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Sample records for killing vectors energy

  1. Killing tensors and conformal Killing tensors from conformal Killing vectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rani, Raffaele; Edgar, S Brian; Barnes, Alan

    2003-01-01

    Koutras has proposed some methods to construct reducible proper conformal Killing tensors and Killing tensors (which are, in general, irreducible) when a pair of orthogonal conformal Killing vectors exist in a given space. We give the completely general result demonstrating that this severe restriction of orthogonality is unnecessary. In addition, we correct and extend some results concerning Killing tensors constructed from a single conformal Killing vector. A number of examples demonstrate that it is possible to construct a much larger class of reducible proper conformal Killing tensors and Killing tensors than permitted by the Koutras algorithms. In particular, by showing that all conformal Killing tensors are reducible in conformally flat spaces, we have a method of constructing all conformal Killing tensors, and hence all the Killing tensors (which will in general be irreducible) of conformally flat spaces using their conformal Killing vectors

  2. Conformal Killing vectors in Robertson-Walker spacetimes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maartens, R.; Maharaj, S.d.

    1986-01-01

    It is well known that Robertson-Walker spacetimes admit a conformal Killingl vector normal to the spacelike homogeneous hypersurfaces. Because these spacetimes are conformally flat, there are a further eight conformal Killing vectors, which are neither normal nor tangent to the homogeneous hypersurfaces. The authors find these further conformal Killing vectors and the Lie algebra of the full G 15 of conformal motions. Conditions on the metric scale factor are determined which reduce some of the conformal Killing vectors to homothetic Killing vectors or Killing vectors, allowing one to regain in a unified way the known special geometries. The non-normal conformal Killing vectors provide a counter-example to show that conformal motions do not, in general, map a fluid flow conformally. These non-normal vectors are also used to find the general solution of the null geodesic equation and photon Liouville equation. (author)

  3. Killing vectors in empty space algebraically special metrics. II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Held, A.

    1976-01-01

    Empty space algebraically special metrics possessing an expanding degenerate principal null vector and Killing vectors are investigated. Attention is centered on that class of Killing vector (called nonpreferred) which is necessarily spacelike in the asymptotic region. A detailed analysis of the relationship between the Petrov--Penrose classification and these Killing vectors is carried out

  4. On Discrete Killing Vector Fields and Patterns on Surfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Ben-Chen, Mirela

    2010-09-21

    Symmetry is one of the most important properties of a shape, unifying form and function. It encodes semantic information on one hand, and affects the shape\\'s aesthetic value on the other. Symmetry comes in many flavors, amongst the most interesting being intrinsic symmetry, which is defined only in terms of the intrinsic geometry of the shape. Continuous intrinsic symmetries can be represented using infinitesimal rigid transformations, which are given as tangent vector fields on the surface - known as Killing Vector Fields. As exact symmetries are quite rare, especially when considering noisy sampled surfaces, we propose a method for relaxing the exact symmetry constraint to allow for approximate symmetries and approximate Killing Vector Fields, and show how to discretize these concepts for generating such vector fields on a triangulated mesh. We discuss the properties of approximate Killing Vector Fields, and propose an application to utilize them for texture and geometry synthesis. Journal compilation © 2010 The Eurographics Association and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  5. Killing vectors in algebraically special space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Torres del Castillo, G.F.

    1984-01-01

    The form of the isometric, homothetic, and conformal Killing vectors for algebraically special metrics which admit a shear-free congruence of null geodesics is obtained by considering their complexification, using the existence of a congruence of null strings. The Killing equations are partially integrated and the reasons which permit this reduction are exhibited. In the case where the congruence of null strings has a vanishing expansion, the Killing equations are reduced to a single master equation

  6. On Discrete Killing Vector Fields and Patterns on Surfaces

    KAUST Repository

    Ben-Chen, Mirela; Butscher, Adrian; Solomon, Justin; Guibas, Leonidas

    2010-01-01

    , and show how to discretize these concepts for generating such vector fields on a triangulated mesh. We discuss the properties of approximate Killing Vector Fields, and propose an application to utilize them for texture and geometry synthesis. Journal

  7. Comments on conformal Killing vector fields and quantum field theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, M.R.; Ottewill, A.C.; Siklos, S.T.C.

    1982-01-01

    We give a comprehensive analysis of those vacuums for flat and conformally flat space-times which can be defined by timelike, hypersurface-orthogonal, conformal Killing vector fields. We obtain formulas for the difference in stress-energy density between any two such states and display the correspondence with the renormalized stress tensors. A brief discussion is given of the relevance of these results to quantum-mechanical measurements made by noninertial observers moving through flat space

  8. Wormholes admitting conformal Killing vectors and supported by generalized Chaplygin gas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuhfittig, Peter K.F. [Milwaukee School of Engineering, Department of Mathematics, Milwaukee, WI (United States)

    2015-08-15

    When Morris and Thorne first proposed that traversable wormholes may be actual physical objects, they concentrated on the geometry by specifying the shape and redshift functions. This mathematical approach necessarily raises questions regarding the determination of the required stress-energy tensor. This paper discusses a natural way to obtain a complete wormhole solution by assuming that the wormhole (1) is supported by generalized Chaplygin gas and (2) admits conformal Killing vectors. (orig.)

  9. Killing vector fields in three dimensions: a method to solve massive gravity field equations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guerses, Metin, E-mail: gurses@fen.bilkent.edu.t [Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Sciences, Bilkent University, 06800 Ankara (Turkey)

    2010-10-21

    Killing vector fields in three dimensions play an important role in the construction of the related spacetime geometry. In this work we show that when a three-dimensional geometry admits a Killing vector field then the Ricci tensor of the geometry is determined in terms of the Killing vector field and its scalars. In this way we can generate all products and covariant derivatives at any order of the Ricci tensor. Using this property we give ways to solve the field equations of topologically massive gravity (TMG) and new massive gravity (NMG) introduced recently. In particular when the scalars of the Killing vector field (timelike, spacelike and null cases) are constants then all three-dimensional symmetric tensors of the geometry, the Ricci and Einstein tensors, their covariant derivatives at all orders, and their products of all orders are completely determined by the Killing vector field and the metric. Hence, the corresponding three-dimensional metrics are strong candidates for solving all higher derivative gravitational field equations in three dimensions.

  10. Spacelike conformal Killing vectors and spacelike congruences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mason, D.P.; Tsamparlis, M.

    1985-01-01

    Necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for space-time to admit a spacelike conformal motion with symmetry vector parallel to a unit spacelike vector field n/sup a/. These conditions are expressed in terms of the shear and expansion of the spacelike congruence generated by n/sup a/ and in terms of the four-velocity of the observer employed at any given point of the congruence. It is shown that either the expansion or the rotation of this spacelike congruence must vanish if Dn/sup a//dp = 0, where p denotes arc length measured along the integral curves of n/sup a/, and also that there exist no proper spacelike homothetic motions with constant expansion. Propagation equations for the projection tensor and the rotation tensor are derived and it is proved that every isometric spacelike congruence is rigid. Fluid space-times are studied in detail. A relation is established between spacelike conformal motions and material curves in the fluid: if a fluid space-time admits a spacelike conformal Killing vector parallel to n/sup a/ and n/sub a/u/sup a/ = 0, where u/sup a/ is the fluid four-velocity, then the integral curves of n/sup a/ are material curves in an irrotational fluid, while if the fluid vorticity is nonzero, then the integral curves of n/sup a/ are material curves if and only if they are vortex lines. An alternative derivation, based on the theory of spacelike congruences, of some of the results of Collins [J. Math. Phys. 25, 995 (1984)] on conformal Killing vectors parallel to the local vorticity vector in shear-free perfect fluids with zero magnetic Weyl tensor is given

  11. Background Killing vectors and conservation laws in Rosen's bimetric theories of gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Israelit, M.

    1979-01-01

    The problem of global energy, linear momentum, and angular momentum in Rosen's bimetric theories of gravitation is considered from the point of view of motions of the background space-time. It turns out that by means of background Killing vectors global mechanical integrals for matter and field can be defined in a correct manner. For the flat-background bimetric theory conditions are obtained which have been imposed on the algebraic structure of the matter tensor Tsub(μ)sup(ν) in order to get global mechanical conservation laws. For bimetric gravitation theories based on a cosmological (nonflat) background the set of Killing vectors is found. For these theories the obtained restrictions on the algebraic structure of Tsub(μ)sup(ν) lead to global generation laws (instead of conservation laws in the flat-background theory) for mechanical quantities. In particular cases the generation effect vanishes and then conservation laws exist. By means of the method developed in this paper, Rosen's homogeneous isotropic universe in the framework of the cosmological-background bimetric theory with k = 1 is considered. It turns out that such a universe does not generate globally, but will generate locally. The global energy of this universe is found to be zero. (author)

  12. The curvature and the algebra of Killing vectors in five-dimensional space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rcheulishvili, G.

    1990-12-01

    This paper presents the Killing vectors for a five-dimensional space with the line element. The algebras which are formed by these vectors are written down. The curvature two-forms are described. (author). 10 refs

  13. Vacuum spacetimes with a spacelike, hypersurface-orthogonal Killing vector: reduced equations in a canonical frame

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonanos, S

    2003-01-01

    The Newman-Penrose equations for spacetimes having one spacelike Killing vector are reduced-in a geometrically defined 'canonical frame' - to a minimal set, and its differential structure is studied. Expressions for the frame vectors in an arbitrary coordinate basis are given, and coordinate-independent choices of the metric functions are suggested which make the components of the Ricci tensor in the direction of the Killing vector vanish

  14. Self-dual metrics with self-dual Killing vectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tod, K.P.; Ward, R.S.

    1979-01-01

    Twistor methods are used to derive a class of solutions to Einstein's vacuum equations, with anti-self dual Weyl tensor. In particular, all metrics with a Killing vector whose derivative is anti-self-dual and which admit a real positive-definite section are exhibited and shown to coincide with the metrics of Hawking. (author)

  15. Fractional Killing-Yano Tensors and Killing Vectors Using the Caputo Derivative in Some One- and Two-Dimensional Curved Space

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ehab Malkawi

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The classical free Lagrangian admitting a constant of motion, in one- and two-dimensional space, is generalized using the Caputo derivative of fractional calculus. The corresponding metric is obtained and the fractional Christoffel symbols, Killing vectors, and Killing-Yano tensors are derived. Some exact solutions of these quantities are reported.

  16. Classification of Kantowski-Sachs and Bianchi Type III Space-Times According to Their Killing Vector Fields in Teleparallel Theory of Gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shabbir, Ghulam; Khan, Suhail

    2010-01-01

    In this paper we classify Kantowski-Sachs and Bianchi type III space-times according to their teleparallel Killing vector fields using direct integration technique. It turns out that the dimension of the teleparallel Killing vector fields are 4 or 6, which are the same in numbers as in general relativity. In case of 4 the teleparallel Killing vector fields are multiple of the corresponding Killing vector fields in general relativity by some function of t. In the case of 6 Killing vector fields the metric functions become constants and the Killing vector fields in this case are exactly the same as in general relativity. Here we also discuss the Lie algebra in each case. (general)

  17. Brane world black holes in teleparallel theory equivalent to general relativity and their Killing vectors, energy, momentum and angular momentum

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nashed, Gamal G. L.

    2010-01-01

    The energy–momentum tensor, which is coordinate-independent, is used to calculate energy, momentum and angular momentum of two different tetrad fields. Although, the two tetrad fields reproduce the same space-time their energies are different. Therefore, a regularized expression of the gravitational energy–momentum tensor of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity (TEGR), is used to make the energies of the two tetrad fields equal. The definition of the gravitational energy–momentum is used to investigate the energy within the external event horizon. The components of angular momentum associated with these space–times are calculated. In spite of using a static space–time, we get a non-zero component of angular momentum! Therefore, we derive the Killing vectors associated with these space–times using the definition of the Lie derivative of a second rank tensor in the framework of the TEGR to make the picture more clear. (general)

  18. The algebra of Killing vectors in five-dimensional space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rcheulishvili, G.L.

    1990-01-01

    This paper presents algebras which are formed by the found earlier Killing vectors in the space with linear element ds. Under some conditions, an explicit dependence of r is given for the functions entering in linear element ds. The curvature two-forms are described. 7 refs

  19. A Note on Classification of Spatially Homogeneous Rotating Space-Times According to Their Teleparallel Killing Vector Fields in Teleparallel Theory of Gravitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shabbir, Ghulam; Khan, Suhail; Ali, Amjad

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we classify spatially homogeneous rotating space-times according to their teleparallel Killing vector fields using direct integration technique. It turns out that the dimension of the teleparallel Killing vector fields is 5 or 10. In the case of 10 teleparallel Killing vector fields the space-time becomes Minkowski and all the torsion components are zero. Teleparallel Killing vector fields in this case are exactly the same as in general relativity. In the cases of 5 teleparallel Killing vector fields we get two more conservation laws in the teleparallel theory of gravitation. Here we also discuss some well-known examples of spatially homogeneous rotating space-times according to their teleparallel Killing vector fields. (general)

  20. Scale invariance, killing vectors, and the size of the fifth dimension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ross, D.K.

    1986-01-01

    An analysis is made of the classical five-dimensional sourceless Kaluza-Klein equations with the existence of the usual α/α/PSI/ Killing vector not assumed, where /PSI/ is the coordinate of the fifth dimension. The physical distance around the fifth dimension D 5 , needed for the calculation of the fine structure constant α, is not calculable in the usual theory because the equations have a global scale invariance. In the present case, the Killing vector and the global scale invariance are not present, but it is found rather generally that D 5 = 0. This indicates that quantum gravity is a necessary ingredient if α is to be calculated. It also provides an alternate explanation of why the universe appears four-dimensional

  1. Vectores de Killing y cantidades conservadas para espacio-tiempos cuasi-esféricos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Carot

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available En este trabajo se estudian los espacio-tiempos con deformación de tipo B, con simetría axial y cuasi-esféricos. Se obtiene un elemento de linea tal que admite vectores de Killing de la familia 1 propuesta por J. Flores et. al. [1]. Se encuentran las cantidades conservadas asociadas a estos vectores de Killing y por tanto una primera integral de las ecuaciones de las geodésicas que describen una partícula libre inmersa en este tipo espacio- tiempo.

  2. A classification system for one Killing vector solutions of Einstein's equations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hoenselaers, C.

    1978-01-01

    A double classification system for one Killing vector solutions in terms of the eigenvectors and eigenvalues of the Ricci and Bach tensor of the associated three manifold is proposed. The calculations of the Bach tensor are carried out for special cases. (author)

  3. Killing vectors and covariant operators of momenta for fermion in curved space.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fomin, P I; Zemlyakov, A T

    1996-12-31

    The operators of linear and angular momenta of fermion in symmetric curved space with killing vectors are constructed in the form covariant in respect to transformations of coordinates and local tetrad. Some applications of this formalism are considered. 14 refs., 1 figs.

  4. Killing vectors and covariant operators of momenta for fermion in curved space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fomin, P.I.; Zemlyakov, A.T.

    1995-01-01

    The operators of linear and angular momenta of fermion in symmetric curved space with killing vectors are constructed in the form covariant in respect to transformations of coordinates and local tetrad. Some applications of this formalism are considered. 14 refs., 1 figs

  5. Exact solutions of the vacuum Einstein's equations allowing for two noncommuting Killing vectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aliev, V.N.; Leznov, A.N.

    1990-01-01

    Einstein's equations are written in the form of covariant gauge theory in two-dimensional space with binomial solvable gauge group, with respect to two noncommutative of Killing vectors. The theory is exact integrable in one-dimensional case and series of partial exact solutions are constructed in two-dimensional. 5 refs

  6. All ASD complex and real 4-dimensional Einstein spaces with Λ≠0 admitting a nonnull Killing vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chudecki, Adam

    2016-12-01

    Anti-self-dual (ASD) 4-dimensional complex Einstein spaces with nonzero cosmological constant Λ equipped with a nonnull Killing vector are considered. It is shown that any conformally nonflat metric of such spaces can be always brought to a special form and the Einstein field equations can be reduced to the Boyer-Finley-Plebański equation (Toda field equation). Some alternative forms of the metric are discussed. All possible real slices (neutral, Euclidean and Lorentzian) of ASD complex Einstein spaces with Λ≠0 admitting a nonnull Killing vector are found.

  7. Target product profile choices for intra-domiciliary malaria vector control pesticide products: repel or kill?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moore Sarah J

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The most common pesticide products for controlling malaria-transmitting mosquitoes combine two distinct modes of action: 1 conventional insecticidal activity which kills mosquitoes exposed to the pesticide and 2 deterrence of mosquitoes away from protected humans. While deterrence enhances personal or household protection of long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual sprays, it may also attenuate or even reverse communal protection if it diverts mosquitoes to non-users rather than killing them outright. Methods A process-explicit model of malaria transmission is described which captures the sequential interaction between deterrent and toxic actions of vector control pesticides and accounts for the distinctive impacts of toxic activities which kill mosquitoes before or after they have fed upon the occupant of a covered house or sleeping space. Results Increasing deterrency increases personal protection but consistently reduces communal protection because deterrent sub-lethal exposure inevitably reduces the proportion subsequently exposed to higher lethal doses. If the high coverage targets of the World Health Organization are achieved, purely toxic products with no deterrence are predicted to generally provide superior protection to non-users and even users, especially where vectors feed exclusively on humans and a substantial amount of transmission occurs outdoors. Remarkably, this is even the case if that product confers no personal protection and only kills mosquitoes after they have fed. Conclusions Products with purely mosquito-toxic profiles may, therefore, be preferable for programmes with universal coverage targets, rather than those with equivalent toxicity but which also have higher deterrence. However, if purely mosquito-toxic products confer little personal protection because they do not deter mosquitoes and only kill them after they have fed, then they will require aggressive "catch up" campaigns, with

  8. Noether charges for self-interacting quantum field theories in curved spacetimes with a Killing-vector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hollands, S.

    2001-01-01

    We consider a self-interacting, perturbative Klein-Gordon quantum field in a curved spacetime admitting a Killing vector field. We show that the action of this spacetime symmetry on interacting field operators can be implemented by a Noether charge which arises, in a certain sense, as a surface integral over the time-component of some interacting Noether current-density associated with the Killing field. The proof of this involves the demonstration of a corresponding set of Ward identities. Our work is based on the perturbative construction by Brunetti and Fredenhagen (Commun. Math. Phys. 208 (2000) 623-661) of self-interacting quantum field theories in general globally hyperbolic spacetimes. (orig.)

  9. Constraints on stress-energy perturbations in general relativity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Traschen, J.

    1985-01-01

    Conditions are found for the existence of integral constraints on stress-energy perturbations in general relativity. The integral constraints can be thought of as a general-relativistic generalization of the conservation of energy and momentum of matter perturbations in special relativity. The constraints are stated in terms of a vector field V, and the Robertson-Walker spacetimes are shown to have such constraint vectors. Although in general V is not a Killing vector, in a vacuum spacetime the constraint vectors are precisely the Killing vectors

  10. 9 CFR 113.213 - Pseudorabies Vaccine, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pseudorabies Vaccine, Killed Virus..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS STANDARD REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.213 Pseudorabies Vaccine, Killed Virus. Pseudorabies Vaccine, Killed...

  11. Some basic properties of Killing spinors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hacyan, S.; Plebanski, J.

    1976-01-01

    The concept of Killing spinor is analyzed in a general way by using the spinorial formalism. It is shown, among other things, that higher derivatives of Killing spinors can be expressed in terms of lower order derivatives. Conformal Killing vectors are studied in some detail in the light of spinorial analysis: Classical results are formulated in terms of spinors. A theorem on Lie derivatives of Debever--Penrose vectors is proved, and it is shown that conformal motion in vacuum with zero cosmological constant must be homothetic, unless the conformal tensor vanishes or is of type N. Our results are valid for either real or complex space--time manifolds

  12. 9 CFR 113.206 - Wart Vaccine, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Wart Vaccine, Killed Virus. 113.206... AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS STANDARD REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.206 Wart Vaccine, Killed Virus. Wart Vaccine, Killed Virus, shall be prepared...

  13. Killing-Yano tensors, rank-2 Killing tensors, and conserved quantities in higher dimensions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krtous, Pavel [Institute of Theoretical Physics, Charles University, V Holesovickach 2, Prague (Czech Republic); Kubiznak, David [Institute of Theoretical Physics, Charles University, V Holesovickach 2, Prague (Czech Republic); Page, Don N. [Theoretical Physics Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2G7, Alberta (Canada); Frolov, Valeri P. [Theoretical Physics Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G 2G7, Alberta (Canada)

    2007-02-15

    From the metric and one Killing-Yano tensor of rank D-2 in any D-dimensional spacetime with such a principal Killing-Yano tensor, we show how to generate k = [(D+1)/2] Killing-Yano tensors, of rank D-2j for all 0 {<=} j {<=} k-1, and k rank-2 Killing tensors, giving k constants of geodesic motion that are in involution. For the example of the Kerr-NUT-AdS spacetime (hep-th/0604125) with its principal Killing-Yano tensor (gr-qc/0610144), these constants and the constants from the k Killing vectors give D independent constants in involution, making the geodesic motion completely integrable (hep-th/0611083). The constants of motion are also related to the constants recently obtained in the separation of the Hamilton-Jacobi and Klein-Gordon equations (hep-th/0611245)

  14. Killing-Yano tensors, rank-2 Killing tensors, and conserved quantities in higher dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krtous, Pavel; Kubiznak, David; Page, Don N.; Frolov, Valeri P.

    2007-01-01

    From the metric and one Killing-Yano tensor of rank D-2 in any D-dimensional spacetime with such a principal Killing-Yano tensor, we show how to generate k = [(D+1)/2] Killing-Yano tensors, of rank D-2j for all 0 ≤ j ≤ k-1, and k rank-2 Killing tensors, giving k constants of geodesic motion that are in involution. For the example of the Kerr-NUT-AdS spacetime (hep-th/0604125) with its principal Killing-Yano tensor (gr-qc/0610144), these constants and the constants from the k Killing vectors give D independent constants in involution, making the geodesic motion completely integrable (hep-th/0611083). The constants of motion are also related to the constants recently obtained in the separation of the Hamilton-Jacobi and Klein-Gordon equations (hep-th/0611245)

  15. Partner Symmetries, Group Foliation and ASD Ricci-Flat Metrics without Killing Vectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrei A. Malykh

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available We demonstrate how a combination of our recently developed methods of partner symmetries, symmetry reduction in group parameters and a new version of the group foliation method can produce noninvariant solutions of complex Monge-Ampère equation (CMA and provide a lift from invariant solutions of CMA satisfying Boyer-Finley equation to non-invariant ones. Applying these methods, we obtain a new noninvariant solution of CMA and the corresponding Ricci-flat anti-self-dual Einstein-Kähler metric with Euclidean signature without Killing vectors, together with Riemannian curvature two-forms. There are no singularities of the metric and curvature in a bounded domain if we avoid very special choices of arbitrary functions of a single variable in our solution. This metric does not describe gravitational instantons because the curvature is not concentrated in a bounded domain.

  16. Killing spinors for the bosonic string and Kaluza-Klein theory with scalar potentials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Haishan; Lue, H.; Wang, Zhao-Long

    2012-01-01

    The paper consists mainly of two parts. In the first part, we obtain well-defined Killing spinor equations for the low-energy effective action of the bosonic string with the conformal anomaly term. We show that the conformal anomaly term is the only scalar potential that one can add into the action that is consistent with the Killing spinor equations. In the second part, we demonstrate that Kaluza-Klein theory can be gauged so that the Killing spinors are charged under the Kaluza-Klein vector. This gauging process generates a scalar potential with a maximum that gives rise to an AdS spacetime. We also construct solutions of these theories. (orig.)

  17. 9 CFR 113.208 - Avian Encephalomyelitis Vaccine, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ..., Killed Virus. 113.208 Section 113.208 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS STANDARD REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.208 Avian Encephalomyelitis Vaccine, Killed Virus. Avian...

  18. Isolated Horizon, Killing Horizon and Event Horizon

    OpenAIRE

    Date, G.

    2001-01-01

    We consider space-times which in addition to admitting an isolated horizon also admit Killing horizons with or without an event horizon. We show that an isolated horizon is a Killing horizon provided either (1) it admits a stationary neighbourhood or (2) it admits a neighbourhood with two independent, commuting Killing vectors. A Killing horizon is always an isolated horizon. For the case when an event horizon is definable, all conceivable relative locations of isolated horizon and event hori...

  19. Infinite-Dimensional Symmetry Algebras as a Help Toward Solutions of the Self-Dual Field Equations with One Killing Vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finley, Daniel; McIver, John K.

    2002-12-01

    The sDiff(2) Toda equation determines all self-dual, vacuum solutions of the Einstein field equations with one rotational Killing vector. Some history of the searches for non-trivial solutions is given, including those that begin with the limit as n → ∞ of the An Toda lattice equations. That approach is applied here to the known prolongation structure for the Toda lattice, hoping to use Bäcklund transformations to generate new solutions. Although this attempt has not yet succeeded, new faithful (tangent-vector) realizations of A∞ are described, and a direct approach via the continuum Lie algebras of Saveliev and Leznov is given.

  20. 9 CFR 113.204 - Mink Enteritis Vaccine, Killed Virus.

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    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Mink Enteritis Vaccine, Killed Virus..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS STANDARD REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.204 Mink Enteritis Vaccine, Killed Virus. Mink Enteritis Vaccine...

  1. 9 CFR 113.212 - Bursal Disease Vaccine, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Bursal Disease Vaccine, Killed Virus..., DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS STANDARD REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.212 Bursal Disease Vaccine, Killed Virus. Bursal Disease Vaccine...

  2. A rotating hairy AdS3 black hole with the metric having only one Killing vector field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iizuka, Norihiro; Ishibashi, Akihiro; Maeda, Kengo

    2015-01-01

    We perturbatively construct a three-dimensional rotating AdS black hole with a real scalar hair. We choose the mass of a scalar field slightly above the Breitenlohner-Freedman bound and impose a general boundary condition for the bulk scalar field at AdS infinity. We first show that rotating BTZ black holes are unstable against scalar field perturbations under our more general boundary condition. Next we construct a rotating hairy black hole perturbatively with respect to a small amplitude ϵ of the scalar field, up to O(ϵ 4 ). Our hairy black hole is stationary and exhibits no dissipation, but the lumps of the non-linearly perturbed geometry break axial symmetry, thus providing the first example of a rotating black hole whose metric admits only one Killing vector field. Furthermore, we numerically show that the entropy of our hairy black hole is larger than that of the BTZ black hole with the same energy and the angular momentum. We briefly discuss if our rotating hairy black hole in lumpy geometry could be the endpoint of the instability.

  3. Timelike Killing spinors in seven dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cariglia, Marco; Conamhna, Oisin A.P. Mac

    2004-01-01

    We employ the G-structure formalism to study supersymmetric solutions of minimal and SU(2) gauged supergravities in seven dimensions admitting Killing spinors with an associated timelike Killing vector. The most general such Killing spinor defines a SU(3) structure. We deduce necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a timelike Killing spinor on the bosonic fields of the theories, and find that such configurations generically preserve one out of 16 supersymmetries. Using our general supersymmetric ansatz we obtain numerous new solutions, including squashed or deformed anti-de Sitter solutions of the gauged theory, and a large class of Goedel-like solutions with closed timelike curves

  4. Phantom metrics with Killing spinors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W.A. Sabra

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available We study metric solutions of Einstein–anti-Maxwell theory admitting Killing spinors. The analogue of the IWP metric which admits a space-like Killing vector is found and is expressed in terms of a complex function satisfying the wave equation in flat (2+1-dimensional space–time. As examples, electric and magnetic Kasner spaces are constructed by allowing the solution to depend only on the time coordinate. Euclidean solutions are also presented.

  5. 9 CFR 113.210 - Feline Calicivirus Vaccine, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Virus. 113.210 Section 113.210 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS STANDARD REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.210 Feline Calicivirus Vaccine, Killed Virus. Feline Calicivirus...

  6. 9 CFR 113.211 - Feline Rhinotracheitis Vaccine, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Virus. 113.211 Section 113.211 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS STANDARD REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.211 Feline Rhinotracheitis Vaccine, Killed Virus. Feline...

  7. 9 CFR 113.216 - Bovine Rhinotracheitis Vaccine, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Virus. 113.216 Section 113.216 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS STANDARD REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.216 Bovine Rhinotracheitis Vaccine, Killed Virus. Infectious Bovine...

  8. 9 CFR 113.203 - Feline Panleukopenia Vaccine, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Virus. 113.203 Section 113.203 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS STANDARD REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.203 Feline Panleukopenia Vaccine, Killed Virus. Feline Panleukopenia...

  9. 9 CFR 113.205 - Newcastle Disease Vaccine, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Virus. 113.205 Section 113.205 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS STANDARD REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.205 Newcastle Disease Vaccine, Killed Virus. Newcastle Disease Vaccine...

  10. String vacuum backgrounds with covariantly constant null Killing vector and two-dimensional quantum gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tseytlin, A.A.

    1993-01-01

    We consider a two-dimensional sigma model with a (2+N)-dimensional Minkowski signature target space metric having a covariantly constant null Killing vector. We study solutions of the conformal invariance conditions in 2+N dimensions and find that generic solutions can be represented in terms of the RG flow in N-dimensional 'transverse space' theory. The resulting conformal invariant sigma model is interpreted as a quantum action of the two-dimensional scalar ('dilaton') quantum gravity model coupled to a (non-conformal) 'transverse' sigma model. The conformal factor of the two-dimensional metric is identified with a light-cone coordinate of the (2+N)-dimensional sigma model. We also discuss the case when the transverse theory is conformal (with or without the antisymmetric tensor background) and reproduce in a systematic way the solutions with flat transverse space known before. (orig.)

  11. Does host complement kill Borrelia burgdorferi within ticks?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rathinavelu, Sivaprakash; Broadwater, Anne; de Silva, Aravinda M

    2003-02-01

    The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, inhabits the gut lumen of the tick vector. At this location the spirochete is exposed to host blood when a tick feeds. We report here on studies that were done with normal and complement-deficient (C3-knockout) mice to determine if the host complement system killed spirochetes within the vector. We found that spirochete numbers within feeding nymphs were not influenced by complement, most likely because host complement was inactivated within the vector. The Lyme disease outer surface protein A (OspA) vaccine is a transmission-blocking vaccine that targets spirochetes in the vector. In experiments with mice hyperimmunized with OspA, complement was not required to kill spirochetes within nymphs and to block transmission from nymphs to the vaccinated host. However, host complement did enhance the ability of OspA antibody to block larvae from acquiring spirochetes. Thus, the effects of OspA antibody on nymphal transmission and larval acquisition appear to be based on different mechanisms.

  12. Energy Systems in the Era of Energy Vectors A Key to Define, Analyze and Design Energy Systems Beyond Fossil Fuels

    CERN Document Server

    Orecchini, Fabio

    2012-01-01

    What lies beyond the era of fossil fuels? While most answers focus on different primary energy resources, Energy Systems in the Era of Energy Vectors provides a completely new approach. Instead of providing a traditional consumption analysis of classical primary energy resources such as oil, coal, nuclear power and gas, Energy Systems in the Era of Energy Vectors describes and assesses energy technologies, markets and future strategies, focusing on their capacity to produce, exchange, and use energy vectors. Special attention is given to the renewable energy resources available in different areas of the world and made exploitable by the integration of energy vectors in the global energy system. Clear definitions of energy vectors and energy systems are used as the basis for a complete explanation and assessment of up-to-date, available technologies for energy resources, transport and storage systems, conversion and use. The energy vectors scheme allows the potential realisation of a worldwide sustainable ener...

  13. Energy flow characteristics of vector X-Waves

    KAUST Repository

    Salem, Mohamed; Bagci, Hakan

    2011-01-01

    The vector form of X-Waves is obtained as a superposition of transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarized field components. It is shown that the signs of all components of the Poynting vector can be locally changed using carefully chosen complex amplitudes of the transverse electric and transverse magnetic polarization components. Negative energy flux density in the longitudinal direction can be observed in a bounded region around the centroid; in this region the local behavior of the wave field is similar to that of wave field with negative energy flow. This peculiar energy flux phenomenon is of essential importance for electromagnetic and optical traps and tweezers, where the location and momenta of microand nanoparticles are manipulated by changing the Poynting vector, and in detection of invisibility cloaks. © 2011 Optical Society of America.

  14. Killing spinors as a characterisation of rotating black hole spacetimes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cole, Michael J; Kroon, Juan A Valiente

    2016-01-01

    We investigate the implications of the existence of Killing spinors in a spacetime. In particular, we show that in vacuum and electrovacuum a Killing spinor, along with some assumptions on the associated Killing vector in an asymptotic region, guarantees that the spacetime is locally isometric to the Kerr or Kerr–Newman solutions. We show that the characterisation of these spacetimes in terms of Killing spinors is an alternative expression of characterisation results of Mars (Kerr) and Wong (Kerr–Newman) involving restrictions on the Weyl curvature and matter content. (paper)

  15. 9 CFR 113.207 - Encephalomyelitis Vaccine, Eastern, Western, and Venezuelan, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ..., Western, and Venezuelan, Killed Virus. 113.207 Section 113.207 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS STANDARD REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.207 Encephalomyelitis...

  16. Algebraic structure of general electromagnetic fields and energy flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hacyan, Shahen

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Algebraic structure of general electromagnetic fields in stationary spacetime. → Eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the electomagnetic field tensor. → Energy-momentum in terms of eigenvectors and Killing vector. → Explicit form of reference frame with vanishing Poynting vector. → Application of formalism to Bessel beams. - Abstract: The algebraic structures of a general electromagnetic field and its energy-momentum tensor in a stationary space-time are analyzed. The explicit form of the reference frame in which the energy of the field appears at rest is obtained in terms of the eigenvectors of the electromagnetic tensor and the existing Killing vector. The case of a stationary electromagnetic field is also studied and a comparison is made with the standard short-wave approximation. The results can be applied to the general case of a structured light beams, in flat or curved spaces. Bessel beams are worked out as example.

  17. Energy vectors - Perennial guidebook for energy choices; Vecteurs d'energie - Guide perenne pour les choix energetiques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Caseau, P.; Ruelle, G.; Bacher, P.; Bamberger, Y.; Castillon, P.; Decomps, B.; Dhers, J.; Jarry, B.; Lefaudeux, F.; Mudry, F.; Saunier, B. [Academie des Technologies, Grand Palais des Champs Elysees - Porte C - Avenue Franklin D. Roosevelt - 75008 Paris (France); Careme, F.; Rogeaux, B. [EdF, 22-30, avenue de Wagram 75008 Paris (France); Choux, G. [Total, 2, place Jean Millier La Defense 6, 92400 Courbevoie (France); Morel, H. [CNRS, 3 Rue Michel-Ange, 75016 Paris (France)

    2011-11-17

    Energy vector means the distributed form of energy which is paid by the end-user: the automotive fuel at the gas station, the electricity at the plug. Vectors are characterized by two essential properties: they are structured in networks allowing a large access to users and a geographical and time adjustment of the demand thanks to transport and storage facilities. The link they create between sources and needs allows to introduce both upstream and downstream competitions (what usage is the most profitable? What source or vector is the most economical?). These two properties of vectors allow to use the economical and ecological competitions to help the decision-makers in the choice of the energy mix. This book explores these competitions with a double compass: ecological (greenhouse gases abatement) and economical (the less cost). The parametrical structure of the study allows to use it according to various hypotheses concerning the future evolution of energy source and CO{sub 2} prices. Therefore, it represents a perennial guidebook of energy choices. (J.S.)

  18. Shearfree congruences of null geodesics and Killing tensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dietz, W.; Ruediger, R.

    1980-01-01

    In this communication, the mutual connections between quantities that are generalizations of the notion of a a Killing vector field are investigated. A classification of these quantities in terms of a complex vector field αsub(a) is given. A common feature of all these quantities is that they imply the existence of a pair of shearfree geodetic null congruences. There are no explicit restrictions posed on the Ricci tensor. (author)

  19. Spacetimes foliated by Killing horizons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pawlowski, Tomasz; Lewandowski, Jerzy; Jezierski, Jacek

    2004-01-01

    It seems to be expected that a horizon of a quasi-local type, such as a Killing or an isolated horizon, by analogy with a globally defined event horizon, should be unique in some open neighbourhood in the spacetime, provided the vacuum Einstein or the Einstein-Maxwell equations are satisfied. The aim of our paper is to verify whether that intuition is correct. If one can extend a so-called Kundt metric, in such a way that its null, shear-free surfaces have spherical spacetime sections, the resulting spacetime is foliated by so-called non-expanding horizons. The obstacle is Kundt's constraint induced at the surfaces by the Einstein or the Einstein-Maxwell equations, and the requirement that a solution be globally defined on the sphere. We derived a transformation (reflection) that creates a solution to Kundt's constraint out of data defining an extremal isolated horizon. Using that transformation, we derived a class of exact solutions to the Einstein or Einstein-Maxwell equations of very special properties. Each spacetime we construct is foliated by a family of the Killing horizons. Moreover, it admits another, transversal Killing horizon. The intrinsic and extrinsic geometries of the transversal Killing horizon coincide with the one defined on the event horizon of the extremal Kerr-Newman solution. However, the Killing horizon in our example admits yet another Killing vector tangent to and null at it. The geometries of the leaves are given by the reflection

  20. Energy-exchange collisions of dark-bright-bright vector solitons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radhakrishnan, R; Manikandan, N; Aravinthan, K

    2015-12-01

    We find a dark component guiding the practically interesting bright-bright vector one-soliton to two different parametric domains giving rise to different physical situations by constructing a more general form of three-component dark-bright-bright mixed vector one-soliton solution of the generalized Manakov model with nine free real parameters. Moreover our main investigation of the collision dynamics of such mixed vector solitons by constructing the multisoliton solution of the generalized Manakov model with the help of Hirota technique reveals that the dark-bright-bright vector two-soliton supports energy-exchange collision dynamics. In particular the dark component preserves its initial form and the energy-exchange collision property of the bright-bright vector two-soliton solution of the Manakov model during collision. In addition the interactions between bound state dark-bright-bright vector solitons reveal oscillations in their amplitudes. A similar kind of breathing effect was also experimentally observed in the Bose-Einstein condensates. Some possible ways are theoretically suggested not only to control this breathing effect but also to manage the beating, bouncing, jumping, and attraction effects in the collision dynamics of dark-bright-bright vector solitons. The role of multiple free parameters in our solution is examined to define polarization vector, envelope speed, envelope width, envelope amplitude, grayness, and complex modulation of our solution. It is interesting to note that the polarization vector of our mixed vector one-soliton evolves in sphere or hyperboloid depending upon the initial parametric choices.

  1. Dynamical analysis for a vector-like dark energy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Landim, Ricardo C.G. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Departamento de Fisica-Matematica, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2016-09-15

    In this paper we perform a dynamical analysis for a vector field as a candidate for the dark energy, in the presence of a barotropic fluid. The vector is one component of the so-called cosmic triad, which is a set of three identical copies of an abelian field pointing mutually in orthogonal directions. In order to generalize the analysis, we also assumed the interaction between dark energy and the barotropic fluid, with a phenomenological coupling. Both matter and dark energy eras can be successfully described by the critical points, indicating that the dynamical system theory is a viable tool to analyze asymptotic states of such cosmological models. (orig.)

  2. Does Host Complement Kill Borrelia burgdorferi within Ticks?

    OpenAIRE

    Rathinavelu, Sivaprakash; Broadwater, Anne; de Silva, Aravinda M.

    2003-01-01

    The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, inhabits the gut lumen of the tick vector. At this location the spirochete is exposed to host blood when a tick feeds. We report here on studies that were done with normal and complement-deficient (C3-knockout) mice to determine if the host complement system killed spirochetes within the vector. We found that spirochete numbers within feeding nymphs were not influenced by complement, most likely because host complement was inactivated within ...

