon. These nonperturbative properties are described by spin and kperpendicular dependent fragmentation functions and are revealed in the observation of single spin asymmetries. Recent data on the production of pions in polarized semi-inclusive DIS and long known data on A polarization in unpolarized p-N processes are considered: these new fragmentation functions can describe the experimental results and the single spin effects in the quark fragmentation turn out to be surprisingly large

  8. Classes of Heart Failure

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Introduction Types of Heart Failure Classes of Heart Failure Heart Failure in Children Advanced Heart Failure • Causes and ... and Advanced HF • Tools and Resources • Personal Stories Heart Failure Questions to Ask Your Doctor Use these questions ...

  9. Metagenome Fragment Classification Using -Mer Frequency Profiles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gail Rosen

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available A vast amount of microbial sequencing data is being generated through large-scale projects in ecology, agriculture, and human health. Efficient high-throughput methods are needed to analyze the mass amounts of metagenomic data, all DNA present in an environmental sample. A major obstacle in metagenomics is the inability to obtain accuracy using technology that yields short reads. We construct the unique -mer frequency profiles of 635 microbial genomes publicly available as of February 2008. These profiles are used to train a naive Bayes classifier (NBC that can be used to identify the genome of any fragment. We show that our method is comparable to BLAST for small 25 bp fragments but does not have the ambiguity of BLAST's tied top scores. We demonstrate that this approach is scalable to identify any fragment from hundreds of genomes. It also performs quite well at the strain, species, and genera levels and achieves strain resolution despite classifying ubiquitous genomic fragments (gene and nongene regions. Cross-validation analysis demonstrates that species-accuracy achieves 90% for highly-represented species containing an average of 8 strains. We demonstrate that such a tool can be used on the Sargasso Sea dataset, and our analysis shows that NBC can be further enhanced.

  10. Fragmentation under the Scaling Symmetry and Turbulent Cascade with Intermittency

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorokhovski, M.

    2003-01-01

    Fragmentation plays an important role in a variety of physical, chemical, and geological processes. Examples include atomization in sprays, crushing of rocks, explosion and impact of solids, polymer degradation, etc. Although each individual action of fragmentation is a complex process, the number of these elementary actions is large. It is natural to abstract a simple 'effective' scenario of fragmentation and to represent its essential features. One of the models is the fragmentation under the scaling symmetry: each breakup action reduces the typical length of fragments, r (right arrow) alpha r, by an independent random multiplier alpha (0 Saveliev, the fragmentation under the scaling symmetry has been reviewed as a continuous evolution process with new features established. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, the paper synthesizes and completes theoretical part of Gorokhovski & Saveliev. Second, the paper shows a new application of the fragmentation theory under the scale invariance. This application concerns the turbulent cascade with intermittency. We formulate here a model describing the evolution of the velocity increment distribution along the progressively decreasing length scale. The model shows that when the turbulent length scale gets smaller, the velocity increment distribution has central growing peak and develops stretched tails. The intermittency in turbulence is manifested in the same way: large fluctuations of velocity provoke highest strain in narrow (dissipative) regions of flow.

  11. Nuclear fragmentation and the number of particle tracks in tissue

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ponomarev, A. L.; Cucinotta, F. A.

    2006-01-01

    For high energy nuclei, the number of particle tracks per cell is modified by local nuclear reactions that occur, with large fluctuations expected for heavy ion tracks. Cells near the interaction site of a reaction will experience a much higher number of tracks than estimated by the average fluence. Two types of reaction products are possible and occur in coincidence; projectile fragments, which generally have smaller charge and similar velocity to that of the projectile, and target fragments, which are produced from the fragmentation of the nuclei of water atoms or other cellular constituents with low velocity. In order to understand the role of fragmentation in biological damage a new model of human tissue irradiated by heavy ions was developed. A box of the tissue is modelled with periodic boundary conditions imposed, which extrapolates the technique to macroscopic volumes of tissue. The cross sections for projectile and target fragmentation products are taken from the quantum multiple scattering fragmentation code previously developed at NASA Johnson Space Center. Statistics of fragmentation pathways occurring in a cell monolayer, as well as in a small volume of 10 x 10 x 10 cells are given. A discussion on approaches to extend the model to describe spatial distributions of inactivated or other cell damage types, as well as highly organised tissues of multiple cell types, is presented. (authors)

  12. On the fragmentation of biomolecules: fragmentation of alanine dipeptide along the polypeptide chain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Solov'yov, Ilia; Yakubovich, Alexander; Solov'yov, Andrey

    2006-01-01

    The interaction potential between amino acids in alanine dipeptide has been studied for the first time taking into account exact molecular geometry. Ab initio calculation has been performed in the framework of density functional theory taking into account all electrons in the system. The fragment...