  3. Photoacoustically-guided photothermal killing of mosquitoes targeted by nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, Stephen R; Galanzha, Ekaterina I; Totten, Daniel C; Beneš, Helen; Shmookler Reis, Robert J; Zharov, Vladimir P

    2014-07-01

    In biomedical applications, nanoparticles have demonstrated the potential to eradicate abnormal cells in small localized pathological zones associated with cancer or infections. Here, we introduce a method for nanotechnology-based photothermal (PT) killing of whole organisms considered harmful to humans or the environment. We demonstrate that laser-induced thermal, and accompanying nano- and microbubble phenomena, can injure or kill C. elegans and mosquitoes fed carbon nanotubes, gold nanospheres, gold nanoshells, or magnetic nanoparticles at laser energies that are safe for humans. In addition, a photoacoustic (PA) effect was used to control nanoparticle delivery. Through the integration of this technique with molecular targeting, nanoparticle clustering, magnetic capturing and spectral sharpening of PA and PT plasmonic resonances, our laser-based PA-PT nano-theranostic platform can be applied to detection and the physical destruction of small organisms and carriers of pathogens, such as malaria vectors, spiders, bed bugs, fleas, ants, locusts, grasshoppers, phytophagous mites, or other arthropod pests, irrespective of their resistance to conventional treatments. Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  4. 9 CFR 113.202 - Canine Hepatitis and Canine Adenovirus Type 2 Vaccine, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Type 2 Vaccine, Killed Virus. 113.202 Section 113.202 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS STANDARD REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.202 Canine Hepatitis and Canine...

  5. Structural equations for Killing tensors of order two. II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hauser, I.; Malhiot, R.J.

    1975-01-01

    In a preceding paper, a new form of the structural equations for any Killing tensor of order two have been derived; these equations constitute a system analogous to the Killing vector equations Nabla/sub alpha/ K/sub beta/ = ω/sub alpha beta/ = -ω/sub beta alpha/ and Nabla/sub gamma/ ω/sub alpha beta = R/sub alpha beta gamma delta/ K/sup delta/. The first integrability condition for the Killing tensor structural equations is now derived. The structural equations and the integrability condition have forms which can readily be expressed in terms of a null tetrad to furnish a Killing tensor parallel of the Newman--Penrose equations; this is briefly described. The integrability condition implies the new result, for any given space--time, that the dimension of the set of second-order Killing tensors attains its maximum possible value of 50 only if the space--time is of constant curvature. Potential applications of the structural equations are discussed

  6. High-energy manifestations of heavy quarks in axial-vector neutral currents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kizukuri, Y.; Ohba, I.; Okano, K.; Yamanaka, Y.

    1981-01-01

    A recent work by Collins, Wilczek, and Zee has attempted to manifest the incompleteness of the decoupling theorem in the axial-vector neutral currents at low energies. In the spirit of their work, we calculate corrections of the axial-vector neutral currents by virtual-heavy-quark exchange in the high-energy e + e - processes and estimate some observable quantities sensitive to virtual-heavy-quark masses which may be compared with experimental data at LEP energies

  7. Killing scalar of non-linear σ-model on G/H realizing the classical exchange algebra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aoyama, Shogo

    2014-01-01

    The Poisson brackets for non-linear σ-models on G/H are set up on the light-like plane. A quantity which transforms irreducibly by the Killing vectors, called Killing scalar, is constructed in an arbitrary representation of G. It is shown to satisfy the classical exchange algebra

  8. Managing the resilience space of the German energy system - A vector analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schlör, Holger; Venghaus, Sandra; Märker, Carolin; Hake, Jürgen-Friedrich

    2018-07-15

    The UN Sustainable Development Goals formulated in 2016 confirmed the sustainability concept of the Earth Summit of 1992 and supported UNEP's green economy transition concept. The transformation of the energy system (Energiewende) is the keystone of Germany's sustainability strategy and of the German green economy concept. We use ten updated energy-related indicators of the German sustainability strategy to analyse the German energy system. The development of the sustainable indicators is examined in the monitoring process by a vector analysis performed in two-dimensional Euclidean space (Euclidean plane). The aim of the novel vector analysis is to measure the current status of the Energiewende in Germany and thereby provide decision makers with information about the strains for the specific remaining pathway of the single indicators and of the total system in order to meet the sustainability targets of the Energiewende. Within this vector model, three vectors (the normative sustainable development vector, the real development vector, and the green economy vector) define the resilience space of our analysis. The resilience space encloses a number of vectors representing different pathways with different technological and socio-economic strains to achieve a sustainable development of the green economy. In this space, the decision will be made as to whether the government measures will lead to a resilient energy system or whether a readjustment of indicator targets or political measures is necessary. The vector analysis enables us to analyse both the government's ambitiousness, which is expressed in the sustainability target for the indicators at the start of the sustainability strategy representing the starting preference order of the German government (SPO) and, secondly, the current preference order of German society in order to bridge the remaining distance to reach the specific sustainability goals of the strategy summarized in the current preference order (CPO

  9. The Plasmodium bottleneck: malaria parasite losses in the mosquito vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Ryan C; Vega-Rodríguez, Joel; Jacobs-Lorena, Marcelo

    2014-01-01

    Nearly one million people are killed every year by the malaria parasite Plasmodium. Although the disease-causing forms of the parasite exist only in the human blood, mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles are the obligate vector for transmission. Here, we review the parasite life cycle in the vector and highlight the human and mosquito contributions that limit malaria parasite development in the mosquito host. We address parasite killing in its mosquito host and bottlenecks in parasite numbers that might guide intervention strategies to prevent transmission. PMID:25185005

  10. Perturbative stability of the approximate Killing field eigenvalue problem

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beetle, Christopher; Wilder, Shawn

    2014-01-01

    An approximate Killing field may be defined on a compact, Riemannian geometry by solving an eigenvalue problem for a certain elliptic operator. This paper studies the effect of small perturbations in the Riemannian metric on the resulting vector field. It shows that small metric perturbations, as measured using a Sobolev-type supremum norm on the space of Riemannian geometries on a fixed manifold, yield small perturbations in the approximate Killing field, as measured using a Hilbert-type square integral norm. It also discusses applications to the problem of computing the spin of a generic black hole in general relativity. (paper)

  11. Geographic origins and population genetics of bats killed at wind-energy facilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pylant, Cortney L; Nelson, David M; Fitzpatrick, Matthew C; Gates, J Edward; Keller, Stephen R

    2016-07-01

    An unanticipated impact of wind-energy development has been large-scale mortality of insectivorous bats. In eastern North America, where mortality rates are among the highest in the world, the hoary bat (Lasiurus cinereus) and the eastern red bat (L. borealis) comprise the majority of turbine-associated bat mortality. Both species are migratory tree bats with widespread distributions; however, little is known regarding the geographic origins of bats killed at wind-energy facilities or the diversity and population structure of affected species. We addressed these unknowns by measuring stable hydrogen isotope ratios (δ 2 H) and conducting population genetic analyses of bats killed at wind-energy facilities in the central Appalachian Mountains (USA) to determine the summering origins, effective size, structure, and temporal stability of populations. Our results indicate that ~1% of hoary bat mortalities and ~57% of red bat mortalities derive from non-local sources, with no relationship between the proportion of non-local bats and sex, location of mortality, or month of mortality. Additionally, our data indicate that hoary bats in our sample consist of an unstructured population with a small effective size (N e ) and either a stable or declining history. Red bats also showed no evidence of population genetic structure, but in contrast to hoary bats, the diversity contained in our red bat samples is consistent with a much larger N e that reflects a demographic expansion after a bottleneck. These results suggest that the impacts of mortality associated with intensive wind-energy development may affect bat species dissimilarly, with red bats potentially better able to absorb sustained mortality than hoary bats because of their larger N e . Our results provide important baseline data and also illustrate the utility of stable isotopes and population genetics for monitoring bat populations affected by wind-energy development. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

  12. Can really the electromagnetic transverse waves with E-vector parallel to B-vector and finite energy exist?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malinowski, S.

    1984-01-01

    It is shown that the total field energy for general solutions of the sourceless Maxwell's equations with E-vector parallel to B-vector is infinite. Moreover the action and/or the ''pseudoscalar charge'' must be infinite too in this case. Therefore the expected similarity to the instanton or meron solutions of nonabelian gauge theories is illusory. 5 refs. (author)

  13. The Plasmodium bottleneck: malaria parasite losses in the mosquito vector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryan C Smith

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Nearly one million people are killed every year by the malaria parasite Plasmodium. Although the disease-causing forms of the parasite exist only in the human blood, mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles are the obligate vector for transmission. Here, we review the parasite life cycle in the vector and highlight the human and mosquito contributions that limit malaria parasite development in the mosquito host. We address parasite killing in its mosquito host and bottlenecks in parasite numbers that might guide intervention strategies to prevent transmission.

  14. Severe acute respiratory syndrome vaccine efficacy in ferrets: whole killed virus and adenovirus-vectored vaccines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    See, Raymond H; Petric, Martin; Lawrence, David J; Mok, Catherine P Y; Rowe, Thomas; Zitzow, Lois A; Karunakaran, Karuna P; Voss, Thomas G; Brunham, Robert C; Gauldie, Jack; Finlay, B Brett; Roper, Rachel L

    2008-09-01

    Although the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak was controlled, repeated transmission of SARS coronavirus (CoV) over several years makes the development of a SARS vaccine desirable. We performed a comparative evaluation of two SARS vaccines for their ability to protect against live SARS-CoV intranasal challenge in ferrets. Both the whole killed SARS-CoV vaccine (with and without alum) and adenovirus-based vectors encoding the nucleocapsid (N) and spike (S) protein induced neutralizing antibody responses and reduced viral replication and shedding in the upper respiratory tract and progression of virus to the lower respiratory tract. The vaccines also diminished haemorrhage in the thymus and reduced the severity and extent of pneumonia and damage to lung epithelium. However, despite high neutralizing antibody titres, protection was incomplete for all vaccine preparations and administration routes. Our data suggest that a combination of vaccine strategies may be required for effective protection from this pathogen. The ferret may be a good model for SARS-CoV infection because it is the only model that replicates the fever seen in human patients, as well as replicating other SARS disease features including infection by the respiratory route, clinical signs, viral replication in upper and lower respiratory tract and lung damage.

  15. High energy beta rays and vectors of Bilharzia and Fasciola

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fletcher, J.J.; Akpa, T.C.; Dim, L.A.; Ogunsusi, R.

    1988-01-01

    Preliminary investigations of the effects of high energy beta rays on Lymnea natalensis, the snail vector of Schistosoma haematobium have been conducted. Results show that in both stream and tap water, about 70% of the snails die when irradiated for up to 18 hours using a 15m Ci Sr-90 beta source. The rest of the snails die without further irradiation in 24 hours. It may then be possible to control the vectors of Bilharzia and Fasciola by using both the direct and indirect effects of high energy betas. (author)

  16. High energy beta rays and vectors of Bilharzia and Fasciola

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fletcher, J.J.; Akpa, T.C.; Dim, L.A.; Ogunsusi, R.

    1988-01-01

    Preliminary investigations of the effects of high energy beta rays on Lymnea natalensis, the snail vector of Schistosoma haematobium have been conducted. Results show that in both stream and tap water, about 70% of the snails die when irradiated for up to 18 hours using a 15m Ci Sr-90 beta source. The rest of the snails die without further irradiation in 24 hours. It may then be possible to control the vectors of Bilharzia and Fasciola by using both the direct and indirect effects of high energy betas.

  17. 9 CFR 113.215 - Bovine Virus Diarrhea Vaccine, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Bovine Virus Diarrhea Vaccine, Killed Virus. 113.215 Section 113.215 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIRUSES, SERUMS, TOXINS, AND ANALOGOUS PRODUCTS; ORGANISMS AND VECTORS STANDARD...

  18. Lentiviral vectors in cancer immunotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oldham, Robyn Aa; Berinstein, Elliot M; Medin, Jeffrey A

    2015-01-01

    Basic science advances in cancer immunotherapy have resulted in various treatments that have recently shown success in the clinic. Many of these therapies require the insertion of genes into cells to directly kill them or to redirect the host's cells to induce potent immune responses. Other analogous therapies work by modifying effector cells for improved targeting and enhanced killing of tumor cells. Initial studies done using γ-retroviruses were promising, but safety concerns centered on the potential for insertional mutagenesis have highlighted the desire to develop other options for gene delivery. Lentiviral vectors (LVs) have been identified as potentially more effective and safer alternative delivery vehicles. LVs are now in use in clinical trials for many different types of inherited and acquired disorders, including cancer. This review will discuss current knowledge of LVs and the applications of this viral vector-based delivery vehicle to cancer immunotherapy.

  19. Energy, stability and cosmological constant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deser, S.

    1982-01-01

    The definition of energy and its use in studying stability in general relativity are extended to the case when there is a nonvanishing cosmological constant Λ. Existence of energy is first demonstrated for any model (with arbitrary Λ). It is defined with respect to sets of solutions tending asymptotically to any background space possessing timelike Killing symmetry, and is both conserved and of flux integral form. When Λ O, small excitations about De Sitter space are stable inside the event horizon. Outside excitations can contribute negatively due to the Killing vector's flip at the horizon. This is a universal phenomenon associated with the possibility of Hawking radiation. Apart from this effect, the Λ>O theory appears to be stable, also at the semi-classical level. (author)

  20. Quantum energy-momentum tensor in space-time with time-like killing vector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frolov, V.P.; Zel'nikov, A.I.

    1987-01-01

    An approximate expression for the vacuum and thermal average μν > ren of the stress-energy tensor of conformal massless fields in static Ricci-flat space-times is constructed. The application of this approximation to the space-time of a Schwarzschild black hole and its relation to the Page-Brown-Ottewill approximation are briefly discussed. (orig.)

  1. Techniques for vector analyzing power measurements of the 2H(n vector,np)n breakup reaction at low energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howell, C.R.; Tornow, W.; Pfuetzner, H.G.; Li Anli; Roberts, M.L.; Murphy, K.; Felsher, P.D.; Weisel, G.J.; Naqvi, A.; Walter, R.L.; Lambert, J.M.; Treado, P.A.

    1990-01-01

    Experimental methods to measure the vector analyzing powers over a broad range of kinematic configurations in the n-d breakup reaction have been developed at TUNL. These techniques employ the polarized beam facilities at TUNL and use the 2 H(d vector, n vector) 3 He reaction as a source of low-energy polarized neutrons. Our methods permit measurements to a high statistical accuracy over a large fraction of three-nucleon phase space. The techniques are described and experimental spectra along with kinematic calculations are presented. (orig.)

  2. A Plant Bacterial Pathogen Manipulates Its Insect Vector's Energy Metabolism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hijaz, Faraj; Ebert, Timothy A.; Rogers, Michael E.

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Insect-transmitted plant-pathogenic bacteria may alter their vectors' fitness, survival, behavior, and metabolism. Because these pathogens interact with their vectors on the cellular and organismal levels, potential changes at the biochemical level might occur. “Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus” (CLas) is transmitted in a persistent, circulative, and propagative manner. The genome of CLas revealed the presence of an ATP translocase that mediates the uptake of ATP and other nucleotides from medium to achieve its biological processes, such as growth and multiplication. Here, we showed that the levels of ATP and many other nucleotides were significantly higher in CLas-infected than healthy psyllids. Gene expression analysis showed upregulation for ATP synthase subunits, while ATPase enzyme activity showed a decrease in ATPase activity. These results indicated that CLas stimulated Diaphorina citri to produce more ATP and many other energetic nucleotides, while it may inhibit their consumption by the insect. As a result of ATP accumulation, the adenylated energy charge (AEC) increased and the AMP/ATP and ADP/ATP ratios decreased in CLas-infected D. citri psyllids. Survival analysis confirmed a shorter life span for CLas-infected D. citri psyllids. In addition, electropenetrography showed a significant reduction in total nonprobing time, salivation time, and time from the last E2 (phloem ingestion) to the end of recording, indicating that CLas-infected psyllids were at a higher hunger level and they tended to forage more often. This increased feeding activity reflects the CLas-induced energetic stress. In conclusion, CLas alters the energy metabolism of its psyllid vector, D. citri, in order to secure its need for energetic nucleotides. IMPORTANCE Insect transmission of plant-pathogenic bacteria involves propagation and circulation of the bacteria within their vectors. The transmission process is complex and requires specific interactions at the molecular

  3. The supersymmetric configurations of N=2, d=4 supergravity coupled to vector supermultiplets

    CERN Document Server

    Meessen, P

    2006-01-01

    We classify all the supersymmetric configurations of ungauged N=2,d=4 supergravity coupled to n vector multiplets and determine under which conditions they are also classical solutions of the equations of motion. The supersymmetric configurations fall into two classes, depending on the timelike or null nature of the Killing vector constructed from Killing spinor bilinears. The timelike class configurations are essentially the ones found by Behrndt, Luest and Sabra, which exhaust this class and are the ones that include supersymmetric black holes. The null class configurations include pp-waves and cosmic strings.

  4. Energy-momentum tensor of intermediate vector bosons in an external electromagnetic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mostepanenko, V.M.; Sokolov, I.Yu.

    1988-01-01

    Expressions are obtained for the canonical and metric energy-momentum tensors of the vector field of intermediate bosons in an external electromagnetic field. It is shown that in the case of a gyromagnetic ratio not equal to unity the energy-momentum tensor cannot be symmetrized on its indices, and an additional term proportional to the anomalous magnetic moment appears in the conservation laws. A modification of the canonical formalism for scalar and vector fields in an external field is proposed in accordance with which the Hamiltonian density is equal to the 00 component of the energy-momentum tensor. An expression for the energy-momentum tensor of a closed system containing a gauge field of intermediate bosons and an electromagnetic field is obtained

  5. Techniques for vector analyzing power measurements of the sup 2 H(n vector,np)n breakup reaction at low energies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Howell, C.R.; Tornow, W.; Pfuetzner, H.G.; Li Anli; Roberts, M.L.; Murphy, K.; Felsher, P.D.; Weisel, G.J.; Naqvi, A.; Walter, R.L. (Duke Univ., Durham, NC (USA) Triangle Universities Nuclear Lab., Durham, NC (USA)); Lambert, J.M.; Treado, P.A. (Georgetown Univ., Washington, DC (USA). Dept. of Physics); Slaus, I. (Institut Rudjer Boskovic, Zagreb (Yugoslavia))

    1990-05-10

    Experimental methods to measure the vector analyzing powers over a broad range of kinematic configurations in the n-d breakup reaction have been developed at TUNL. These techniques employ the polarized beam facilities at TUNL and use the {sup 2}H(d vector, n vector){sup 3}He reaction as a source of low-energy polarized neutrons. Our methods permit measurements to a high statistical accuracy over a large fraction of three-nucleon phase space. The techniques are described and experimental spectra along with kinematic calculations are presented. (orig.).

  6. Energy Based Clutter Filtering for Vector Flow Imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Villagómez Hoyos, Carlos Armando; Jensen, Jonas; Ewertsen, Caroline

    2017-01-01

    for obtaining vector flow measurements, since the spectra overlaps at high beam-to-flow angles. In this work a distinct approach is proposed, where the energy of the velocity spectrum is used to differentiate among the two signals. The energy based method is applied by limiting the amplitude of the velocity...... spectrum function to a predetermined threshold. The effect of the clutter filtering is evaluated on a plane wave (PW) scan sequence in combination with transverse oscillation (TO) and directional beamforming (DB) for velocity estimation. The performance of the filter is assessed by comparison...

  7. H(t Vector,t)H scattering at low energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haglund, R.F. Jr.; Fick, D.; Schmelzbach, P.A.; Ohlsen, G.G.; Jarmie, N.; Brown, R.E.

    1977-03-01

    Angular distributions of the differential cross section and vector analyzing power for H + t approaches elastic scattering, at center-of-mass energies 1.26, 1.68, 2.19, 2.70, 3.21, and 3.71 MeV are presented. A preliminary phase-shift analysis of the data confirms the importance of the odd-parity tensor and even-parity spin-orbit nucleon-nucleon forces in model calculations for the 4 He system in this energy range

  8. Hydrogen: an energy vector for the future?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    His, St.

    2004-01-01

    Used today in various industrial sectors including refining and chemicals, hydrogen is often presented as a promising energy vector for the transport sector. However, its balance sheet presents disadvantages as well as advantages. For instance, some of its physical characteristics are not very well adapted to transport use and hydrogen does not exist in pure form. Hydrogen technologies can offer satisfactory environmental performance in certain respects, but remain handicapped by costs too high for large-scale development. A great deal of research will be required to develop mass transport application. (author)

  9. Hydrogen: an energy vector for the future?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    His, St

    2004-07-01

    Used today in various industrial sectors including refining and chemicals, hydrogen is often presented as a promising energy vector for the transport sector. However, its balance sheet presents disadvantages as well as advantages. For instance, some of its physical characteristics are not very well adapted to transport use and hydrogen does not exist in pure form. Hydrogen technologies can offer satisfactory environmental performance in certain respects, but remain handicapped by costs too high for large-scale development. A great deal of research will be required to develop mass transport application. (author)

  10. Evaluation of biogas and syngas as energy vectors for heat and power generation using lignocellulosic biomass as raw material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Camilo Solarte-Toro

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The use of nonrenewable energy sources to provide the worldwide energy needs has caused different problems such as global warming, water pollution, and smog production. In this sense, lignocellulosic biomass has been postulated as a renewable energy source able to produce energy carriers that can cover this energy demand. Biogas and syngas are two energy vectors that have been suggested to generate heat and power through their use in cogeneration systems. Therefore, the aim of this review is to develop a comparison between these energy vectors considering their main features based on literature reports. In addition, a techno-economic and energy assessment of the heat and power generation using these vectors as energy sources is performed. If lignocellulosic biomass is used as raw material, biogas is more commonly used for cogeneration purposes than syngas. However, syngas from biomass gasification has a great potential to be employed as a chemical platform in the production of value-added products. Moreover, the investment costs to generate heat and power from lignocellulosic materials using the anaerobic digestion technology are higher than those using the gasification technology. As a conclusion, it was evidenced that upgraded biogas has a higher potential to produce heat and power than syngas. Nevertheless, the implementation of both energy vectors into the energy market is important to cover the increasing worldwide energy demand.How to cite: Solarte-Toro JC, Chacón-Pérez Y, Cardona-Alzate CA. Evaluation of biogas and syngas as energy vectors for heat and power generation using lignocellulosic biomass as raw material. Electron J Biotechnol 2018:33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejbt.2018.03.005 Keywords: Anaerobic digestion, Biogas power generation, Biomass gasification, Biomethane, Energy sources, Energy vectors, Heat generation, Lignocellulosic energy production, Power generation, Renewable energy, Syngas production

  11. Plasma neutrino energy loss due to the axial-vector current at the late stages of stellar evolution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Jingjing

    2009-01-01

    Based on the Weinberg-Salam theory, the plasma neutrino energy loss rates of vector and axial-vector contributions are studied. A ratable factor of the rates from the axial-vector current relative to those of the total neutrino energy loss rates is accurately calculated. The results show that the ratable factor will reach a maximum of 0.95 or even more at relatively higher temperature and lower density (such as ρ/μ e 7 g/cm 3 ). Thus the rates of the axial-vector contribution cannot be neglected. On the other hand, the rates of the axial-vector contribution are on the order of ∼0.01% of the total vector contribution, which is in good agreement with Itoh's at relatively high density (such as ρ/μ e > 10 7 g/cm 3 ) and a temperature of T≤10 11 K. (authors)

  12. Babesial vector tick defensin against Babesia sp. parasites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsuji, Naotoshi; Battsetseg, Badgar; Boldbaatar, Damdinsuren; Miyoshi, Takeharu; Xuan, Xuenan; Oliver, James H; Fujisaki, Kozo

    2007-07-01

    Antimicrobial peptides are major components of host innate immunity, a well-conserved, evolutionarily ancient defensive mechanism. Infectious disease-bearing vector ticks are thought to possess specific defense molecules against the transmitted pathogens that have been acquired during their evolution. We found in the tick Haemaphysalis longicornis a novel parasiticidal peptide named longicin that may have evolved from a common ancestral peptide resembling spider and scorpion toxins. H. longicornis is the primary vector for Babesia sp. parasites in Japan. Longicin also displayed bactericidal and fungicidal properties that resemble those of defensin homologues from invertebrates and vertebrates. Longicin showed a remarkable ability to inhibit the proliferation of merozoites, an erythrocyte blood stage of equine Babesia equi, by killing the parasites. Longicin was localized at the surface of the Babesia sp. parasites, as demonstrated by confocal microscopic analysis. In an in vivo experiment, longicin induced significant reduction of parasitemia in animals infected with the zoonotic and murine B. microti. Moreover, RNA interference data demonstrated that endogenous longicin is able to directly kill the canine B. gibsoni, thus indicating that it may play a role in regulating the vectorial capacity in the vector tick H. longicornis. Theoretically, longicin may serve as a model for the development of chemotherapeutic compounds against tick-borne disease organisms.

  13. Mass killings and detection of impacts

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLaren, Digby J.

    Highly energetic bolide impacts occur and their flux is known. For larger bodies the energy release is greater than for any other short-term global phenomenon. Such impacts produce or release a large variety of shock induced changes including major atmospheric, sedimentologic, seismic and volcanic events. These events must necessarily leave a variety of records in the stratigraphic column, including mass killings resulting in major changes in population density and reduction or extinction of many taxonomic groups, followed by characteristic patterns of faunal and flora replacement. Of these effects, mass killings, marked by large-scale loss of biomass, are the most easily detected evidence in the field but must be manifest on a near-global scale. Such mass killings that appear to be approximately synchronous and involve disappearance of biomass at a bedding plane in many sedimentologically independent sections globally suggest a common cause and probable synchroneity. Mass killings identify an horizon which may be examined for evidence of cause. Geochemical markers may be ephemeral and absence may not be significant. There appears to be no reason why ongoing phenomena such as climate and sea-level changes are primary causes of anomolous episodic events.

  14. Vector mass in curved space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maia, M.D.

    The use of the Poincare-symmetry appears to be incompatible with the presence of the gravitational field. The consequent problem of the definition of the mass operator is analysed and an alternative definition based on constant curvature tangent spaces is proposed. In the case where the space-time has no killing vector fields, four independent mass operators can be defined at each point. (Author) [pt

  15. Wind power and bird kills

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raynolds, M.

    1998-01-01

    The accidental killing of birds by wind generators, and design improvements in the towers that support the turbines that might cut down on the bird killings were discussed. The first problem for the industry began in the late 1980s when the California Energy Commission reported as many as 160 birds (the majority being raptors, including the protected golden eagle) killed in one year in the vicinity of wind power plants. The key factor identified was the design of the towers as birds of prey are attracted to lattice towers as a place to hunt from. Tubular towers do not provide a place for the birds to perch, therefore they reduce the potential for bird strikes. Bird strikes also have been reported in Spain and the siting of the towers have been considered as the principal cause of the bird strikes. In view of these incidents, the wind power industry is developing standards for studying the potential of bird strikes and is continuing to study bird behaviour leading to collisions, the impact of topography, cumulative impacts and new techniques to reduce bird strikes. Despite the reported incidents, the risk of bird strikes by wind turbines, compared to other threats to birds such as pollution, oil spills, and other threats from fossil and nuclear fuels, is considered to be negligible. With continuing efforts to minimize incidents by proper design and siting, wind power can continue to grow as an environmentally sound and efficient source of energy

  16. Wind power and bird kills

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Raynolds, M.

    1998-12-01

    The accidental killing of birds by wind generators, and design improvements in the towers that support the turbines that might cut down on the bird killings were discussed. The first problem for the industry began in the late 1980s when the California Energy Commission reported as many as 160 birds (the majority being raptors, including the protected golden eagle) killed in one year in the vicinity of wind power plants. The key factor identified was the design of the towers as birds of prey are attracted to lattice towers as a place to hunt from. Tubular towers do not provide a place for the birds to perch, therefore they reduce the potential for bird strikes. Bird strikes also have been reported in Spain and the siting of the towers have been considered as the principal cause of the bird strikes. In view of these incidents, the wind power industry is developing standards for studying the potential of bird strikes and is continuing to study bird behaviour leading to collisions, the impact of topography, cumulative impacts and new techniques to reduce bird strikes. Despite the reported incidents, the risk of bird strikes by wind turbines, compared to other threats to birds such as pollution, oil spills, and other threats from fossil and nuclear fuels, is considered to be negligible. With continuing efforts to minimize incidents by proper design and siting, wind power can continue to grow as an environmentally sound and efficient source of energy.

  17. Curved manifolds with conserved Runge-Lenz vectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ngome, J.-P.

    2009-01-01

    van Holten's algorithm is used to construct Runge-Lenz-type conserved quantities, induced by Killing tensors, on curved manifolds. For the generalized Taub-Newman-Unti-Tamburino metric, the most general external potential such that the combined system admits a conserved Runge-Lenz-type vector is found. In the multicenter case, the subclass of two-center metric exhibits a conserved Runge-Lenz-type scalar.

  18. The Killing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agger, Gunhild

    2013-01-01

    This article tracks the uncanny locations of The Killing (2007–2012), relating them to place, space and atmosphere, putting bits and pieces from the topographic puzzle together with cues from the symbolic space in order to see how they fit into the overall pattern of Nordic Noir. In The Killing......, the abstract level of space and atmosphere meets the concrete level of place, both influencing the notion of location. This meeting, I suggest, has contributed towards the simultaneous domestic and international appeal of The Killing....

  19. Spatial aliasing and distortion of energy distribution in the wave vector domain under multi-spacecraft measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Narita

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available Aliasing is a general problem in the analysis of any measurements that make sampling at discrete points. Sampling in the spatial domain results in a periodic pattern of spectra in the wave vector domain. This effect is called spatial aliasing, and it is of particular importance for multi-spacecraft measurements in space. We first present the theoretical background of aliasing problems in the frequency domain and generalize it to the wave vector domain, and then present model calculations of spatial aliasing. The model calculations are performed for various configurations of the reciprocal vectors and energy spectra or distribution that are placed at different positions in the wave vector domain, and exhibit two effects on aliasing. One is weak aliasing, in which the true spectrum is distorted because of non-uniform aliasing contributions in the Brillouin zone. It is demonstrated that the energy distribution becomes elongated in the shortest reciprocal lattice vector direction in the wave vector domain. The other effect is strong aliasing, in which aliases have a significant contribution in the Brillouin zone and the energy distribution shows a false peak. These results give a caveat in multi-spacecraft data analysis in that spectral anisotropy obtained by a measurement has in general two origins: (1 natural and physical origins like anisotropy imposed by a mean magnetic field or a flow direction; and (2 aliasing effects that are imposed by the configuration of the measurement array (or the set of reciprocal vectors. This manuscript also discusses a possible method to estimate aliasing contributions in the Brillouin zone based on the measured spectrum and to correct the spectra for aliasing.

  20. 33 CFR 117.801 - Newtown Creek, Dutch Kills, English Kills and their tributaries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Newtown Creek, Dutch Kills, English Kills and their tributaries. 117.801 Section 117.801 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD....801 Newtown Creek, Dutch Kills, English Kills and their tributaries. (a) The following requirements...

  1. Axisymmetric Electrovacuum Spacetimes with AN Additional Killing Vector and Radiation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pravdová, A.; Bičák, J.

    2002-12-01

    In the present note we briefly summarize our recent work [1, 2] on possible additional symmetries of axially symmetric electrovacuum spacetimes which admit radiation. The main result states that only boost and rotation (axially) symmetric electrovacuum spacetimes can be radiative and asymptotically flat at null infinity {J} which admits global sections. If an additional symmetry is a translational spacelike or null Killing field the spacetime represents cylindrical or plane-type waves, local {J} may still exist but some of its generators are missing. Boost-rotation symmetric spacetimes are the only known exact explicit radiative solutions of Einstein's equations describing moving objects - singularities or black holes uniformly accelerated along the axis of symmetry. They are radiative and admit a smooth {J} although at least four points of {J} are missing. They represent the only known examples in which arbitrarily strong initial data with the given symmetry can be chosen on a hyperboloidal hypersurface which evolve into a complete, smooth null infinity and regular timelike infinity. For the latest reviews, containing a number of relevant references, see [3, 4]...

  2. High-energy vector boson scattering after the Higgs discovery

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kilian, Wolfgang; Sekulla, Marco; Ohl, Thorsten; Reuter, Juergen

    2014-08-01

    Weak vector-boson W,Z scattering at high energy probes the Higgs sector and is most sensitive to any new physics associated with electroweak symmetry breaking. We show that in the presence of the 125 GeV Higgs boson, a conventional effective-theory analysis fails for this class of processes. We propose to extrapolate the effective-theory ansatz by an extension of the parameter-free K-matrix unitarization prescription, which we denote as direct T-matrix unitarization. We generalize this prescription to arbitrary non-perturbative models and describe the implementation, as an asymptotically consistent reference model matched to the low-energy effective theory. We present exemplary numerical results for full six-fermion processes at the LHC.

  3. Control of Malaria Vector Mosquitoes by Insecticide-Treated Combinations of Window Screens and Eave Baffles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Killeen, Gerry F; Masalu, John P; Chinula, Dingani; Fotakis, Emmanouil A; Kavishe, Deogratius R; Malone, David; Okumu, Fredros

    2017-05-01

    We assessed window screens and eave baffles (WSEBs), which enable mosquitoes to enter but not exit houses, as an alternative to indoor residual spraying (IRS) for malaria vector control. WSEBs treated with water, the pyrethroid lambda-cyhalothrin, or the organophosphate pirimiphos-methyl, with and without a binding agent for increasing insecticide persistence on netting, were compared with IRS in experimental huts. Compared with IRS containing the same insecticide, WSEBs killed similar proportions of Anopheles funestus mosquitoes that were resistant to pyrethroids, carbamates and organochlorines and greater proportions of pyrethroid-resistant, early exiting An. arabiensis mosquitoes. WSEBs with pirimiphos-methyl killed greater proportions of both vectors than lambda-cyhalothrin or lambda-cyhalothrin plus pirimiphos-methyl and were equally efficacious when combined with binding agent. WSEBs required far less insecticide than IRS, and binding agents might enhance durability. WSEBs might enable affordable deployment of insecticide combinations to mitigate against physiologic insecticide resistance and improve control of behaviorally resistant, early exiting vectors.

  4. On scalar and vector fields coupled to the energy-momentum tensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez, Jose Beltrán; Cembranos, Jose A. R.; Sánchez Velázquez, Jose M.

    2018-05-01

    We consider theories for scalar and vector fields coupled to the energy-momentum tensor. Since these fields also carry a non-trivial energy-momentum tensor, the coupling prescription generates self-interactions. In analogy with gravity theories, we build the action by means of an iterative process that leads to an infinite series, which can be resumed as the solution of a set of differential equations. We show that, in some particular cases, the equations become algebraic and that is also possible to find solutions in the form of polynomials. We briefly review the case of the scalar field that has already been studied in the literature and extend the analysis to the case of derivative (disformal) couplings. We then explore theories with vector fields, distinguishing between gauge-and non-gauge-invariant couplings. Interactions with matter are also considered, taking a scalar field as a proxy for the matter sector. We also discuss the ambiguity introduced by superpotential (boundary) terms in the definition of the energy-momentum tensor and use them to show that it is also possible to generate Galileon-like interactions with this procedure. We finally use collider and astrophysical observations to set constraints on the dimensionful coupling which characterises the phenomenology of these models.

  5. A model for soft high-energy scattering: Tensor pomeron and vector odderon

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ewerz, Carlo, E-mail: C.Ewerz@thphys.uni-heidelberg.de [Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 16, D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany); ExtreMe Matter Institute EMMI, GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung, Planckstraße 1, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Maniatis, Markos, E-mail: mmaniatis@ubiobio.cl [Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad del Bío-Bío, Avda. Andrés Bello s/n, Casilla 447, Chillán 3780000 (Chile); Nachtmann, Otto, E-mail: O.Nachtmann@thphys.uni-heidelberg.de [Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 16, D-69120 Heidelberg (Germany)

    2014-03-15

    A model for soft high-energy scattering is developed. The model is formulated in terms of effective propagators and vertices for the exchange objects: the pomeron, the odderon, and the reggeons. The vertices are required to respect standard rules of QFT. The propagators are constructed taking into account the crossing properties of amplitudes in QFT and the power-law ansätze from the Regge model. We propose to describe the pomeron as an effective spin 2 exchange. This tensor pomeron gives, at high energies, the same results for the pp and pp{sup -bar} elastic amplitudes as the standard Donnachie–Landshoff pomeron. But with our tensor pomeron it is much more natural to write down effective vertices of all kinds which respect the rules of QFT. This is particularly clear for the coupling of the pomeron to particles carrying spin, for instance vector mesons. We describe the odderon as an effective vector exchange. We emphasise that with a tensor pomeron and a vector odderon the corresponding charge-conjugation relations are automatically fulfilled. We compare the model to some experimental data, in particular to data for the total cross sections, in order to determine the model parameters. The model should provide a starting point for a general framework for describing soft high-energy reactions. It should give to experimentalists an easily manageable tool for calculating amplitudes for such reactions and for obtaining predictions which can be compared in detail with data. -- Highlights: •A general model for soft high-energy hadron scattering is developed. •The pomeron is described as effective tensor exchange. •Explicit expressions for effective reggeon–particle vertices are given. •Reggeon–particle and particle–particle vertices are related. •All vertices respect the standard C parity and crossing rules of QFT.

  6. Killing Range

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asal, Victor; Rethemeyer, R. Karl; Horgan, John

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents an analysis of the Provisional Irish Republican Army's (PIRA) brigade level behavior during the Northern Ireland Conflict (1970-1998) and identifies the organizational factors that impact a brigade's lethality as measured via terrorist attacks. Key independent variables include levels of technical expertise, cadre age, counter-terrorism policies experienced, brigade size, and IED components and delivery methods. We find that technical expertise within a brigade allows for careful IED usage, which significantly minimizes civilian casualties (a specific strategic goal of PIRA) while increasing the ability to kill more high value targets with IEDs. Lethal counter-terrorism events also significantly affect a brigade's likelihood of killing both civilians and high-value targets but in different ways. Killing PIRA members significantly decreases IED fatalities but also significantly decreases the possibility of zero civilian IED-related deaths in a given year. Killing innocent Catholics in a Brigade's county significantly increases total and civilian IED fatalities. Together the results suggest the necessity to analyze dynamic situational variables that impact terrorist group behavior at the sub-unit level. PMID:25838603

  7. Vector theory of gravity: Universe without black holes and solution of dark energy problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svidzinsky, Anatoly A.

    2017-12-01

    We propose an alternative theory of gravity which assumes that background geometry of the Universe is fixed four dimensional Euclidean space and gravity is a vector field A k in this space which breaks the Euclidean symmetry. Direction of A k gives the time coordinate, while perpendicular directions are spatial coordinates. Vector gravitational field is coupled to matter universally and minimally through the equivalent metric f ik which is a functional of A k . We show that such assumptions yield a unique theory of gravity, it is free of black holes and, to the best of our knowledge, passes all available tests. For cosmology our theory predicts the same evolution of the Universe as general relativity with cosmological constant and zero spatial curvature. However, the present theory provides explanation of the dark energy as energy of longitudinal gravitational field induced by the Universe expansion and yields, with no free parameters, the value of {{{Ω }}}{{Λ }}=2/3≈ 0.67 which is consistent with the recent Planck result {{{Ω }}}{{Λ }}=0.686+/- 0.02. Such close agreement with cosmological data indicates that gravity has a vector, rather than tensor, origin. We demonstrate that gravitational wave signals measured by LIGO are compatible with vector gravity. They are produced by orbital inspiral of massive neutron stars which can exist in the present theory. We also quantize gravitational field and show that quantum vector gravity is equivalent to QED. Vector gravity can be tested by making more accurate measurement of the time delay of radar signal traveling near the Sun; by improving accuracy of the light deflection experiments; or by measuring propagation direction of gravitational waves relative to laser interferometer arms. Resolving the supermassive object at the center of our Galaxy with VLBA could provide another test of gravity and also shed light on the nature of dark matter.

  8. Phonon Self-Energy Corrections to Nonzero Wave-Vector Phonon Modes in Single-Layer Graphene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Araujo, P. T.; Mafra, D. L.; Sato, K.; Saito, R.; Kong, J.; Dresselhaus, M. S.

    2012-07-01

    Phonon self-energy corrections have mostly been studied theoretically and experimentally for phonon modes with zone-center (q=0) wave vectors. Here, gate-modulated Raman scattering is used to study phonons of a single layer of graphene originating from a double-resonant Raman process with q≠0. The observed phonon renormalization effects are different from what is observed for the zone-center q=0 case. To explain our experimental findings, we explored the phonon self-energy for the phonons with nonzero wave vectors (q≠0) in single-layer graphene in which the frequencies and decay widths are expected to behave oppositely to the behavior observed in the corresponding zone-center q=0 processes. Within this framework, we resolve the identification of the phonon modes contributing to the G⋆ Raman feature at 2450cm-1 to include the iTO+LA combination modes with q≠0 and also the 2iTO overtone modes with q=0, showing both to be associated with wave vectors near the high symmetry point K in the Brillouin zone.

  9. Vector dark energy and high-z massive clusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlesi, Edoardo; Knebe, Alexander; Yepes, Gustavo; Gottlöber, Stefan; Jiménez, Jose Beltrán.; Maroto, Antonio L.

    2011-12-01

    The detection of extremely massive clusters at z > 1 such as SPT-CL J0546-5345, SPT-CL J2106-5844 and XMMU J2235.3-2557 has been considered by some authors as a challenge to the standard Λ cold dark matter cosmology. In fact, assuming Gaussian initial conditions, the theoretical expectation of detecting such objects is as low as ≤1 per cent. In this paper we discuss the probability of the existence of such objects in the light of the vector dark energy paradigm, showing by means of a series of N-body simulations that chances of detection are substantially enhanced in this non-standard framework.

  10. Vectors, viscin, and Viscaceae: mistletoes as parasites, mutualists, and resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juliann E. Aukema

    2003-01-01

    Mistletoes are aerial, hemiparasitic plants found on trees throughout the world. They have unique ecological arrangements with the host plants they parasitize and the birds that disperse their seeds. Similar in many respects to vector-borne macroparasites, mistletoes are often detrimental to their hosts, and can even kill them. Coevolution has led to resistance...

  11. A multi vector energy analysis for interconnected power and gas systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Devlin, Joseph; Li, Kang; Higgins, Paraic; Foley, Aoife

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • The first multi vector energy system analysis for Britain and Ireland is performed. • Extreme weather driven gas demands were utilised to increase gas system stress. • GB gas system is capable of satisfying demand but restricts gas generator ramping. • Irish gas system congestion causes a 40% increase in gas generator short run cost. • Gas storage in Ireland relieved congestion reduced operational costs by 14%. - Abstract: This paper presents the first multi vector energy analysis for the interconnected energy systems of Great Britain (GB) and Ireland. Both systems share a common high penetration of wind power, but significantly different security of supply outlooks. Ireland is heavily dependent on gas imports from GB, giving significance to the interconnected aspect of the methodology in addition to the gas and power interactions analysed. A fully realistic unit commitment and economic dispatch model coupled to an energy flow model of the gas supply network is developed. Extreme weather events driving increased domestic gas demand and low wind power output were utilised to increase gas supply network stress. Decreased wind profiles had a larger impact on system security than high domestic gas demand. However, the GB energy system was resilient during high demand periods but gas network stress limited the ramping capability of localised generating units. Additionally, gas system entry node congestion in the Irish system was shown to deliver a 40% increase in short run costs for generators. Gas storage was shown to reduce the impact of high demand driven congestion delivering a reduction in total generation costs of 14% in the period studied and reducing electricity imports from GB, significantly contributing to security of supply.

  12. Measurement of K/sub NN/, K/sub LL/ in p vector d → n vector X and p vector 9Be → n vector X at 800 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riley, P.J.; Hollas, C.L.; Newsom, C.R.

    1980-01-01

    The spin transfer parameters, K/sub NN/ and K/sub LL/, have been measured in p vector d → n vector X and p vector 9 Be → n vector X at 0 0 and 800 MeV. The rather large values of K/sub LL/ demonstrate that this transfer mechanism will provide a useful source of polarized neutrons at LAMPF energies

  13. The kinematics of cytotoxic lymphocytes influence their ability to kill target cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Purnima Bhat

    Full Text Available Cytotoxic lymphocytes (CTL have been reported to show a range of motility patterns from rapid long-range tracking to complete arrest, but how and whether these kinematics affect their ability to kill target cells is not known. Many in vitro killing assays utilize cell lines and tumour-derived cells as targets, which may be of limited relevance to the kinetics of CTL-mediated killing of somatic cells. Here, live-cell microscopy is used to examine the interactions of CTL and primary murine skin cells presenting antigens. We developed a qualitative and quantitative killing assay using extended-duration fluorescence time-lapse microscopy coupled with large-volume objective software-based data analysis to obtain population data of cell-to-cell interactions, motility and apoptosis. In vivo and ex vivo activated antigen-specific cytotoxic lymphocytes were added to primary keratinocyte targets in culture with fluorometric detection of caspase-3 activation in targets as an objective determinant of apoptosis. We found that activated CTL achieved contact-dependent apoptosis of non-tumour targets after a period of prolonged attachment - on average 21 hours - which was determined by target cell type, amount of antigen, and activation status of CTL. Activation of CTL even without engagement of the T cell receptor was sufficient to mobilise cells significantly above baseline, while the addition of cognate antigen further enhanced their motility. Highly activated CTL showed markedly increased vector displacement, and velocity, and lead to increased antigen-specific target cell death. These data show that the inherent kinematics of CTL correlate directly with their ability to kill non-tumour cells presenting cognate antigen.

  14. Vectorization, parallelization and porting of nuclear codes. Vectorization and parallelization. Progress report fiscal 1999

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adachi, Masaaki; Ogasawara, Shinobu; Kume, Etsuo [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Ishizuki, Shigeru; Nemoto, Toshiyuki; Kawasaki, Nobuo; Kawai, Wataru [Fujitsu Ltd., Tokyo (Japan); Yatake, Yo-ichi [Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    2001-02-01

    Several computer codes in the nuclear field have been vectorized, parallelized and trans-ported on the FUJITSU VPP500 system, the AP3000 system, the SX-4 system and the Paragon system at Center for Promotion of Computational Science and Engineering in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. We dealt with 18 codes in fiscal 1999. These results are reported in 3 parts, i.e., the vectorization and the parallelization part on vector processors, the parallelization part on scalar processors and the porting part. In this report, we describe the vectorization and parallelization on vector processors. In this vectorization and parallelization on vector processors part, the vectorization of Relativistic Molecular Orbital Calculation code RSCAT, a microscopic transport code for high energy nuclear collisions code JAM, three-dimensional non-steady thermal-fluid analysis code STREAM, Relativistic Density Functional Theory code RDFT and High Speed Three-Dimensional Nodal Diffusion code MOSRA-Light on the VPP500 system and the SX-4 system are described. (author)

  15. Constraining vectors and axial-vectors in walking technicolour by a holographic principle

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    D. Dietrich, Dennis; Kouvaris, Christoforos

    2008-01-01

    We use a holographic principle to study the low-energy spectrum of walking technicolour models. In particular, we predict the masses of the axial vectors as well as the decay constants of vectors and axial vectors as functions of the mass of the techni-rho. Given that there are very few...

  16. A load predictive energy management system for supercapacitor-battery hybrid energy storage system in solar application using the Support Vector Machine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chia, Yen Yee; Lee, Lam Hong; Shafiabady, Niusha; Isa, Dino

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A novel energy management system (EMS) for supercapacitor-battery hybrid energy storage system is implemented. • It is a load predictive EMS which is implemented using Support Vector Machine (SVM). • An optimum SVM load prediction model is obtained, which yields 100% accuracy in 0.004866 s of training time. • The implemented load predictive EMS is compared with the conventional sequential programming control. • This methodology reduces the number of power electronics used and prolong battery lifespan. - Abstract: This paper presents the use of a Support Vector Machine load predictive energy management system to control the energy flow between a solar energy source, a supercapacitor-battery hybrid energy storage combination and the load. The supercapacitor-battery hybrid energy storage system is deployed in a solar energy system to improve the reliability of delivered power. The combination of batteries and supercapacitors makes use of complementary characteristic that allow the overlapping of a battery’s high energy density with a supercapacitors’ high power density. This hybrid system produces a straightforward benefit over either individual system, by taking advantage of each characteristic. When the supercapacitor caters for the instantaneous peak power which prolongs the battery lifespan, it also minimizes the system cost and ensures a greener system by reducing the number of batteries. The resulting performance is highly dependent on the energy controls implemented in the system to exploit the strengths of the energy storage devices and minimize its weaknesses. It is crucial to use energy from the supercapacitor and therefore minimize jeopardizing the power system reliability especially when there is a sudden peak power demand. This study has been divided into two stages. The first stage is to obtain the optimum SVM load prediction model, and the second stage carries out the performance comparison of the proposed SVM-load predictive

  17. Vectorial capacity and vector control: reconsidering sensitivity to parameters for malaria elimination.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brady, Oliver J; Godfray, H Charles J; Tatem, Andrew J; Gething, Peter W; Cohen, Justin M; McKenzie, F Ellis; Perkins, T Alex; Reiner, Robert C; Tusting, Lucy S; Sinka, Marianne E; Moyes, Catherine L; Eckhoff, Philip A; Scott, Thomas W; Lindsay, Steven W; Hay, Simon I; Smith, David L

    2016-02-01

    Major gains have been made in reducing malaria transmission in many parts of the world, principally by scaling-up coverage with long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spraying. Historically, choice of vector control intervention has been largely guided by a parameter sensitivity analysis of George Macdonald's theory of vectorial capacity that suggested prioritizing methods that kill adult mosquitoes. While this advice has been highly successful for transmission suppression, there is a need to revisit these arguments as policymakers in certain areas consider which combinations of interventions are required to eliminate malaria. Using analytical solutions to updated equations for vectorial capacity we build on previous work to show that, while adult killing methods can be highly effective under many circumstances, other vector control methods are frequently required to fill effective coverage gaps. These can arise due to pre-existing or developing mosquito physiological and behavioral refractoriness but also due to additive changes in the relative importance of different vector species for transmission. Furthermore, the optimal combination of interventions will depend on the operational constraints and costs associated with reaching high coverage levels with each intervention. Reaching specific policy goals, such as elimination, in defined contexts requires increasingly non-generic advice from modelling. Our results emphasize the importance of measuring baseline epidemiology, intervention coverage, vector ecology and program operational constraints in predicting expected outcomes with different combinations of interventions. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

  18. Analysing the Wrongness of Killing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Di Nucci, Ezio

    2014-01-01

    This article provides an in-depth analysis of the wrongness of killing by comparing different versions of three influential views: the traditional view that killing is always wrong; the liberal view that killing is wrong if and only if the victim does not want to be killed; and Don Marquis‟ future...... of value account of the wrongness of killing. In particular, I illustrate the advantages that a basic version of the liberal view and a basic version of the future of value account have over competing alternatives. Still, ultimately none of the views analysed here are satisfactory; but the different...

  19. Simplified models of vector control impact upon malaria transmission by zoophagic mosquitoes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samson S Kiware

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: High coverage of personal protection measures that kill mosquitoes dramatically reduce malaria transmission where vector populations depend upon human blood. However, most primary malaria vectors outside of sub-Saharan Africa can be classified as "very zoophagic," meaning they feed occasionally (<10% of blood meals upon humans, so personal protection interventions have negligible impact upon their survival. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We extended a published malaria transmission model to examine the relationship between transmission, control, and the baseline proportion of bloodmeals obtained from humans (human blood index. The lower limit of the human blood index enables derivation of simplified models for zoophagic vectors that (1 Rely on only three field-measurable parameters. (2 Predict immediate and delayed (with and without assuming reduced human infectivity, respectively impacts of personal protection measures upon transmission. (3 Illustrate how appreciable indirect communal-level protection for non-users can be accrued through direct personal protection of users. (4 Suggest the coverage and efficacy thresholds required to attain epidemiological impact. The findings suggest that immediate, indirect, community-wide protection of users and non-users alike may linearly relate to the efficacy of a user's direct personal protection, regardless of whether that is achieved by killing or repelling mosquitoes. High protective coverage and efficacy (≥80% are important to achieve epidemiologically meaningful impact. Non-users are indirectly protected because the two most common species of human malaria are strict anthroponoses. Therefore, the small proportion of mosquitoes that are killed or diverted while attacking humans can represent a large proportion of those actually transmitting malaria. CONCLUSIONS: Simplified models of malaria transmission by very zoophagic vectors may be used by control practitioners to predict intervention impact

  20. Cloning, killing, and identity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMahan, J

    1999-01-01

    One potentially valuable use of cloning is to provide a source of tissues or organs for transplantation. The most important objection to this use of cloning is that a human clone would be the sort of entity that it would be seriously wrong to kill. I argue that entities of the sort that you and I essentially are do not begin to exist until around the seventh month of fetal gestation. Therefore to kill a clone prior to that would not be to kill someone like you or me but would be only to prevent one of us from existing. And even after one of us begins to exist, the objections to killing it remain comparatively weak until its psychological capacities reach a certain level of maturation. These claims support the permissibility of killing a clone during the early stages of its development in order to use its organs for transplantation. PMID:10226909

  1. Vectorization of phase space Monte Carlo code in FACOM vector processor VP-200

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miura, Kenichi

    1986-01-01

    This paper describes the vectorization techniques for Monte Carlo codes in Fujitsu's Vector Processor System. The phase space Monte Carlo code FOWL is selected as a benchmark, and scalar and vector performances are compared. The vectorized kernel Monte Carlo routine which contains heavily nested IF tests runs up to 7.9 times faster in vector mode than in scalar mode. The overall performance improvement of the vectorized FOWL code over the original scalar code reaches 3.3. The results of this study strongly indicate that supercomputer can be a powerful tool for Monte Carlo simulations in high energy physics. (Auth.)

  2. "Guns do not kill, people do!"

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lemche, Niels Peter

    2011-01-01

    The Bible does not kill, but many people who have read the Bible (in their way) have killed, virtually or in real.......The Bible does not kill, but many people who have read the Bible (in their way) have killed, virtually or in real....

  3. Killing-Yano tensors and Nambu mechanics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baleanu, D.

    1998-01-01

    Killing-Yano tensors were introduced in 1952 by Kentaro-Yano from mathematical point of view. The physical interpretation of Killing-Yano tensors of rank higher than two was unclear. We found that all Killing-Yano tensors η i 1 i 2 . .. i n with covariant derivative zero are Nambu tensors. We found that in the case of flat space case all Killing-Yano tensors are Nambu tensors. In the case of Taub-NUT and Kerr-Newmann metric Killing-Yano tensors of order two generate Nambu tensors of rank 3

  4. Vectorization, parallelization and porting of nuclear codes (vectorization and parallelization). Progress report fiscal 1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishizuki, Shigeru; Kawai, Wataru; Nemoto, Toshiyuki; Ogasawara, Shinobu; Kume, Etsuo; Adachi, Masaaki; Kawasaki, Nobuo; Yatake, Yo-ichi

    2000-03-01

    Several computer codes in the nuclear field have been vectorized, parallelized and transported on the FUJITSU VPP500 system, the AP3000 system and the Paragon system at Center for Promotion of Computational Science and Engineering in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. We dealt with 12 codes in fiscal 1998. These results are reported in 3 parts, i.e., the vectorization and parallelization on vector processors part, the parallelization on scalar processors part and the porting part. In this report, we describe the vectorization and parallelization on vector processors. In this vectorization and parallelization on vector processors part, the vectorization of General Tokamak Circuit Simulation Program code GTCSP, the vectorization and parallelization of Molecular Dynamics NTV (n-particle, Temperature and Velocity) Simulation code MSP2, Eddy Current Analysis code EDDYCAL, Thermal Analysis Code for Test of Passive Cooling System by HENDEL T2 code THANPACST2 and MHD Equilibrium code SELENEJ on the VPP500 are described. In the parallelization on scalar processors part, the parallelization of Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport code MCNP4B2, Plasma Hydrodynamics code using Cubic Interpolated Propagation Method PHCIP and Vectorized Monte Carlo code (continuous energy model / multi-group model) MVP/GMVP on the Paragon are described. In the porting part, the porting of Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport code MCNP4B2 and Reactor Safety Analysis code RELAP5 on the AP3000 are described. (author)

  5. The growth with energy of vector meson photo-production cross-sections and low $x$ evolution

    CERN Document Server

    Hentschinski, Martin

    2017-01-01

    We investigate the energy dependence of the exclusive photo-production cross-sections of vector mesons $J/\\Psi$ and $\\Upsilon$ on protons. In particular we are interested in the question whether their energy dependence has a description in terms of perturbative low $x$ (i.e. BFKL) evolution. As an update to the original publication [1] we include recent LHCb 13 TeV results in our comparison with data.

  6. "The Killing Fields" of Innovation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ingerslev, Karen

    2014-01-01

    to clustering of ideas, a design strategy which seemed to kill unique ideas. The reframing of innovation as a radical endeavor killed learning from others for being not innovative. The findings of this paper supplement theories of deliberate killing of ideas by suggesting framing, design and facilitation......This paper points to seemingly contradicted processes of framing innovation, idea generation and killing ideas. It reports from a yearlong innovation project, where health care professionals explored problems and tested ideas for solutions, regarding a future downsizing of the case hospital....... Theories in various ways describe the opening and closing phases of innovation. Exploration and idea generation opens a field of interest, which is then closed by making choices of ideas to further explore in the next opening phase. These choices deliberately kill a lot of ideas. In the innovation project...

  7. Killing symmetries and Smarr formula for black holes in arbitrary dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banerjee, Rabin; Majhi, Bibhas Ranjan; Modak, Sujoy Kumar; Samanta, Saurav

    2010-01-01

    We calculate the effective Komar conserved quantities for the N+1 dimensional charged Myers-Perry spacetime. At the event horizon we derive a new identity K χ μ =2ST where the left hand side is the Komar conserved quantity corresponding to the null Killing vector χ μ while in the right hand side S, T are the black hole entropy and Hawking temperature. From this identity we also derive the generalized Smarr formula connecting the macroscopic parameters M, J, Q of the black hole with its surface gravity and horizon area. The consistency of this new formula is established by an independent algebraic approach.

  8. Does the delta quench Gamow-Teller strength in (p,n)- and (p vector,p vector')-reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osterfeld, F.; Schulte, A.; Udagawa, T.; Yabe, M.

    1986-01-01

    Microscopic analyses of complete forward angle intermediate energy (p,n)-, ( 3 He,t)- and (p vector,p vector')-spin-flip spectra are presented for the reactions 90 Zr(p,n), 90 Zr( 3 He,t) and 90 Zr(p vector,p vector'). It is shown that the whole spectra up to high excitation energies (E X ∝50 MeV) are the result of correlated one-particle-one-hole (1p1h) spin-isospin transitions only. The spectra reflect, therefore, the linear spin-isospin response of the target nucleus to the probing external hadronic fields. Our results suggest that the measured (p,n)-, ( 3 He,t)- and (p vector,p vector')-cross sections are compatible with the transition strength predictions as obtained from random phase approximation (RPA) calculations. This means that the Δ isobar quenching mechanism is likely to be rather small. (orig.)

  9. Exploring energy loss by vector flow mapping in children with ventricular septal defect: Pathophysiologic significance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honda, Takashi; Itatani, Keiichi; Takanashi, Manabu; Kitagawa, Atsushi; Ando, Hisashi; Kimura, Sumito; Oka, Norihiko; Miyaji, Kagami; Ishii, Masahiro

    2017-10-01

    Vector flow mapping is a novel echocardiographic flow visualization method, and it has enabled us to quantitatively evaluate the energy loss in the left ventricle (intraventricular energy loss). Although intraventricular energy loss is assumed to be a part of left ventricular workload itself, it is unclear what this parameter actually represents. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the characteristics of intraventricular energy loss. We enrolled 26 consecutive children with ventricular septal defect (VSD). On echocardiography vector flow mapping, intraventricular energy loss was measured in the apical 3-chamber view. We measured peak energy loss and averaged energy loss in the diastolic and systolic phases, and subsequently compared these parameters with catheterization parameters and serum brain natrium peptide (BNP) level. Diastolic, peak, and systolic energy loss were strongly and positively correlated with right ventricular systolic pressure (r=0.76, 0.68, and 0.56, p<0.0001, = 0.0001, and 0.0029, respectively) and right ventricular end diastolic pressure (r=0.55, 0.49, and 0.49, p=0.0038, 0.0120, and 0.0111, respectively). In addition, diastolic, peak, and systolic energy loss were significantly correlated with BNP (r=0.75, 0.69 and 0.49, p<0.0001, < 0.0001, and=0.0116, respectively). In children with VSD, elevated right ventricular pressure is one of the factors that increase energy loss in the left ventricle. The results of the present study encourage further studies in other study populations to elucidate the characteristics of intraventricular energy loss for its possible clinical application. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Single-hit mechanism of tumour cell killing by radiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, J D

    2003-02-01

    To review the relative importance of the single-hit mechanism of radiation killing for tumour response to 1.8-2.0 Gy day(-1) fractions and to low dose-rate brachytherapy. Tumour cell killing by ionizing radiation is well described by the linear-quadratic equation that contains two independent components distinguished by dose kinetics. Analyses of tumour cell survival curves that contain six or more dose points usually provide good estimates of the alpha- and beta-inactivation coefficients. Superior estimates of tumour cell intrinsic radiosensitivity are obtained when synchronized populations are employed. The characteristics of single-hit inactivation of tumour cells are reviewed and compared with the characteristics of beta-inactivation. Potential molecular targets associated with single-hit inactivation are discussed along with strategies for potentiating cell killing by this mechanism. The single-hit mechanism of tumour cell killing shows no dependence on dose-rate and, consequently, no evidence of sublethal damage repair. It is uniquely potentiated by high linear-energy-transfer radiation, exhibits a smaller oxygen enhancement ratio and exhibits a larger indirect effect by hydroxyl radicals than the beta-mechanism. alpha-inactivation coefficients vary slightly throughout interphase but mitotic cells exhibit extremely high alpha-coefficients in the range of those observed for lymphocytes and some repair-deficient cells. Evidence is accumulating to suggest that chromatin in compacted form could be a radiation-hypersensitive target associated with single-hit radiation killing. Analyses of tumour cell survival curves demonstrate that it is the single-hit mechanism (alpha) that determines the majority of cell killing after doses of 2Gy and that this mechanism is highly variable between tumour cell lines. The characteristics of single-hit inactivation are qualitatively and quantitatively distinct from those of beta-inactivation. Compacted chromatin in tumour cells

  11. [Climate change - a pioneer for the expansion of canine vector-borne diseases?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krämer, F; Mencke, N

    2011-01-01

    Vector-transmitted diseases are one of the major contributors to the global burden of disease in humans and animals. Climate change is consistently held responsible for the spread of parasitic acarid and insect vectors such as ticks, fleas, sand flies and mosquitoes, and their transmitted pathogens (in the case of the dog the so-called canine vector-borne diseases [CVBD]). Currently, there is only insufficient data available to prove whether climate change is a major driving force for vector and disease expansion, but the evidence is growing. Other reasons, such as ecological, demographic and socio-economic factors, e.g. pet travel into and pet import from endemic areas, also play a role in this development. Apart from all the controversial discussion of the factors leading to vector and disease expansion, preventative measures should include dog owners' education as they are responsible for individual parasite protection as well as for the minimisation of adverse risk behaviour, e.g. regarding pet travel. Broad-spectrum vector control should be practised by using parasiticides that repel and kill blood feeders in order to minimize the risk of CVBD-pathogen transmission.

  12. Rate-limiting events in hyperthermic cell killing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Landry, J.; Marceau, N.

    1978-01-01

    The inactivation rate of HeLa cells for temperatures ranging from 41 to 55 0 C and treatment durations varying from 2 to 300 min was analyzed in thermodynamic terms by considering the dependence of cell free energy (ΔG + ) on temperature. Within this temperature range the loss of proliferative capacity exhibits a complex temperature dependence which is characterized by entropy and enthalpy values that gradually decrease as temperature increases. This complex process of heat-induced cell killing was postulated to be the result of a series of reactions, each of them being alternatively rate limiting within a certain temperature range. From this kinetic scheme a mathematical model was derived and, in the case of HeLa cells, the use of a least-squares search parameter procedure (as applied to the derived survival regression function) demonstrated that three such sequential reactions were sufficient to explain all experimental data points obtained within the 41 to 55 0 C range. The proposed model was also shown to be adequate for explaining survival data of HeLa cells exposed to nanosecond heat pulses of infrared laser energy. Considerations of thermodynamic properties of known biochemical reactions suggest plausible rate-limiting events in hyperthermic cell killing

  13. Poly-functional and long-lasting anticancer immune response elicited by a safe attenuated Pseudomonas aeruginosa vector for antigens delivery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xavier Chauchet

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Live-attenuated bacterial vectors for antigens delivery have aroused growing interest in the field of cancer immunotherapy. Their potency to stimulate innate immunity and to promote intracellular antigen delivery into antigen-presenting cells could be exploited to elicit a strong and specific cellular immune response against tumor cells. We previously described genetically-modified and attenuated Pseudomonas aeruginosa vectors able to deliver in vivo protein antigens into antigen-presenting cells, through Type 3 secretion system of the bacteria. Using this approach, we managed to protect immunized mice against aggressive B16 melanoma development in both a prophylactic and therapeutic setting. In this study, we further investigated the antigen-specific CD8+ T cell response, in terms of phenotypic and functional aspects, obtained after immunizations with a killed but metabolically active P. aeruginosa attenuated vector. We demonstrated that P. aeruginosa vaccine induces a highly functional pool of antigen-specific CD8+ T cell able to infiltrate the tumor. Furthermore, multiple immunizations allowed the development of a long-lasting immune response, represented by a pool of predominantly effector memory cells which protected mice against late tumor challenge. Overall, killed but metabolically active P. aeruginosa vector is a safe and promising approach for active and specific antitumor immunotherapy.

  14. Evaluation of Honour Killings in Turkey

    OpenAIRE

    Celbis, Osman; Ozdemir, Bora; Oruc, Mucahit; Dogan, Mustafa; Egri, Mucahit

    2013-01-01

    Honour killings are still pervasive in many societies.  The aim of this study is to reveal the characteristics of the victims of honour killings and honour killers in Malatya province between 2000 and 2004, and to review the concept of honour killings in Turkey.  Data are collected from the records of Malatya Higher Criminal Court.  The results are discussed in the light of the data obtained from Turkish Republic Ministry of Justice.  There were 36 honour killings in Malatya between 2000 and ...

  15. Killing, letting die and euthanasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Husak, D N

    1979-12-01

    Medical ethicists debate whether or not the moral assessment of cases of euthanasia should depend on whether the patient is 'killed' or 'allowed to die'. The usual presupposition is that a clear distinction between killing and letting die can be drawn so that this substantive question is not begged. I contend that the categorisation of cases of instances of killing rather than as instances of letting die depends in part on a prior moral assessment of the case. Hence is it trivially rather than substantively true that the distinction has moral significance. But even if a morally neutral (ie non-question begging) distinction could be drawn, its application to the euthanasia controversy is problematic. I illustrate the difficulties of employing this distinction to reach moral conclusions by critically discussing Philippa Foot's recent treatment of euthanasia. I conclude that even if an act of euthanasia is an instance of killing, and there exists a prima facie moral duty not to kill, and no more stringent duty overrides this duty, one still cannot determine such an act to be morally impermissible.

  16. Killing, letting die and euthanasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Husak, D N

    1979-01-01

    Medical ethicists debate whether or not the moral assessment of cases of euthanasia should depend on whether the patient is 'killed' or 'allowed to die'. The usual presupposition is that a clear distinction between killing and letting die can be drawn so that this substantive question is not begged. I contend that the categorisation of cases of instances of killing rather than as instances of letting die depends in part on a prior moral assessment of the case. Hence is it trivially rather than substantively true that the distinction has moral significance. But even if a morally neutral (ie non-question begging) distinction could be drawn, its application to the euthanasia controversy is problematic. I illustrate the difficulties of employing this distinction to reach moral conclusions by critically discussing Philippa Foot's recent treatment of euthanasia. I conclude that even if an act of euthanasia is an instance of killing, and there exists a prima facie moral duty not to kill, and no more stringent duty overrides this duty, one still cannot determine such an act to be morally impermissible. PMID:541821

  17. Notes on super Killing tensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Howe, P.S. [Department of Mathematics, King’s College London,The Strand, London WC2R 2LS (United Kingdom); Lindström, University [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Theoretical Physics, Uppsala University,SE-751 20 Uppsala (Sweden); Theoretical Physics, Imperial College London,Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)

    2016-03-14

    The notion of a Killing tensor is generalised to a superspace setting. Conserved quantities associated with these are defined for superparticles and Poisson brackets are used to define a supersymmetric version of the even Schouten-Nijenhuis bracket. Superconformal Killing tensors in flat superspaces are studied for spacetime dimensions 3,4,5,6 and 10. These tensors are also presented in analytic superspaces and super-twistor spaces for 3,4 and 6 dimensions. Algebraic structures associated with superconformal Killing tensors are also briefly discussed.

  18. 75 FR 62469 - Drawbridge Operation Regulations; Newtown Creek, Dutch Kills, English Kills, and Their...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard 33 CFR Part 117 [Docket No. USCG-2010-0907] Drawbridge Operation Regulations; Newtown Creek, Dutch Kills, English Kills, and Their Tributaries, NY, Maintenance AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of temporary deviation from regulations. SUMMARY: The Commander...

  19. 75 FR 30299 - Drawbridge Operation Regulations; Newtown Creek, Dutch Kills, English Kills, and Their...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-01

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard 33 CFR Part 117 [Docket No. USCG-2010-0355] Drawbridge Operation Regulations; Newtown Creek, Dutch Kills, English Kills, and Their Tributaries, NY, Maintenance AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of temporary deviation from regulations. SUMMARY: The Commander...

  20. On integrability of the Killing equation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Houri, Tsuyoshi; Tomoda, Kentaro; Yasui, Yukinori

    2018-04-01

    Killing tensor fields have been thought of as describing the hidden symmetry of space(-time) since they are in one-to-one correspondence with polynomial first integrals of geodesic equations. Since many problems in classical mechanics can be formulated as geodesic problems in curved space and spacetime, solving the defining equation for Killing tensor fields (the Killing equation) is a powerful way to integrate equations of motion. Thus it has been desirable to formulate the integrability conditions of the Killing equation, which serve to determine the number of linearly independent solutions and also to restrict the possible forms of solutions tightly. In this paper, we show the prolongation for the Killing equation in a manner that uses Young symmetrizers. Using the prolonged equations, we provide the integrability conditions explicitly.

  1. PESAN MORAL DALAM FILM TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (ANALISIS SEMIOTIKA PADA FILM TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

    OpenAIRE

    RENYOET, JAQUILINE MELISSA

    2014-01-01

    2014 JAQUILINE MELISSA RENYOET. Pesan Moral Dalam Film To Kill A Mockingbird (Analisis Semiotika Pada Film To Kill A Mockingbird). (Dibimbing oleh Muh. Nadjib dan Alem Febri Sonni). Tujuan Penelitian ini adalah mengidentifikasi bentuk pesan moral dan memahami makna pesan moral dalam film To Kill A Mockingbird. Penelitian ini dilakukan selama kurang lebih 2 bulan yaitu Maret ??? Mei 2014. Metode yang digunakan untuk penelitian ini adalah metode penelitian kualitatif den...

  2. Resolving the 180-degree ambiguity in vector magnetic field measurements: The 'minimum' energy solution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metcalf, Thomas R.

    1994-01-01

    I present a robust algorithm that resolves the 180-deg ambiguity in measurements of the solar vector magnetic field. The technique simultaneously minimizes both the divergence of the magnetic field and the electric current density using a simulated annealing algorithm. This results in the field orientation with approximately minimum free energy. The technique is well-founded physically and is simple to implement.

  3. Archivists Killed for Political Reasons

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Baets, Antoon

    2015-01-01

    This essay, Archivists Killed for Political Reasons, offers an overview of archivists who were killed for political reasons through the ages. After determining the criteria for inclusion, sixteen such political murders of archivists are briefly discussed. These cases were distributed over six

  4. Measurements of the n vector p vector total cross section differences for pure helicity states at 1.20, 2.50 and 3.66 GeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharov, V.I.; Zaporozhets, S.A.; Ad''yasevich, B.P.

    1996-01-01

    The quantity Δσ L (n vector p vector), the difference of n vector p vector total cross sections for antiparallel and parallel longitudinal (L) spin states, has been measured for the first time in an energy region of several GeV using a free polarized neutron beam and a polarized proton target. The new data are discussed together with existing results and modern theoretical predictions. This is the first of a planned series of measurements of Δσ L,T (n vector p vector) in this new energy region. 28 refs., 3 figs

  5. Vector mesons and chiral symmetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ecker, G.

    1989-01-01

    The ambiguities in the off-shell behaviour of spin-1 exchange can be resolved to O(p 4 ) in the chiral low-energy expansion if the asymptotic behaviour of QCD is properly incorporated. As a consequence, the chiral version of vector (and axial-vector) meson dominance is model independent. Additional high-energy constraints motivated by QCD determine the V,A resonance couplings uniquely. In particular, QCD in its effective chiral realization sucessfully predicts Γ(ρ→2π). 10 refs. (Author)

  6. Killing superalgebras for Lorentzian four-manifolds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Medeiros, Paul de; Figueroa-O’Farrill, José; Santi, Andrea

    2016-01-01

    We determine the Killing superalgebras underpinning field theories with rigid unextended supersymmetry on Lorentzian four-manifolds by re-interpreting them as filtered deformations of ℤ-graded subalgebras with maximum odd dimension of the N=1 Poincaré superalgebra in four dimensions. Part of this calculation involves computing a Spencer cohomology group which, by analogy with a similar result in eleven dimensions, prescribes a notion of Killing spinor, which we identify with the defining condition for bosonic supersymmetric backgrounds of minimal off-shell supergravity in four dimensions. We prove that such Killing spinors always generate a Lie superalgebra, and that this Lie superalgebra is a filtered deformation of a subalgebra of the N=1 Poincaré superalgebra in four dimensions. Demanding the flatness of the connection defining the Killing spinors, we obtain equations satisfied by the maximally supersymmetric backgrounds. We solve these equations, arriving at the classification of maximally supersymmetric backgrounds whose associated Killing superalgebras are precisely the filtered deformations we classify in this paper.

  7. Killing superalgebras for Lorentzian four-manifolds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Medeiros, Paul de [Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Stavanger,4036 Stavanger (Norway); Figueroa-O’Farrill, José; Santi, Andrea [Maxwell Institute and School of Mathematics, The University of Edinburgh,James Clerk Maxwell Building, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, Scotland (United Kingdom)

    2016-06-20

    We determine the Killing superalgebras underpinning field theories with rigid unextended supersymmetry on Lorentzian four-manifolds by re-interpreting them as filtered deformations of ℤ-graded subalgebras with maximum odd dimension of the N=1 Poincaré superalgebra in four dimensions. Part of this calculation involves computing a Spencer cohomology group which, by analogy with a similar result in eleven dimensions, prescribes a notion of Killing spinor, which we identify with the defining condition for bosonic supersymmetric backgrounds of minimal off-shell supergravity in four dimensions. We prove that such Killing spinors always generate a Lie superalgebra, and that this Lie superalgebra is a filtered deformation of a subalgebra of the N=1 Poincaré superalgebra in four dimensions. Demanding the flatness of the connection defining the Killing spinors, we obtain equations satisfied by the maximally supersymmetric backgrounds. We solve these equations, arriving at the classification of maximally supersymmetric backgrounds whose associated Killing superalgebras are precisely the filtered deformations we classify in this paper.

  8. Trace anomaly of the stress-energy tensor for massless vector particles propagating in a general background metric

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adler, S.L.; Lieberman, J.

    1978-01-01

    We reanalyze the problem of regularization of the stress-energy tensor for massless vector particles propating in a general background metric, using covariant point separation techniques applied to the Hadamard elementary solution. We correct an error, point out by Wald, in the earlier formulation of Adler, Lieberman, and Ng, and find a stress-energy tensor trace anomaly agreeing with that found by other regularization methods

  9. Performance and optimization of support vector machines in high-energy physics classification problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahin, M.Ö.; Krücker, D.; Melzer-Pellmann, I.-A.

    2016-01-01

    In this paper we promote the use of Support Vector Machines (SVM) as a machine learning tool for searches in high-energy physics. As an example for a new-physics search we discuss the popular case of Supersymmetry at the Large Hadron Collider. We demonstrate that the SVM is a valuable tool and show that an automated discovery-significance based optimization of the SVM hyper-parameters is a highly efficient way to prepare an SVM for such applications.

  10. Performance and optimization of support vector machines in high-energy physics classification problems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sahin, Mehmet Oezguer; Kruecker, Dirk; Melzer-Pellmann, Isabell [DESY, Hamburg (Germany)

    2016-07-01

    In this talk, the use of Support Vector Machines (SVM) is promoted for new-physics searches in high-energy physics. We developed an interface, called SVM HEP Interface (SVM-HINT), for a popular SVM library, LibSVM, and introduced a statistical-significance based hyper-parameter optimization algorithm for the new-physics searches. As example case study, a search for Supersymmetry at the Large Hadron Collider is given to demonstrate the capabilities of SVM using SVM-HINT.

  11. Performance and optimization of support vector machines in high-energy physics classification problems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sahin, M.Ö., E-mail: ozgur.sahin@desy.de; Krücker, D., E-mail: dirk.kruecker@desy.de; Melzer-Pellmann, I.-A., E-mail: isabell.melzer@desy.de

    2016-12-01

    In this paper we promote the use of Support Vector Machines (SVM) as a machine learning tool for searches in high-energy physics. As an example for a new-physics search we discuss the popular case of Supersymmetry at the Large Hadron Collider. We demonstrate that the SVM is a valuable tool and show that an automated discovery-significance based optimization of the SVM hyper-parameters is a highly efficient way to prepare an SVM for such applications.

  12. A low-energy compatible SU(4)-type model for vector leptoquarks of mass ≤ 1 TeV

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blumhofer, A.; Lampe, B.

    1999-02-01

    The Standard Model is extended by a SU(2)_L singlet of vector leptoquarks. An additional SU(4) gauge symmetry between right-handed up quarks and right-handed leptons is introduced to render the model renormalizable. The arrangement is made in such a way that no conflict with low energy restrictions is encountered. The SU(2)_L singlet mediates interactions between the right-handed leptons and up type quarks for which only moderate low energy restrictions M_{LQ}/g_{LQ} > few hundred GeV exist. However, it is not a candidate to explain the anomalous HERA data at large Q^2 because theoretical reasons imply that g_{LQ} ≥ g_s which would give a much stronger anomalous HERA effect. We furthermore argue that the inequality g_{LQ} ≥ g_s is a general feature of consistent vector leptoquark models. Although our model is not relevant for HERA, it is interesting per se as a description of leptoquarks of mass ≤ 1 TeV consistent with all low-energy requirements.

  13. 9 CFR 113.209 - Rabies Vaccine, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Rabies Vaccine, Killed Virus. 113.209... Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.209 Rabies Vaccine, Killed Virus. Rabies Vaccine (Killed Virus) shall be prepared from virus-bearing cell cultures or nerve tissues obtained from animals that have developed rabies...

  14. Small Landowner Production of Pellets from Green, Beetle-Killed, and Burned Lodgepole Pine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuexian Qin

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available To meet the growing need for raw materials to produce pellets and wood-based biofuels, trees killed by natural disturbances have increasingly been considered as potential feedstock in bioenergy development scenarios in the Western U.S. and Canada. While much research has focused on utilization of beetle-killed and fire-salvaged timber from federal lands in this region, small private landowners make up a large portion of land holdings in the Rocky Mountain Region and may also provide an important potential supply of uniform feedstock pellets in decentralized energy supply systems in the future. In this paper, we evaluated the quality of pellets produced from green, beetle-killed, and burned lodgepole pine with and without bark using a chipper, hammer mill, and pellet mill intended for use by small landowners. Results show that green, beetle-killed, and fire-salvaged lodgepole pine produced by small landowners, including material with bark, are suitable as feedstock for pellet production. Further, pellet quality can be varied through the blending of source lodgepole pine products when needed to meet pellet quality standards.

  15. A tensor and vector polarimeter for deuterons at fusion energies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kroell, Leonard; Engels, Ralf; Gregoryev, Kyril; Mikirtychiants, Maxim; Mikirtychiants, Sergey; Rathmann, Frank; Stroeher, Hans [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Juelich Center for Hadron Physics, FZ Juelich (Germany); Kravtsov, Peter; Vasilyev, Alexander [High Energy Physics Department, PNPI (Russian Federation); Paetz, Hans [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Universitaet Koeln (Germany); Hebbeker, Thomas [III. Physikalisches Institut A, RWTH, Aachen (Germany)

    2010-07-01

    Within the framework of an ISTC project the fusion reactions of double-polarized deuterium (vector (d)+vector (d){yields} {sup 3}H+p, vector (d)+vector (d){yields} {sup 3}He+n) will be analysed in order to study the influence of the vector and tensor polarization of the initial projectiles on the total cross sections. These results allow a conclusion on the change of the branching ration between the two fusion channels and, therefore, the neutron reduction for a future generation of fusion reactor. The measurements request the knowledge of the polarization of the deuteron beam and of the (gas)target. With an unpolarized target, the beam polarization can be determined by measuring the angular distributions of the outgoing particles ({sup 3}He, p and {sup 3}H) with use of the known analysing powers. Vice versa, additional data for the analysing powers can be obtained with a beam of known polarization, measured with a Lamb-shift polarimeter. The setup of the charged ejectile polarimeters is described.