  13. Compressive failure model for fiber composites by kink band initiation from obliquely aligned, shear-dislocated fiber breaks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bai, J.; Phoenix, S.L. [Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (United States). Dept. of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics

    2005-04-01

    Predicting compressive failure of a unidirectional fibrous composite is a longstanding and challenging problem that we study from a new perspective. Motivated by previous modelling of tensile failure as well as experimental observations on compressive failures in single carbon fibers, we develop a new micromechanical model for the compressive failure process in unidirectional, planar composites. As the compressive load is increased, random fiber failures are assumed to occur due to statistically distributed flaws, analogous to what occurs in tension. These breaks are often shear-mode failures with slanted surfaces that induce shear dislocations, especially when they occur in small groups aligned obliquely. Our model includes interactions of dislocated and neighboring intact fibers through a system of fourth-order, differential equations governing transverse deformation, and also allows for local matrix plastic yielding and debonding from the fiber near and within the dislocation arrays. Using the Discrete Fourier Transform method, we find a 'building-block' analytical solution form, which naturally embodies local length scales of fiber microbuckling and instability. Based on the influence function, superposition approach, a computationally efficient scheme is developed to model the evolution of fiber and matrix stresses. Under increasing compressive strain the simulations show that matrix yielding and debonding crucially lead to large increases in bending strains in fibers next to small groups of obliquely aligned, dislocated breaks. From the paired locations of maximum fiber bending in flanking fibers, the triggering of an unstable kink band becomes realistic. The geometric features of the kink band, such as the fragment lengths and orientation angles, will depend on the fiber and matrix mechanical and geometric properties. In carbon fiber-polymer matrix systems our model predicts a much lower compressive failure stress than obtained from Rosen

  14. Phenomenological relation between distribution and fragmentation functions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma Boqiang; Schmidt, Ivan; Soffer, Jacques; Yang Jianjun

    2002-01-01

    We study the relation between the quark distribution function q(x) and the fragmentation function D q (z) based on a general form D q (x)=C(z)z α q(z) for valence and sea quarks. By adopting two known parametrizations of quark distributions for the proton, we find three simple options for the fragmentation functions that can provide a good description of the available experimental data on proton production in e + e - inelastic annihilation. These three options support the revised Gribov-Lipatov relation D q (z)=zq(z) at z→1, as an approximate relation for the connection between distribution and fragmentation functions. The three options differ in the sea contributions and lead to distinct predictions for antiproton production in the reaction p+p→p-bar+X, thus they are distinguishable in future experiments at RHIC-BNL

  15. Production of a phage-displayed single chain variable fragment ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Abstract. Purpose: To develop specific single chain variable fragments (scFv) against ... libraries. The binding ability of the selected scFv antibody fragments against the IBDV particles was ..... Hermelink H, Koscielniak E. A human recombinant.

  16. Next-To-Leading Order Determination of Fragmentation Functions

    CERN Document Server

    Bourhis, L; Guillet, J P; Werlen, M

    2001-01-01

    We analyse LEP and PETRA data on single inclusive charged hadron cross-sections to establish new sets of Next-to-Leading order Fragmentation Functions. Data on hadro-production of large-$p_{\\bot}$ hadrons are also used to constrain the gluon Fragmentation Function. We carry out a critical comparison with other NLO parametrizations.

  17. Beyond the fragmentation threshold hypothesis: regime shifts in biodiversity across fragmented landscapes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renata Pardini