  16. Vector Boson Scattering at High Mass

    CERN Document Server

    Sherwood, P

    2009-01-01

    In the absence of a light Higgs boson, the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking will be best studied in processes of vector boson scattering at high mass. Various models predict resonances in this channel. Here, we investigate W W scalar and vector resonances, W Z vector resonances and a Z Z scalar resonance over a range of diboson centre-of-mass energies. Particular attention is paid to the application reconstruction of dijet pairs with low opening angle resulting from the decay of highly boosted vector bosons.

  17. It's not just conflict that motivates killing of orangutans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacqueline T Davis

    Full Text Available We investigated why orangutans are being killed in Kalimantan, Indonesia, and the role of conflict in these killings. Based on an analysis of interview data from over 5,000 respondents in over 450 villages, we also assessed the socio-ecological factors associated with conflict and non-conflict killings. Most respondents never kill orangutans. Those who reported having personally killed an orangutan primarily did so for non-conflict reasons; for example, 56% of these respondents said that the reason they had killed an orangutan was to eat it. Of the conflict-related reasons for killing, the most common reasons orangutans were killed was fear of orangutans or in self-defence. A similar pattern was evident among reports of orangutan killing by other people in the villages. Regression analyses indicated that religion and the percentage of intact forest around villages were the strongest socio-ecological predictors of whether orangutans were killed for conflict or non-conflict related reasons. Our data indicate that between 44,170 and 66,570 orangutans were killed in Kalimantan within the respondents' active hunting lifetimes: between 12,690 and 29,024 for conflict reasons (95%CI and between 26,361 and 41,688 for non-conflict reasons (95% CI. These findings confirm that habitat protection alone will not ensure the survival of orangutans in Indonesian Borneo, and that effective reduction of orangutan killings is urgently needed.

  18. It's not just conflict that motivates killing of orangutans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Jacqueline T; Mengersen, Kerrie; Abram, Nicola K; Ancrenaz, Marc; Wells, Jessie A; Meijaard, Erik

    2013-01-01

    We investigated why orangutans are being killed in Kalimantan, Indonesia, and the role of conflict in these killings. Based on an analysis of interview data from over 5,000 respondents in over 450 villages, we also assessed the socio-ecological factors associated with conflict and non-conflict killings. Most respondents never kill orangutans. Those who reported having personally killed an orangutan primarily did so for non-conflict reasons; for example, 56% of these respondents said that the reason they had killed an orangutan was to eat it. Of the conflict-related reasons for killing, the most common reasons orangutans were killed was fear of orangutans or in self-defence. A similar pattern was evident among reports of orangutan killing by other people in the villages. Regression analyses indicated that religion and the percentage of intact forest around villages were the strongest socio-ecological predictors of whether orangutans were killed for conflict or non-conflict related reasons. Our data indicate that between 44,170 and 66,570 orangutans were killed in Kalimantan within the respondents' active hunting lifetimes: between 12,690 and 29,024 for conflict reasons (95%CI) and between 26,361 and 41,688 for non-conflict reasons (95% CI). These findings confirm that habitat protection alone will not ensure the survival of orangutans in Indonesian Borneo, and that effective reduction of orangutan killings is urgently needed.

  19. Is drought helping or killing dengue? Investigation of spatiotemporal relationship between dengue fever and drought

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Chieh-Han; Yu, Hwa-Lung

    2015-04-01

    Dengue Fever is a vector-borne disease that is transmitted between human and mosquitos in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Previous studies have found significant relationship between the epidemic of dengue cases and climate variables, especially temperature and precipitation. Besides, the natural phenomena (e.g., drought) are considered that significantly drop the number of dengue cases by killing vector's breeding environment. However, in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, there are evidences that the temporal pattern of dengue is correlated to drought events. Kaohsiung City experienced two main dengue outbreaks in 2002 and 2014 that both years were confirmed with serious drought. Especially in 2014, Kaohsiung City was suffered from extremely dengue outbreak in 2014 that reported the highest number of dengue cases in the history. This study constructs the spatiotemporal model of dengue incidences and index of drought events (Standardized Precipitation Index, SPI) based on the distributed lag nonlinear model (DLNM). Other meteorological measures are also included in the analysis.

  20. Molecular dynamics simulation of a nanofluidic energy absorption system: effects of the chiral vector of carbon nanotubes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganjiani, Sayed Hossein; Hossein Nezhad, Alireza

    2018-02-14

    A Nanofluidic Energy Absorption System (NEAS) is a novel nanofluidic system with a small volume and weight. In this system, the input mechanical energy is converted to surface tension energy during liquid infiltration in the nanotube. The NEAS is made of a mixture of nanoporous material particles in a functional liquid. In this work, the effects of the chiral vector of a carbon nanotube (CNT) on the performance characteristics of the NEAS are investigated by using molecular dynamics simulation. For this purpose, six CNTs with different diameters for each type of armchair, zigzag and chiral, and several chiral CNTs with different chiral vectors (different values of indices (m,n)) are selected and studied. The results show that in the chiral CNTs, the contact angle shows the hydrophobicity of the CNT, and infiltration pressure is reduced by increasing the values of m and n (increasing the CNT diameter). Contact angle and infiltration pressure are decreased by almost 1.4% and 9% at all diameters, as the type of CNT is changed from chiral to zigzag and then to armchair. Absorbed energy density and efficiency are also decreased by increasing m and n and by changing the type of CNT from chiral to zigzag and then to armchair.

  1. Generalized wave operators, weighted Killing fields, and perturbations of higher dimensional spacetimes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Araneda, Bernardo

    2018-04-01

    We present weighted covariant derivatives and wave operators for perturbations of certain algebraically special Einstein spacetimes in arbitrary dimensions, under which the Teukolsky and related equations become weighted wave equations. We show that the higher dimensional generalization of the principal null directions are weighted conformal Killing vectors with respect to the modified covariant derivative. We also introduce a modified Laplace–de Rham-like operator acting on tensor-valued differential forms, and show that the wave-like equations are, at the linear level, appropriate projections off shell of this operator acting on the curvature tensor; the projection tensors being made out of weighted conformal Killing–Yano tensors. We give off shell operator identities that map the Einstein and Maxwell equations into weighted scalar equations, and using adjoint operators we construct solutions of the original field equations in a compact form from solutions of the wave-like equations. We study the extreme and zero boost weight cases; extreme boost corresponding to perturbations of Kundt spacetimes (which includes near horizon geometries of extreme black holes), and zero boost to static black holes in arbitrary dimensions. In 4D our results apply to Einstein spacetimes of Petrov type D and make use of weighted Killing spinors.

  2. An introduction to vectors, vector operators and vector analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Joag, Pramod S

    2016-01-01

    Ideal for undergraduate and graduate students of science and engineering, this book covers fundamental concepts of vectors and their applications in a single volume. The first unit deals with basic formulation, both conceptual and theoretical. It discusses applications of algebraic operations, Levi-Civita notation, and curvilinear coordinate systems like spherical polar and parabolic systems and structures, and analytical geometry of curves and surfaces. The second unit delves into the algebra of operators and their types and also explains the equivalence between the algebra of vector operators and the algebra of matrices. Formulation of eigen vectors and eigen values of a linear vector operator are elaborated using vector algebra. The third unit deals with vector analysis, discussing vector valued functions of a scalar variable and functions of vector argument (both scalar valued and vector valued), thus covering both the scalar vector fields and vector integration.

  3. Chemically enhanced sunlight for killing bacteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Block, S.S.; Goswami, D.Y.

    1995-01-01

    Solar ultraviolet (UV) photocatalyzed oxidation of chemicals with titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) has received considerable attention. Much less recognized, however, is the ability of the same system to destroy bacteria. This study examined this phenomenon and the conditions that affect it. Bacteria in aqueous solution were given solar exposure with titanium dioxide and their survival with time was determined. Lamps with a predominantly solar ultraviolet spectrum were also used in the experiments. Without exposure to UV light, TiO 2 had no deleterious effect on the bacteria. However, several common bacteria on solar exposure in the presence of TiO 2 were killed in just a few minutes, whereas without TiO 2 it took over an hour to destroy them. A concentration of 0.01% TiO 2 was most effective in killing bacteria and 10-fold concentrations lower or higher were successively less effective. Inorganic and organic compounds in solution, even in small amounts, interfered with the efficiency of killing. Alkaline solution also reduced the bactericidal activity. Circulation and agitation provided by stirring to keep the TiO 2 particles suspended reduced the time necessary to kill the bacteria. Time-intensity curves for killing bacteria were the same general shape with or without TiO 2 , indicating that TiO 2 served merely as a catalyst to increase the rate of the reaction but that the mechanism of action was not changed. The shape of the curves show that the organisms are sensitized with a minimum intensity of radiation and that an increase doesn't greatly increase the rate of kill. Below this critical intensity, however, the time required for killing markedly increases as the intensity is decreased

  4. On space--time Killing tensors with a Segre characteristic [(11)(11)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hauser, I.; Malhiot, R.J.

    1976-01-01

    We consider the set of all space--times which admit a Killing tensor K/sub αβ/ whose Segre characteristic is [(11)(11)] and whose eigenvalues lambda 1 and lambda 2 satisfy the condition that dlambda 1 X dlambda 2 is not null. We prove that there locally exist scalar fields phi 3 , phi 4 such that lambda 1 , lambda 2 , phi 3 , phi 4 constitute a chart, and dlambda 1 x dlambda 2 = dlambda/sup i/ x d phi/sup r/ = 0 for i=1, 2 and r = 3, 4. Also, relative to this coordinate system, the metric has the same general form as Carter's Hamilton--Jacobi separable metric except that his arbitrary functions of lambda/sup i/ are replaced by functions of lambda/sup i/, phi 3 , phi 4 . If R/sup αβ/(del/sub α/lambda 1 )(del/sub β/lambda 2 ) = 0, there exists a two-parameter Abelian group of isometries which commute with K/sub αβ/; also /phi 3 ,phi 4 ) can be chosen so that par.delta par.delta phi 3 and par.delta/par.delta phi 4 are the Killing vectors. R/sup αβ/(del/sub α/lambda 1 )(del sub β/lambda 2 ) = 0 is necessary and sufficient for Schroedinger equation separability in case (a) of Carter. A Newtonian analog of our results is discussed

  5. Using Support Vector Machine to Forecast Energy Usage of a Manhattan Skyscraper

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winter, R.; Boulanger, A.; Anderson, R.; Wu, L.

    2011-12-01

    As our society gains a better understanding of how humans have negatively impacted the environment, research related to reducing carbon emissions and overall energy consumption has become increasingly important. One of the simplest ways to reduce energy usage is by making current buildings less wasteful. By improving energy efficiency, this method of lowering our carbon footprint is particularly worthwhile because it actually reduces energy costs of operating the building, unlike many environmental initiatives that require large monetary investments. In order to improve the efficiency of the heating and air conditioning (HVAC) system of a Manhattan skyscraper, 345 Park Avenue, a predictive computer model was designed to forecast the amount of energy the building will consume. This model uses support vector machine (SVM), a method that builds a regression based purely on historical data of the building, requiring no knowledge of its size, heating and cooling methods, or any other physical properties. This pure dependence on historical data makes the model very easily applicable to different types of buildings with few model adjustments. The SVM model was built to predict a week of future energy usage based on past energy, temperature, and dew point temperature data. The predictive model closely approximated the actual values of energy usage for the spring and less closely for the winter. The prediction may be improved with additional historical data to help the model account for seasonal variability. This model is useful for creating a close approximation of future energy usage and predicting ways to diminish waste.

  6. A comment on "bats killed in large numbers at United States wind energy facilities"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huso, Manuela M.P.; Dalthorp, Dan

    2014-01-01

    Widespread reports of bat fatalities caused by wind turbines have raised concerns about the impacts of wind power development. Reliable estimates of the total number killed and the potential effects on populations are needed, but it is crucial that they be based on sound data. In a recent BioScience article, Hayes (2013) estimated that over 600,000 bats were killed at wind turbines in the United States in 2012. The scientific errors in the analysis are numerous, with the two most serious being that the included sites constituted a convenience sample, not a representative sample, and that the individual site estimates are derived from such different methodologies that they are inherently not comparable. This estimate is almost certainly inaccurate, but whether the actual number is much smaller, much larger, or about the same is uncertain. An accurate estimate of total bat fatality is not currently possible, given the shortcomings of the available data.

  7. Cryptococcus neoformans modulates extracellular killing by neutrophils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asfia eQureshi

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available We recently established a key role for host sphingomyelin synthase (SMS in the regulation of the killing activity of neutrophils against Cryptococcus neoformans. In this work, we studied the effect of C. neoformans on the killing activity of neutrophils and whether SMS would still be a player against C. neoformans in immunocompromised mice lacking T and NK cells (Tgε26 mice. To this end, we analyzed whether C. neoformans would have any effect on neutrophil survival and killing in vitro and in vivo. We show that unlike C. albicans, neither the presence nor the capsule size of C. neoformans cells have any effect on neutrophil viability. Interestingly, melanized C. neoformans cells totally abrogated the killing activity of neutrophils. Next, we monitored how exposure of neutrophils to C. neoformans cells would interfere with any further killing activity of the medium and found that pre-incubation with live but not heat-killed fungal cells significantly inhibits further killing activity of the medium. We next studied whether activation of SMS at the site of C. neoformans infection is dependent on T and NK cells. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization (MALDI tissue imaging in infected lung we found that similarly to previous observations in the isogenic wild type CBA/J mice, SM 16:0 levels are significantly elevated at the site of infection in mice lacking T and NK cells but only at early time points. This study highlights that C. neoformans may negatively regulate the killing activity of neutrophils and that SMS activation in neutrophils appears to be partially independent of T and/or NK cells.

  8. Vector Boson Scattering at High Mass

    CERN Document Server

    The ATLAS collaboration

    2009-01-01

    In the absence of a light Higgs boson, the mechanism of electroweak symmetry breaking will be best studied in processes of vector boson scattering at high mass. Various models predict resonances in this channel. Here, we investigate $WW $scalar and vector resonances, $WZ$ vector resonances and a $ZZ$ scalar resonance over a range of diboson centre-of-mass energies. Particular attention is paid to the application of forward jet tagging and to the reconstruction of dijet pairs with low opening angle resulting from the decay of highly boosted vector bosons. The performances of different jet algorithms are compared. We find that resonances in vector boson scattering can be discovered with a few tens of inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity.

  9. Dirac operators and Killing spinors with torsion; Dirac-Operatoren und Killing-Spinoren mit Torsion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Becker-Bender, Julia

    2012-12-17

    On a Riemannian spin manifold with parallel skew torsion, we use the twistor operator to obtain an eigenvalue estimate for the Dirac operator with torsion. We consider the equality case in dimensions four and six. In odd dimensions we describe Sasaki manifolds on which equality in the estimate is realized by Killing spinors with torsion. In dimension five we characterize all Killing spinors with torsion and obtain certain naturally reductive spaces as exceptional cases.

  10. Performance and optimization of support vector machines in high-energy physics classification problems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sahin, M.Oe.; Kruecker, D.; Melzer-Pellmann, I.A.

    2016-01-15

    In this paper we promote the use of Support Vector Machines (SVM) as a machine learning tool for searches in high-energy physics. As an example for a new-physics search we discuss the popular case of Supersymmetry at the Large Hadron Collider. We demonstrate that the SVM is a valuable tool and show that an automated discovery-significance based optimization of the SVM hyper-parameters is a highly efficient way to prepare an SVM for such applications. A new C++ LIBSVM interface called SVM-HINT is developed and available on Github.

  11. Performance and optimization of support vector machines in high-energy physics classification problems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahin, M.Oe.; Kruecker, D.; Melzer-Pellmann, I.A.

    2016-01-01

    In this paper we promote the use of Support Vector Machines (SVM) as a machine learning tool for searches in high-energy physics. As an example for a new-physics search we discuss the popular case of Supersymmetry at the Large Hadron Collider. We demonstrate that the SVM is a valuable tool and show that an automated discovery-significance based optimization of the SVM hyper-parameters is a highly efficient way to prepare an SVM for such applications. A new C++ LIBSVM interface called SVM-HINT is developed and available on Github.

  12. Honor Killing: Where Pride Defeats Reason.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanchan, Tanuj; Tandon, Abhishek; Krishan, Kewal

    2016-12-01

    Honor killings are graceless and ferocious murders by chauvinists with an antediluvian mind. These are categorized separately because these killings are committed for the prime reason of satisfying the ego of the people whom the victim trusts and always looks up to for support and protection. It is for this sole reason that honor killings demand strict and stern punishment, not only for the person who committed the murder but also for any person who contributed or was party to the act. A positive change can occur with stricter legislation and changes in the ethos of the society we live in today.

  13. Killing of trypanosomatid parasites by a modified bovine host defense peptide, BMAP-18.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lee R Haines

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Tropical diseases caused by parasites continue to cause socioeconomic devastation that reverberates worldwide. There is a growing need for new control measures for many of these diseases due to increasing drug resistance exhibited by the parasites and problems with drug toxicity. One new approach is to apply host defense peptides (HDP; formerly called antimicrobial peptides to disease control, either to treat infected hosts, or to prevent disease transmission by interfering with parasites in their insect vectors. A potent anti-parasite effector is bovine myeloid antimicrobial peptide-27 (BMAP-27, a member of the cathelicidin family. Although BMAP-27 is a potent inhibitor of microbial growth, at higher concentrations it also exhibits cytotoxicity to mammalian cells. We tested the anti-parasite activity of BMAP-18, a truncated peptide that lacks the hydrophobic C-terminal sequence of the BMAP-27 parent molecule, an alteration that confers reduced toxicity to mammalian cells. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: BMAP-18 showed strong growth inhibitory activity against several species and life cycle stages of African trypanosomes, fish trypanosomes and Leishmania parasites in vitro. When compared to native BMAP-27, the truncated BMAP-18 peptide showed reduced cytotoxicity on a wide variety of mammalian and insect cells and on Sodalis glossindius, a bacterial symbiont of the tsetse vector. The fluorescent stain rhodamine 123 was used in immunofluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry experiments to show that BMAP-18 at low concentrations rapidly disrupted mitochondrial potential without obvious alteration of parasite plasma membranes, thus inducing death by apoptosis. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that higher concentrations of BMAP-18 induced membrane lesions in the parasites as early as 15 minutes after exposure, thus killing them by necrosis. In addition to direct killing of parasites, BMAP-18 was shown to inhibit LPS

  14. It’s Not Just Conflict That Motivates Killing of Orangutans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Jacqueline T.; Mengersen, Kerrie; Abram, Nicola K.; Ancrenaz, Marc; Wells, Jessie A.; Meijaard, Erik

    2013-01-01

    We investigated why orangutans are being killed in Kalimantan, Indonesia, and the role of conflict in these killings. Based on an analysis of interview data from over 5,000 respondents in over 450 villages, we also assessed the socio-ecological factors associated with conflict and non-conflict killings. Most respondents never kill orangutans. Those who reported having personally killed an orangutan primarily did so for non-conflict reasons; for example, 56% of these respondents said that the reason they had killed an orangutan was to eat it. Of the conflict-related reasons for killing, the most common reasons orangutans were killed was fear of orangutans or in self-defence. A similar pattern was evident among reports of orangutan killing by other people in the villages. Regression analyses indicated that religion and the percentage of intact forest around villages were the strongest socio-ecological predictors of whether orangutans were killed for conflict or non-conflict related reasons. Our data indicate that between 44,170 and 66,570 orangutans were killed in Kalimantan within the respondents’ active hunting lifetimes: between 12,690 and 29,024 for conflict reasons (95%CI) and between 26,361 and 41,688 for non-conflict reasons (95% CI). These findings confirm that habitat protection alone will not ensure the survival of orangutans in Indonesian Borneo, and that effective reduction of orangutan killings is urgently needed. PMID:24130707

  15. Road-Killed Animals as Resources for Ecological Studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adams, Clark E.

    1983-01-01

    Summarizes 19 literature sources identifying road-killed vertebrates and frequency of kill by numbers. Examples of how these animals can be incorporated into curricula (integrating biology, society, people, and values) are given, followed by an illustrated example of how a road-killed raccoon's skull demonstrated a human/wildlife interaction prior…

  16. Charge properties and bacterial contact-killing of hyperbranched polyurea-polyethyleneimine coatings with various degrees of alkylation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roest, Steven; van der Mei, Henny C.; Loontjens, Ton J. A.; Busscher, Henk J.

    2015-11-01

    Coatings of immobilized-quaternary-ammonium-ions (QUAT) uniquely kill adhering bacteria upon contact. QUAT-coatings require a minimal cationic-charge surface density for effective contact-killing of adhering bacteria of around 1014 cm-2. Quaternization of nitrogen is generally achieved through alkylation. Here, we investigate the contribution of additional alkylation with methyl-iodide to the cationic-charge density of hexyl-bromide alkylated, hyperbranched polyurea-polyethyleneimine coatings measuring charge density with fluorescein staining. X-ray-photoelectron-spectroscopy was used to determine the at.% alkylated-nitrogen. Also streaming potentials, water contact-angles and bacterial contact-killing were measured. Cationic-charge density increased with methyl-iodide alkylation times up to 18 h, accompanied by an increase in the at.% alkylated-nitrogen. Zeta-potentials became more negative upon alkylation as a result of shielding of cationiccharges by hydrophobic alkyl-chains. Contact-killing of Gram-positive Staphylococci only occurred when the cationic-charge density exceeded 1016 cm-2 and was carried by alkylated-nitrogen (electron-binding energy 401.3 eV). Gram-negative Escherichia coli was not killed upon contact with the coatings. There with this study reveals that cationic-charge density is neither appropriate nor sufficient to determine the ability of QUAT-coatings to kill adhering bacteria. Alternatively, the at.% of alkylated-nitrogen at 401.3 eV is proposed, as it reflects both cationic-charge and its carrier. The at.% N401.3 eV should be above 0.45 at.% for Gram-positive bacterial contact-killing.

  17. Generalized Killing-Yano equations in D=5 gauged supergravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubiznak, David; Kunduri, Hari K.; Yasui, Yukinori

    2009-01-01

    We propose a generalization of the (conformal) Killing-Yano equations relevant to D=5 minimal gauged supergravity. The generalization stems from the fact that the dual of the Maxwell flux, the 3-form *F, couples naturally to particles in the background as a 'torsion'. Killing-Yano tensors in the presence of torsion preserve most of the properties of the standard Killing-Yano tensors - exploited recently for the higher-dimensional rotating black holes of vacuum gravity with cosmological constant. In particular, the generalized closed conformal Killing-Yano 2-form gives rise to the tower of generalized closed conformal Killing-Yano tensors of increasing rank which in turn generate the tower of Killing tensors. An example of a generalized Killing-Yano tensor is found for the Chong-Cvetic-Lue-Pope black hole spacetime [Z.W. Chong, M. Cvetic, H. Lu, C.N. Pope, (hep-th/0506029)]. Such a tensor stands behind the separability of the Hamilton-Jacobi, Klein-Gordon, and Dirac equations in this background.

  18. Vector dark matter detection using the quantum jump of atoms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Qiaoli; Di, Haoran

    2018-05-01

    The hidden sector U(1) vector bosons created from inflationary fluctuations can be a substantial fraction of dark matter if their mass is around 10-5 eV. The creation mechanism makes the vector bosons' energy spectral density ρcdm / ΔE very high. Therefore, the dark electric dipole transition rate in atoms is boosted if the energy gap between atomic states equals the mass of the vector bosons. By using the Zeeman effect, the energy gap between the 2S state and the 2P state in hydrogen atoms or hydrogen like ions can be tuned. The 2S state can be populated with electrons due to its relatively long life, which is about 1/7 s. When the energy gap between the semi-ground 2S state and the 2P state matches the mass of the cosmic vector bosons, induced transitions occur and the 2P state subsequently decays into the 1S state. The 2 P → 1 S decay emitted Lyman-α photons can then be registered. The choices of target atoms depend on the experimental facilities and the mass ranges of the vector bosons. Because the mass of the vector boson is connected to the inflation scale, the proposed experiment may provide a probe to inflation.

  19. Trypanosoma cruzi: partial prevention of the natural infection of guinea pigs with a killed parasite vaccine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basombrio, M A

    1990-07-01

    Guinea pigs are natural reservoirs of Chagas' disease. Domestic breeding and local trade of these animals are common practices among andean communities in South America. Infection by Trypanosoma cruzi occurs when the animals live in triatomine-infested houses or yards. The preventive effect of a vaccine consisting of cultured T. cruzi killed by freezing and thawing plus saponin was tested both in mice and in the guinea pig ecosystem. Resistance against T. cruzi challenge in mice was improved by increasing the trypomastigote/epimastigote ratio in live attenuated vaccines but not in killed parasite vaccines. Although the killing of attenuated parasites sharply reduced their immunogenicity for mice, a protective effect against natural T. cruzi infection was detected in guinea pigs. A total of 88 guinea pigs were vaccinated in four intradermal sites on three occasions. Eighty controls received similar inoculations of culture medium plus saponin. All animals were kept in a triatomine-infested yard. Parasitemia was studied with the capillary microhematocrit method. After an exposure time averaging 4 months, natural T. cruzi infection occurred in 55% (44/80) of the controls and in 33% (29/88) of the vaccinated group (P less than 0.01). The number of highly parasitemic guinea pigs was also significantly decreased (6/80 vs 0/88, P less than 0.01). Thus, immunizing protocols which are only partially protective against artificial callenge with T. cruzi may nevertheless constrain the exchange of parasites between natural hosts and vectors.

  20. Charge properties and bacterial contact-killing of hyperbranched polyurea-polyethyleneimine coatings with various degrees of alkylation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roest, Steven; Mei, Henny C. van der; Loontjens, Ton J.A.; Busscher, Henk J.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Cationic charge density does not reflect bacterial contact-killing by QUAT coatings. • Charge carrier and density reflect bacterial killing by QUAT coatings. • Fluorescein staining cannot distinguish charge carriers in cationic coatings. • Charge carrier and density of QUAT coatings are reflected in the N401.3 eV XPS peak. • The at.% N401.3 eV should be more than 0.45% for effective bacterial contact-killing. - Abstract: Coatings of immobilized-quaternary-ammonium-ions (QUAT) uniquely kill adhering bacteria upon contact. QUAT-coatings require a minimal cationic-charge surface density for effective contact-killing of adhering bacteria of around 10 14 cm −2 . Quaternization of nitrogen is generally achieved through alkylation. Here, we investigate the contribution of additional alkylation with methyl-iodide to the cationic-charge density of hexyl-bromide alkylated, hyperbranched polyurea-polyethyleneimine coatings measuring charge density with fluorescein staining. X-ray-photoelectron-spectroscopy was used to determine the at.% alkylated-nitrogen. Also streaming potentials, water contact-angles and bacterial contact-killing were measured. Cationic-charge density increased with methyl-iodide alkylation times up to 18 h, accompanied by an increase in the at.% alkylated-nitrogen. Zeta-potentials became more negative upon alkylation as a result of shielding of cationiccharges by hydrophobic alkyl-chains. Contact-killing of Gram-positive Staphylococci only occurred when the cationic-charge density exceeded 10 16 cm −2 and was carried by alkylated-nitrogen (electron-binding energy 401.3 eV). Gram-negative Escherichia coli was not killed upon contact with the coatings. There with this study reveals that cationic-charge density is neither appropriate nor sufficient to determine the ability of QUAT-coatings to kill adhering bacteria. Alternatively, the at.% of alkylated-nitrogen at 401.3 eV is proposed, as it reflects both cationic-charge and its

  1. Charge properties and bacterial contact-killing of hyperbranched polyurea-polyethyleneimine coatings with various degrees of alkylation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roest, Steven [University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Biomedical Engineering, AntoniusDeusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen (Netherlands); Mei, Henny C. van der, E-mail: h.c.van.der.mei@umcg.nl [University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Biomedical Engineering, AntoniusDeusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen (Netherlands); Loontjens, Ton J.A. [University of Groningen, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Department of Polymer Chemistry, Nijenborgh 4, 9747 AG Groningen (Netherlands); Busscher, Henk J. [University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Biomedical Engineering, AntoniusDeusinglaan 1, 9713 AV Groningen (Netherlands)

    2015-11-30

    Highlights: • Cationic charge density does not reflect bacterial contact-killing by QUAT coatings. • Charge carrier and density reflect bacterial killing by QUAT coatings. • Fluorescein staining cannot distinguish charge carriers in cationic coatings. • Charge carrier and density of QUAT coatings are reflected in the N401.3 eV XPS peak. • The at.% N401.3 eV should be more than 0.45% for effective bacterial contact-killing. - Abstract: Coatings of immobilized-quaternary-ammonium-ions (QUAT) uniquely kill adhering bacteria upon contact. QUAT-coatings require a minimal cationic-charge surface density for effective contact-killing of adhering bacteria of around 10{sup 14} cm{sup −2}. Quaternization of nitrogen is generally achieved through alkylation. Here, we investigate the contribution of additional alkylation with methyl-iodide to the cationic-charge density of hexyl-bromide alkylated, hyperbranched polyurea-polyethyleneimine coatings measuring charge density with fluorescein staining. X-ray-photoelectron-spectroscopy was used to determine the at.% alkylated-nitrogen. Also streaming potentials, water contact-angles and bacterial contact-killing were measured. Cationic-charge density increased with methyl-iodide alkylation times up to 18 h, accompanied by an increase in the at.% alkylated-nitrogen. Zeta-potentials became more negative upon alkylation as a result of shielding of cationiccharges by hydrophobic alkyl-chains. Contact-killing of Gram-positive Staphylococci only occurred when the cationic-charge density exceeded 10{sup 16} cm{sup −2} and was carried by alkylated-nitrogen (electron-binding energy 401.3 eV). Gram-negative Escherichia coli was not killed upon contact with the coatings. There with this study reveals that cationic-charge density is neither appropriate nor sufficient to determine the ability of QUAT-coatings to kill adhering bacteria. Alternatively, the at.% of alkylated-nitrogen at 401.3 eV is proposed, as it reflects both

  2. Higgs decays and brane gravi-vectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clark, T. E.; Liu Boyang; Love, S. T.; Xiong, C.; Veldhuis, T. ter

    2008-01-01

    Higgs boson decays in flexible brane world models with stable, massive gravi-vectors are considered. Such vectors couple bilinearly to the standard model fields through either the standard model energy-momentum tensor, the weak hypercharge field strength, or the Higgs scalar. The role of the coupling involving the extrinsic curvature is highlighted. It is found that within the presently allowed parameter space, the decay rate of the Higgs into two gravi-vectors (which would appear as an invisible Higgs decay) can be comparable to the rate for any of the standard model decay modes.

  3. It?s Not Just Conflict That Motivates Killing of Orangutans

    OpenAIRE

    Davis, Jacqueline T.; Mengersen, Kerrie; Abram, Nicola K.; Ancrenaz, Marc; Wells, Jessie A.; Meijaard, Erik

    2013-01-01

    We investigated why orangutans are being killed in Kalimantan, Indonesia, and the role of conflict in these killings. Based on an analysis of interview data from over 5,000 respondents in over 450 villages, we also assessed the socio-ecological factors associated with conflict and non-conflict killings. Most respondents never kill orangutans. Those who reported having personally killed an orangutan primarily did so for non-conflict reasons; for example, 56% of these respondents said that the ...

  4. Where and How Wolves (Canis lupus Kill Beavers (Castor canadensis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas D Gable

    Full Text Available Beavers (Castor canadensis can be a significant prey item for wolves (Canis lupus in boreal ecosystems due to their abundance and vulnerability on land. How wolves hunt beavers in these systems is largely unknown, however, because observing predation is challenging. We inferred how wolves hunt beavers by identifying kill sites using clusters of locations from GPS-collared wolves in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota. We identified 22 sites where wolves from 4 different packs killed beavers. We classified these kill sites into 8 categories based on the beaver-habitat type near which each kill occurred. Seasonal variation existed in types of kill sites as 7 of 12 (58% kills in the spring occurred at sites below dams and on shorelines, and 8 of 10 (80% kills in the fall occurred near feeding trails and canals. From these kill sites we deduced that the typical hunting strategy has 3 components: 1 waiting near areas of high beaver use (e.g., feeding trails until a beaver comes near shore or ashore, 2 using vegetation, the dam, or other habitat features for concealment, and 3 immediately attacking the beaver, or ambushing the beaver by cutting off access to water. By identifying kill sites and inferring hunting behavior we have provided the most complete description available of how and where wolves hunt and kill beavers.

  5. Input vector optimization of feed-forward neural networks for fitting ab initio potential-energy databases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malshe, M.; Raff, L. M.; Hagan, M.; Bukkapatnam, S.; Komanduri, R.

    2010-05-01

    The variation in the fitting accuracy of neural networks (NNs) when used to fit databases comprising potential energies obtained from ab initio electronic structure calculations is investigated as a function of the number and nature of the elements employed in the input vector to the NN. Ab initio databases for H2O2, HONO, Si5, and H2CCHBr were employed in the investigations. These systems were chosen so as to include four-, five-, and six-body systems containing first, second, third, and fourth row elements with a wide variety of chemical bonding and whose conformations cover a wide range of structures that occur under high-energy machining conditions and in chemical reactions involving cis-trans isomerizations, six different types of two-center bond ruptures, and two different three-center dissociation reactions. The ab initio databases for these systems were obtained using density functional theory/B3LYP, MP2, and MP4 methods with extended basis sets. A total of 31 input vectors were investigated. In each case, the elements of the input vector were chosen from interatomic distances, inverse powers of the interatomic distance, three-body angles, and dihedral angles. Both redundant and nonredundant input vectors were investigated. The results show that among all the input vectors investigated, the set employed in the Z-matrix specification of the molecular configurations in the electronic structure calculations gave the lowest NN fitting accuracy for both Si5 and vinyl bromide. The underlying reason for this result appears to be the discontinuity present in the dihedral angle for planar geometries. The use of trigometric functions of the angles as input elements produced significantly improved fitting accuracy as this choice eliminates the discontinuity. The most accurate fitting was obtained when the elements of the input vector were taken to have the form Rij-n, where the Rij are the interatomic distances. When the Levenberg-Marquardt procedure was modified

  6. Nonperturbative Aspects of Axial Vector Vertex

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    ZONG Hong-Shi; CHEN Xiang-Song; WANG Fan; CHANG Chao-Hsi; ZHAO En-Guang

    2002-01-01

    It is shown how the axial vector current of current quarks is related to that of constituent quarks within the framework of the global color symmetry model.Gluon dressing of the axial vector vertex and the quark self-energy functions are described by the inhomogeneous Bethe-Salpeter equation in the ladder approximation and the Schwinger Dyson equation in the rainbow approximation,respectively.

  7. Effect of pulsed electron beam on cell killing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Acharya, Santhosh; Joseph, Praveen; Sanjeev, Ganesh; Narayana, Y.; Bhat, N.N.

    2009-01-01

    The extent of repairable and irreparable damage in a living cell produced by ionizing radiation depends on the quality of the radiation. In the case of sparsely ionizing radiation, the dose rate and the pattern of energy deposition of the radiation are the important physical factors which can affect the amount of damage in living cells. In the present study, radio-sensitive and radioresistive bacteria cells were exposed to 8 MeV pulsed electron beam and the efficiency of cell-killing was investigated to evaluate the Do, the mean lethal dose. The dose to the cell was delivered in micro-second pulses at an instantaneous dose rate of 2.6 x 10 5 Gy s -1 . Fricke dosimeter was used to measure the absorbed dose of electron beam. The results were compared with those of gamma rays. The survival curve of radio-resistive Deinococcus-radiodurans (DR) is found to be sigmoidal and the survival response for radio-sensitive Escherichia-coli (E-coli) is found to be exponential without any shoulder. Comparison of Do values indicate that irradiation with pulsed electron beam resulted in more cell-killing than was observed for gamma irradiation. (author)

  8. Conformal Killing horizons and their thermodynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nielsen, Alex B.; Shoom, Andrey A.

    2018-05-01

    Certain dynamical black hole solutions can be mapped to static spacetimes by conformal metric transformations. This mapping provides a physical link between the conformal Killing horizon of the dynamical black hole and the Killing horizon of the static spacetime. Using the Vaidya spacetime as an example, we show how this conformal relation can be used to derive thermodynamic properties of such dynamical black holes. Although these horizons are defined quasi-locally and can be located by local experiments, they are distinct from other popular notions of quasi-local horizons such as apparent horizons. Thus in the dynamical Vaidya spacetime describing constant accretion of null dust, the conformal Killing horizon, which is null by construction, is the natural horizon to describe the black hole.

  9. Patterns and Composition of Road-Killed Wildlife in Northwest Argentina

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuyckens, Griet An Erica; Mochi, Lucía Sol; Vallejos, María; Perovic, Pablo Gastón; Biganzoli, Fernando

    2016-11-01

    Roads have important effects on wildlife, such as natural habitat fragmentation and degradation and direct killing of fauna, which leads to reductions in wildlife population size. We focused on a principal road in Northwest Argentina to test for the effect of seasonality and landscape features on the composition of road-killed wildlife. We conducted regularly scheduled road trips during the dry and wet seasons. We recorded the presence or absence of a vegetation curtain or hedge along the road. We measured land use by remote sensing in a 500 m buffer along the road. We compared the abundance of animals killed between seasons (dry and wet) for different taxonomic groups (mammals, birds and reptiles) and for different origins (domestic and native). We built linear mixed models to test the effect of landscape features on the abundance of killed animals. Two hundred and ninety-three individuals were killed, belonging to 35 species; 75.8 % were native and 24.2 % domestic species. The majority of animals killed were mid-sized mammals. More animals were killed during the dry season. The most important factors to explain the wildlife road-killing were the season and the proportion of agricultural landscape. The composition of the killed animals changed with the season. The proportion of agricultural landscape incremented the number of killed birds and mammals during both seasons, without affecting reptiles. The ratio of wild to domestic animals killed was dependent on the season. This study sets a precedent as the first in road ecology in Northwest Argentina and should be taken into account for road planning and regulation.

  10. Resonance energy transfer: The unified theory via vector spherical harmonics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grinter, Roger, E-mail: r.grinter@uea.ac.uk; Jones, Garth A., E-mail: garth.jones@uea.ac.uk [School of Chemistry, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ (United Kingdom)

    2016-08-21

    In this work, we derive the well-established expression for the quantum amplitude associated with the resonance energy transfer (RET) process between a pair of molecules that are beyond wavefunction overlap. The novelty of this work is that the field of the mediating photon is described in terms of a spherical wave rather than a plane wave. The angular components of the field are constructed in terms of vector spherical harmonics while Hankel functions are used to define the radial component. This approach alleviates the problem of having to select physically correct solution from non-physical solutions, which seems to be inherent in plane wave derivations. The spherical coordinate system allows one to easily decompose the photon’s fields into longitudinal and transverse components and offers a natural way to analyse near-, intermediate-, and far-zone RET within the context of the relative orientation of the transition dipole moments for the two molecules.

  11. Spin information from vector-meson decay in photoproduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kloet, W.M.; Chiang, W.; Tabakin, F.