    Full Text Available Ecological systems are vulnerable to irreversible change when key system properties are pushed over thresholds, resulting in the loss of resilience and the precipitation of a regime shift. Perhaps the most important of such properties in human-modified landscapes is the total amount of remnant native vegetation. In a seminal study Andrén proposed the existence of a fragmentation threshold in the total amount of remnant vegetation, below which landscape-scale connectivity is eroded and local species richness and abundance become dependent on patch size. Despite the fact that species patch-area effects have been a mainstay of conservation science there has yet to be a robust empirical evaluation of this hypothesis. Here we present and test a new conceptual model describing the mechanisms and consequences of biodiversity change in fragmented landscapes, identifying the fragmentation threshold as a first step in a positive feedback mechanism that has the capacity to impair ecological resilience, and drive a regime shift in biodiversity. The model considers that local extinction risk is defined by patch size, and immigration rates by landscape vegetation cover, and that the recovery from local species losses depends upon the landscape species pool. Using a unique dataset on the distribution of non-volant small mammals across replicate landscapes in the Atlantic forest of Brazil, we found strong evidence for our model predictions--that patch-area effects are evident only at intermediate levels of total forest cover, where landscape diversity is still high and opportunities for enhancing biodiversity through local management are greatest. Furthermore, high levels of forest loss can push native biota through an extinction filter, and result in the abrupt, landscape-wide loss of forest-specialist taxa, ecological resilience and management effectiveness. The proposed model links hitherto distinct theoretical approaches within a single framework

  18. On the nuclear fragmentation mechanisms in nuclear collisions at intermediate and high energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jipa, Al; Besliu, C.; Felea, D.

    2004-01-01

    The nuclear fragmentation mechanisms can be discussed by taking into account different scales related to the fragment sizes. Considering two fragmentation mechanisms of the nuclei at the same incident energy an analysis of the experimental results obtained was done. Goldhaber formula was improved by analyzing the discrepancies between data and theories concerning the projectile fragmentation. We implied that the projectile fragmentation process would be governed by the distribution of nucleon momenta in the projectile after the collision occurred. We used in our analysis protons from the 4 He + 7 Li at 4.5 GeV/c per nucleon incident momentum, as well as from 40 Ar + 12 C at 213 AMeV bombarding energy. We proved that in order to proceed in analyzing the projectile fragmentation process at intermediate and high energies one has to consider the dependence σ 0 on the apparent temperature of projectile nucleus after the collision took place. The generalized Bertsch correction for light projectile nuclei and fragments was used and the number of spatial correlations between identical nucleons having anticorrelated momenta was found. Thus we found apparent temperature values close to the separation energies of the considered fragments per number of fragments. The temperatures associated to kinetic energy spectra of the projectile fragments were calculated following two methods. The results from Bauer's method were compared with those obtained by fitting the kinetic energy distributions of the projectile fragments in the rest frame of the projectile with a Maxwellian curve. We also accomplished the comparison of the experimental results with similar events simulated with RQMD 2.4. All the results obtained suggested two nuclear fragmentation mechanisms: a sudden fragmentation by explosive mechanisms, like shock waves and a slow fragmentation by the 'fission' of the spectator regions, mainly because of the interactions with the particles or fragments emitted from the

  19. SOR-ring failure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kitamura, Hideo

    1981-01-01

    It was in the autumn of 1976 that the SOR-ring (synchrotron radiation storage ring) has commenced the regular operation. Since then, the period when the operation was interrupted due to the failures of SOR-ring itself is in total about 8 weeks. Failures and accidents have occurred most in the vacuum system. Those failure experiences are described on the vacuum, electromagnet, radio-frequency acceleration and beam transport systems with their interrupted periods. The eleven failures in the vacuum system have been reported, such as bellows breakage in a heating-evacuating period, leakage from the bellows of straight-through valves (made in U.S.A. and Japan), and leakage from the joint flange of the vacuum system. The longest interruption was 5 weeks due to the failure of a domestically manufactured straight-through valve. The failures of the electromagnet system involve the breakage in a cooling water system, short circuit of a winding in the Q magnet power transformer, blow of a fuse protecting the deflection magnet power source by the current less than the rating, and others. The failures of the RF acceleration system include the breakage of an output electronic tube the breakage of a cavity ceramic, RF voltage fluctuation due to the contact deterioration at a cavity electrode, and the failure of grid bias power source. It is necessary to select the highly reliable components for the vacuum system because the vacuum system failures require longer time for recovery, and very likely to induce secondary and tertiary failures. (Wakatsuki, Y.)