    1998-01-01

    For the photoproduction of vector mesons, all single and double spin observables involving vector-meson two-body decays are defined consistently in the γN center-of-mass frame. These definitions yield a procedure for extracting physically meaningful single and double spin observables that are subject to known rules concerning their angle and energy evolution. As part of this analysis, we show that measuring the two-meson decay of a photo produced ρ or φ does not determine the vector meson's vector polarization, but only its tensor polarization. The vector meson decay into lepton pairs is also insensitive to the vector meson's vector polarization, unless one measures the spin of one of the leptons. Similar results are found for all double spin observables which involve observation of vector-meson decay. To access the vector meson's vector polarization, one therefore needs to either measure the spin of the decay leptons, make an analysis of the background interference effects, or relate the vector meson's vector polarization to other accessible spin observables. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

  12. Psychological traits underlying different killing methods among Malaysian male murderers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamaluddin, Mohammad Rahim; Shariff, Nadiah Syariani; Nurfarliza, Siti; Othman, Azizah; Ismail, Khaidzir H; Mat Saat, Geshina Ayu

    2014-04-01

    Murder is the most notorious crime that violates religious, social and cultural norms. Examining the types and number of different killing methods that used are pivotal in a murder case. However, the psychological traits underlying specific and multiple killing methods are still understudied. The present study attempts to fill this gap in knowledge by identifying the underlying psychological traits of different killing methods among Malaysian murderers. The study adapted an observational cross-sectional methodology using a guided self-administered questionnaire for data collection. The sampling frame consisted of 71 Malaysian male murderers from 11 Malaysian prisons who were selected using purposive sampling method. The participants were also asked to provide the types and number of different killing methods used to kill their respective victims. An independent sample t-test was performed to establish the mean score difference of psychological traits between the murderers who used single and multiple types of killing methods. Kruskal-Wallis tests were carried out to ascertain the psychological trait differences between specific types of killing methods. The results suggest that specific psychological traits underlie the type and number of different killing methods used during murder. The majority (88.7%) of murderers used a single method of killing. Multiple methods of killing was evident in 'premeditated' murder compared to 'passion' murder, and revenge was a common motive. Examples of multiple methods are combinations of stabbing and strangulation or slashing and physical force. An exception was premeditated murder committed with shooting, when it was usually a single method, attributed to the high lethality of firearms. Shooting was also notable when the motive was financial gain or related to drug dealing. Murderers who used multiple killing methods were more aggressive and sadistic than those who used a single killing method. Those who used multiple methods or

  13. Evaluation by fluorescence resonance energy transfer of the stability of nonviral gene delivery vectors under physiological conditions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Itaka, Keiji; Harada, Atsushi; Nakamura, Kozo; Kawaguchi, Hiroshi; Kataoka, Kazunori

    2002-01-01

    The stability in physiological medium of polyplex- and lipoplex-type nonviral gene vectors was evaluated by detecting the conformational change of complexed plasmid DNA (pDNA) labeled simultaneously with fluorescein (energy donor) and X-rhodamine (energy acceptor) through fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET). Upon mixing with cationic components, such as LipofectAMINE, poly(L-lysine), and poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(L-lysine) block copolymer (PEG-PLys), the fluorescence spectrum of doubly labeled pDNA underwent a drastic change due to the occurrence of FRET between the donor-acceptor pair on pDNA taking a globular conformation (condensed state) through complexation. The measurement was carried out also in the presence of 20% serum, under which conditions FRET from condensed pDNA was clearly monitored without interference from coexisting components in the medium, allowing evaluation of the condensed state of pDNA in nonviral gene vectors under physiological conditions. Serum addition immediately induced a sharp decrease in FRET for the LipofectAMINE/pDNA (lipoplex) system, which was consistent with the sharp decrease in the transfection efficiency of the lipoplex system in serum-containing medium. In contrast, the PEG-PLys/pDNA polyplex (polyion complex micelle) system maintained appreciable transfection efficiency even in serum-containing medium, and FRET efficiency remained constant for up to 12 h, indicating the high stability of the polyion complex micelle under physiological conditions.

  14. The eyeball killer: serial killings with postmortem globe enucleation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coyle, Julie; Ross, Karen F; Barnard, Jeffrey J; Peacock, Elizabeth; Linch, Charles A; Prahlow, Joseph A

    2015-05-01

    Although serial killings are relatively rare, they can be the cause of a great deal of anxiety while the killer remains at-large. Despite the fact that the motivations for serial killings are typically quite complex, the psychological analysis of a serial killer can provide valuable insight into how and why certain individuals become serial killers. Such knowledge may be instrumental in preventing future serial killings or in solving ongoing cases. In certain serial killings, the various incidents have a variety of similar features. Identification of similarities between separate homicidal incidents is necessary to recognize that a serial killer may be actively killing. In this report, the authors present a group of serial killings involving three prostitutes who were shot to death over a 3-month period. Scene and autopsy findings, including the unusual finding of postmortem enucleation of the eyes, led investigators to recognize the serial nature of the homicides. © 2015 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

  15. Managing Threat, Cost, and Incentive to Kill: The Short- and Long-Term Effects of Intervention in Mass Killings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kathman, Jacob D.; Wood, Reed M.

    2011-01-01

    How do third-party interventions affect the severity of mass killings? The authors theorize that episodes of mass killing are the consequence of two factors: (1) the threat perceptions of the perpetrators and (2) the cost of implementing genocidal policies relative to other alternatives. To reduce genocidal hostilities, interveners must address…

  16. 9 CFR 113.201 - Canine Distemper Vaccine, Killed Virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Canine Distemper Vaccine, Killed Virus... REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.201 Canine Distemper Vaccine, Killed Virus. Canine Distemper Vaccine... canine distemper susceptible dogs (20 vaccinates and 5 controls) shall be used as test animals. Blood...

  17. High energy photoproduction of the rho and rho' vector mesons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bronstein, J.M.

    1977-01-01

    In an experiment in the broad band photon beam at Fermilab diffractive production of 2π + and 4π +- states from Be, Al, Cu, and Pb targets was observed. The 2π + data are dominated by the rho(770) and the 4π +- is dominated by the rho'(1500). The energy dependence of rho photoproduction from Be was measured, and no evidence was seen for energy variation of the forward cross section in the range 30 to 160 GeV. The forward cross section is consistent with its average value d sigma/dtlt. slash 0 = 3.42 +- 0.28 μb/GeV 2 over the entire range. For the /sub rho'// a mass of 1487 +- 20 MeV and a width of 675 +- 60 MeV are obtained. All quoted errors are statistical. A standard optical model analysis of the A dependence of the rho and rho'/ photoproduction yields the following results. f/sub rho'/ 2 /f/sub rho/ 2 = 3.7 +- 0.7, sigma /sub rho'//sigma /sub rho/ = 1.05 +- 0.18. Results for the photon coupling constants are in good agreement with GVMD and with the e + e - storage ring results. The approximate equality of the rho-nucleon and rho'-nucleon total cross sections is inconsistent with the diagonal version of GVMD and provides strong motivation for including transitions between different vector mesons in GVMD

  18. From Attitudes to Actions: Predictors of Lion Killing by Maasai Warriors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazzah, Leela; Bath, Alistair; Dolrenry, Stephanie; Dickman, Amy; Frank, Laurence

    2017-01-01

    Despite legal protection, deliberate killing by local people is one of the major threats to the conservation of lions and other large carnivores in Africa. Addressing this problem poses particular challenges, mainly because it is difficult to uncover illicit behavior. This article examined two groups of Maasai warriors: individuals who have killed African lions (Panthera leo) and those who have not. We conducted interviews to explore the relationship between attitudes, intentions and known lion killing behavior. Factor analysis and logistic regression revealed that lion killing was mainly determined by: (a) general attitudes toward lions, (b) engagement in traditional customs, (c) lion killing intentions to defend property, and (d) socio-cultural killing intentions. Our results indicated that general attitudes toward lions were the strongest predictor of lion killing behavior. Influencing attitudes to encourage pro-conservation behavior may help reduce killing.

  19. The charge form factor of the neutron from sup 2 H-vector, (e-vector, e' n)p

    CERN Document Server

    Passchier, I; Szczerba, D; Alarcon, R; Bauer, T S; Boersma, D J; Van der Brand, J F J; Bulten, H J; Ferro-Luzzi, M; Higinbotham, D W; Jager, C W D; Klous, S; Kolster, H; Lang, J; Nikolenko, D M; Nooren, G J; Norum, B E; Poolman, H R; Rachek, Igor A; Simani, M C; Six, E; Vries, H D; Wang, K; Zhou, Z L

    2000-01-01

    We report on the first measurement of spin-correlation parameters in quasifree electron scattering from vector-polarized deuterium. Polarized electrons were injected into an electron storage ring at a beam energy of 720 MeV. A Siberian snake was employed to preserve longitudinal polarization at the interaction point. Vector-polarized deuterium was produced by an atomic beam source and injected into an open-ended cylindrical cell, internal to the electron storage ring. The spin correlation parameter A sup V sub e sub d was measured for the reaction sup 2 H-vector, (e-vector, e'n)p at a four-momentum transfer squared of 0.21 (GeV/c) sup 2 from which a value for the charge form factor of the neutron was extracted.

  20. N-body simulations with a cosmic vector for dark energy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlesi, Edoardo; Knebe, Alexander; Yepes, Gustavo; Gottlöber, Stefan; Jiménez, Jose Beltrán.; Maroto, Antonio L.

    2012-07-01

    We present the results of a series of cosmological N-body simulations of a vector dark energy (VDE) model, performed using a suitably modified version of the publicly available GADGET-2 code. The set-ups of our simulations were calibrated pursuing a twofold aim: (1) to analyse the large-scale distribution of massive objects and (2) to determine the properties of halo structure in this different framework. We observe that structure formation is enhanced in VDE, since the mass function at high redshift is boosted up to a factor of 10 with respect to Λ cold dark matter (ΛCDM), possibly alleviating tensions with the observations of massive clusters at high redshifts and early reionization epoch. Significant differences can also be found for the value of the growth factor, which in VDE shows a completely different behaviour, and in the distribution of voids, which in this cosmology are on average smaller and less abundant. We further studied the structure of dark matter haloes more massive than 5 × 1013 h-1 M⊙, finding that no substantial difference emerges when comparing spin parameter, shape, triaxiality and profiles of structures evolved under different cosmological pictures. Nevertheless, minor differences can be found in the concentration-mass relation and the two-point correlation function, both showing different amplitudes and steeper slopes. Using an additional series of simulations of a ΛCDM scenario with the same ? and σ8 used in the VDE cosmology, we have been able to establish whether the modifications induced in the new cosmological picture were due to the particular nature of the dynamical dark energy or a straightforward consequence of the cosmological parameters. On large scales, the dynamical effects of the cosmic vector field can be seen in the peculiar evolution of the cluster number density function with redshift, in the shape of the mass function, in the distribution of voids and on the characteristic form of the growth index γ(z). On

  1. Neutrophils kill the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis using trogocytosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercer, Frances; Ng, Shek Hang; Brown, Taylor M.; Boatman, Grace; Johnson, Patricia J.

    2018-01-01

    T. vaginalis, a human-infective parasite, causes the most common nonviral sexually transmitted infection (STI) worldwide and contributes to adverse inflammatory disorders. The immune response to T. vaginalis is poorly understood. Neutrophils (polymorphonuclear cells [PMNs]) are the major immune cell present at the T. vaginalis–host interface and are thought to clear T. vaginalis. However, the mechanism of PMN clearance of T. vaginalis has not been characterized. We demonstrate that human PMNs rapidly kill T. vaginalis in a dose-dependent, contact-dependent, and neutrophil extracellular trap (NET)-independent manner. In contrast to phagocytosis, we observed that PMN killing of T. vaginalis involves taking “bites” of T. vaginalis prior to parasite death, using trogocytosis to achieve pathogen killing. Both trogocytosis and parasite killing are dependent on the presence of PMN serine proteases and human serum factors. Our analyses provide the first demonstration, to our knowledge, of a mammalian phagocyte using trogocytosis for pathogen clearance and reveal a novel mechanism used by PMNs to kill a large, highly motile target. PMID:29408891

  2. Prairie dogs increase fitness by killing interspecific competitors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoogland, John L; Brown, Charles R

    2016-03-30

    Interspecific competition commonly selects for divergence in ecology, morphology or physiology, but direct observation of interspecific competition under natural conditions is difficult. Herbivorous white-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys leucurus) employ an unusual strategy to reduce interspecific competition: they kill, but do not consume, herbivorous Wyoming ground squirrels (Urocitellus elegans) encountered in the prairie dog territories. Results from a 6-year study in Colorado, USA, revealed that interspecific killing of ground squirrels by prairie dogs was common, involving 47 different killers; 19 prairie dogs were serial killers in the same or consecutive years, and 30% of female prairie dogs killed at least one ground squirrel over their lifetimes. Females that killed ground squirrels had significantly higher annual and lifetime fitness than non-killers, probably because of decreased interspecific competition for vegetation. Our results document the first case of interspecific killing of competing individuals unrelated to predation (IK) among herbivorous mammals in the wild, and show that IK enhances fitness for animals living under natural conditions. © 2016 The Author(s).

  3. Energy Efficiency Effects of Vectorization in Data Reuse Transformations for Many-Core Processors—A Case Study †

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdullah Al Hasib

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Thread-level and data-level parallel architectures have become the design of choice in many of today’s energy-efficient computing systems. However, these architectures put substantially higher requirements on the memory subsystem than scalar architectures, making memory latency and bandwidth critical in their overall efficiency. Data reuse exploration aims at reducing the pressure on the memory subsystem by exploiting the temporal locality in data accesses. In this paper, we investigate the effects on performance and energy from a data reuse methodology combined with parallelization and vectorization in multi- and many-core processors. As a test case, a full-search motion estimation kernel is evaluated on Intel® CoreTM i7-4700K (Haswell and i7-2600K (Sandy Bridge multi-core processors, as well as on an Intel® Xeon PhiTM many-core processor (Knights Landing with Streaming Single Instruction Multiple Data (SIMD Extensions (SSE and Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX instruction sets. Results using a single-threaded execution on the Haswell and Sandy Bridge systems show that performance and EDP (Energy Delay Product can be improved through data reuse transformations on the scalar code by a factor of ≈3× and ≈6×, respectively. Compared to scalar code without data reuse optimization, the SSE/AVX2 version achieves ≈10×/17× better performance and ≈92×/307× better EDP, respectively. These results can be improved by 10% to 15% using data reuse techniques. Finally, the most optimized version using data reuse and AVX512 achieves a speedup of ≈35× and an EDP improvement of ≈1192× on the Xeon Phi system. While single-threaded execution serves as a common reference point for all architectures to analyze the effects of data reuse on both scalar and vector codes, scalability with thread count is also discussed in the paper.

  4. Female serial killing: review and case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frei, Andreas; Völlm, Birgit; Graf, Marc; Dittmann, Volker

    2006-01-01

    Single homicide committed by women is rare. Serial killing is very infrequent, and the perpetrators are usually white, intelligent males with sadistic tendencies. Serial killing by women has, however, also been described. To conduct a review of published literature on female serial killers and consider its usefulness in assessing a presenting case. A literature review was conducted, after searching EMBASE, MEDLINE and PsycINFO. The presenting clinical case is described in detail in the context of the literature findings. Results The literature search revealed few relevant publications. Attempts to categorize the phenomenon of female serial killing according to patterns of and motives for the homicides have been made by some authors. The most common motive identified was material gain or similar extrinsic gratification while the 'hedonistic' sadistic or sexual serial killer seems to be extremely rare in women. There is no consistent theory of serial killing by women, but psychopathic personality traits and abusive childhood experiences have consistently been observed. The authors' case did not fit the description of a 'typical' female serial killer. In such unusual circumstances as serial killing by a woman, detailed individual case formulation is required to make sense of the psychopathology in each case. Publication of cases in scientific journals should be encouraged to advance our understanding of this phenomenon. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. Forecasting of Energy Consumption in China Based on Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition and Least Squares Support Vector Machine Optimized by Improved Shuffled Frog Leaping Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuyu Dai

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available For social development, energy is a crucial material whose consumption affects the stable and sustained development of the natural environment and economy. Currently, China has become the largest energy consumer in the world. Therefore, establishing an appropriate energy consumption prediction model and accurately forecasting energy consumption in China have practical significance, and can provide a scientific basis for China to formulate a reasonable energy production plan and energy-saving and emissions-reduction-related policies to boost sustainable development. For forecasting the energy consumption in China accurately, considering the main driving factors of energy consumption, a novel model, EEMD-ISFLA-LSSVM (Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition and Least Squares Support Vector Machine Optimized by Improved Shuffled Frog Leaping Algorithm, is proposed in this article. The prediction accuracy of energy consumption is influenced by various factors. In this article, first considering population, GDP (Gross Domestic Product, industrial structure (the proportion of the second industry added value, energy consumption structure, energy intensity, carbon emissions intensity, total imports and exports and other influencing factors of energy consumption, the main driving factors of energy consumption are screened as the model input according to the sorting of grey relational degrees to realize feature dimension reduction. Then, the original energy consumption sequence of China is decomposed into multiple subsequences by Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition for de-noising. Next, the ISFLA-LSSVM (Least Squares Support Vector Machine Optimized by Improved Shuffled Frog Leaping Algorithm model is adopted to forecast each subsequence, and the prediction sequences are reconstructed to obtain the forecasting result. After that, the data from 1990 to 2009 are taken as the training set, and the data from 2010 to 2016 are taken as the test set to make an

  6. Broadening the future of value account of the wrongness of killing

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Di Nucci, Ezio

    2015-01-01

    On Don Marquis's future of value account of the wrongness of killing, 'what makes it wrong to kill those individuals we all believe it is wrong to kill, is that killing them deprives them of their future of value'. Marquis has recently argued for a narrow interpretation of his future of value...... account of the wrongness of killing and against the broad interpretation that I had put forward in response to Carson Strong. In this article I argue that the narrow view is problematic because it violates some basic principles of equality and because it allows for some of the very killing that Marquis...

  7. Antibacterial activity of silver-killed bacteria: the "zombies" effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wakshlak, Racheli Ben-Knaz; Pedahzur, Rami; Avnir, David

    2015-04-01

    We report a previously unrecognized mechanism for the prolonged action of biocidal agents, which we denote as the zombies effect: biocidally-killed bacteria are capable of killing living bacteria. The concept is demonstrated by first killing Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 with silver nitrate and then challenging, with the dead bacteria, a viable culture of the same bacterium: Efficient antibacterial activity of the killed bacteria is observed. A mechanism is suggested in terms of the action of the dead bacteria as a reservoir of silver, which, due to Le-Chatelier's principle, is re-targeted to the living bacteria. Langmuirian behavior, as well as deviations from it, support the proposed mechanism.

  8. Fascioliasis Control: In Vivo and In Vitro Phytotherapy of Vector Snail to Kill Fasciola Larva

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kumari Sunita

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Snail is one of the important components of an aquatic ecosystem, it acts as intermediate host of Fasciola species. Control of snail population below a certain threshold level is one of the important methods in the campaign to reduce the incidence of fascioliasis. Life cycle of the parasite can be interrupted by killing the snail or Fasciola larva redia and cercaria in the snail body. In vivo and in vitro toxicity of the plant products and their active component such as citral, ferulic acid, umbelliferone, azadirachtin, and allicin against larva of Fasciola in infected snail Lymnaea acuminata were tested. Mortality of larvae were observed at 2 h, 4 h, 6 h, and 8 h, of treatment. In in vivo treatment, azadirachtin caused highest mortality in redia and cercaria larva (8 h, LC50 0.11, and 0.05 mg/L whereas in in vitro condition allicin was highly toxic against redia and cercaria (8 h, LC50 0.01, and 0.009 mg/L. Toxicity of citral was lowest against redia and cercaria larva.

  9. Some spacetimes with higher rank Killing-Staeckel tensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gibbons, G.W.; Houri, T.; Kubiznak, D.; Warnick, C.M.

    2011-01-01

    By applying the lightlike Eisenhart lift to several known examples of low-dimensional integrable systems admitting integrals of motion of higher-order in momenta, we obtain four- and higher-dimensional Lorentzian spacetimes with irreducible higher-rank Killing tensors. Such metrics, we believe, are first examples of spacetimes admitting higher-rank Killing tensors. Included in our examples is a four-dimensional supersymmetric pp-wave spacetime, whose geodesic flow is superintegrable. The Killing tensors satisfy a non-trivial Poisson-Schouten-Nijenhuis algebra. We discuss the extension to the quantum regime.

  10. Efficient Vector-Based Forwarding for Underwater Sensor Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Xie

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Underwater Sensor Networks (UWSNs are significantly different from terrestrial sensor networks in the following aspects: low bandwidth, high latency, node mobility, high error probability, and 3-dimensional space. These new features bring many challenges to the network protocol design of UWSNs. In this paper, we tackle one fundamental problem in UWSNs: robust, scalable, and energy efficient routing. We propose vector-based forwarding (VBF, a geographic routing protocol. In VBF, the forwarding path is guided by a vector from the source to the target, no state information is required on the sensor nodes, and only a small fraction of the nodes is involved in routing. To improve the robustness, packets are forwarded in redundant and interleaved paths. Further, a localized and distributed self-adaptation algorithm allows the nodes to reduce energy consumption by discarding redundant packets. VBF performs well in dense networks. For sparse networks, we propose a hop-by-hop vector-based forwarding (HH-VBF protocol, which adapts the vector-based approach at every hop. We evaluate the performance of VBF and HH-VBF through extensive simulations. The simulation results show that VBF achieves high packet delivery ratio and energy efficiency in dense networks and HH-VBF has high packet delivery ratio even in sparse networks.

  11. Can patriotism justify killing in defense of one’s country?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavković Aleksandar

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Cosmopolitan liberals would be ready to fight - and to kill and be killed for the sake of restoring international justice or for the abolition of profoundly unjust political institutions. Patriots are ready to do the same for their own country. Sometimes the cosmopolitan liberals and patriots would fight on the same side and sometimes on the opposite sides of the conflict. Thus the former would join the latter in the defense of Serbia against Austria-Hungary (in 1914 but would oppose the white Southerner patriots in the American Civil War (in 1861. In this paper I argue that fighting and killing for one’s country is, in both of those cases, different from the defense of one’s own life and the lives of those who cannot defend themselves. Killing for one’s country is killing in order to fulfill a particular political preference. The same is the case with fighting for the abolition of a profoundly unjust political institution. It is not amoral or immoral to refuse to kill for any one of these two political preferences because there is no reason to believe that either political preference trumps our moral constraints against killing.

  12. Pseudomonas piscicida kills vibrios by two distinct mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pseudoalteromonas piscicida is a naturally-occurring marine bacterium which kills competing bacteria, including vibrios. In studies by Richards et al. (AEM00175-17), three strains of P. piscicida were isolated and characterized. Strains secreted proteolytic enzymes which likely killed competing or...

  13. Single vector-like top partner production in the left-right twin Higgs model at TeV energy eγ colliders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Zhanying; Yang Guang; Yang Bingfang

    2013-01-01

    The left-right twin Higgs model contains a new vector-like heavy top quark, which mixes with the SM-like top quark. In this work, we studied the single vector-like top partner production via process e - γ → νeT-barb at the International Linear Collider. We calculated the production cross section at tree level and displayed the relevant differential distributions. The result shows that there will be 125 events produced each year with √s=2 TeV and the integrated luminosity Script Lint ≈ 500 fb -1 , and the b-quark tagging and the relevant missing energy cut will be helpful to detect this new effect. (authors)

  14. Relativistic energy eigenvalues for the Dirac equation in the presence of vector and scalar potentials via the simple similarity transformation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barakat, T

    2012-01-01

    Based on the simple similarity transformation, we were able to transform the Dirac equation whose potential contains vector V (r) = -A/r + B 1 r and scalar S(r) = B 2 r types into a form nearly identical to the Schrödinger equation. The transformed equation is so simple that one can solve it by means of the asymptotic iteration method. Moreover, within the same framework we were able to obtain the relativistic energy eigenvalues for the Dirac equation with vector Coulomb plus scalar linear, and with pure scalar linear potentials; V (r) = -A/r, S(r) = B 2 r, and V (r) = 0, S(r) = B 2 r, respectively.

  15. Technical Aspects of Cyber Kill Chain

    OpenAIRE

    Yadav, Tarun; Mallari, Rao Arvind

    2016-01-01

    Recent trends in targeted cyber-attacks has increased the interest of research in the field of cyber security. Such attacks have massive disruptive effects on rganizations, enterprises and governments. Cyber kill chain is a model to describe cyber-attacks so as to develop incident response and analysis capabilities. Cyber kill chain in simple terms is an attack chain, the path that an intruder takes to penetrate information systems over time to execute an attack on the target. This paper broa...

  16. Oviposition Site Selection by the Dengue Vector Aedes aegypti and Its Implications for Dengue Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Jacklyn; Stoddard, Steven T.; Astete, Helvio; Morrison, Amy C.; Scott, Thomas W.

    2011-01-01

    Background Because no dengue vaccine or antiviral therapy is commercially available, controlling the primary mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti, is currently the only means to prevent dengue outbreaks. Traditional models of Ae. aegypti assume that population dynamics are regulated by density-dependent larval competition for food and little affected by oviposition behavior. Due to direct impacts on offspring survival and development, however, mosquito choice in oviposition site can have important consequences for population regulation that should be taken into account when designing vector control programs. Methodology/Principal Findings We examined oviposition patterns by Ae. aegypti among 591 naturally occurring containers and a set of experimental containers in Iquitos, Peru. Using larval starvation bioassays as an indirect measure of container food content, we assessed whether females select containers with the most food for their offspring. Our data indicate that choice of egg-laying site is influenced by conspecific larvae and pupae, container fill method, container size, lid, and sun exposure. Although larval food positively influenced oviposition, our results did not support the hypothesis that females act primarily to maximize food for larvae. Females were most strongly attracted to sites containing immature conspecifics, even when potential competitors for their progeny were present in abundance. Conclusion/Significance Due to strong conspecific attraction, egg-laying behavior may contribute more to regulating Ae. aegypti populations than previously thought. If highly infested containers are targeted for removal or larvicide application, females that would have preferentially oviposited in those sites may instead distribute their eggs among other suitable, previously unoccupied containers. Strategies that kill mosquitoes late in their development (i.e., insect growth regulators that kill pupae rather than larvae) will enhance vector control by creating

  17. Quasi-renormalization of the axial vector model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schweda, M.

    1979-01-01

    Using the regulator-free BPHZL renormalization scheme the problem of anomalies in a massive axial vector meson model is reinvestigated. The Adler-Bardeen-Bell-Jackiw anomaly introduces some impressive modifications: the nontrivial self-energy and the counterterm of the longitudinal part of the axial vector field depend on the anomaly via the anomalous Ward identity. The investigations are based on a Fermi-type gauge. (author)

  18. First measurement of the helicity-dependent vector gamma)vector(p)->p eta differential cross-section

    CERN Document Server

    Ahrens, J; Aulenbacher, K; Beck, R; Drechsel, D; Von Harrach, D; Heid, E; Altieri, S; Annand, J R M; Anton, G; Bradtke, C; Görtz, S; Harmsen, J; Braghieri, A; D'Hose, N; Dutz, H; Grabmayr, P; Hansen, K; Hasegawa, S; Hasegawa, T; Helbing, K; Holvoet, H; Van Hoorebeke, L; Horikawa, N; Iwata, T; Jahn, O; Jennewein, P; Kageya, T; Kiel, B; Klein, F; Kondratiev, R; Kossert, K; Krimmer, J; Lang, M; Lannoy, B; Leukel, R; Lisin, V; Matsuda, T; McGeorge, J C; Meier, A; Menze, D; Meyer, Werner T; Michel, T; Naumann, J; Panzeri, A; Pedroni, P; Pinelli, T; Preobrajenski, I; Radtke, E; Reichert, E; Reicherz, G; Rohlof, C; Rosner, G; Ryckbosch, D; Sauer, M C; Schoch, B; Schumacher, M; Seitz, B; Speckner, T; Takabayashi, N; Tamas, G; Thomas, A; Van De Vyver, R; Wakai, A; Weihofen, W; Wissmann, F; Zapadtka, F; Zeitler, G

    2003-01-01

    The helicity dependence of the vector(gamma)vector(p)->p eta reaction has been measured for the first time at a center-of-mass angle theta sup * subeta=70 in the photon energy range from 780 MeV to 790 MeV. The experiment, performed at the Mainz microtron MAMI, used a 4 pi-detector system, a circularly polarized, tagged photon beam, and a longitudinally polarized frozen-spin target. The helicity 3/2 cross-section is found to be small and the results for helicity 1/2 agree with predictions from the MAID analysis. (orig.)

  19. Heat-killed Lactobacillus spp. cells enhance survivals of Caenorhabditis elegans against Salmonella and Yersinia infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, J; Choe, J; Kim, J; Oh, S; Park, S; Kim, S; Kim, Y

    2015-12-01

    This study examined the effect of feeding heat-killed Lactobacillus cells on the survival of Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes after Salmonella Typhimurium and Yersinia enterocolitica infection. The feeding of heat-killed Lactobacillus plantarum 133 (LP133) and Lactobacillus fermentum 21 (LP21) cells to nematodes was shown to significantly increase the survival rate as well as stimulate the expression of pmk-1 gene that key factor for C. elegans immunity upon infection compared with control nematodes that were only fed Escherichia coli OP50 (OP50) cells. These results suggest that heat-killed LP133 and LF21 cells exert preventive or protective effects against the Gram-negative bacteria Salm. Typhimurium and Y. enterocolitica. To better understand the mechanisms underlying the LF21-mediated and LP133-mediated protection against bacterial infection in nematodes, transcriptional profiling was performed for each experimental group. These experiments showed that genes related to energy generation and ageing, regulators of insulin/IGF-1-like signalling, DAF genes, oxidation and reduction processes, the defence response and/or the innate immune response, and neurological processes were upregulated in nematodes that had been fed heat-killed Lactobacillus cells compared with nematodes that had been fed E. coli cells. In this study, the feeding of heat-killed Lactobacillus bacteria to Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes was shown to decrease infection by Gram-negative bacteria and increase the host lifespan. C. elegans has a small, well-organized genome and is an excellent in vivo model organism; thus, these results will potentially shed light on important Lactobacillus-host interactions. © 2015 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  20. Conservation laws and two-dimensional black holes in dilaton gravity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mann, R. B.

    1993-05-01

    A very general class of Lagrangians which couple scalar fields to gravitation and matter in two spacetime dimensions is investigated. It is shown that a vector field exists along whose flow lines the stress-energy tensor is conserved, regardless of whether or not the equations of motion are satisfied or if any Killing vectors exist. Conditions necessary for the existence of Killing vectors are derived. A new set of two-dimensional (2D) black-hole solutions is obtained for one particular member within this class of Lagrangians, which couples a Liouville field to 2D gravity in a novel way. One solution of this theory bears an interesting resemblance to the 2D string-theoretic black hole, yet contains markedly different thermodynamic properties.

  1. Cosmological evolution in vector-tensor theories of gravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beltran Jimenez, Jose; Maroto, Antonio L.

    2009-01-01

    We present a detailed study of the cosmological evolution in general vector-tensor theories of gravity without potential terms. We consider the evolution of the vector field throughout the expansion history of the Universe and carry out a classification of models according to the behavior of the vector field in each cosmological epoch. We also analyze the case in which the Universe is dominated by the vector field, performing a complete analysis of the system phase map and identifying those attracting solutions which give rise to accelerated expansion. Moreover, we consider the evolution in a universe filled with a pressureless fluid in addition to the vector field and study the existence of attractors in which we can have a transition from matter domination to vector domination with accelerated expansion so that the vector field may play the role of dark energy. We find that the existence of solutions with late-time accelerated expansion is a generic prediction of vector-tensor theories and that such solutions typically lead to the presence of future singularities. Finally, limits from local gravity tests are used to get constraints on the value of the vector field at small (Solar System) scales.

  2. Wash-resistance of pirimiphos-methyl insecticide treatments of window screens and eave baffles for killing indoor-feeding malaria vector mosquitoes: an experimental hut trial, South East of Zambia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chinula, Dingani; Sikaala, Chadwick H; Chanda-Kapata, Pascalina; Hamainza, Busiku; Zulu, Reuben; Reimer, Lisa; Chizema, Elizabeth; Kiware, Samson; Okumu, Fredros O; Killeen, Gerry

    2018-04-13

    The effectiveness of long-lasting insecticidal-treated nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) for malaria control is threatened by resistance to commonly used pyrethroid insecticides. Rotations, mosaics, combinations, or mixtures of insecticides from different complementary classes are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for mitigating against resistance, but many of the alternatives to pyrethroids are prohibitively expensive to apply in large national IRS campaigns. Recent evaluations of window screens and eave baffles (WSEBs) treated with pirimiphos-methyl (PM), to selectively target insecticides inside houses, demonstrated malaria vector mortality rates equivalent or superior to IRS. However, the durability of efficacy when co-applied with polyacrylate-binding agents (BA) remains to be established. This study evaluated whether WSEBs, co-treated with PM and BA have comparable wash resistance to LLINs and might therefore remain insecticidal for years rather than months. WHO-recommended wire ball assays of insecticidal efficacy were applied to polyester netting treated with or without BA plus 1 or 2 g/sq m PM. They were then tested for insecticidal efficacy using fully susceptible insectary-reared Anopheles gambiae mosquitoes, following 0, 5, 10, 15, then 20 washes as per WHO-recommended protocols for accelerated ageing of LLINs. This was followed by a small-scale field trial in experimental huts to measure malaria vector mortality achieved by polyester netting WSEBs treated with BA and 2 g/sq m PM after 0, 10 and then 20 standardized washes, alongside recently applied IRS using PM. Co-treatment with BA and either dosage of PM remained insecticidal over 20 washes in the laboratory. In experimental huts, WSEBs treated with PM plus BA consistently killed similar proportions of Anopheles arabiensis mosquitoes to PM-IRS (both consistently ≥ 94%), even after 20 washes. Co-treating WSEBs with both PM and BA results in wash

  3. Vector boson excitations near deconfined quantum critical points.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huh, Yejin; Strack, Philipp; Sachdev, Subir

    2013-10-18

    We show that the Néel states of two-dimensional antiferromagnets have low energy vector boson excitations in the vicinity of deconfined quantum critical points. We compute the universal damping of these excitations arising from spin-wave emission. Detection of such a vector boson will demonstrate the existence of emergent topological gauge excitations in a quantum spin system.

  4. Vacuum energy is non-positive for (2 + 1)-dimensional holographic CFTs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hickling, Andrew; Wiseman, Toby

    2016-01-01

    We consider a (2 + 1)-dimensional holographic CFT on a static spacetime with globally timelike Killing vector. Taking the spatial geometry to be closed but otherwise general we expect a non-trivial vacuum energy at zero temperature due to the Casimir effect. We assume a thermal state has an AdS/CFT dual description as a static smooth solution to gravity with a negative cosmological constant, which ends only on the conformal boundary or horizons. A bulk geometric argument then provides an upper bound on the ratio of CFT free energy to temperature. Considering the zero temperature limit of this bound implies the vacuum energy of the CFT is non-positive. Furthermore the vacuum energy must be negative unless the boundary metric is locally conformal to a product of time with a constant curvature space. We emphasise the argument does not require the zero temperature bulk geometry to be smooth, but only that singularities are ‘good’ so are hidden by horizons at finite temperature. (paper)

  5. Theriocide: Naming Animal Killing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piers Beirne

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available In this essay I recommend ‘theriocide’ as the name for those diverse human actions that cause the deaths of animals. Like the killing of one human by another, theriocide may be socially acceptable or unacceptable, legal or illegal. It may be intentional or unintentional and may involve active maltreatment or passive neglect. Theriocide may occur one-on-one, in small groups or in large-scale social institutions. The numerous and sometimes intersecting sites of theriocide include intensive rearing regimes; hunting and fishing; trafficking; vivisection; militarism; pollution; and human-induced climate change. If the killing of animals by humans is as harmful to them as homicide is to humans, then the proper naming of such deaths offers a remedy, however small, to the extensive privileging of human lives over those of other animals. Inevitably, the essay leads to a shocking question: Is theriocide murder?

  6. Search for intermediate vector bosons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cline, D.B.; Rubbia, C.; van der Meer, S.

    1982-01-01

    Over the past 15 years a new class of unified theories has been developed to describe the forces acting between elementary particles. The most successful of the new theories establishes a link between electromagnetism and the weak force. A crucial prediction of this unified electroweak theory is the existence of three massive particles called intermediate vector bosons. If these intermediate vector bosons exist and if they have properties attributed to them by electroweak theory, they should soon be detected, as the world's first particle accelerator with enough energy to create such particles has recently been completed at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva. The accelerator has been converted to a colliding beam machine in which protons and antiprotons collide head on. According to electroweak theory, intermediate vector bosons can be created in proton-antiproton collisions. (SC)

  7. Induction of Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus-Specific Cytotoxic T Cell Killing by Vaccination

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Patch, J.R.; Pedersen, Lasse Eggers; Toka, F.N.

    2011-01-01

    Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) continues to be a significant threat to the health and economic value of livestock species. This acute infection is caused by the highly contagious FMD virus (FMDV), which infects cloven-hoofed animals including large and small ruminants and swine. Current vaccine...... cytopathic virus. Here, we have used recombinant human adenovirus vectors as a means of delivering FMDV antigens in a T cell-directed vaccine in pigs. We tested the hypothesis that impaired processing of the FMDV capsid would enhance cytolytic activity, presumably by targeting all proteins for degradation...... and effectively increasing the class I MHC/FMDV peptide concentration for stimulation of a CTL response. We compared such a T cell targeting vaccine with the parental vaccine, previously shown to effectively induce a neutralizing antibody response. Our results show induction of FMDV-specific CD8(+) CTL killing...

  8. Contagion in Mass Killings and School Shootings.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sherry Towers

    Full Text Available Several past studies have found that media reports of suicides and homicides appear to subsequently increase the incidence of similar events in the community, apparently due to the coverage planting the seeds of ideation in at-risk individuals to commit similar acts.Here we explore whether or not contagion is evident in more high-profile incidents, such as school shootings and mass killings (incidents with four or more people killed. We fit a contagion model to recent data sets related to such incidents in the US, with terms that take into account the fact that a school shooting or mass murder may temporarily increase the probability of a similar event in the immediate future, by assuming an exponential decay in contagiousness after an event.We find significant evidence that mass killings involving firearms are incented by similar events in the immediate past. On average, this temporary increase in probability lasts 13 days, and each incident incites at least 0.30 new incidents (p = 0.0015. We also find significant evidence of contagion in school shootings, for which an incident is contagious for an average of 13 days, and incites an average of at least 0.22 new incidents (p = 0.0001. All p-values are assessed based on a likelihood ratio test comparing the likelihood of a contagion model to that of a null model with no contagion. On average, mass killings involving firearms occur approximately every two weeks in the US, while school shootings occur on average monthly. We find that state prevalence of firearm ownership is significantly associated with the state incidence of mass killings with firearms, school shootings, and mass shootings.

  9. Contagion in Mass Killings and School Shootings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Towers, Sherry; Gomez-Lievano, Andres; Khan, Maryam; Mubayi, Anuj; Castillo-Chavez, Carlos

    2015-01-01

    Several past studies have found that media reports of suicides and homicides appear to subsequently increase the incidence of similar events in the community, apparently due to the coverage planting the seeds of ideation in at-risk individuals to commit similar acts. Here we explore whether or not contagion is evident in more high-profile incidents, such as school shootings and mass killings (incidents with four or more people killed). We fit a contagion model to recent data sets related to such incidents in the US, with terms that take into account the fact that a school shooting or mass murder may temporarily increase the probability of a similar event in the immediate future, by assuming an exponential decay in contagiousness after an event. We find significant evidence that mass killings involving firearms are incented by similar events in the immediate past. On average, this temporary increase in probability lasts 13 days, and each incident incites at least 0.30 new incidents (p = 0.0015). We also find significant evidence of contagion in school shootings, for which an incident is contagious for an average of 13 days, and incites an average of at least 0.22 new incidents (p = 0.0001). All p-values are assessed based on a likelihood ratio test comparing the likelihood of a contagion model to that of a null model with no contagion. On average, mass killings involving firearms occur approximately every two weeks in the US, while school shootings occur on average monthly. We find that state prevalence of firearm ownership is significantly associated with the state incidence of mass killings with firearms, school shootings, and mass shootings.

  10. Reptile road-kills in Southern Brazil: Composition, hot moments and hotspots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonçalves, Larissa Oliveira; Alvares, Diego Janisch; Teixeira, Fernanda Zimmermann; Schuck, Gabriela; Coelho, Igor Pfeifer; Esperandio, Isadora Beraldi; Anza, Juan; Beduschi, Júlia; Bastazini, Vinicius Augusto Galvão; Kindel, Andreas

    2018-02-15

    Understanding road-kill patterns is the first step to assess the potential effects of road mortality on wildlife populations, as well as to define the need for mitigation and support its planning. Reptiles are one of the vertebrate groups most affected by roads through vehicle collisions, both because they are intentionally killed by drivers, and due to their biological needs, such as thermoregulation, which make them more prone to collisions. We conducted monthly road surveys (33months), searching for carcasses of freshwater turtles, lizards, and snakes on a 277-km stretch of BR-101 road in Southernmost Brazil to estimate road-kill composition and magnitude and to describe the main periods and locations of road-kills. We modeled the distribution of road-kills in space according to land cover classes and local traffic volume. Considering the detection capacity of our method and carcass persistence probability, we estimated that 15,377 reptiles are road-killed per year (55reptiles/km/year). Road-kills, especially lizards and snakes, were concentrated during summer, probably due to their higher activity in this period. Road-kill hotspots were coincident among freshwater turtles, lizards, and snakes. Road-kill distribution was negatively related to pine plantations, and positively related to rice plantations and traffic volume. A cost-benefit analysis highlighted that if mitigation measures were installed at road-kill hotspots, which correspond to 21% of the road, they could have avoided up to 45% of recorded reptile fatalities, assuming a 100% mitigation effectiveness. Given the congruent patterns found for all three taxa, the same mitigation measures could be used to minimize the impacts of collision on local herpetofauna. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Cosmological Solutions of Tensor–Vector Theories of Gravity by ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    We consider tensor–vector theories by varying the space- time–matter coupling ... solutions by considering the character of critical points of the theory and their stability .... light (Magueijo 2003) that has arisen from the possibility of varying fine structure constant. ... Vector-like dark energy displays a series of properties that.

  12. Evolution equations for Killing fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coll, B.

    1977-01-01

    The problem of finding necessary and sufficient conditions on the Cauchy data for Einstein equations which insure the existence of Killing fields in a neighborhood of an initial hypersurface has been considered recently by Berezdivin, Coll, and Moncrief. Nevertheless, it can be shown that the evolution equations obtained in all these cases are of nonstrictly hyperbolic type, and, thus, the Cauchy data must belong to a special class of functions. We prove here that, for the vacuum and Einstein--Maxwell space--times and in a coordinate independent way, one can always choose, as evolution equations for the Killing fields, a strictly hyperbolic system: The above theorems can be thus extended to all Cauchy data for which the Einstein evolution problem has been proved to be well set

  13. Dirac operators and Killing spinors with torsion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Becker-Bender, Julia

    2012-01-01

    On a Riemannian spin manifold with parallel skew torsion, we use the twistor operator to obtain an eigenvalue estimate for the Dirac operator with torsion. We consider the equality case in dimensions four and six. In odd dimensions we describe Sasaki manifolds on which equality in the estimate is realized by Killing spinors with torsion. In dimension five we characterize all Killing spinors with torsion and obtain certain naturally reductive spaces as exceptional cases.

  14. Targeted killing with drones? Old arguments, new technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meisels Tamar

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The question of how to contend with terrorism in keeping with our preexisting moral and legal commitments now challenges Europe as well as Israel and the United States: how do we apply Just War Theory and International Law to asymmetrical warfare, specifically to our counter terrorism measures? What can the classic moral argument in Just and Unjust Wars teach us about contemporary targeted killings with drones? I begin with a defense of targeted killing, arguing for the advantages of pin pointed attacks over any alternative measure available for combatting terrorism. Assuming the legitimacy of killing combatants in wartime, I argue, there is nothing wrong, and in fact much that is right, with targeting particular terrorists selected by name, as long as their assassinations can be reasonably expected to reduce terrorist hostilities rather than increase it. Subsequently, I offer some further thoughts and comments on the use of remotely piloted aircrafts to carry out targeted killings, and address the various sources for discomfort with this practice identified by Michael Walzer and others.

  15. Successful vectorization - reactor physics Monte Carlo code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, W.R.

    1989-01-01

    Most particle transport Monte Carlo codes in use today are based on the ''history-based'' algorithm, wherein one particle history at a time is simulated. Unfortunately, the ''history-based'' approach (present in all Monte Carlo codes until recent years) is inherently scalar and cannot be vectorized. In particular, the history-based algorithm cannot take advantage of vector architectures, which characterize the largest and fastest computers at the current time, vector supercomputers such as the Cray X/MP or IBM 3090/600. However, substantial progress has been made in recent years in developing and implementing a vectorized Monte Carlo algorithm. This algorithm follows portions of many particle histories at the same time and forms the basis for all successful vectorized Monte Carlo codes that are in use today. This paper describes the basic vectorized algorithm along with descriptions of several variations that have been developed by different researchers for specific applications. These applications have been mainly in the areas of neutron transport in nuclear reactor and shielding analysis and photon transport in fusion plasmas. The relative merits of the various approach schemes will be discussed and the present status of known vectorization efforts will be summarized along with available timing results, including results from the successful vectorization of 3-D general geometry, continuous energy Monte Carlo. (orig.)

  16. Weaving Knotted Vector Fields with Tunable Helicity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kedia, Hridesh; Foster, David; Dennis, Mark R; Irvine, William T M

    2016-12-30

    We present a general construction of divergence-free knotted vector fields from complex scalar fields, whose closed field lines encode many kinds of knots and links, including torus knots, their cables, the figure-8 knot, and its generalizations. As finite-energy physical fields, they represent initial states for fields such as the magnetic field in a plasma, or the vorticity field in a fluid. We give a systematic procedure for calculating the vector potential, starting from complex scalar functions with knotted zero filaments, thus enabling an explicit computation of the helicity of these knotted fields. The construction can be used to generate isolated knotted flux tubes, filled by knots encoded in the lines of the vector field. Lastly, we give examples of manifestly knotted vector fields with vanishing helicity. Our results provide building blocks for analytical models and simulations alike.

  17. 9 CFR 113.214 - Parvovirus Vaccine, Killed Virus (Canine).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... REQUIREMENTS Killed Virus Vaccines § 113.214 Parvovirus Vaccine, Killed Virus (Canine). Parvovirus Vaccine... antibody against canine parvovirus to determine susceptibility. A constant virus-varying serum... vaccinates and the controls shall be challenged with virulent canine parvovirus furnished or approved by...

  18. Reconfigurable support vector machine classifier with approximate computing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Leussen, M.J.; Huisken, J.; Wang, L.; Jiao, H.; De Gyvez, J.P.

    2017-01-01

    Support Vector Machine (SVM) is one of the most popular machine learning algorithms. An energy-efficient SVM classifier is proposed in this paper, where approximate computing is utilized to reduce energy consumption and silicon area. A hardware architecture with reconfigurable kernels and

  19. Vector models and generalized SYK models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Peng, Cheng [Department of Physics, Brown University,Providence RI 02912 (United States)

    2017-05-23

    We consider the relation between SYK-like models and vector models by studying a toy model where a tensor field is coupled with a vector field. By integrating out the tensor field, the toy model reduces to the Gross-Neveu model in 1 dimension. On the other hand, a certain perturbation can be turned on and the toy model flows to an SYK-like model at low energy. A chaotic-nonchaotic phase transition occurs as the sign of the perturbation is altered. We further study similar models that possess chaos and enhanced reparameterization symmetries.

  20. Vectorization, parallelization and porting of nuclear codes on the VPP500 system (vectorization). Progress report fiscal 1996

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nemoto, Toshiyuki; Kawai, Wataru [Fujitsu Ltd., Tokyo (Japan); Kawasaki, Nobuo [and others

    1997-12-01

    Several computer codes in the nuclear field have been vectorized, parallelized and transported on the FUJITSU VPP500 system at Center for Promotion of Computational Science and Engineering in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. These results are reported in 3 parts, i.e., the vectorization part, the parallelization part and the porting part. In this report, we describe the vectorization. In this vectorization part, the vectorization of two and three dimensional discrete ordinates simulation code DORT-TORT, gas dynamics analysis code FLOWGR and relativistic Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck simulation code RBUU are described. In the parallelization part, the parallelization of 2-Dimensional relativistic electromagnetic particle code EM2D, Cylindrical Direct Numerical Simulation code CYLDNS and molecular dynamics code for simulating radiation damages in diamond crystals DGR are described. And then, in the porting part, the porting of reactor safety analysis code RELAP5/MOD3.2 and RELAP5/MOD3.2.1.2, nuclear data processing system NJOY and 2-D multigroup discrete ordinate transport code TWOTRAN-II are described. And also, a survey for the porting of command-driven interactive data analysis plotting program IPLOT are described. (author)

  1. Control of Influenza and Poliomyelitis with Killed Virus Vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salk, Jonas; Salk, Darrell

    1977-01-01

    Discusses control of poliomyelitis and influenza by live and killed virus vaccines. Considered are the etiological agents, pathogenic mechanisms and epidemiology of each disease. Reviews recent scientific studies of the diseases. Recommends use of killed virus vaccines in controlling both diseases. (CS)

  2. Vertebrate road kill survey on a highway in southern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Liberato Costa Corrêa

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Highways are a major factor acting in the decline of several wildlife populations. Impact occurs due to the continuous flow of motor vehicles over tracks and collision with animals using the same area. This study aimed to list road killed wild vertebrates found in highways in the Pampa Biome, state of Rio Grande do Sul, over an entire year. The taxa found (amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals were identified to species level and their frequency of occurrence was seasonally registered. Along 2,160 km, we found 318 road killed individuals, totaling 65 species. This number represents an average of 0.147 road killed specimens by kilometer (that is, 1 individual each 7 km. Of these, seven species are under threat of extinction in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. We also found a seasonal pattern among road kills, in which the highest number of road killed animals was registered in the summer and spring months. These results contribute to increase knowledge about which species are most impacted by road kill on highways of the Pampa Biome. Such data can be used as an indicator for the implementation of measures by competent bodies to mitigate impacts of highways in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

  3. Role of nitric oxide and superoxide in Giardia lamblia killing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P.D. Fernandes

    1997-01-01

    Full Text Available Giardia lamblia trophozoites were incubated for 2 h with activated murine macrophages, nitric oxide (NO donors or a superoxide anion generator (20 mU/ml xanthine oxidase plus 1 mM xanthine. Activated macrophages were cytotoxic to Giardia trophozoites (~60% dead trophozoites. This effect was inhibited (>90% by an NO synthase inhibitor (200 µM and unaffected by superoxide dismutase (SOD, 300 U/ml. Giardia trophozoites were killed by the NO donors, S-nitroso-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP and sodium nitroprusside (SNP in a dose-dependent manner (LD50 300 and 50 µM, respectively. A dual NO-superoxide anion donor, 3-morpholino-sydnonimine hydrochloride (SIN-1, did not have a killing effect in concentrations up to 1 mM. However, when SOD (300 U/ml was added simultaneously with SIN-1 to Giardia, a significant trophozoite-killing effect was observed (~35% dead trophozoites at 1 mM. The mixture of SNAP or SNP with superoxide anion, which yields peroxynitrite, abolished the trophozoite killing induced by NO donors. Authentic peroxynitrite only killed trophozoites at very high concentrations (3 mM. These results indicate that NO accounts for Giardia trophozoite killing and this effect is not mediated by peroxynitrite

  4. Competition between apex predators? Brown bears decrease wolf kill rate on two continents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tallian, Aimee; Ordiz, Andrés; Metz, Matthew C; Milleret, Cyril; Wikenros, Camilla; Smith, Douglas W; Stahler, Daniel R; Kindberg, Jonas; MacNulty, Daniel R; Wabakken, Petter; Swenson, Jon E; Sand, Håkan

    2017-02-08

    Trophic interactions are a fundamental topic in ecology, but we know little about how competition between apex predators affects predation, the mechanism driving top-down forcing in ecosystems. We used long-term datasets from Scandinavia (Europe) and Yellowstone National Park (North America) to evaluate how grey wolf ( Canis lupus ) kill rate was affected by a sympatric apex predator, the brown bear ( Ursus arctos ). We used kill interval (i.e. the number of days between consecutive ungulate kills) as a proxy of kill rate. Although brown bears can monopolize wolf kills, we found no support in either study system for the common assumption that they cause wolves to kill more often. On the contrary, our results showed the opposite effect. In Scandinavia, wolf packs sympatric with brown bears killed less often than allopatric packs during both spring (after bear den emergence) and summer. Similarly, the presence of bears at wolf-killed ungulates was associated with wolves killing less often during summer in Yellowstone. The consistency in results between the two systems suggests that brown bear presence actually reduces wolf kill rate. Our results suggest that the influence of predation on lower trophic levels may depend on the composition of predator communities. © 2017 The Authors.

  5. A magnetic vector potential corresponding to a centrally conservative current element force

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minteer, Timothy M

    2015-01-01

    The magnetic vector potential (Coulomb gauge) is commonly introduced in magnetostatic chapters of electromagnetism textbooks. However, what is not typically presented are the infinite subsets of the Coulomb gauge associated with differential current elements. This work provides a comparison of various differential magnetic vector potentials, differential magnetostatic potential energies, as well as differential current element forces as a collective work not available elsewhere. The differential magnetic vector potential highlighted in this work is the Coulomb–Ampère gauge corresponding to the centrally conservative Ampère current element force. The centrally conservative force is modeled as a mean valued continual exchange of energy carrier mediators accounting for both the differential magnetostatic potential energy and Ampère current element force of two differential current elements. (paper)

  6. Targeted Killings in Bangladesh: Diversity at Stake

    OpenAIRE

    Syed, Jawad

    2016-01-01

    Since 2013, Bangladesh has repeatedly been in headline news across the world due to systematic and incessant targeted killings. In the mainstream media, both in South Asia and the West, the focus has been generally on high profile murders of secular and progressive bloggers. This includes the recent worldwide broad coverage on the tragic murder of Xulhaz Mannan, editor of Bangladesh's first LGBT rights magazine. However, not many know that these killings are only one part of the story. Secula...

  7. Contagion in Mass Killings and School Shootings

    OpenAIRE

    Towers, Sherry; Gomez-Lievano, Andres; Khan, Maryam; Mubayi, Anuj; Castillo-Chavez, Carlos

    2015-01-01

    Background Several past studies have found that media reports of suicides and homicides appear to subsequently increase the incidence of similar events in the community, apparently due to the coverage planting the seeds of ideation in at-risk individuals to commit similar acts. Methods Here we explore whether or not contagion is evident in more high-profile incidents, such as school shootings and mass killings (incidents with four or more people killed). We fit a contagion model to recent dat...

  8. Study of Muon Pairs and Vector Mesons Produced in High Energy Pb-Pb Interactions

    CERN Multimedia

    Karavicheva, T; Atayan, M; Bordalo, P; Constans, N P; Gulkanyan, H; Kluberg, L

    2002-01-01

    %NA50 %title\\\\ \\\\The experiment studies dimuons produced in Pb-Pb and p-A collisions, at nucleon-nucleon c.m. energies of $ \\sqrt{s} $ = 18 and 30 GeV respectively. The setup accepts dimuons in a kinematical range roughly defined as $0.1$ $1 GeV/c$, and stands maximal luminosity (5~10$^{7}$~Pb ions and 10$^7$ interactions per burst). The physics includes signals which probe QGP (Quark-Gluon Plasma), namely the $\\phi$, J/$\\psi$ and $\\psi^\\prime$ vector mesons and thermal dimuons, and reference signals, namely the (unseparated) $\\rho$ and $\\omega$ mesons, and Drell-Yan dimuons. The experiment is a continuation, with improved means, of NA38, and expands its study of {\\it charmonium suppression} and {\\it strangeness enhancement}.\\\\ \\\\The muons are measured in the former NA10 spectrometer, which is shielded from the hot target region by a beam stopper and absorber wall. The muons traverse 5~m of BeO and C. The impact parameter is determined by a Zero Degree Calorimeter (Ta with silica fibres). Energy dissipation ...

  9. Mitigation options for fish kills in L Lake and Pond C

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paller, M.H.

    1989-11-01

    This report concerns mitigation options for reducing or eliminating the fish kills that occur in L Lake and Pond C as a result of reactor operations. These kills occur when fish that have entered the discharge areas during outages are killed by the rapid rises in temperature that follow reactor re-starts. Factors that have been observed to influence the severity of the kills include the length of the outage, season during which the outage occurs, reactor power level, and size of the fish in the discharge area. Without mitigation, fish kills can be expected to occur in Pond C with approximately the same frequency and severity as in the past. Even in the absence of mitigation, however, it is unlikely that future fish kills in L Lake will be as severe as the large kill that occurred in December 1986. Fish abundance in Region 2 of L Lake (where severe kills occurred in the past) has declined over 90% since 1986, largely due to a reduction in the abundance of juvenile sunfish (which constituted approximately 99% of past kills). There are basically three categories of mitigation options: changes in reactor operations, methods to exclude fish from time discharge areas, and methods to promote the escapement of fish from the discharge area. These options vary in approach, scope, and anticipated expense. Most would need to be researched in greater depth before it would be possible to predict their effectiveness more definitively. While the options have the potential to greatly reduce mortalities, none can totally eliminate mortalities. The only way of ensuring the elimination of all mortalities is to reduce effluent temperatures to sublethal levels with properly designed and operated cooling technology. 18 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab

  10. Vector and Axial-Vector Correlators in AN Instanton-Like Quark Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dorokhov, Alexander E.

    The behavior of the vector Adler function at spacelike momenta is studied in the framework of a covariant chiral quark model with instanton-like quark-quark interaction. This function describes the transition between the high energy asymptotically free region of almost massless current quarks to the low energy hadronized regime with massive constituent quarks. The model reproduces the Adler function and V-A correlator extracted from the ALEPH and OPAL data on hadronic τ lepton decays, transformed into the Euclidean domain via dispersion relations. The leading order contribution from hadronic part of the photon vacuum polarization to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, aμ hvp(1), is estimated.

  11. First measurement of the helicity-dependent (vector)({gamma})(vector)(p){yields}p{eta} differential cross-section

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahrens, J.; Arends, H.J.; Aulenbacher, K.; Beck, R.; Drechsel, D.; Harrach, D. van; Heid, E. [Institut fuer Kernphysik, Universitaet Mainz, D-55099 Mainz (Germany); Altieri, S. [INFN, Sezione di Pavia, I-27100 Pavia (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica Nucleare e Teorica, Universita di Pavia, I-27100 Pavia (Italy); Annand, J.R.M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ (United Kingdom); Anton, G. [Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg, D-91058 Erlangen (Germany); Bradtke, C.; Goertz, S.; Harmsen, J. [Institut fuer Experimentalphysik, Ruhr-Universitaet Bochum, D-44801 Bochum (Germany); Braghieri, A. [INFN, Sezione di Pavia, I-27100 Pavia (Italy); d' Hose, N. [CEA Saclay, DSM/DAPNIA/SPhN, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex (France); Dutz, H. [Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Bonn, D-53115 Bonn (Germany); Grabmayr, P. [Physikalisches Institut, Universitaet Tuebingen, D-72076 Tuebingen (Germany); Hansen, K. [Department of Physics, University of Lund, Lund (Sweden); Hasegawa, S. [Department of Physics, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya (Japan); Hasegawa, T. [Faculty of Engineering, Miyazaki University, Miyazaki (Japan); Helbing, K.; Holvoet, H.; Van Hoorebeke, L.; Horikawa, N.; Iwata, T.; Jahn, O.; Jennewein, P.; Kageya, T.; Kiel, B.; Klein, F.; Kondratiev, R.; Kossert, K.; Krimmer, J.; Lang, M.; Lannoy, B.; Leukel, R.; Lisin, V.; Matsuda, T.; McGeorge, J.C.; Meier, A.; Menze, D.; Meyer, W.; Michel, T.; Naumann, J.; Panzeri, A.; Pedroni, P.; Pinelli, T.; Preobrajenski, I.; Radtke, E.; Reichert, E.; Reicherz, G.; Rohlof, Ch.; Rosner, G.; Ryckbosch, D.; Sauer, M.; Schoch, B.; Schumacher, M.; Seitz, B.; Speckner, T.; Takabayashi, N.; Tamas, G.; Thomas, A.; Van de Vyver, R.; Wakai, A.; Weihofen, W.; Wissmann, F.; Zapadtka, F.; Zeitler, G.

    2003-06-01

    The helicity dependence of the (vector)({gamma})(vector)(p){yields}p{eta} reaction has been measured for the first time at a center-of-mass angle {theta}{sup *}{sub {eta}}=70 in the photon energy range from 780 MeV to 790 MeV. The experiment, performed at the Mainz microtron MAMI, used a 4{pi}-detector system, a circularly polarized, tagged photon beam, and a longitudinally polarized frozen-spin target. The helicity 3/2 cross-section is found to be small and the results for helicity 1/2 agree with predictions from the MAID analysis. (orig.)

  12. ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF HABITAT PATCHES ON WILDLIFE ROAD-KILL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Seok

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available The ecosystem fragmentation due to transportation infrastructure causes a road-kill phenomenon. When making policies for mitigating road-kill it is important to select target-species in order to enhance its efficiency. However, many wildlife crossing structures have been questioned regarding their effectiveness due to lack of considerations such as target-species selection, site selection, management, etc. The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of habitat patches on wildlife road-kill and to suggest that spatial location of habitat patches should be considered as one of the important factors when making policies for mitigating road-kill. Habitat patches were presumed from habitat variables and a suitability index on target-species that was chosen by literature review. The road-kill hotspot was calculated using Getis-Ord Gi*. After that, we performed a correlation analysis between Gi Z-score and the distance from habitat patches to the roads. As a result, there is a low negative correlation between two variables and it increases the Gi Z-score if the habitat patches and the roads become closer.

  13. Analyze the Impact of Habitat Patches on Wildlife Road-Kill

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seok, S.; Lee, J.

    2015-10-01

    The ecosystem fragmentation due to transportation infrastructure causes a road-kill phenomenon. When making policies for mitigating road-kill it is important to select target-species in order to enhance its efficiency. However, many wildlife crossing structures have been questioned regarding their effectiveness due to lack of considerations such as target-species selection, site selection, management, etc. The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of habitat patches on wildlife road-kill and to suggest that spatial location of habitat patches should be considered as one of the important factors when making policies for mitigating road-kill. Habitat patches were presumed from habitat variables and a suitability index on target-species that was chosen by literature review. The road-kill hotspot was calculated using Getis-Ord Gi*. After that, we performed a correlation analysis between Gi Z-score and the distance from habitat patches to the roads. As a result, there is a low negative correlation between two variables and it increases the Gi Z-score if the habitat patches and the roads become closer.

  14. "Drone Killings in Principle and in Practice"

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dige, Morten

    2017-01-01

    to argue that what we see in the real world cases of drone killings is not merely an accidental or contingent use of drone technology. The real life use reflects to a large extent features that are inherent of the dominant drone systems that has been developed to date. What is being imagined "in principle......" is thus to a large extent drone killings in dreamland. I use an historic example as a point of reference and departure: the debate over the lawfulness of nuclear weapons....

  15. Comparison of two mathematical models for describing heat-induced cell killing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roti Roti, J.L.; Henle, K.J.

    1980-01-01

    A computer-based minimization algorithm is utilized to obtain the optimum fits of two models to hyperthermic cell killing data. The models chosen are the multitarget, single-hit equation, which is in general use, and the linear-quadratic equation, which has been applied to cell killing by ionizing irradiation but not to heat-induced cell killing. The linear-quadratic equation fits hyperthermic cell killing data as well as the multitarget, single-hit equation. Both parameters of the linear-quadratic equation obey the Arrhenius law, whereas only one of the two parameters of the multitarget, single-hit equation obeys the Arrhenius law. Thus the linear-quadratic function can completely define cell killing as a function of both time and temperature. In addition, the linear-quadratic model will provide a simplified approach to the study of the synergism between heat and X irradiation

  16. Emerging Vector-Borne Diseases - Incidence through Vectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savić, Sara; Vidić, Branka; Grgić, Zivoslav; Potkonjak, Aleksandar; Spasojevic, Ljubica

    2014-01-01

    Vector-borne diseases use to be a major public health concern only in tropical and subtropical areas, but today they are an emerging threat for the continental and developed countries also. Nowadays, in intercontinental countries, there is a struggle with emerging diseases, which have found their way to appear through vectors. Vector-borne zoonotic diseases occur when vectors, animal hosts, climate conditions, pathogens, and susceptible human population exist at the same time, at the same place. Global climate change is predicted to lead to an increase in vector-borne infectious diseases and disease outbreaks. It could affect the range and population of pathogens, host and vectors, transmission season, etc. Reliable surveillance for diseases that are most likely to emerge is required. Canine vector-borne diseases represent a complex group of diseases including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis, borreliosis, dirofilariosis, ehrlichiosis, and leishmaniosis. Some of these diseases cause serious clinical symptoms in dogs and some of them have a zoonotic potential with an effect to public health. It is expected from veterinarians in coordination with medical doctors to play a fundamental role at primarily prevention and then treatment of vector-borne diseases in dogs. The One Health concept has to be integrated into the struggle against emerging diseases. During a 4-year period, from 2009 to 2013, a total number of 551 dog samples were analyzed for vector-borne diseases (borreliosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, anaplasmosis, dirofilariosis, and leishmaniasis) in routine laboratory work. The analysis was done by serological tests - ELISA for borreliosis, dirofilariosis, and leishmaniasis, modified Knott test for dirofilariosis, and blood smear for babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, and anaplasmosis. This number of samples represented 75% of total number of samples that were sent for analysis for different diseases in dogs. Annually, on average more then half of the samples

  17. Comparing Road-Kill Datasets from Hunters and Citizen Scientists in a Landscape Context

    OpenAIRE

    Florian Heigl; Carina R. Stretz; Wolfgang Steiner; Franz Suppan; Thomas Bauer; Gregor Laaha; Johann G. Zaller

    2016-01-01

    Road traffic has severe effects on animals, especially when road-kills are involved. In many countries, official road-kill data are provided by hunters or police; there are also road-kill observations reported by citizen scientists. The aim of the current study was to test whether road-kill reports by hunters stem from similar landscapes than those reported by citizen scientists. We analysed the surrounding landscapes of 712 road-kill reportings of European hares in the province of Lower Aust...

  18. γ-rays kill grasshopper primary spermatocytes in groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Taweel, A.A.; Shawkit, M.A.; Fox, D.P.

    1985-01-01

    Primary spermatocyte killing by γ-rays was studied in the grasshopper Heteracris littoralis in which spermatogenic development occurs in cysts containing a maximum of 64 cells during the first meiotic division. Cell killing at this stage is not random and mainly involves the death of whole cysts. The dose-response curve for cell killing has complex kinetics with at least two components but lacks any shoulder at low doses, thus indicating no repair of the lethal damage. Cell loss is apparent from surviving cysts as early as 45 min post irradiation but loss of > 24 cells is incompatible with cyst survival. Loss of fewer than 24 cells also is not random since certain values for cell loss are frequently observed while other, interspersed values are not seen at all. (Auth.)

  19. Preliminary study of killing the larva of plodia interpunella by irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Jide; Ma Xiaoping

    1994-01-01

    The results of killing the larva of plodia interpunella in the fruit by 60 Co γ-irradiation are described. The lowest effective dose for killing larva by irradiation is ca. 2000 Gy; the effective dose for immediately killing larva is 3000 Gy. The method is simple and easy and also suitable for the study of commercial irradiation of dry-fruit

  20. Improved results for the 2H(d, n)3He transverse vector polarization-transfer coefficient Kyy'(0o) at low energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roper, C.D.; Dunham, J.D.; Clegg, T.B.; Mendez, A.J.; Tornow, W.; Walter, R.L.

    2010-01-01

    Measurements of the 2 H(d, n) 3 He transverse vector polarization-transfer coefficient K y y' at 0 o . are reported for 29 outgoing neutron energies between 3.94 and 8.47 MeV. Our new results determine K y y' (0 o ) more accurately than previous data, especially for neutron energies below 5 MeV. Low-energy data for this reaction are important both as a high-intensity source of highly polarized neutrons for nuclear physics studies with polarized neutron beams, and as a test of the emerging theoretical descriptions of the four-body system, where recently substantial progress has been made. (author)

  1. Killing Horizons as Equipotential Hypersurfaces

    OpenAIRE

    Smolić, Ivica

    2012-01-01

    In this note we present a new proof that Killing horizons are equipotential hypersurfaces for the electric and the magnetic scalar potential, that makes no use of gravitational field equations or the assumption about the existence of bifurcation surface.

  2. Opinions of university students on honour killings: Perspective from Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaikh, Masood Ali; Kamal, Anila; Naqvi, Irum

    2015-04-01

    Honour killing incidents have been reported from every province of Pakistan. In 2014 a pregnant woman was killed in front of Lahore High Court, by her family members, in the name of honour. This study was conducted to determine the perspective of university students on honour killing with specific reference to one such killing incident in Lahore. Cumulatively, 989 students participated in the survey. Compared with female students, male students were less likely to agree and were more unequivocal that a woman has a right to marry any man she wants despite her family's disapproval, in a statistically significant manner. Similarly, male students were statistically significantly more likely to report that killing in the name of honour is always justified and were less equivocal about it compared to female students. Nonetheless, cumulatively 824 (83.3%) students believed that killing in the name of honour is not always justified.

  3. Vector analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Newell, Homer E

    2006-01-01

    When employed with skill and understanding, vector analysis can be a practical and powerful tool. This text develops the algebra and calculus of vectors in a manner useful to physicists and engineers. Numerous exercises (with answers) not only provide practice in manipulation but also help establish students' physical and geometric intuition in regard to vectors and vector concepts.Part I, the basic portion of the text, consists of a thorough treatment of vector algebra and the vector calculus. Part II presents the illustrative matter, demonstrating applications to kinematics, mechanics, and e

  4. The nucleon as a test case to calculate vector-isovector form factors at low energies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leupold, Stefan

    2018-01-01

    Extending a recent suggestion for hyperon form factors to the nucleon case, dispersion theory is used to relate the low-energy vector-isovector form factors of the nucleon to the pion vector form factor. The additionally required input, i.e. the pion-nucleon scattering amplitudes are determined from relativistic next-to-leading-order (NLO) baryon chiral perturbation theory including the nucleons and optionally the Delta baryons. Two methods to include pion rescattering are compared: a) solving the Muskhelishvili-Omnès (MO) equation and b) using an N/D approach. It turns out that the results differ strongly from each other. Furthermore the results are compared to a fully dispersive calculation of the (subthreshold) pion-nucleon amplitudes based on Roy-Steiner (RS) equations. In full agreement with the findings from the hyperon sector it turns out that the inclusion of Delta baryons is not an option but a necessity to obtain reasonable results. The magnetic isovector form factor depends strongly on a low-energy constant of the NLO Lagrangian. If it is adjusted such that the corresponding magnetic radius is reproduced, then the results for the corresponding pion-nucleon scattering amplitude (based on the MO equation) agree very well with the RS results. Also in the electric sector the Delta degrees of freedom are needed to obtain the correct order of magnitude for the isovector charge and the corresponding electric radius. Yet quantitative agreement is not achieved. If the subtraction constant that appears in the solution of the MO equation is not taken from nucleon+Delta chiral perturbation theory but adjusted such that the electric radius is reproduced, then one obtains also in this sector a pion-nucleon scattering amplitude that agrees well with the RS results.

  5. The nucleon as a test case to calculate vector-isovector form factors at low energies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leupold, Stefan [Uppsala Universitet, Institutionen foer Fysik och Astronomi, Uppsala (Sweden)

    2018-01-15

    Extending a recent suggestion for hyperon form factors to the nucleon case, dispersion theory is used to relate the low-energy vector-isovector form factors of the nucleon to the pion vector form factor. The additionally required input, i.e. the pion-nucleon scattering amplitudes are determined from relativistic next-to-leading-order (NLO) baryon chiral perturbation theory including the nucleons and optionally the Delta baryons. Two methods to include pion rescattering are compared: a) solving the Muskhelishvili-Omnes (MO) equation and b) using an N/D approach. It turns out that the results differ strongly from each other. Furthermore the results are compared to a fully dispersive calculation of the (subthreshold) pion-nucleon amplitudes based on Roy-Steiner (RS) equations. In full agreement with the findings from the hyperon sector it turns out that the inclusion of Delta baryons is not an option but a necessity to obtain reasonable results. The magnetic isovector form factor depends strongly on a low-energy constant of the NLO Lagrangian. If it is adjusted such that the corresponding magnetic radius is reproduced, then the results for the corresponding pion-nucleon scattering amplitude (based on the MO equation) agree very well with the RS results. Also in the electric sector the Delta degrees of freedom are needed to obtain the correct order of magnitude for the isovector charge and the corresponding electric radius. Yet quantitative agreement is not achieved. If the subtraction constant that appears in the solution of the MO equation is not taken from nucleon+Delta chiral perturbation theory but adjusted such that the electric radius is reproduced, then one obtains also in this sector a pion-nucleon scattering amplitude that agrees well with the RS results. (orig.)

  6. Single vector leptoquark production in e+e- and γe colliders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aliev, T.M.; Iltan, E.; Pak, N.K.

    1996-01-01

    We consider the single vector leptoquark (LQ) production at e + e - and γe colliders for two values of the center-of-mass energy √s=500GeV and √s=1000 GeV, in a model-independent framework. We find that the cross sections for the single gauge and nongauge vector LQ productions are almost equal. The discovery limit for a single vector LQ production is obtained for both cases. It is shown that in e + e - collisions the single vector LQ production is more favorable than the vector LQ pair production, if the Yukawa coupling constant is κ∼1. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

  7. Evaluating the Vector Control Potential of the In2Care® Mosquito Trap Against Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus Under Semifield Conditions in Manatee County, Florida.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buckner, Eva A; Williams, Katie F; Marsicano, Ambyr L; Latham, Mark D; Lesser, Christopher R

    2017-09-01

    Successful integrated vector management programs may need new strategies in addition to conventional larviciding and adulticiding strategies to target Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus, which can develop in small, often cryptic, artificial and natural containers. The In2Care® mosquito trap was recently developed to target and kill larval and adult stages of these invasive container-inhabiting Aedes mosquitoes by utilizing autodissemination. Gravid females that visit the trap pick up pyriproxyfen (PPF) that they later transfer to nearby larval habitats as well as Beauveria bassiana spores that slowly kill them. We assessed the efficacy of the In2Care mosquito trap in a semifield setting against locally sourced strains of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. We found that the In2Care mosquito trap is attractive to gravid Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus females and serves as an egg sink, preventing any adult emergence from the trap (P = 0.0053 for both species). Adult females successfully autodisseminated PPF to surrounding water-filled containers, leading to a statistically significant reduction in new mosquito emergence (P ≤ 0.0002 for both species). Additionally, we found effective contamination with Beauveria bassiana spores, which significantly reduced the survivorship of exposed Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus (P ≤ 0.008 for both species in all experimental setups). In summary, the In2Care mosquito trap successfully killed multiple life stages of 2 main mosquito vector species found in Florida under semifield conditions.

  8. A design of a computer complex including vector processors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asai, Kiyoshi

    1982-12-01

    We, members of the Computing Center, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute have been engaged for these six years in the research of adaptability of vector processing to large-scale nuclear codes. The research has been done in collaboration with researchers and engineers of JAERI and a computer manufacturer. In this research, forty large-scale nuclear codes were investigated from the viewpoint of vectorization. Among them, twenty-six codes were actually vectorized and executed. As the results of the investigation, it is now estimated that about seventy percents of nuclear codes and seventy percents of our total amount of CPU time of JAERI are highly vectorizable. Based on the data obtained by the investigation, (1)currently vectorizable CPU time, (2)necessary number of vector processors, (3)necessary manpower for vectorization of nuclear codes, (4)computing speed, memory size, number of parallel 1/0 paths, size and speed of 1/0 buffer of vector processor suitable for our applications, (5)necessary software and operational policy for use of vector processors are discussed, and finally (6)a computer complex including vector processors is presented in this report. (author)

  9. Peptidoglycan recognition proteins kill bacteria by inducing oxidative, thiol, and metal stress.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Des Raj Kashyap

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Mammalian Peptidoglycan Recognition Proteins (PGRPs are a family of evolutionary conserved bactericidal innate immunity proteins, but the mechanism through which they kill bacteria is unclear. We previously proposed that PGRPs are bactericidal due to induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS, a mechanism of killing that was also postulated, and later refuted, for several bactericidal antibiotics. Here, using whole genome expression arrays, qRT-PCR, and biochemical tests we show that in both Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis PGRPs induce a transcriptomic signature characteristic of oxidative stress, as well as correlated biochemical changes. However, induction of ROS was required, but not sufficient for PGRP killing. PGRPs also induced depletion of intracellular thiols and increased cytosolic concentrations of zinc and copper, as evidenced by transcriptome changes and supported by direct measurements. Depletion of thiols and elevated concentrations of metals were also required, but by themselves not sufficient, for bacterial killing. Chemical treatment studies demonstrated that efficient bacterial killing can be recapitulated only by the simultaneous addition of agents leading to production of ROS, depletion of thiols, and elevation of intracellular metal concentrations. These results identify a novel mechanism of bacterial killing by innate immunity proteins, which depends on synergistic effect of oxidative, thiol, and metal stress and differs from bacterial killing by antibiotics. These results offer potential targets for developing new antibacterial agents that would kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

  10. political killings in South Africa

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    mainly occurred in KwaZulu-Natal, with a much smaller number occurring in Mpumalanga and ... Though the problem is concentrated in specific provinces it is likely to impact on political life ... killings that are the focus of the article, including.

  11. Killing horizons as equipotential hypersurfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smolić, Ivica

    2012-01-01

    In this note we present a new proof that Killing horizons are equipotential hypersurfaces for the electric and the magnetic scalar potential, which makes no use of gravitational field equations or the assumption about the existence of a bifurcation surface. (note)

  12. Vector-Tensor and Vector-Vector Decay Amplitude Analysis of B0→φK*0

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aubert, B.; Bona, M.; Boutigny, D.; Couderc, F.; Karyotakis, Y.; Lees, J. P.; Poireau, V.; Tisserand, V.; Zghiche, A.; Grauges, E.; Palano, A.; Chen, J. C.; Qi, N. D.; Rong, G.; Wang, P.; Zhu, Y. S.; Eigen, G.; Ofte, I.; Stugu, B.; Abrams, G. S.

    2007-01-01

    We perform an amplitude analysis of the decays B 0 →φK 2 * (1430) 0 , φK * (892) 0 , and φ(Kπ) S-wave 0 with a sample of about 384x10 6 BB pairs recorded with the BABAR detector. The fractions of longitudinal polarization f L of the vector-tensor and vector-vector decay modes are measured to be 0.853 -0.069 +0.061 ±0.036 and 0.506±0.040±0.015, respectively. Overall, twelve parameters are measured for the vector-vector decay and seven parameters for the vector-tensor decay, including the branching fractions and parameters sensitive to CP violation

  13. Kill rate of mastitis pathogens by a combination of cefalexin and kanamycin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maneke, E; Pridmore, A; Goby, L; Lang, I

    2011-01-01

    To assess the bacterial killing rate produced by a combination of cefalexin and kanamycin at two different concentration ratios. Time-kill kinetics of cefalexin and kanamycin, individually and in combination, were determined against one strain each of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus dysgalactiae and Streptococcus uberis. The combination was tested using two fixed ratios (cefalexin : kanamycin ratios of 1·25 : 1 and 1 : 2·3) and two concentrations of each ratio. Time-kill curves produced with either ratio were quite similar. Against most bacterial species, higher concentrations produced faster kill. In all cases, the combination of cefalexin and kanamycin showed faster and greater kill at lower antibiotic concentrations than those observed with either drug alone. The combination of cefalexin and kanamycin results in a fast initial killing of major mastitis pathogens at both concentration ratios. The combination of cefalexin and kanamycin achieved rapid bacterial kill at concentrations and ratios that can be achieved in vivo following intramammary infusion of a mastitis treatment. © 2010 Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH. Journal of Applied Microbiology © 2010 The Society for Applied Microbiology.

  14. Spread of Zika virus:The key role of mosquito vector control

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Giovanni Benelli

    2016-01-01

    Mosquitoes(Diptera: Culicidae) represent a key threat for millions of humans and animals worldwide, since they act as vectors for important parasites and pathogens,including malaria, filariasis and a wide number of arboviruses. The recent outbreaks of Zika virus infections occurring in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean,represent the most recent four arrivals of important arboviruses in the western hemisphere, over the last 20 years, namely dengue, West Nile virus, and chikungunya. Since there are no specific treatments for Zika virus and the other arboviruses mentioned above,it should be highlighted that the eco-friendly and effective control of mosquito vectors is of pivotal importance. Besides radiation, transgenic and symbiont-based mosquito control approaches, an effective option may be the employ of biological control agents of mosquito young instars, in presence of ultra-low quantities of green-synthesized nanoparticles, which magnify their predation efficiency. Furthermore, behaviour-based control tools relying on the employ of swarming behaviour manipulation(i.e. the "lure and kill"approach), pheromone traps, sound traps need further research attention. In particular,detailed basic information on the physical and chemical cues routing mosquito swarming and mating dynamics is urgently required.

  15. Factors Affecting Zebra Mussel Kill by the Bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Daniel P. Molloy

    2004-02-24

    The specific purpose of this research project was to identify factors that affect zebra mussel kill by the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens. Test results obtained during this three-year project identified the following key variables as affecting mussel kill: treatment concentration, treatment duration, mussel siphoning activity, dissolved oxygen concentration, water temperature, and naturally suspended particle load. Using this latter information, the project culminated in a series of pipe tests which achieved high mussel kill inside power plants under once-through conditions using service water in artificial pipes.