  20. Embedded Fragments from U.S. Military Personnel—Chemical Analysis and Potential Health Implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José A. Centeno

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The majority of modern war wounds are characterized by high-energy blast injuries containing a wide range of retained foreign materials of a metallic or composite nature. Health effects of retained fragments range from local or systemic toxicities to foreign body reactions or malignancies, and dependent on the chemical composition and corrosiveness of the fragments in vivo. Information obtained by chemical analysis of excised fragments can be used to guide clinical decisions regarding the need for fragment removal, to develop therapeutic interventions, and to better anticipate future medical problems from retained fragment related injuries. In response to this need, a new U.S Department of Defense (DoD directive has been issued requiring characterization of all removed fragments to provide a database of fragment types occurring in combat injuries. Objectives: The objective of this study is to determine the chemical composition of retained embedded fragments removed from injured military personnel, and to relate results to histological findings in tissue adjacent to fragment material. Methods: We describe an approach for the chemical analysis and characterization of retained fragments and adjacent tissues, and include case examples describing fragments containing depleted uranium (DU, tungsten (W, lead (Pb, and non-metal foreign bodies composed of natural and composite materials. Fragments obtained from four patients with penetrating blast wounds to the limbs were studied employing a wide range of chemical and microscopy techniques. Available adjacent tissues from three of the cases were histologically, microscopically, and chemically examined. The physical and compositional properties of the removed foreign material surfaces were examined with energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (EDXRF, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass-spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS, and confocal laser Raman

  1. Production of light fragments in hA collisions at high energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Braun, M.A.; Vechernin, V.V.

    1988-12-01

    Production of fast relativistic light fragments in hA collisions at high energies is considered. Direct coalescence of produced nucleons into fragments is shown to be the main mechanism for fragment production. The influence of the nuclear field is small and is not described by the well-known Butler-Pearson formulas. The coalescence coefficient strongly depends on the angle and on the behaviour of the fragment wave function at small internucleon distances. (author). 14 refs, 7 figs

  2. Fragger: a protein fragment picker for structural queries [version 2; referees: 2 approved

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francois Berenger

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Protein modeling and design activities often require querying the Protein Data Bank (PDB with a structural fragment, possibly containing gaps. For some applications, it is preferable to work on a specific subset of the PDB or with unpublished structures. These requirements, along with specific user needs, motivated the creation of a new software to manage and query 3D protein fragments. Fragger is a protein fragment picker that allows protein fragment databases to be created and queried. All fragment lengths are supported and any set of PDB files can be used to create a database. Fragger can efficiently search a fragment database with a query fragment and a distance threshold. Matching fragments are ranked by distance to the query. The query fragment can have structural gaps and the allowed amino acid sequences matching a query can be constrained via a regular expression of one-letter amino acid codes. Fragger also incorporates a tool to compute the backbone RMSD of one versus many fragments in high throughput. Fragger should be useful for protein design, loop grafting and related structural bioinformatics tasks.

  3. Acute liver failure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Fin Stolze; Bjerring, Peter Nissen

    2011-01-01

    Acute liver failure (ALF) results in a multitude of serious complications that often lead to multi-organ failure. This brief review focuses on the pathophysiological processes in ALF and how to manage these.......Acute liver failure (ALF) results in a multitude of serious complications that often lead to multi-organ failure. This brief review focuses on the pathophysiological processes in ALF and how to manage these....

  4. Completion of autobuilt protein models using a database of protein fragments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cowtan, Kevin

    2012-01-01

    Two developments in the process of automated protein model building in the Buccaneer software are described: the use of a database of protein fragments in improving the model completeness and the assembly of disconnected chain fragments into complete molecules. Two developments in the process of automated protein model building in the Buccaneer software are presented. A general-purpose library for protein fragments of arbitrary size is described, with a highly optimized search method allowing the use of a larger database than in previous work. The problem of assembling an autobuilt model into complete chains is discussed. This involves the assembly of disconnected chain fragments into complete molecules and the use of the database of protein fragments in improving the model completeness. Assembly of fragments into molecules is a standard step in existing model-building software, but the methods have not received detailed discussion in the literature

  5. Anatomy and classification of the posterior tibial fragment in ankle fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartoníček, Jan; Rammelt, Stefan; Kostlivý, Karel; Vaněček, Václav; Klika, Daniel; Trešl, Ivo