  16. Vectorization, parallelization and porting of nuclear codes (porting). Progress report fiscal 1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nemoto, Toshiyuki; Kawai, Wataru; Ishizuki, Shigeru; Kawasaki, Nobuo; Kume, Etsuo; Adachi, Masaaki; Ogasawara, Shinobu

    2000-03-01

    Several computer codes in the nuclear field have been vectorized, parallelized and transported on the FUJITSU VPP500 system, the AP3000 system and the Paragon system at Center for Promotion of Computational Science and Engineering in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. We dealt with 12 codes in fiscal 1998. These results are reported in 3 parts, i.e., the vectorization and parallelization on vector processors part, the parallelization on scalar processors part and the porting part. In this report, we describe the porting. In this porting part, the porting of Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport code MCNP4B2 and Reactor Safety Analysis code RELAP5 on the AP3000 are described. In the vectorization and parallelization on vector processors part, the vectorization of General Tokamak Circuit Simulation Program code GTCSP, the vectorization and parallelization of Molecular Dynamics Ntv Simulation code MSP2, Eddy Current Analysis code EDDYCAL, Thermal Analysis Code for Test of Passive Cooling System by HENDEL T2 code THANPACST2 and MHD Equilibrium code SELENEJ on the VPP500 are described. In the parallelization on scalar processors part, the parallelization of Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport code MCNP4B2, Plasma Hydrodynamics code using Cubic Interpolated propagation Method PHCIP and Vectorized Monte Carlo code (continuous energy model/multi-group model) MVP/GMVP on the Paragon are described. (author)

  17. Vectorization, parallelization and porting of nuclear codes on the VPP500 system (vectorization). Progress report fiscal 1997

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawasaki, Nobuo; Ogasawara, Shinobu; Adachi, Masaaki; Kume, Etsuo; Ishizuki, Shigeru; Tanabe, Hidenobu; Nemoto, Toshiyuki; Kawai, Wataru; Watanabe, Hideo

    1999-05-01

    Several computer codes in the nuclear field have been vectorized, parallelized and transported on the FUJITSU VPP500 system and/or the AP3000 system at Center for Promotion of Computational Science and Engineering in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. We dealt with 14 codes in fiscal 1997. These results are reported in 3 parts, i.e., the vectorization part, the parallelization part and the porting part. In this report, we describe the vectorization. In this vectorization part, the vectorization of multidimensional two-fluid model code ACE-3D for evaluation of constitutive equations, statistical decay code SD and three-dimensional thermal analysis code for in-core test section (T2) of HENDEL SSPHEAT are described. In the parallelization part, the parallelization of cylindrical direct numerical simulation code CYLDNS44N, worldwide version of system for prediction of environmental emergency dose information code WSPEEDI, extension of quantum molecular dynamics code EQMD and three-dimensional non-steady compressible fluid dynamics code STREAM are described. In the porting part, the porting of transient reactor analysis code TRAC-BF1 and Monte Carlo radiation transport code MCNP4A on the AP3000 are described. In addition, a modification of program libraries for command-driven interactive data analysis plotting program IPLOT is described. (author)

  18. Technoeconomic and policy drivers of project performance for bioenergy alternatives using biomass from beetle-killed trees

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robert M. Campbell; Nathaniel M. Anderson; Daren E. Daugaard; Helen T. Naughton

    2018-01-01

    As a result of widespread mortality from beetle infestation in the forests of the western United States, there are substantial stocks of biomass suitable as a feedstock for energy production. This study explored the financial viability of four production pathway scenarios for the conversion of beetle-killed pine to bioenergy and bioproducts in the Rocky Mountains....

  19. About vectors

    CERN Document Server

    Hoffmann, Banesh

    1975-01-01

    From his unusual beginning in ""Defining a vector"" to his final comments on ""What then is a vector?"" author Banesh Hoffmann has written a book that is provocative and unconventional. In his emphasis on the unresolved issue of defining a vector, Hoffmann mixes pure and applied mathematics without using calculus. The result is a treatment that can serve as a supplement and corrective to textbooks, as well as collateral reading in all courses that deal with vectors. Major topics include vectors and the parallelogram law; algebraic notation and basic ideas; vector algebra; scalars and scalar p

  20. Mitochondrial targeting of human O6-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase protects against cell killing by chemotherapeutic alkylating agents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Shanbao; Xu, Yi; Cooper, Ryan J; Ferkowicz, Michael J; Hartwell, Jennifer R; Pollok, Karen E; Kelley, Mark R

    2005-04-15

    DNA repair capacity of eukaryotic cells has been studied extensively in recent years. Mammalian cells have been engineered to overexpress recombinant nuclear DNA repair proteins from ectopic genes to assess the impact of increased DNA repair capacity on genome stability. This approach has been used in this study to specifically target O(6)-methylguanine DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) to the mitochondria and examine its impact on cell survival after exposure to DNA alkylating agents. Survival of human hematopoietic cell lines and primary hematopoietic CD34(+) committed progenitor cells was monitored because the baseline repair capacity for alkylation-induced DNA damage is typically low due to insufficient expression of MGMT. Increased DNA repair capacity was observed when K562 cells were transfected with nuclear-targeted MGMT (nucl-MGMT) or mitochondrial-targeted MGMT (mito-MGMT). Furthermore, overexpression of mito-MGMT provided greater resistance to cell killing by 1,3-bis (2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU) than overexpression of nucl-MGMT. Simultaneous overexpression of mito-MGMT and nucl-MGMT did not enhance the resistance provided by mito-MGMT alone. Overexpression of either mito-MGMT or nucl-MGMT also conferred a similar level of resistance to methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) and temozolomide (TMZ) but simultaneous overexpression in both cellular compartments was neither additive nor synergistic. When human CD34(+) cells were infected with oncoretroviral vectors that targeted O(6)-benzylguanine (6BG)-resistant MGMT (MGMT(P140K)) to the nucleus or the mitochondria, committed progenitors derived from infected cells were resistant to 6BG/BCNU or 6BG/TMZ. These studies indicate that mitochondrial or nuclear targeting of MGMT protects hematopoietic cells against cell killing by BCNU, TMZ, and MMS, which is consistent with the possibility that mitochondrial DNA damage and nuclear DNA damage contribute equally to alkylating agent-induced cell killing during chemotherapy.

  1. Radiative corrections in a vector-tensor model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chishtie, F.; Gagne-Portelance, M.; Hanif, T.; Homayouni, S.; McKeon, D.G.C.

    2006-01-01

    In a recently proposed model in which a vector non-Abelian gauge field interacts with an antisymmetric tensor field, it has been shown that the tensor field possesses no physical degrees of freedom. This formal demonstration is tested by computing the one-loop contributions of the tensor field to the self-energy of the vector field. It is shown that despite the large number of Feynman diagrams in which the tensor field contributes, the sum of these diagrams vanishes, confirming that it is not physical. Furthermore, if the tensor field were to couple with a spinor field, it is shown at one-loop order that the spinor self-energy is not renormalizable, and hence this coupling must be excluded. In principle though, this tensor field does couple to the gravitational field

  2. NH125 kills methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus persisters by lipid bilayer disruption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Wooseong; Fricke, Nico; Conery, Annie L; Fuchs, Beth Burgwyn; Rajamuthiah, Rajmohan; Jayamani, Elamparithi; Vlahovska, Petia M; Ausubel, Frederick M; Mylonakis, Eleftherios

    2016-01-01

    NH125, a known WalK inhibitor kills MRSA persisters. However, its precise mode of action is still unknown. The mode of action of NH125 was investigated by comparing its spectrum of antimicrobial activity and its effects on membrane permeability and giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) with walrycin B, a WalR inhibitor and benzyldimethylhexadecylammonium chloride (16-BAC), a cationic surfactant. NH125 killed persister cells of a variety of Staphylococcus aureus strains. Similar to 16-BAC, NH125 killed MRSA persisters by inducing rapid membrane permeabilization and caused the rupture of GUVs, whereas walrycin B did not kill MRSA persisters or induce membrane permeabilization and did not affect GUVs. NH125 kills MRSA persisters by interacting with and disrupting membranes in a detergent-like manner.

  3. Role of copper oxides in contact killing of bacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hans, Michael; Erbe, Andreas; Mathews, Salima; Chen, Ying; Solioz, Marc; Mücklich, Frank

    2013-12-31

    The potential of metallic copper as an intrinsically antibacterial material is gaining increasing attention in the face of growing antibiotics resistance of bacteria. However, the mechanism of the so-called "contact killing" of bacteria by copper surfaces is poorly understood and requires further investigation. In particular, the influences of bacteria-metal interaction, media composition, and copper surface chemistry on contact killing are not fully understood. In this study, copper oxide formation on copper during standard antimicrobial testing was measured in situ by spectroscopic ellipsometry. In parallel, contact killing under these conditions was assessed with bacteria in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) or Tris-Cl. For comparison, defined Cu2O and CuO layers were thermally generated and characterized by grazing incidence X-ray diffraction. The antibacterial properties of these copper oxides were tested under the conditions used above. Finally, copper ion release was recorded for both buffer systems by inductively coupled plasma atomic absorption spectroscopy, and exposed copper samples were analyzed for topographical surface alterations. It was found that there was a fairly even growth of CuO under wet plating conditions, reaching 4-10 nm in 300 min, but no measurable Cu2O was formed during this time. CuO was found to significantly inhibit contact killing, compared to pure copper. In contrast, thermally generated Cu2O was essentially as effective in contact killing as pure copper. Copper ion release from the different surfaces roughly correlated with their antibacterial efficacy and was highest for pure copper, followed by Cu2O and CuO. Tris-Cl induced a 10-50-fold faster copper ion release compared to PBS. Since the Cu2O that primarily forms on copper under ambient conditions is as active in contact killing as pure copper, antimicrobial objects will retain their antimicrobial properties even after oxide formation.

  4. WOMEN'S RIGHTS VIOLATION: HONOUR KILLINGS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    CRISTINA OTOVESCU FRASIE

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available In this study I have presented the domestic violence concept and the situation regarding the observing of woman’s rights in Syria. We have also evidenced the juridical aspects regarding the honor killing directed against women after the modification of the article 548 from the Penal Code changed by the President al-Asad on July the 1st 2009. The data offered by NGOs have been of great help for the elaboration of the study as also the statistic data presented in Thara E-Magazine regarding the cities where had been done the honor killings and their number, the instrument of the murder, the age of the victim, and the motives for the murders. It must be noticed that, lately, the Government fought for the observing of the woman’s rights and promoted he gender equality by appointing women in leading positions, including the vice-president one.

  5. Vectors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boeriis, Morten; van Leeuwen, Theo

    2017-01-01

    should be taken into account in discussing ‘reactions’, which Kress and van Leeuwen link only to eyeline vectors. Finally, the question can be raised as to whether actions are always realized by vectors. Drawing on a re-reading of Rudolf Arnheim’s account of vectors, these issues are outlined......This article revisits the concept of vectors, which, in Kress and van Leeuwen’s Reading Images (2006), plays a crucial role in distinguishing between ‘narrative’, action-oriented processes and ‘conceptual’, state-oriented processes. The use of this concept in image analysis has usually focused...

  6. Default risk modeling with position-dependent killing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katz, Yuri A.

    2013-04-01

    Diffusion in a linear potential in the presence of position-dependent killing is used to mimic a default process. Different assumptions regarding transport coefficients, initial conditions, and elasticity of the killing measure lead to diverse models of bankruptcy. One “stylized fact” is fundamental for our consideration: empirically default is a rather rare event, especially in the investment grade categories of credit ratings. Hence, the action of killing may be considered as a small parameter. In a number of special cases we derive closed-form expressions for the entire term structure of the cumulative probability of default, its hazard rate, and intensity. Comparison with historical data on aggregate global corporate defaults confirms the validity of the perturbation method for estimations of long-term probability of default for companies with high credit quality. On a single company level, we implement the derived formulas to estimate the one-year likelihood of default of Enron on a daily basis from August 2000 to August 2001, three months before its default, and compare the obtained results with forecasts of traditional structural models.

  7. Polarization observables D/sub NN/, P and A for vector pp → vector pπ+n at 800 MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bonner, B.E.; McNaughton, M.W.; van Dyck, O.B.

    1983-01-01

    In conjunction with a vector polarization transfer measurement in the vector pp → vector dπ + reaction, we also obtained data on polarization observables for vector pp → vector pπ + n at 800 MeV incident proton energy. Scattered protons were detected in a spectrometer at angles from 5 0 to 11 0 . Pions were detected in coincidence at angles 80 0 to 130 0 . The proton momentum range covered was from 800 to 1300 MeV/c. The prominent peak observed near 1150 MeV/c in the proton spectrum is a reflection of Δ ++ production at center of mass angles from 0 0 to 30 0 . Regions of the spectrum corresponding to Δ ++ production at backward THETA/sub cm/ angles and to the 1 S 0 np final state interaction fall below the momentum acceptance limit for the spectrometer setting used in the present measurements. The events were binned into five proton momentum bins for the determination of the polarization observables D/sub NN/, P, and A

  8. Comparisons of boll weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) pheromone traps with and without kill strips.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suh, C P C; Armstrong, J S; Spurgeon, D W; Duke, S

    2009-02-01

    Boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), eradication programs typically equip pheromone traps with an insecticide-impregnated kill strip. These strips are intended to kill captured insects, thereby simplifying trap servicing and reducing the loss of weevils from predation and escape. However, the effectiveness of kill strips has not been extensively evaluated. We examined the influences of kill strips on weevil captures, trap servicing, and the incidences of weevil predation and trap obstruction (e.g., by spider webs). Evaluations were conducted weekly during three different production periods (pre- to early-, late-, and postseason) of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., to represent different environmental conditions and weevil population levels. Within each period, mean weekly captures of weevils in traps with and without kill strips were statistically similar. On average, traps with kill strips took 9 s longer to service than traps without kill strips, but statistical differences were only detected during the late-season period. Overall, the mean weekly proportion of traps with evidence of weevil predation or trap obstruction was significantly lower for traps with kill strips (0.25) than for traps without kill strips (0.37). However, this reduction in the frequency of weevil predation or trap obstruction was too small to produce a corresponding increase in the numbers of weevils captured. In light of these findings, the use of kill strips is likely unnecessary in eradication programs, but may be a consideration in situations when the numbers of deployed traps are reduced and chronic problems with weevil predation or trap obstruction exist.

  9. The number of killings in southern rural Norway, 1300–1569

    OpenAIRE

    Kadane, Joseph B.; Næshagen, Ferdinand L.

    2013-01-01

    Three dual systems estimates are employed to study the number of killings in southern rural Norway in a period of slightly over 250 years. The first system is a set of five letters sent to each killer as part of the legal process. The second system is the mention of killings from all other contemporary sources. The posterior distributions derived suggest fewer such killings than rough demographic estimates.

  10. Vector mesons in dense matter and dilepton production in heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santini, Elvira

    2008-02-15

    The vector meson spectral functions are calculated to the first order in the nuclear matter density assuming the dominant contribution comes from the couplings of the vector mesons to nucleons and nucleon resonances. An attempt is made to reproduce the HADES dilepton production data with the in-medium spectral functions of the vector mesons using the Relativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics (RQMD) transport model developed earlier for modelling heavy-ion collisions. The results are sensitive to the in-medium broadening of nucleon resonances. A generally good agreement with the HADES data is achieved for selfconsistent treatment of the nucleon resonance broadening and the vector meson spectral functions. (orig.)

  11. Vector mesons in dense matter and dilepton production in heavy ion collisions at intermediate energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santini, Elvira

    2008-01-01

    The vector meson spectral functions are calculated to the first order in the nuclear matter density assuming the dominant contribution comes from the couplings of the vector mesons to nucleons and nucleon resonances. An attempt is made to reproduce the HADES dilepton production data with the in-medium spectral functions of the vector mesons using the Relativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics (RQMD) transport model developed earlier for modelling heavy-ion collisions. The results are sensitive to the in-medium broadening of nucleon resonances. A generally good agreement with the HADES data is achieved for selfconsistent treatment of the nucleon resonance broadening and the vector meson spectral functions. (orig.)

  12. Vector regression introduced

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mok Tik

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This study formulates regression of vector data that will enable statistical analysis of various geodetic phenomena such as, polar motion, ocean currents, typhoon/hurricane tracking, crustal deformations, and precursory earthquake signals. The observed vector variable of an event (dependent vector variable is expressed as a function of a number of hypothesized phenomena realized also as vector variables (independent vector variables and/or scalar variables that are likely to impact the dependent vector variable. The proposed representation has the unique property of solving the coefficients of independent vector variables (explanatory variables also as vectors, hence it supersedes multivariate multiple regression models, in which the unknown coefficients are scalar quantities. For the solution, complex numbers are used to rep- resent vector information, and the method of least squares is deployed to estimate the vector model parameters after transforming the complex vector regression model into a real vector regression model through isomorphism. Various operational statistics for testing the predictive significance of the estimated vector parameter coefficients are also derived. A simple numerical example demonstrates the use of the proposed vector regression analysis in modeling typhoon paths.

  13. Killing in More-than-human Spaces: Pasteurisation, Fungi, and the Metabolic Lives of Wine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brice, Jeremy

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available What place might killing occupy in a more-than-human world, where human life is always-already entangled among nonhumans? In this article I attempt to unsettle the assumption that only individual organisms can be killed, and to render other sites and spaces of killing visible. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among winemakers in South Australia I examine pasteurisation, a killing practice that acts not on organisms but on the fluids within which they live. Examining the pasteurisation of wine damaged by the fungus Botrytis cinerea, I argue that this practice shifts the locus of killing from botrytis’ body to metabolic life processes which embrace extracellular enzymes diffused throughout the wine. I suggest that pasteurisation thus displaces killing into spaces, such as wine-in-the-making, within which many metabolic lives coexist and interpenetrate. Pasteurisation therefore renders killing an intervention into the metabolic relationships that tie together numerous species of microbes living within wine. In acting on wine as a whole it kills rather indiscriminately, simultaneously terminating multiple lives that relate to humans in different ways. Pasteurisation therefore both protects and spoils wine, reconfiguring multiple human-nonhuman relationships in conflicting and sometimes economically costly ways. In so doing, it illustrates that in a more-than-human world killing becomes difficult to confine to a single unwanted organism or species. Killing instead becomes disturbingly mobile and communicable, prone to rebound upon the valued human lives of those who kill in unsettling and potentially harmful ways.

  14. How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rytwinski, Trina; Soanes, Kylie; Jaeger, Jochen A G; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C Scott; Houlahan, Jeff; van der Ree, Rodney; van der Grift, Edgar A

    2016-01-01

    Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill). For road planners, deciding on what mitigation method to use has been problematic because there is little good information about the relative effectiveness of these measures in reducing road-kill, and the costs of these measures vary greatly. We conducted a meta-analysis using data from 50 studies that quantified the relationship between road-kill and a mitigation measure designed to reduce road-kill. Overall, mitigation measures reduce road-kill by 40% compared to controls. Fences, with or without crossing structures, reduce road-kill by 54%. We found no detectable effect on road-kill of crossing structures without fencing. We found that comparatively expensive mitigation measures reduce large mammal road-kill much more than inexpensive measures. For example, the combination of fencing and crossing structures led to an 83% reduction in road-kill of large mammals, compared to a 57% reduction for animal detection systems, and only a 1% for wildlife reflectors. We suggest that inexpensive measures such as reflectors should not be used until and unless their effectiveness is tested using a high-quality experimental approach. Our meta-analysis also highlights the fact that there are insufficient data to answer many of the most pressing questions that road planners ask about the effectiveness of road mitigation measures, such as whether other less common mitigation measures (e.g., measures to reduce traffic volume and/or speed) reduce road mortality, or to what extent the attributes of crossing structures and fences influence their effectiveness. To improve evaluations of mitigation effectiveness, studies should incorporate data collection before the mitigation is applied, and we recommend a

  15. How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trina Rytwinski

    Full Text Available Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill. For road planners, deciding on what mitigation method to use has been problematic because there is little good information about the relative effectiveness of these measures in reducing road-kill, and the costs of these measures vary greatly. We conducted a meta-analysis using data from 50 studies that quantified the relationship between road-kill and a mitigation measure designed to reduce road-kill. Overall, mitigation measures reduce road-kill by 40% compared to controls. Fences, with or without crossing structures, reduce road-kill by 54%. We found no detectable effect on road-kill of crossing structures without fencing. We found that comparatively expensive mitigation measures reduce large mammal road-kill much more than inexpensive measures. For example, the combination of fencing and crossing structures led to an 83% reduction in road-kill of large mammals, compared to a 57% reduction for animal detection systems, and only a 1% for wildlife reflectors. We suggest that inexpensive measures such as reflectors should not be used until and unless their effectiveness is tested using a high-quality experimental approach. Our meta-analysis also highlights the fact that there are insufficient data to answer many of the most pressing questions that road planners ask about the effectiveness of road mitigation measures, such as whether other less common mitigation measures (e.g., measures to reduce traffic volume and/or speed reduce road mortality, or to what extent the attributes of crossing structures and fences influence their effectiveness. To improve evaluations of mitigation effectiveness, studies should incorporate data collection before the mitigation is applied, and we

  16. Welfare Risks of Repeated Application of On-Farm Killing Methods for Poultry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jessica E. Martin

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Council Regulation (EC no. 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing restricts the use of manual cervical dislocation in poultry on farms in the European Union (EU to birds weighing up to 3 kg and 70 birds per person per day. However, few studies have examined whether repeated application of manual cervical dislocation has welfare implications and whether these are dependent on individual operator skill or susceptibility to fatigue. We investigated the effects of repeated application (100 birds at a fixed killing rate of 1 bird per 2 min and multiple operators on two methods of killing of broilers, laying hens, and turkeys in commercial settings. We compared the efficacy and welfare impact of repeated application of cervical dislocation and a percussive killer (Cash Poultry Killer, CPK, using 12 male stockworkers on three farms (one farm per bird type. Both methods achieved over 96% kill success at the first attempt. The killing methods were equally effective for each bird type and there was no evidence of reduced performance with time and/or bird number. Both methods of killing caused a rapid loss of reflexes, indicating loss of brain function. There was more variation in reflex durations and post-mortem damage in birds killed by cervical dislocation than that found using CPK. High neck dislocation was associated with improved kill success and more rapid loss of reflexes. The CPK caused damage to multiple brain areas with little variation. Overall, the CPK was associated with faster abolition of reflexes, with fewer birds exhibiting them at all, suggestive of better welfare outcomes. However, technical difficulties with the CPK highlighted the advantages of cervical dislocation, which can be performed immediately with no equipment. At the killing rates tested, we did not find evidence to justify the current EU limit on the number of birds that one operator can kill on–farm by manual cervical dislocation.

  17. How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rytwinski, Trina; Soanes, Kylie; Jaeger, Jochen A. G.; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C. Scott; Houlahan, Jeff; van der Ree, Rodney; van der Grift, Edgar A

    2016-01-01

    Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill). For road planners, deciding on what mitigation method to use has been problematic because there is little good information about the relative effectiveness of these measures in reducing road-kill, and the costs of these measures vary greatly. We conducted a meta-analysis using data from 50 studies that quantified the relationship between road-kill and a mitigation measure designed to reduce road-kill. Overall, mitigation measures reduce road-kill by 40% compared to controls. Fences, with or without crossing structures, reduce road-kill by 54%. We found no detectable effect on road-kill of crossing structures without fencing. We found that comparatively expensive mitigation measures reduce large mammal road-kill much more than inexpensive measures. For example, the combination of fencing and crossing structures led to an 83% reduction in road-kill of large mammals, compared to a 57% reduction for animal detection systems, and only a 1% for wildlife reflectors. We suggest that inexpensive measures such as reflectors should not be used until and unless their effectiveness is tested using a high-quality experimental approach. Our meta-analysis also highlights the fact that there are insufficient data to answer many of the most pressing questions that road planners ask about the effectiveness of road mitigation measures, such as whether other less common mitigation measures (e.g., measures to reduce traffic volume and/or speed) reduce road mortality, or to what extent the attributes of crossing structures and fences influence their effectiveness. To improve evaluations of mitigation effectiveness, studies should incorporate data collection before the mitigation is applied, and we recommend a

  18. Kochen-Specker vectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pavicic, Mladen; Merlet, Jean-Pierre; McKay, Brendan; Megill, Norman D

    2005-01-01

    We give a constructive and exhaustive definition of Kochen-Specker (KS) vectors in a Hilbert space of any dimension as well as of all the remaining vectors of the space. KS vectors are elements of any set of orthonormal states, i.e., vectors in an n-dimensional Hilbert space, H n , n≥3, to which it is impossible to assign 1s and 0s in such a way that no two mutually orthogonal vectors from the set are both assigned 1 and that not all mutually orthogonal vectors are assigned 0. Our constructive definition of such KS vectors is based on algorithms that generate MMP diagrams corresponding to blocks of orthogonal vectors in R n , on algorithms that single out those diagrams on which algebraic (0)-(1) states cannot be defined, and on algorithms that solve nonlinear equations describing the orthogonalities of the vectors by means of statistically polynomially complex interval analysis and self-teaching programs. The algorithms are limited neither by the number of dimensions nor by the number of vectors. To demonstrate the power of the algorithms, all four-dimensional KS vector systems containing up to 24 vectors were generated and described, all three-dimensional vector systems containing up to 30 vectors were scanned, and several general properties of KS vectors were found

  19. /sup 54/Fe(p vector,d)/sup 53/Fe and /sup 140/Ce(p vector,d)/sup 139/Ce reactions at 122 MeV

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dickey, S A; Kraushaar, J J; Shepard, J R [Colorado Univ., Boulder (USA). Nuclear Physics Lab.; Miller, D W; Jacobs, W W; Jones, W P [Indiana Univ., Bloomington (USA). Dept. of Physics

    1985-08-05

    The /sup 54/Fe(p vector,d)/sup 53/Fe and /sup 140/Ce(p vector,d)/sup 139/Ce reactions have been studied at a proton energy of 122 MeV. Analyzing powers and angular distributions were obtained for outgoing deuterons to the strong low-lying single-particle states in both nuclei. These data along with the data of others at 26, 29, 41, 52 and 24, 35, 55 MeV for /sup 54/Fe and /sup 140/Ce respectively, have been compared with exact-finite-range DWBA calculations carried out in a consistent fashion to determine the energy dependence of the spectroscopic factors. A strong energy dependence was noticed for the spectroscopic factors when the l-values were large.

  20. [Killing effect of polymorphonuclear neutrophils on Trichomonas vaginalis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Jian-Ling; Gao, Xing-Zheng; Qu, Ming

    2008-10-30

    To study the killing effect of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) on Trichomonas vaginalis. The vaginal secretion from a patient with vaginitis was incubated in the liver infusion liquid medium to get T. vaginalis. One ml serum was collected from the patient and heated for 30 min at 56 degrees C to inactivate complement in serum, and was absorbed three times with the parasites at 0 degree C to make the serum free of antibodies. PMNs were separated from the patient's blood and purified with density gradient centrifugation and polymer accelerating sedimentation. NBT and safranin O were used to stain the sample. The interaction between PMNs and the parasites was observed under microscope. 300 trichomonads and 3x10(4) PMNs were incubated for 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 minutes under the conditions of aerobic or anaerobic, with superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) or without SOD and CAT, and with complement or without complement. They were then inoculated in solid medium for another five days under the anaerobic condition, and surviving organisms were enumerated. PMNs were observed to surround and kill a single trichomonad. In the petri-dish containing PMNs, the surviving rate of the parasites in anaerobic condition was 85%, only 3% in aerobic condition (P<0.01). SOD and CAT reduced the killing effect of PMNs, with a surviving rate of 98% and 94% respectively after 60 min incubation. Without SOD and CAT, the surviving rate is only 2% (P<0.05). PMNs in the serum without antibodies killed all the parasites, while the complement-inactivated serum fail to kill them. The trichomonacidal activity of PMNs relies on the presence of oxygen and complement in the serum of patient.

  1. Neighborhoods of Cauchy horizons in cosmological spacetimes with one killing field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moncrief, V.

    1982-01-01

    In this paper we show how to construct an infinite dimensional family of analytic, vacuum spacetimes which each have (i) T 3 x R topology, (ii) a smooth, compact Cauchy horizon, and (iii) a single Killing vector field which is spacelike in the globally hyperbolic region, null on the horizon and timelike in the (acausal) extension. The key idea is to use the horizons themselves as initial data surfaces and to prove the local existence of solutions using a version of the Cauchy-Kowalewski theorem. Factoring by the action of analytic, horizon preserving diffeomorphisms we define a ''space of extendible vacuum spacetimes'' of the given symmetry type and show (modulo certain smoothness estimates which we do not attempt to derive) that this space defines a Lagrangian submanifold of the usual phase space for Einstein's equations. We also study the linear perturbations of a class of the extendible spacetimes and show that the generic such perturbation blows up near the background solution's Cauchy horizon. This result, though limited by the linearity of the approximation, conforms to the usual picture of unstable Cauchy horizons demanded by the strong cosmic censorship conjecture

  2. A multistage motion vector processing method for motion-compensated frame interpolation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Ai- Mei; Nguyen, Truong Q

    2008-05-01

    In this paper, a novel, low-complexity motion vector processing algorithm at the decoder is proposed for motion-compensated frame interpolation or frame rate up-conversion. We address the problems of having broken edges and deformed structures in an interpolated frame by hierarchically refining motion vectors on different block sizes. Our method explicitly considers the reliability of each received motion vector and has the capability of preserving the structure information. This is achieved by analyzing the distribution of residual energies and effectively merging blocks that have unreliable motion vectors. The motion vector reliability information is also used as a prior knowledge in motion vector refinement using a constrained vector median filter to avoid choosing identical unreliable one. We also propose using chrominance information in our method. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme has better visual quality and is also robust, even in video sequences with complex scenes and fast motion.

  3. Commuting symmetry operators of the Dirac equation, Killing-Yano and Schouten-Nijenhuis brackets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cariglia, Marco; Krtous, Pavel; Kubiznak, David

    2011-01-01

    In this paper we derive the most general first-order symmetry operator commuting with the Dirac operator in all dimensions and signatures. Such an operator splits into Clifford even and Clifford odd parts which are given in terms of odd Killing-Yano and even closed conformal Killing-Yano inhomogeneous forms, respectively. We study commutators of these symmetry operators and give necessary and sufficient conditions under which they remain of the first-order. In this specific setting we can introduce a Killing-Yano bracket, a bilinear operation acting on odd Killing-Yano and even closed conformal Killing-Yano forms, and demonstrate that it is closely related to the Schouten-Nijenhuis bracket. An important nontrivial example of vanishing Killing-Yano brackets is given by Dirac symmetry operators generated from the principal conformal Killing-Yano tensor [hep-th/0612029]. We show that among these operators one can find a complete subset of mutually commuting operators. These operators underlie separability of the Dirac equation in Kerr-NUT-(A)dS spacetimes in all dimensions [arXiv:0711.0078].

  4. Efficient Kill-Save Ratios Ease Up the Cognitive Demands on Counterintuitive Moral Utilitarianism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trémolière, Bastien; Bonnefon, Jean-François

    2014-07-01

    The dual-process model of moral judgment postulates that utilitarian responses to moral dilemmas (e.g., accepting to kill one to save five) are demanding of cognitive resources. Here we show that utilitarian responses can become effortless, even when they involve to kill someone, as long as the kill-save ratio is efficient (e.g., 1 is killed to save 500). In Experiment 1, participants responded to moral dilemmas featuring different kill-save ratios under high or low cognitive load. In Experiments 2 and 3, participants responded at their own pace or under time pressure. Efficient kill-save ratios promoted utilitarian responding and neutered the effect of load or time pressure. We discuss whether this effect is more easily explained by a parallel-activation model or by a default-interventionist model. © 2014 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  5. Elementary vectors

    CERN Document Server

    Wolstenholme, E Œ

    1978-01-01

    Elementary Vectors, Third Edition serves as an introductory course in vector analysis and is intended to present the theoretical and application aspects of vectors. The book covers topics that rigorously explain and provide definitions, principles, equations, and methods in vector analysis. Applications of vector methods to simple kinematical and dynamical problems; central forces and orbits; and solutions to geometrical problems are discussed as well. This edition of the text also provides an appendix, intended for students, which the author hopes to bridge the gap between theory and appl

  6. Killing Unwanted West Indies Mahogany Trees by Peeling and Frilling

    Science.gov (United States)

    R. W. Nobles; C. B. Briscoe

    1966-01-01

    Peeling and frilling each killed approximately 70 percent of treated West Indies mahogany, but peeling killed a higher percentage of trees between 18 and 33 centimeters (7 and 13 inches) than did frilling. Essentially all mortality occurred within the first 15 months following treatment.

  7. HIV transcription is induced with some forms of cell killing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Woloschak, G.E.; Schreck, S.; Chang-Liu, C.-M.; Libertin, C.R.

    1996-01-01

    Using HeLa cells stably transfected with an HIV-LTR-CAT construct', we demonstrated a peak in CAT induction that occurs in viable (but not necessarily cell-division-competent) cells 24 h following exposure to some cell-killing agents. Γ rays were the only cell-killing agent which did not induce HIV transcription; this can be attributed to the fact that γ-ray-induced apoptotic death requires function p53, which is missing in HeLa cells. For all other agents, HIV-LTR induction was dose-dependent and correlated with the amount of cell killing that occurred in the culture

  8. Kill Shakespeare – This Bard contains graphic language!

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mauro Gentile

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Today, adapting Shakespearean plays into comic books or graphic novels appears to be a well-established literary practice in contemporary storytelling. One of the most interesting examples is ÒKill ShakespeareÓ, a graphic novel written by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery and illustrated by Andy Belanger. In ÒKill ShakespeareÓ, the authors abandon the idea of adapting a single play to create a Shakespearian mashup in which Hamlet and Juliet fight such villains as Richard III and Lady Macbeth who try to kill a wizard named William Shakespeare.This is the premise for a compelling narration that intertwines various elements of the Shakespearean tradition and attempts to convey an idea of Elizabethan language to contemporary readers. While the characters are familiar, the quest is wholly new and triggers a series of transformations in the narrative, turning upside down the well-established images of Hamlet, Juliet and Othello. Beside the intriguing depictions of the female characters, especially Lady Macbeth,whose image poses questions about the representation of women in comic books, one of the most fertile narrative elements in Kill Shakespeare is the actual presence of William Shakespeare as a character. In conclusion, Del Col and McCreery prove they know their Shakespeare, surprising readers with a fresh approach which, hopefully, will enlarge the Shakespearean audience.

  9. Self-consistent descriptions of vector mesons in hot matter reexamined

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Riek, Felix; Knoll, Joern

    2010-01-01

    Technical concepts are presented that improve the self-consistent treatment of vector mesons in a hot and dense medium. First applications concern an interacting gas of pions and ρ mesons. As an extension of earlier studies, we thereby include random-phase-approximation-type vertex corrections and further use dispersion relations to calculate the real part of the vector-meson self-energy. An improved projection method preserves the four transversality of the vector-meson polarization tensor throughout the self-consistent calculations, thereby keeping the scheme void of kinematical singularities.

  10. Hadronic slopes and cross-sections for vector mesons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferreira, Erasmo; Pereira, Flavio

    1998-01-01

    The data on photoproduction of vector mesons at high energies shows that the correlation between observables and their dependence on the energy and on the hadronic sizes which is characteristics of nonperturbative dynamics also appear in these processes. The analysis of the data exhibits effects of the interplay between perturbative and nonperturbative contributions. (author)

  11. ESTIMATING ELECTRIC FIELDS FROM VECTOR MAGNETOGRAM SEQUENCES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fisher, G. H.; Welsch, B. T.; Abbett, W. P.; Bercik, D. J.

    2010-01-01

    Determining the electric field distribution on the Sun's photosphere is essential for quantitative studies of how energy flows from the Sun's photosphere, through the corona, and into the heliosphere. This electric field also provides valuable input for data-driven models of the solar atmosphere and the Sun-Earth system. We show how observed vector magnetogram time series can be used to estimate the photospheric electric field. Our method uses a 'poloidal-toroidal decomposition' (PTD) of the time derivative of the vector magnetic field. These solutions provide an electric field whose curl obeys all three components of Faraday's Law. The PTD solutions are not unique; the gradient of a scalar potential can be added to the PTD electric field without affecting consistency with Faraday's Law. We then present an iterative technique to determine a potential function consistent with ideal MHD evolution; but this field is also not a unique solution to Faraday's Law. Finally, we explore a variational approach that minimizes an energy functional to determine a unique electric field, a generalization of Longcope's 'Minimum Energy Fit'. The PTD technique, the iterative technique, and the variational technique are used to estimate electric fields from a pair of synthetic vector magnetograms taken from an MHD simulation; and these fields are compared with the simulation's known electric fields. The PTD and iteration techniques compare favorably to results from existing velocity inversion techniques. These three techniques are then applied to a pair of vector magnetograms of solar active region NOAA AR8210, to demonstrate the methods with real data. Careful examination of the results from all three methods indicates that evolution of the magnetic vector by itself does not provide enough information to determine the true electric field in the photosphere. Either more information from other measurements, or physical constraints other than those considered here are necessary to find

  12. The conformal supercurrents in diverse dimensions and conserved superconformal currents

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Korovin, Yegor [Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik, Albert-Einstein-Institut,Am Mühlenberg 1, D-14476 Golm (Germany); Kuzenko, Sergei M. [School of Physics M013, The University of Western Australia,35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, W.A. 6009 (Australia); Theisen, Stefan [Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik, Albert-Einstein-Institut,Am Mühlenberg 1, D-14476 Golm (Germany)

    2016-05-23

    Given a conserved and traceless energy-momentum tensor and a conformal Killing vector, one obtains a conserved current. We generalise this construction to superconformal theories in three, four, five and six dimensions with various amounts of supersymmetry by working in the appropriate superspaces.

  13. Emergence of Buprestidae, Cerambycidae, and Scolytinae (Coleoptera) from mountain pine beetle-killed and fire-killed ponderosa pines in the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheryl L. Costello; William R. Jacobi; Jose F. Negron

    2013-01-01

    Wood borers (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae and Buprestidae) and bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) infest ponderosa pines, Pinus ponderosa P. Lawson and C. Lawson, killed by mountain pine beetle (MPB), Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, and fire. No data is available comparing wood borer and bark beetle densities or species guilds associated with MPB-killed or fire-...

  14. Small-angle neutron polarization for the 2H(d vector,n vector)3He reaction near Esub(d) = 8MeV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tornow, W.; Woye, W.; Mack, G.

    1981-01-01

    Considerable improvement in the quality of analyzing power experiments performed with polarized fast neutrons has been achieved during the last few years by using neutrons from the polarization transfer reaction 2 H(d vector,n vector) 3 He at a reaction angle of theta = 0 0 . To compromise in these experiments between intensity problems and finite geometry corrections, it is desirable in some instances to subtend a full-width angle Δtheta of 20 0 (lab) centered about theta = 0 0 . In order to investigate the suitability of this reaction as a source of polarized neutrons for cases where the scatterer is close to the neutron source, the neutron polarization of the reaction 2 H(d vector,n vector) 3 He has been studied with Δtheta of about 3 0 in 3 0 steps out to theta = 20 0 (lab). An incident deuteron energy near 8 MeV was chosen to yield outgoing neutrons at 11.0 MeV, a typical energy for neutron analyzing power experiments. It is found that the effective neutron polarization, a combination of the two polarizations measured when the direction of the deuteron polarization is inverted or flipped at the polarized ion source, is large and nearly constant for angles between theta = 0 0 and theta = 10 0 (lab). (orig.)

  15. Application of Artificial Neural Network and Support Vector Machines in Predicting Metabolizable Energy in Compound Feeds for Pigs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmadi, Hamed; Rodehutscord, Markus

    2017-01-01

    In the nutrition literature, there are several reports on the use of artificial neural network (ANN) and multiple linear regression (MLR) approaches for predicting feed composition and nutritive value, while the use of support vector machines (SVM) method as a new alternative approach to MLR and ANN models is still not fully investigated. The MLR, ANN, and SVM models were developed to predict metabolizable energy (ME) content of compound feeds for pigs based on the German energy evaluation system from analyzed contents of crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), crude fiber (CF), and starch. A total of 290 datasets from standardized digestibility studies with compound feeds was provided from several institutions and published papers, and ME was calculated thereon. Accuracy and precision of developed models were evaluated, given their produced prediction values. The results revealed that the developed ANN [ R 2  = 0.95; root mean square error (RMSE) = 0.19 MJ/kg of dry matter] and SVM ( R 2  = 0.95; RMSE = 0.21 MJ/kg of dry matter) models produced better prediction values in estimating ME in compound feed than those produced by conventional MLR ( R 2  = 0.89; RMSE = 0.27 MJ/kg of dry matter). The developed ANN and SVM models produced better prediction values in estimating ME in compound feed than those produced by conventional MLR; however, there were not obvious differences between performance of ANN and SVM models. Thus, SVM model may also be considered as a promising tool for modeling the relationship between chemical composition and ME of compound feeds for pigs. To provide the readers and nutritionist with the easy and rapid tool, an Excel ® calculator, namely, SVM_ME_pig, was created to predict the metabolizable energy values in compound feeds for pigs using developed support vector machine model.