    2015-04-01

    The aim of this study was to analyze the pathoanatomy of the posterior fragment on the basis of a comprehensive CT examination, including 3D reconstructions, in a large patient cohort. One hundred and forty one consecutive individuals with an ankle fracture or fracture-dislocation of types Weber B or Weber C and evidence of a posterior tibial fragment in standard radiographs were included in the study. The mean patient age was 49 years (range 19-83 years). The exclusion criteria were patients below 18 years of age, inability to provide written consent, fractures of the tibial pilon, posttraumatic arthritis and pre-existing deformities. In all patients, post-injury radiographs were obtained in anteroposterior, mortise and lateral views. All patients underwent CT scanning in transverse, sagittal and frontal planes. 3D CT reconstruction was performed in 91 patients. We were able to classify 137 cases into one of the following four types with constant pathoanatomic features: type 1: extraincisural fragment with an intact fibular notch, type 2: posterolateral fragment extending into the fibular notch, type 3: posteromedial two-part fragment involving the medial malleolus, type 4: large posterolateral triangular fragment. In the 4 cases it was not possible to classify the type of the posterior tibial fragment. These were collectively termed type 5 (irregular, osteoporotic fragments). It is impossible to assess the shape and size of the posterior malleolar fragment, involvement of the fibular notch, or the medial malleolus, on the basis of plain radiographs. The system that we propose for classification of fractures of the posterior malleolus is based on CT examination and takes into account the size, shape and location of the fragment, stability of the tibio-talar joint and the integrity of the fibular notch. It may be a useful indication for surgery and defining the most useful approach to these injuries.

  6. Modified stochastic fragmentation of an interval as an ageing process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fortin, Jean-Yves

    2018-02-01

    We study a stochastic model based on modified fragmentation of a finite interval. The mechanism consists of cutting the interval at a random location and substituting a unique fragment on the right of the cut to regenerate and preserve the interval length. This leads to a set of segments of random sizes, with the accumulation of small fragments near the origin. This model is an example of record dynamics, with the presence of ‘quakes’ and slow dynamics. The fragment size distribution is a universal inverse power law with logarithmic corrections. The exact distribution for the fragment number as function of time is simply related to the unsigned Stirling numbers of the first kind. Two-time correlation functions are defined, and computed exactly. They satisfy scaling relations, and exhibit aging phenomena. In particular, the probability that the same number of fragments is found at two different times t>s is asymptotically equal to [4πlog(s)]-1/2 when s\\gg 1 and the ratio t/s is fixed, in agreement with the numerical simulations. The same process with a reset impedes the aging phenomenon-beyond a typical time scale defined by the reset parameter.

  7. A probabilistic fragment-based protein structure prediction algorithm.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Simoncini

    Full Text Available Conformational sampling is one of the bottlenecks in fragment-based protein structure prediction approaches. They generally start with a coarse-grained optimization where mainchain atoms and centroids of side chains are considered, followed by a fine-grained optimization with an all-atom representation of proteins. It is during this coarse-grained phase that fragment-based methods sample intensely the conformational space. If the native-like region is sampled more, the accuracy of the final all-atom predictions may be improved accordingly. In this work we present EdaFold, a new method for fragment-based protein structure prediction based on an Estimation of Distribution Algorithm. Fragment-based approaches build protein models by assembling short fragments from known protein structures. Whereas the probability mass functions over the fragment libraries are uniform in the usual case, we propose an algorithm that learns from previously generated decoys and steers the search toward native-like regions. A comparison with Rosetta AbInitio protocol shows that EdaFold is able to generate models with lower energies and to enhance the percentage of near-native coarse-grained decoys on a benchmark of [Formula: see text] proteins. The best coarse-grained models produced by both methods were refined into all-atom models and used in molecular replacement. All atom decoys produced out of EdaFold's decoy set reach high enough accuracy to solve the crystallographic phase problem by molecular replacement for some test proteins. EdaFold showed a higher success rate in molecular replacement when compared to Rosetta. Our study suggests that improving low resolution coarse-grained decoys allows computational methods to avoid subsequent sampling issues during all-atom refinement and to produce better all-atom models. EdaFold can be downloaded from http://www.riken.jp/zhangiru/software.html [corrected].

  8. Wind energy's subtle effect - habitat fragmentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pruett, Jay

    2011-07-01

    Full text: New wind energy production facilities are being built to accommodate demands for more, renewable, emission-free energy. This development is most often in windy, remote parts of the United States, so new transmission infrastructure capacity is also needed for shipment of energy from prairies, hilltops and shorelines to distant population centres. Well known environmental effects from wind energy development have included direct mortality to birds and bats. However, there is a more subtle effect also at play. 'Habitat fragmentation' is an impact caused by the siting and presence of infrastructure features on wildlife species. Instead of direct mortality, there is behavioural avoidance of such features because of activity, noise and even simply the presence of vertical structures that are different from the original nature of the habitat. This fragmentation threatens to make some of the last remaining habitat for declining species, especially grassland birds, unusable by them. Prairie grouse such as prairie chickens and sage grouse appear to be particularly susceptible to habitat fragmentation due to the presence of vertical structures. Other species such as the grasshopper sparrow have also been shown to avoid such features. It is believed that these species have evolved to avoid any vertical structure because it can serve as a perch for bird-eating raptors, including eagles, hawks, falcons and owls. Certain life cycle stages, such as nesting and chick rearing, appear to be most vulnerable to these fragmentation influences. Some of the research contributing to concern over habitat fragmentation, along with the mechanism of such fragmentation, will be presented. Solutions will also be offered for the siting of wind energy facilities and transmission lines to avoid this negative environmental impact. (Author)

  9. Prompt neutrons from {sup 236}U fission fragments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boldeman, J W; Musgrove, A.R. de L.; Walsch, R L

    1971-03-01

    Measurements were made of prompt neutron emission in the thermal neutron fission of {sup 235}U. The mean neutron emission per fragment was obtained for particular values of the fragment mass and total kinetic energy. A direct neutron counting method was employed and a comparison made with data from previous experiments of this type. (author)

  10. Fragmentation and momentum correlations in heavy-ion collisions

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The role of momentum correlations in the production of light and medium mass fragments is studied by imposing momentum cut in the clusterization of the phase space. Our detailed investigation shows that momentum cut has a major role to play in the emission of fragments. A comparison with the experimental data is also ...

  11. Fragment screening for drug leads by weak affinity chromatography (WAC-MS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohlson, Sten; Duong-Thi, Minh-Dao

    2018-02-23

    Fragment-based drug discovery is an important tool for design of small molecule hit-to-lead compounds against various biological targets. Several approved drugs have been derived from an initial fragment screen and many such candidates are in various stages of clinical trials. Finding fragment hits, that are suitable for optimisation by medicinal chemists, is still a challenge as the binding between the small fragment and its target is weak in the range of mM to µM of K d and irrelevant non-specific interactions are abundant in this area of transient interactions. Fortunately, there are methods that can study weak interactions quite efficiently of which NMR, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and X-ray crystallography are the most prominent. Now, a new technology based on zonal affinity chromatography, weak affinity chromatography (WAC), has been introduced which has remedied many of the problems with other technologies. By combining WAC with mass spectrometry (WAC-MS), it is a powerful tool to identify binders quantitatively in terms of affinity and kinetics either from fragment libraries or from complex mixtures of biological extracts. As WAC-MS can be multiplexed by analysing mixtures of fragments (20-100 fragments) in one sample, this approach yields high throughput, where a whole library of e.g. >2000 fragments can be analysed quantitatively within a day. WAC-MS is easy to perform, where the robustness and quality of HPLC is fully utilized. This review will highlight the rationale behind the application of WAC-MS for fragment screening in drug discovery. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Conduit Stability and Collapse in Explosive Volcanic Eruptions: Coupling Conduit Flow and Failure Models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mullet, B.; Segall, P.

    2017-12-01

    Explosive volcanic eruptions can exhibit abrupt changes in physical behavior. In the most extreme cases, high rates of mass discharge are interspaced by dramatic drops in activity and periods of quiescence. Simple models predict exponential decay in magma chamber pressure, leading to a gradual tapering of eruptive flux. Abrupt changes in eruptive flux therefore indicate that relief of chamber pressure cannot be the only control of the evolution of such eruptions. We present a simplified physics-based model of conduit flow during an explosive volcanic eruption that attempts to predict stress-induced conduit collapse linked to co-eruptive pressure loss. The model couples a simple two phase (gas-melt) 1-D conduit solution of the continuity and momentum equations with a Mohr-Coulomb failure condition for the conduit wall rock. First order models of volatile exsolution (i.e. phase mass transfer) and fragmentation are incorporated. The interphase interaction force changes dramatically between flow regimes, so smoothing of this force is critical for realistic results. Reductions in the interphase force lead to significant relative phase velocities, highlighting the deficiency of homogenous flow models. Lateral gas loss through conduit walls is incorporated using a membrane-diffusion model with depth dependent wall rock permeability. Rapid eruptive flux results in a decrease of chamber and conduit pressure, which leads to a critical deviatoric stress condition at the conduit wall. Analogous stress distributions have been analyzed for wellbores, where much work has been directed at determining conditions that lead to wellbore failure using Mohr-Coulomb failure theory. We extend this framework to cylindrical volcanic conduits, where large deviatoric stresses can develop co-eruptively leading to multiple distinct failure regimes depending on principal stress orientations. These failure regimes are categorized and possible implications for conduit flow are discussed, including

  13. The program LISE: a simulation of fragment separators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bazin, D.; Tarasov, O.; Lewitowicz, M.; Sorlin, O.

    2001-01-01

    The program LISE, which simulates the operation of fragment separators, used in the production of radioactive beams via fragmentation is described. Various aspects of the physical phenomenon involved in the production of such radioactive beams are discussed. They include fragmentation cross sections, energy losses in materials, ionic charge state distributions, as well as ion optics calculations and acceptance effects. Among the goals of this program is a highly user-friendly environment, designed not only to forecast intensities and purities for future experiments, but also as a tuning tool during experiments where its results can be quickly compared to on-line data. In addition, several general purpose tools such as a physical parameters calculator, a database of nuclei properties, and relativistic two-body kinematics calculations make it also attractive in experiments where radioactive beams are not involved. After a general description of fragment separators, the principles underlying the calculations are presented, followed by a practical description of the program and its many features. Finally, a few examples of calculations are compared to on-line data, both qualitatively and quantitatively

  14. Uranium in the rock fragments from Lunar soil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Komarov, A.N.; Sergeev, S.A.

    1983-01-01

    Uranium content and distribution in Lunar rock fragments 0.4-0.9 mm in size from ''Lunar-16+ -20, -24'' stations were studied by the method of autoradiography. Uranium is almost absent in rock-forming minerals and is concentrated in some accessory mineral. Uranium content in microgabro fragments from ''Lunar-20 and -24'' equals (0.0n - n.0)16 -6 g/g. Variations are not related to fragment representation. Radiogra-- phies of fragments from Lunar soil showed the uranium distribution from uniform (in glasses) to extremely nonuniform in some holocrystalline rocks. It was pointed out, that uranium micro distributions in Lunar and Earth (effusive and magmatic) rocks have common features. In both cases rock-forming minerals don't contain appreciable uranium amount in the form of isomorphic admixture; uranium is highly concentrated in some accessory minerais. The difference lies in tne absence of hydroxyl -containing secondary minerals, which are enriched with uranium on Earth, in Lunar rocks. ''Film'' uranium micromineralization, which occurs in rocks of the Earth along the boundaries of mineral grains is absent in Lunar rocks as well

  15. DNA fragments assembly based on nicking enzyme system.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui-Yan Wang

    Full Text Available A couple of DNA ligation-independent cloning (LIC methods have been reported to meet various requirements in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. The principle of LIC is the assembly of multiple overlapping DNA fragments by single-stranded (ss DNA overlaps annealing. Here we present a method to generate single-stranded DNA overlaps based on Nicking Endonucleases (NEases for LIC, the method was termed NE-LIC. Factors related to cloning efficiency were optimized in this study. This NE-LIC allows generating 3'-end or 5'-end ss DNA overlaps of various lengths for fragments assembly. We demonstrated that the 10 bp/15 bp overlaps had the highest DNA fragments assembling efficiency, while 5 bp/10 bp overlaps showed the highest efficiency when T4 DNA ligase was added. Its advantage over Sequence and Ligation Independent Cloning (SLIC and Uracil-Specific Excision Reagent (USER was obvious. The mechanism can be applied to many other LIC strategies. Finally, the NEases based LIC (NE-LIC was successfully applied to assemble a pathway of six gene fragments responsible for synthesizing microbial poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB.

  16. When fragments link: a bibliometric perspective on the development of fragment-based drug discovery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Romasanta, Angelo K S; van der Sijde, Peter; Hellsten, Iina; Hubbard, Roderick E; Keseru, Gyorgy M; van Muijlwijk-Koezen, Jacqueline; de Esch, Iwan J P

    2018-05-05

    Fragment-based drug discovery (FBDD) is a highly interdisciplinary field, rich in ideas integrated from pharmaceutical sciences, chemistry, biology, and physics, among others. To enrich our understanding of the development of the field, we used bibliometric techniques to analyze 3642 publications in FBDD, complementing accounts by key practitioners. Mapping its core papers, we found the transfer of knowledge from academia to industry. Co-authorship analysis showed that university-industry collaboration has grown over time. Moreover, we show how ideas from other scientific disciplines have been integrated into the FBDD paradigm. Keyword analysis showed that the field is organized into four interconnected practices: library design, fragment screening, computational methods, and optimization. This study highlights the importance of interactions among various individuals and institutions from diverse disciplines in newly emerging scientific fields. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  17. Seed-dispersal distributions by trumpeter hornbills in fragmented landscapes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lenz, Johanna; Fiedler, Wolfgang; Caprano, Tanja; Friedrichs, Wolfgang; Gaese, Bernhard H.; Wikelski, Martin; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin

    2011-01-01

    Frugivorous birds provide important ecosystem services by transporting seeds of fleshy fruited plants. It has been assumed that seed-dispersal kernels generated by these animals are generally leptokurtic, resulting in little dispersal among habitat fragments. However, little is known about the seed-dispersal distribution generated by large frugivorous birds in fragmented landscapes. We investigated movement and seed-dispersal patterns of trumpeter hornbills (Bycanistes bucinator) in a fragmented landscape in South Africa. Novel GPS loggers provide high-quality location data without bias against recording long-distance movements. We found a very weakly bimodal seed-dispersal distribution with potential dispersal distances up to 14.5 km. Within forest, the seed-dispersal distribution was unimodal with an expected dispersal distance of 86 m. In the fragmented agricultural landscape, the distribution was strongly bimodal with peaks at 18 and 512 m. Our results demonstrate that seed-dispersal distributions differed when birds moved in different habitat types. Seed-dispersal distances in fragmented landscapes show that transport among habitat patches is more frequent than previously assumed, allowing plants to disperse among habitat patches and to track the changing climatic conditions. PMID:21177686

  18. Heart Failure

    OpenAIRE

    McMurray, John; Ponikowski, Piotr

    2011-01-01

    Heart failure occurs in 3% to 4% of adults aged over 65 years, usually as a consequence of coronary artery disease or hypertension, and causes breathlessness, effort intolerance, fluid retention, and increased mortality. The 5-year mortality in people with systolic heart failure ranges from 25% to 75%, often owing to sudden death following ventricular arrhythmia. Risks of cardiovascular events are increased in people with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) or heart failure.

  19. Grain fragmentation in ultrasonic-assisted TIG weld of pure aluminum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Qihao; Lin, Sanbao; Yang, Chunli; Fan, Chenglei; Ge, Hongliang

    2017-11-01

    Under the action of acoustic waves during an ultrasonic-assisted tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding process, a grain of a TIG weld of aluminum alloy is refined by nucleation and grain fragmentation. Herein, effects of ultrasound on grain fragmentation in the TIG weld of aluminum alloy are investigated via systematic welding experiments of pure aluminum. First, experiments involving continuous and fixed-position welding are performed, which demonstrate that ultrasound can break the grain of the TIG weld of pure aluminum. The microstructural characteristics of an ultrasonic-assisted TIG weld fabricated by fixed-position welding are analyzed. The microstructure is found to transform from plane crystal, columnar crystal, and uniform equiaxed crystal into plane crystal, deformed columnar crystal, and nonuniform equiaxed crystal after application of ultrasound. Second, factors influencing ultrasonic grain fragmentation are investigated. The ultrasonic amplitude and welding current are found to have a considerable effect on grain fragmentation. The degree of fragmentation first increases and then decreases with an increase in ultrasonic amplitude, and it increases with an increase in welding current. Measurement results of the vibration of the weld pool show that the degree of grain fragmentation is related to the intensity of acoustic nonlinearity in the weld pool. The greater the intensity of acoustic nonlinearity, the greater is the degree of grain fragmentation. Finally, the mechanism of ultrasonic grain fragmentation in the TIG weld of pure aluminum is discussed. A finite element simulation is used to simulate the acoustic pressure and flow in the weld pool. The acoustic pressure in the weld pool exceeds the cavitation threshold, and cavitation bubbles are generated. The flow velocity in the weld pool does not change noticeably after application of ultrasound. It is concluded that the high-pressure conditions induced during the occurrence of cavitation, lead to grain

  20. Synthesis of the C(18)–C(34) Fragment of Amphidinolide C and the C(18)–C(29) Fragment of Amphidinolide F

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roy, Sudeshna; Spilling, Christopher D.

    2010-01-01

    A convergent synthesis of the C(18)–C(34) fragment of amphidinolide C and the C(18)–C(29) fragment of amphidinolide F is reported. The approach involves the synthesis of the common intermediate tetrahydrofuranyl-β-ketophosphonate via cross metathesis, Pd(0)-catalyzed cyclization and hydroboration-oxidation. The β-ketophosphonate was coupled to three side chain aldehydes using a Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) olefination reaction to give dienones, which were reduced with L-selectride to give the fragments of amphidinolide C and F. PMID:21028791