  16. Homefucking is Killing Prostitution / Taavi Eelmaa

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Eelmaa, Taavi, 1971-

    2008-01-01

    Mis jääb vaatajale teatrietendusest meelde? Ilmus Kris Moori raamat "Homefucking is Killing Prostitution". Raamat sisaldab tekste ja Erki Lauri fotosid Von Krahli Teatri samanimelisest etendusest, mida kordagi ei mängitud

  17. Photoexcited quantum dots for killing multidrug-resistant bacteria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Courtney, Colleen M.; Goodman, Samuel M.; McDaniel, Jessica A.; Madinger, Nancy E.; Chatterjee, Anushree; Nagpal, Prashant

    2016-05-01

    Multidrug-resistant bacterial infections are an ever-growing threat because of the shrinking arsenal of efficacious antibiotics. Metal nanoparticles can induce cell death, yet the toxicity effect is typically nonspecific. Here, we show that photoexcited quantum dots (QDs) can kill a wide range of multidrug-resistant bacterial clinical isolates, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli, and extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae and Salmonella typhimurium. The killing effect is independent of material and controlled by the redox potentials of the photogenerated charge carriers, which selectively alter the cellular redox state. We also show that the QDs can be tailored to kill 92% of bacterial cells in a monoculture, and in a co-culture of E. coli and HEK 293T cells, while leaving the mammalian cells intact, or to increase bacterial proliferation. Photoexcited QDs could be used in the study of the effect of redox states on living systems, and lead to clinical phototherapy for the treatment of infections.

  18. Book review: Mosquito eradication: The story of killing Campto

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lapointe, Dennis

    2015-01-01

    In 1826, the paradise that was the Hawaiian Islands was changed forever when the first mosquito species was accidentally introduced to the island of Maui. Though it has not lived up to its potential as a vector of human disease in the islands, Culex quinquefasciatus and the avian pathogens it transmits laid waste to perhaps the world's most remarkable insular avifauna. Today the lowland native forests, once deafening with birdsong, are largely devoid of native birds and Cx. quinquefasciatus has become an inextricable part of our natural areas. In the Hawaiian Islands, the conservation community struggles to keep invasive species out and to control a number of species that have become naturalized. Despite the millions of dollars spent, these efforts never seem enough to slow the erosion of our native biota. The restoration and long-term preservation of Hawaiian forest birds depend on the nearly complete control of mosquito-borne avian disease, an obstacle that to many land managers appears insurmountable. To rally hope in Hawai`i, the conservation community needs to see a success. As a Pacific island, Hawai`i shares similar conservation problems with New Zealand and has often looked to that nation for innovation and inspiration. Mosquito Eradication: The Story of Killing Campto may be our latest inspiration.

  19. Effects of Vegetation Structure on the Location of Lion Kill Sites in African Thicket.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew B Davies

    Full Text Available Predator-prey relationships are integral to ecosystem stability and functioning. These relationships are, however, difficult to maintain in protected areas where large predators are increasingly being reintroduced and confined. Where predators make kills has a profound influence on their role in ecosystems, but the relative importance of environmental variables in determining kill sites, and how these might vary across ecosystems is poorly known. We investigated kill sites for lions in South Africa's thicket biome, testing the importance of vegetation structure for kill site locations compared to other environmental variables. Kill sites were located over four years using GPS telemetry and compared to non-kill sites that had been occupied by lions, as well as to random sites within lion ranges. Measurements of 3D vegetation structure obtained from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR were used to calculate the visible area (viewshed around each site and, along with wind and moonlight data, used to compare kill sites between lion sexes, prey species and prey sexes. Viewshed area was the most important predictor of kill sites (sites in dense vegetation were twice as likely to be kill sites compared to open areas, followed by wind speed and, less so, moonlight. Kill sites for different prey species varied with vegetation structure, and male prey were killed when wind speeds were higher compared to female prey of the same species. Our results demonstrate that vegetation structure is an important component of predator-prey interactions, with varying effects across ecosystems. Such differences require consideration in terms of the ecological roles performed by predators, and in predator and prey conservation.

  20. Effects of Vegetation Structure on the Location of Lion Kill Sites in African Thicket.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, Andrew B; Tambling, Craig J; Kerley, Graham I H; Asner, Gregory P

    2016-01-01

    Predator-prey relationships are integral to ecosystem stability and functioning. These relationships are, however, difficult to maintain in protected areas where large predators are increasingly being reintroduced and confined. Where predators make kills has a profound influence on their role in ecosystems, but the relative importance of environmental variables in determining kill sites, and how these might vary across ecosystems is poorly known. We investigated kill sites for lions in South Africa's thicket biome, testing the importance of vegetation structure for kill site locations compared to other environmental variables. Kill sites were located over four years using GPS telemetry and compared to non-kill sites that had been occupied by lions, as well as to random sites within lion ranges. Measurements of 3D vegetation structure obtained from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) were used to calculate the visible area (viewshed) around each site and, along with wind and moonlight data, used to compare kill sites between lion sexes, prey species and prey sexes. Viewshed area was the most important predictor of kill sites (sites in dense vegetation were twice as likely to be kill sites compared to open areas), followed by wind speed and, less so, moonlight. Kill sites for different prey species varied with vegetation structure, and male prey were killed when wind speeds were higher compared to female prey of the same species. Our results demonstrate that vegetation structure is an important component of predator-prey interactions, with varying effects across ecosystems. Such differences require consideration in terms of the ecological roles performed by predators, and in predator and prey conservation.

  1. Effective field theory and unitarity in vector boson scattering

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sekulla, Marco; Kilian, Wolfgang; Ohl, Thorsten; Reuter, Juergen

    2016-10-01

    Weak vector boson scattering at high energies will be one of the key measurements in current and upcoming LHC runs. It is most sensitive to any new physics associated with electroweak symmetry breaking. However, a conventional EFT analysis will fail at high energies. To address this problem, we present a parameter-free prescription valid for arbitrary perturbative and non-perturbative models: the T-matrix unitarization. We describe its implementation as an asymptotically consistent reference model matched to the low-energy effective theory. We show examples of typical observables of vector-boson scattering at the LHC in our unitarized framework. For many strongly-coupled models like composite Higgs models, dimension-8 operators might be actually the leading operators. In addition to those longitudinal and transversal dimension eight EFT operators, the effects of generic tensor and scalar resonances within simplified models are considered.

  2. Male-killing bacteria as agents of insect pest control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berec, Ludek; Maxin, Daniel; Bernhauerová, Veronika

    2016-01-01

    1. Continual effort is needed to reduce the impact of exotic species in the context of increased globalization. Any innovation in this respect would be an asset. 2. We assess the potential of combining two pest control techniques: the well-established sterile insect technique (SIT) and a novel male-killing technique (MKT), which comprises inoculation of a pest population with bacteria that kill the infected male embryos. 3. Population models are developed to assess the efficiency of using the MKT for insect pest control, either alone or together with the SIT. We seek for conditions under which the MKT weakens requirements on the SIT. 4. Regarding the SIT, we consider both non-heritable and inherited sterility. In both cases, the MKT and SIT benefit one another. The MKT may prevent the SIT from failing when not enough sterilized males are released due to high production costs and/or uncertainty on their mating ability following a high irradiation dose. Conversely, with already established SIT, pest eradication can be achieved after introduction of male-killing bacteria with lower vertical transmission efficiency than if the MKT was applied alone. 5. For tephritid fruit flies with non-heritable sterility, maximal impact of the SIT is achieved when the released males are fully sterile. Conversely, for lepidopterans with inherited sterility, maximal impact of the SIT is achieved for intermediate irradiation doses. In both cases, increasing vertical transmission efficiency of male-killing bacteria benefits the SIT; high enough vertical transmission efficiency allows for pest eradication where the SIT is absent or induces only pest suppression when used alone. 6. Synthesis and applications. While both techniques can suppress or eliminate the pest on their own, combined application of the male-killing technique and the sterile insect technique substantially increases pest control efficiency. If male-killing bacteria are already established in the pest, any assessment of

  3. The spinorial geometry of supersymmetric backgrounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gillard, J; Gran, U; Papadopoulos, G

    2005-01-01

    We propose a new method to solve the Killing spinor equations of 11-dimensional supergravity based on a description of spinors in terms of forms and on the Spin(1, 10) gauge symmetry of the supercovariant derivative. We give the canonical form of Killing spinors for backgrounds preserving two supersymmetries, N = 2, provided that one of the spinors represents the orbit of Spin(1, 10) with stability subgroup SU(5). We directly solve the Killing spinor equations of N = 1 and some N = 2, N = 3 and N = 4 backgrounds. In the N = 2 case, we investigate backgrounds with SU(5) and SU(4) invariant Killing spinors and compute the associated spacetime forms. We find that N = 2 backgrounds with SU(5) invariant Killing spinors admit a timelike Killing vector and that the space transverse to the orbits of this vector field is a Hermitian manifold with an SU(5)-structure. Furthermore, N = 2 backgrounds with SU(4) invariant Killing spinors admit two Killing vectors, one timelike and one spacelike. The space transverse to the orbits of the former is an almost Hermitian manifold with an SU(4)-structure. The spacelike Killing vector field leaves the almost complex structure invariant. We explore the canonical form of Killing spinors for backgrounds preserving more than two supersymmetries, N > 2. We investigate a class of N = 3 and N = 4 backgrounds with SU(4) invariant spinors. We find that in both cases the space transverse to a timelike vector field is a Hermitian manifold equipped with an SU(4)-structure and admits two holomorphic Killing vector fields. We also present an application to M-theory Calabi-Yau compactifications with fluxes to one dimension

  4. The spinorial geometry of supersymmetric backgrounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gillard, J; Gran, U; Papadopoulos, G [Department of Mathematics, King' s College London, Strand, London WC2R 2LS (United Kingdom)

    2005-03-21

    We propose a new method to solve the Killing spinor equations of 11-dimensional supergravity based on a description of spinors in terms of forms and on the Spin(1, 10) gauge symmetry of the supercovariant derivative. We give the canonical form of Killing spinors for backgrounds preserving two supersymmetries, N = 2, provided that one of the spinors represents the orbit of Spin(1, 10) with stability subgroup SU(5). We directly solve the Killing spinor equations of N = 1 and some N = 2, N = 3 and N = 4 backgrounds. In the N = 2 case, we investigate backgrounds with SU(5) and SU(4) invariant Killing spinors and compute the associated spacetime forms. We find that N = 2 backgrounds with SU(5) invariant Killing spinors admit a timelike Killing vector and that the space transverse to the orbits of this vector field is a Hermitian manifold with an SU(5)-structure. Furthermore, N = 2 backgrounds with SU(4) invariant Killing spinors admit two Killing vectors, one timelike and one spacelike. The space transverse to the orbits of the former is an almost Hermitian manifold with an SU(4)-structure. The spacelike Killing vector field leaves the almost complex structure invariant. We explore the canonical form of Killing spinors for backgrounds preserving more than two supersymmetries, N > 2. We investigate a class of N = 3 and N = 4 backgrounds with SU(4) invariant spinors. We find that in both cases the space transverse to a timelike vector field is a Hermitian manifold equipped with an SU(4)-structure and admits two holomorphic Killing vector fields. We also present an application to M-theory Calabi-Yau compactifications with fluxes to one dimension.

  5. A New Calculation Method of Dynamic Kill Fluid Density Variation during Deep Water Drilling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Honghai Fan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available There are plenty of uncertainties and enormous challenges in deep water drilling due to complicated shallow flow and deep strata of high temperature and pressure. This paper investigates density of dynamic kill fluid and optimum density during the kill operation process in which dynamic kill process can be divided into two stages, that is, dynamic stable stage and static stable stage. The dynamic kill fluid consists of a single liquid phase and different solid phases. In addition, liquid phase is a mixture of water and oil. Therefore, a new method in calculating the temperature and pressure field of deep water wellbore is proposed. The paper calculates the changing trend of kill fluid density under different temperature and pressure by means of superposition method, nonlinear regression, and segment processing technique. By employing the improved model of kill fluid density, deep water kill operation in a well is investigated. By comparison, the calculated density results are in line with the field data. The model proposed in this paper proves to be satisfactory in optimizing dynamic kill operations to ensure the safety in deep water.

  6. Stationary closed strings in five-dimensional flat spacetime

    Science.gov (United States)

    Igata, Takahisa; Ishihara, Hideki; Nishiwaki, Keisuke

    2012-11-01

    We investigate stationary rotating closed Nambu-Goto strings in five-dimensional flat spacetime. The stationary string is defined as a world sheet that is tangent to a timelike Killing vector. The Nambu-Goto equation of motion for the stationary string is reduced to the geodesic equation on the orbit space of the isometry group action generated by the Killing vector. We take a linear combination of a time-translation vector and space-rotation vectors as the Killing vector, and explicitly construct general solutions of stationary rotating closed strings in five-dimensional flat spacetime. We show a variety of their configurations and properties.

  7. Genetic manipulation of endosymbionts to control vector and vector borne diseases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jay Prakash Gupta

    Full Text Available Vector borne diseases (VBD are on the rise because of failure of the existing methods of control of vector and vector borne diseases and the climate change. A steep rise of VBDs are due to several factors like selection of insecticide resistant vector population, drug resistant parasite population and lack of effective vaccines against the VBDs. Environmental pollution, public health hazard and insecticide resistant vector population indicate that the insecticides are no longer a sustainable control method of vector and vector-borne diseases. Amongst the various alternative control strategies, symbiont based approach utilizing endosymbionts of arthropod vectors could be explored to control the vector and vector borne diseases. The endosymbiont population of arthropod vectors could be exploited in different ways viz., as a chemotherapeutic target, vaccine target for the control of vectors. Expression of molecules with antiparasitic activity by genetically transformed symbiotic bacteria of disease-transmitting arthropods may serve as a powerful approach to control certain arthropod-borne diseases. Genetic transformation of symbiotic bacteria of the arthropod vector to alter the vector’s ability to transmit pathogen is an alternative means of blocking the transmission of VBDs. In Indian scenario, where dengue, chikungunya, malaria and filariosis are prevalent, paratransgenic based approach can be used effectively. [Vet World 2012; 5(9.000: 571-576

  8. To kill a mockingbird robot

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bartneck, C.; Verbunt, M.N.C.; Mubin, O.; Al Mahmud, A.

    2007-01-01

    Robots are being introduced in our society but their social status is still unclear. A critical issue is if the robot's exhibition of intelligent life-like behavior leads to the users' perception of animacy. The ultimate test for the life-likeness of a robot is to kill it. We therefore conducted an

  9. Emerging vector borne diseases – incidence through vectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara eSavic

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Vector borne diseases use to be a major public health concern only in tropical and subtropical areas, but today they are an emerging threat for the continental and developed countries also. Nowdays, in intercontinetal countries, there is a struggle with emerging diseases which have found their way to appear through vectors. Vector borne zoonotic diseases occur when vectors, animal hosts, climate conditions, pathogens and susceptible human population exist at the same time, at the same place. Global climate change is predicted to lead to an increase in vector borne infectious diseases and disease outbreaks. It could affect the range and popultion of pathogens, host and vectors, transmission season, etc. Reliable surveilance for diseases that are most likely to emerge is required. Canine vector borne diseases represent a complex group of diseases including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis, borreliosis, dirofilariosis, erlichiosis, leishmaniosis. Some of these diseases cause serious clinical symptoms in dogs and some of them have a zoonotic potential with an effect to public health. It is expected from veterinarians in coordination with medical doctors to play a fudamental role at primeraly prevention and then treatment of vector borne diseases in dogs. The One Health concept has to be integrated into the struggle against emerging diseases.During a four year period, from 2009-2013, a total number of 551 dog samples were analysed for vector borne diseases (borreliosis, babesiosis, erlichiosis, anaplasmosis, dirofilariosis and leishmaniasis in routine laboratory work. The analysis were done by serological tests – ELISA for borreliosis, dirofilariosis and leishmaniasis, modified Knott test for dirofilariosis and blood smear for babesiosis, erlichiosis and anaplasmosis. This number of samples represented 75% of total number of samples that were sent for analysis for different diseases in dogs. Annually, on avarege more then half of the samples

  10. Hydrodynamic cavitation kills prostate cells and ablates benign prostatic hyperplasia tissue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Itah, Zeynep; Oral, Ozlem; Perk, Osman Yavuz; Sesen, Muhsincan; Demir, Ebru; Erbil, Secil; Dogan-Ekici, A Isin; Ekici, Sinan; Kosar, Ali; Gozuacik, Devrim

    2013-11-01

    Hydrodynamic cavitation is a physical phenomenon characterized by vaporization and bubble formation in liquids under low local pressures, and their implosion following their release to a higher pressure environment. Collapse of the bubbles releases high energy and may cause damage to exposed surfaces. We recently designed a set-up to exploit the destructive nature of hydrodynamic cavitation for biomedical purposes. We have previously shown that hydrodynamic cavitation could kill leukemia cells and erode kidney stones. In this study, we analyzed the effects of cavitation on prostate cells and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissue. We showed that hydrodynamic cavitation could kill prostate cells in a pressure- and time-dependent manner. Cavitation did not lead to programmed cell death, i.e. classical apoptosis or autophagy activation. Following the application of cavitation, we observed no prominent DNA damage and cells did not arrest in the cell cycle. Hence, we concluded that cavitation forces directly damaged the cells, leading to their pulverization. Upon application to BPH tissues from patients, cavitation could lead to a significant level of tissue destruction. Therefore similar to ultrasonic cavitation, we propose that hydrodynamic cavitation has the potential to be exploited and developed as an approach for the ablation of aberrant pathological tissues, including BPH.

  11. Habitat or matrix: which is more relevant to predict road-kill of vertebrates?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bueno, C; Sousa, C O M; Freitas, S R

    2015-11-01

    We believe that in tropics we need a community approach to evaluate road impacts on wildlife, and thus, suggest mitigation measures for groups of species instead a focal-species approach. Understanding which landscape characteristics indicate road-kill events may also provide models that can be applied in other regions. We intend to evaluate if habitat or matrix is more relevant to predict road-kill events for a group of species. Our hypothesis is: more permeable matrix is the most relevant factor to explain road-kill events. To test this hypothesis, we chose vertebrates as the studied assemblage and a highway crossing in an Atlantic Forest region in southeastern Brazil as the study site. Logistic regression models were designed using presence/absence of road-kill events as dependent variables and landscape characteristics as independent variables, which were selected by Akaike's Information Criterion. We considered a set of candidate models containing four types of simple regression models: Habitat effect model; Matrix types effect models; Highway effect model; and, Reference models (intercept and buffer distance). Almost three hundred road-kills and 70 species were recorded. River proximity and herbaceous vegetation cover, both matrix effect models, were associated to most road-killed vertebrate groups. Matrix was more relevant than habitat to predict road-kill of vertebrates. The association between river proximity and road-kill indicates that rivers may be a preferential route for most species. We discuss multi-species mitigation measures and implications to movement ecology and conservation strategies.

  12. Comparing Road-Kill Datasets from Hunters and Citizen Scientists in a Landscape Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian Heigl

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Road traffic has severe effects on animals, especially when road-kills are involved. In many countries, official road-kill data are provided by hunters or police; there are also road-kill observations reported by citizen scientists. The aim of the current study was to test whether road-kill reports by hunters stem from similar landscapes than those reported by citizen scientists. We analysed the surrounding landscapes of 712 road-kill reportings of European hares in the province of Lower Austria. Our data showed that road-killed hares reported both by hunters and citizens are predominantly surrounded by arable land. No difference of hedges and solitary trees could be found between the two datasets. However, significant differences in landcover classes and surrounding road networks indicate that hunters’ and citizen scientists’ data are different. Hunters reported hares from landscapes with significantly higher percentages of arable land, and greater lengths of secondary roads. In contrast, citizens reported hares from landscapes with significantly higher percentages of urban or industrial areas and greater lengths of motorways, primary roads, and residential roads. From this we argue that hunters tend to report data mainly from their hunting areas, whereas citizens report data during their daily routine on the way to/from work. We conclude that a citizen science approach is an important source for road-kill data when used in addition to official data with the aim of obtaining an overview of road-kill events on a landscape scale.

  13. Quantifying Killing of Orangutans and Human-Orangutan Conflict in Kalimantan, Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meijaard, Erik; Buchori, Damayanti; Hadiprakarsa, Yokyok; Utami-Atmoko, Sri Suci; Nurcahyo, Anton; Tjiu, Albertus; Prasetyo, Didik; Nardiyono; Christie, Lenny; Ancrenaz, Marc; Abadi, Firman; Antoni, I Nyoman Gede; Armayadi, Dedy; Dinato, Adi; Ella; Gumelar, Pajar; Indrawan, Tito P.; Kussaritano; Munajat, Cecep; Priyono, C. Wawan Puji; Purwanto, Yadi; Puspitasari, Dewi; Putra, M. Syukur Wahyu; Rahmat, Abdi; Ramadani, Harri; Sammy, Jim; Siswanto, Dedi; Syamsuri, Muhammad; Andayani, Noviar; Wu, Huanhuan; Wells, Jessie Anne; Mengersen, Kerrie

    2011-01-01

    Human-orangutan conflict and hunting are thought to pose a serious threat to orangutan existence in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. No data existed prior to the present study to substantiate these threats. We investigated the rates, spatial distribution and causes of conflict and hunting through an interview-based survey in the orangutan's range in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Between April 2008 and September 2009, we interviewed 6983 respondents in 687 villages to obtain socio-economic information, assess knowledge of local wildlife in general and orangutan encounters specifically, and to query respondents about their knowledge on orangutan conflicts and killing, and relevant laws. This survey revealed estimated killing rates of between 750 and 1800 animals killed in the last year, and between 1950 and 3100 animals killed per year on average within the lifetime of the survey respondents. These killing rates are higher than previously thought and are high enough to pose a serious threat to the continued existence of orangutans in Kalimantan. Importantly, the study contributes to our understanding of the spatial variation in threats, and the underlying causes of those threats, which can be used to facilitate the development of targeted conservation management. PMID:22096582

  14. Quantifying killing of orangutans and human-orangutan conflict in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erik Meijaard

    Full Text Available Human-orangutan conflict and hunting are thought to pose a serious threat to orangutan existence in Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo. No data existed prior to the present study to substantiate these threats. We investigated the rates, spatial distribution and causes of conflict and hunting through an interview-based survey in the orangutan's range in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Between April 2008 and September 2009, we interviewed 6983 respondents in 687 villages to obtain socio-economic information, assess knowledge of local wildlife in general and orangutan encounters specifically, and to query respondents about their knowledge on orangutan conflicts and killing, and relevant laws. This survey revealed estimated killing rates of between 750 and 1800 animals killed in the last year, and between 1950 and 3100 animals killed per year on average within the lifetime of the survey respondents. These killing rates are higher than previously thought and are high enough to pose a serious threat to the continued existence of orangutans in Kalimantan. Importantly, the study contributes to our understanding of the spatial variation in threats, and the underlying causes of those threats, which can be used to facilitate the development of targeted conservation management.

  15. Isometries of half supersymmetric time-like solutions in five dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gutowski, J B; Sabra, W A

    2010-01-01

    Spinorial geometry techniques have recently been used to classify all half supersymmetric solutions in gauged five-dimensional supergravity with vector multiplets. In this paper we consider solutions for which at least one of the Killing spinors generates a time-like Killing vector. We obtain coordinate transformations which considerably simplify the solutions, and in a number of cases, we obtain explicitly some additional Killing vectors which were hidden in the original analysis.

  16. Vector-vector production in photon-photon interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ronan, M.T.

    1988-01-01

    Measurements of exclusive untagged /rho/ 0 /rho/ 0 , /rho//phi/, K/sup *//bar K//sup */, and /rho/ω production and tagged /rho/ 0 /rho/ 0 production in photon-photon interactions by the TPC/Two-Gamma experiment are reviewed. Comparisons to the results of other experiments and to models of vector-vector production are made. Fits to the data following a four quark model prescription for vector meson pair production are also presented. 10 refs., 9 figs

  17. Leadership Matters : The Effects of Targeted Killings on Militant Group Tactics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Abrahms, Max; Mierau, Jochen

    2017-01-01

    Targeted killings have become a central component of counter-terrorism strategy. In response to the unprecedented prevalence of this strategy around the world, numerous empirical studies have recently examined whether "decapitating" militant groups with targeted killings is strategically effective.

  18. The quantum null energy condition in curved space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Zicao; Koeller, Jason; Marolf, Donald

    2017-11-01

    The quantum null energy condition (QNEC) is a conjectured bound on components (Tkk = Tab ka k^b) of the stress tensor along a null vector k a at a point p in terms of a second k-derivative of the von Neumann entropy S on one side of a null congruence N through p generated by k a . The conjecture has been established for super-renormalizeable field theories at points p that lie on a bifurcate Killing horizon with null tangent k a and for large-N holographic theories on flat space. While the Koeller-Leichenauer holographic argument clearly yields an inequality for general ( p, k^a) , more conditions are generally required for this inequality to be a useful QNEC. For d≤slant 3 , for arbitrary backgroud metric we show that the QNEC is naturally finite and independent of renormalization scheme when the expansion θ of N at the point p vanishes. This is consistent with the original QNEC conjecture which required θ and the shear σab to satisfy θ \\vert _p= \\dotθ\\vert p =0 , σab\\vert _p=0 . But for d=4, 5 more conditions than even these are required. In particular, we also require the vanishing of additional derivatives and a dominant energy condition. In the above cases the holographic argument does indeed yield a finite QNEC, though for d≥slant6 we argue these properties to fail even for weakly isolated horizons (where all derivatives of θ, σab vanish) that also satisfy a dominant energy condition. On the positive side, a corrollary to our work is that, when coupled to Einstein-Hilbert gravity, d ≤slant 3 holographic theories at large N satisfy the generalized second law (GSL) of thermodynamics at leading order in Newton’s constant G. This is the first GSL proof which does not require the quantum fields to be perturbations to a Killing horizon.

  19. Dynamics of human complement-mediated killing of Klebsiella pneumoniae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nypaver, Christina M; Thornton, Margaret M; Yin, Suellen M; Bracho, David O; Nelson, Patrick W; Jones, Alan E; Bortz, David M; Younger, John G

    2010-11-01

    With an in vitro system that used a luminescent strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae to assess bacterial metabolic activity in near-real-time, we investigated the dynamics of complement-mediated attack in healthy individuals and in patients presenting to the emergency department with community-acquired severe sepsis. A novel mathematical/statistical model was developed to simplify light output trajectories over time into two fitted parameters, the rate of complement activation and the delay from activation to the onset of killing. Using Factor B-depleted serum, the alternative pathway was found to be the primary bactericidal effector: In the absence of B, C3 opsonization as measured by flow cytometry did not progress and bacteria proliferated near exponentially. Defects in bacterial killing were easily demonstrable in patients with severe sepsis compared with healthy volunteers. In most patients with sepsis, the rate of activation was higher than in normal subjects but was associated with a prolonged delay between activation and bacterial killing (P < 0.05 for both). Theoretical modeling suggested that this combination of accentuated but delayed function should allow successful bacterial killing but with significantly greater complement activation. The use of luminescent bacteria allowed for the development of a novel and powerful tool for assessing complement immunology for the purposes of mechanistic study and patient evaluation.

  20. Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus Promoter-Containing Retroviral Promoter Conversion Vectors for Gene-Directed Enzyme Prodrug Therapy are Functional in Vitro and in Vivo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reinhard Klein

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Gene directed-enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT is an approach for sensitization of tumor cells to an enzymatically activated, otherwise nontoxic, prodrug. Cytochrome P450 2B1 (CYP2B1 metabolizes the prodrugs cyclophosphamide (CPA and ifosfamide (IFA to produce the cytotoxic substances phosphoramide mustard and isophosphoramide mustard as well as the byproduct acrolein. We have constructed a retroviral promoter conversion (ProCon vector for breast cancer GDEPT. The vector allows expression of CYP2B1 from the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV promoter known to be active in the mammary glands of transgenic animals. It is anticipated to be used for the generation of encapsulated viral vector producing cells which, when placed inside or close to a tumor, will act as suppliers of the therapeutic CYP2B1 protein as well as of the therapeutic vector itself. The generated vector was effectively packaged by virus producing cells and allowed the production of high levels of enzymatically active CYP2B1 in infected cells which sensitized them to killing upon treatment with both IFA and CPA. Determination of the respective IC50 values demonstrated that the effective IFA dose was reduced by sixteen folds. Infection efficiencies in vivo were determined using a reporter gene-bearing vector in a mammary cancer cell-derived xenograft tumor mouse model.

  1. The INERIS at the heart of energy transition - INERISmag Nr 35. Clean energy - hydrogen, an energy vector for the future. Storage of electrochemical energy - To assess and to improve the safety of batteries. Methanization - Biogas: an energy which valorises organic wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2014-11-01

    The first article of this magazine proposes a brief comment on the content of the bill project related to energy transition and green growth, and briefly outlines the role the INERIS is to play in this perspective. The second article addresses the perspectives of development of the use of hydrogen as an energy vector, and evokes the GHRYD project in which the INERIS is involved with GDF Suez, the Dunkirk urban community and other partners, and which is based on the use of a mix of hydrogen, methane and natural gas for mobility and household applications. The third article evokes works and researches undertaken to improve the safety of batteries. The last article briefly evokes INERIS activities on the safety of the methanization process, and in investigating characteristics of bio-wastes and domestic wastes with respect to French and European standards

  2. Supersymmetric backgrounds, the Killing superalgebra, and generalised special holonomy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Coimbra, André [Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, Le Bois-Marie,35 route de Chartres, F-91440 Bures-sur-Yvette (France); Strickland-Constable, Charles [Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques, Le Bois-Marie,35 route de Chartres, F-91440 Bures-sur-Yvette (France); Institut de physique théorique, Université Paris Saclay, CEA, CNRS,Orme des Merisiers, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette (France)

    2016-11-10

    We prove that, for M theory or type II, generic Minkowski flux backgrounds preserving N supersymmetries in dimensions D≥4 correspond precisely to integrable generalised G{sub N} structures, where G{sub N} is the generalised structure group defined by the Killing spinors. In other words, they are the analogues of special holonomy manifolds in E{sub d(d)}×ℝ{sup +} generalised geometry. In establishing this result, we introduce the Kosmann-Dorfman bracket, a generalisation of Kosmann’s Lie derivative of spinors. This allows us to write down the internal sector of the Killing superalgebra, which takes a rather simple form and whose closure is the key step in proving the main result. In addition, we find that the eleven-dimensional Killing superalgebra of these backgrounds is necessarily the supertranslational part of the N-extended super-Poincaré algebra.

  3. Improved Results for the H-2(d, n)(3) He Transverse Vector Polarization- Transfer Coefficient K-y(y)' (0 degrees) at Low Energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roper, C.D.; Clegg, T.; Dunham, J.D.; Mendez, Anthony J. II; Tornow, W.; Walter, R.L.

    2010-01-01

    Measurements of the H-2(d, n)(3) He transverse vector polarization-transfer coefficient K-y(y)' at 0 degrees. are reported for 29 outgoing neutron energies between 3.94 and 8.47MeV. Our new results determine K-y(y)' (0 degrees) more accurately than previous data, especially for neutron energies below 5MeV. Low-energy data for this reaction are important both as a high-intensity source of highly polarized neutrons for nuclear physics studies with polarized neutron beams, and as a test of the emerging theoretical descriptions of the four-body system, where recently substantial progress has been made.

  4. A reduce and replace strategy for suppressing vector-borne diseases: insights from a stochastic, spatial model.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kenichi W Okamoto

    Full Text Available Two basic strategies have been proposed for using transgenic Aedes aegypti mosquitoes to decrease dengue virus transmission: population reduction and population replacement. Here we model releases of a strain of Ae. aegypti carrying both a gene causing conditional adult female mortality and a gene blocking virus transmission into a wild population to assess whether such releases could reduce the number of competent vectors. We find this "reduce and replace" strategy can decrease the frequency of competent vectors below 50% two years after releases end. Therefore, this combined approach appears preferable to releasing a strain carrying only a female-killing gene, which is likely to merely result in temporary population suppression. However, the fixation of anti-pathogen genes in the population is unlikely. Genetic drift at small population sizes and the spatially heterogeneous nature of the population recovery after releases end prevent complete replacement of the competent vector population. Furthermore, releasing more individuals can be counter-productive in the face of immigration by wild-type mosquitoes, as greater population reduction amplifies the impact wild-type migrants have on the long-term frequency of the anti-pathogen gene. We expect the results presented here to give pause to expectations for driving an anti-pathogen construct to fixation by relying on releasing individuals carrying this two-gene construct. Nevertheless, in some dengue-endemic environments, a spatially heterogeneous decrease in competent vectors may still facilitate decreasing disease incidence.

  5. Higgs and associated vector boson event recorded by CMS (Run 2, 13 TeV)

    CERN Multimedia

    Mc Cauley, Thomas

    2016-01-01

    Real proton-proton collision event at 13 TeV in the CMS detector in which two high-energy electrons (green lines), two high-energy muons (red lines), and two high-energy jets (dark yellow cones) are observed. The event shows characteristics expected in the production of a Higgs boson in association with a vector boson with the decay of the Higgs boson in four leptons and the decay of the vector boson in two jets, and is also consistent with background standard model physics processes.

  6. Intertwined Hamiltonians in two-dimensional curved spaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aghababaei Samani, Keivan; Zarei, Mina

    2005-01-01

    The problem of intertwined Hamiltonians in two-dimensional curved spaces is investigated. Explicit results are obtained for Euclidean plane, Minkowski plane, Poincare half plane (AdS 2 ), de Sitter plane (dS 2 ), sphere, and torus. It is shown that the intertwining operator is related to the Killing vector fields and the isometry group of corresponding space. It is shown that the intertwined potentials are closely connected to the integral curves of the Killing vector fields. Two problems are considered as applications of the formalism presented in the paper. The first one is the problem of Hamiltonians with equispaced energy levels and the second one is the problem of Hamiltonians whose spectrum is like the spectrum of a free particle

  7. Carbon stocks of trees killed by bark beetles and wildfire in the western United States

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hicke, Jeffrey A; Meddens, Arjan J H; Kolden, Crystal A; Allen, Craig D

    2013-01-01

    Forests are major components of the carbon cycle, and disturbances are important influences of forest carbon. Our objective was to contribute to the understanding of forest carbon cycling by quantifying the amount of carbon in trees killed by two disturbance types, fires and bark beetles, in the western United States in recent decades. We combined existing spatial data sets of forest biomass, burn severity, and beetle-caused tree mortality to estimate the amount of aboveground and belowground carbon in killed trees across the region. We found that during 1984–2010, fires killed trees that contained 5–11 Tg C year −1 and during 1997–2010, beetles killed trees that contained 2–24 Tg C year −1 , with more trees killed since 2000 than in earlier periods. Over their periods of record, amounts of carbon in trees killed by fires and by beetle outbreaks were similar, and together these disturbances killed trees representing 9% of the total tree carbon in western forests, a similar amount to harvesting. Fires killed more trees in lower-elevation forest types such as Douglas-fir than higher-elevation forest types, whereas bark beetle outbreaks also killed trees in higher-elevation forest types such as lodgepole pine and Engelmann spruce. Over 15% of the carbon in lodgepole pine and spruce/fir forest types was in trees killed by beetle outbreaks; other forest types had 5–10% of the carbon in killed trees. Our results document the importance of these natural disturbances in the carbon budget of the western United States. (letter)

  8. Rare Hadronic B Decays to Vector, Axial-Vector and Tensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gao, Y.Y.

    2011-01-01

    The authors review BABAR measurements of several rare B decays, including vector-axial-vector decays B ± → φK 1 ± (1270), B ± → φ K 1 ± (1400) and B ± → b 1 # -+ρ# ± , vector-vector decays B ± → φK* ± (1410), B 0 → K* 0 (bar K)* 0 , B 0 → K*0K*0 and B 0 → K*+K*-, vector-tensor decays B ± → φK* 2 (1430) ± and φK 2 (1770)/ ± (1820), and vector-scalar decays B ± → φK* 0 (1430) ± . Understanding the observed polarization pattern requires amplitude contributions from an uncertain source.

  9. Multiple factors and processes involved in host cell killing by bacteriophage Mu: characterization and mapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waggoner, B T; Marrs, C F; Howe, M M; Pato, M L

    1984-07-15

    The regions of bacteriophage Mu involved in host cell killing were determined by infection of a lambda-immune host with 12 lambda pMu-transducing phages carrying different amounts of Mu DNA beginning at the left end. Infecting lambda pMu phages containing 5.0 (+/- 0.2) kb or less of the left end of Mu DNA did not kill the lambda-immune host, whereas lambda pMu containing 5.1 kb did kill, thus locating the right end of the kil gene between approximately 5.0 and 5.1 kb. For the Kil+ phages the extent of killing increased as the multiplicity of infection (m.o.i.) increased. In addition, killing was also affected by the presence of at least two other regions of Mu DNA: one, located between 5.1 and 5.8 kb, decreased the extent of killing; the other, located between 6.3 and 7.9 kb, greatly increased host cell killing. Killing was also assayed after lambda pMu infection of a lambda-immune host carrying a mini-Mu deleted for most of the B gene and the middle region of Mu DNA. Complementation of mini-Mu replication by infecting B+ lambda pMu phages resulted in killing of the lambda-immune, mini-Mu-containing host, regardless of the presence or absence of the Mu kil gene. The extent of host cell killing increased as the m.o.i. of the infecting lambda pMu increased, and was further enhanced by both the presence of the kil gene and the region located between 6.3 and 7.9 kb. These distinct processes of kil-mediated killing in the absence of replication and non-kil-mediated killing in the presence of replication were also observed after induction of replication-deficient and kil mutant prophages, respectively.

  10. Age and sex composition of seals killed by polar bears in the eastern Beaufort Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilfold, Nicholas W; Derocher, Andrew E; Stirling, Ian; Richardson, Evan; Andriashek, Dennis

    2012-01-01

    Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) of the Beaufort Sea enter hyperphagia in spring and gain fat reserves to survive periods of low prey availability. We collected information on seals killed by polar bears (n=650) and hunting attempts on ringed seal (Pusa hispida) lairs (n=1396) observed from a helicopter during polar bear mark-recapture studies in the eastern Beaufort Sea in spring in 1985-2011. We investigated how temporal shifts in ringed seal reproduction affect kill composition and the intraspecific vulnerabilities of ringed seals to polar bear predation. Polar bears primarily preyed on ringed seals (90.2%) while bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) only comprised 9.8% of the kills, but 33% of the biomass. Adults comprised 43.6% (150/344) of the ringed seals killed, while their pups comprised 38.4% (132/344). Juvenile ringed seals were killed at the lowest proportion, comprising 18.0% (62/344) of the ringed seal kills. The proportion of ringed seal pups was highest between 2007-2011, in association with high ringed seal productivity. Half of the adult ringed seal kills were ≥ 21 years (60/121), and kill rates of adults increased following the peak of parturition. Determination of sex from DNA revealed that polar bears killed adult male and adult female ringed seals equally (0.50, n=78). The number of hunting attempts at ringed seal subnivean lair sites was positively correlated with the number of pup kills (r(2) =0.30, P=0.04), but was not correlated with the number of adult kills (P=0.37). Results are consistent with decadal trends in ringed seal productivity, with low numbers of pups killed by polar bears in spring in years of low pup productivity, and conversely when pup productivity was high. Vulnerability of adult ringed seals to predation increased in relation to reproductive activities and age, but not gender.

  11. 77 FR 10960 - Security Zone, East River and Bronx Kill; Randalls and Wards Islands, NY

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-24

    ...'' W (Port Morris Stacks), and all waters of the Bronx Kill southeast of the Bronx Kill Rail Road...-AA87 Security Zone, East River and Bronx Kill; Randalls and Wards Islands, NY AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS... waters of the East River and Bronx Kill, in the vicinity of Randalls and Wards Islands, New York. This...

  12. Quasilocal energy and conserved charges derived from the gravitational action

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, J.D.; York, J.W. Jr.

    1993-01-01

    The quasilocal energy of gravitational and matter fields in a spatially bounded region is obtained by employing a Hamilton-Jacobi analysis of the action functional. First, a surface stress-energy-momentum tensor is defined by the functional derivative of the action with respect to the three-metric on 3 B, the history of the system's boundary. Energy surface density, momentum surface density, and spatial stress are defined by projecting the surface stress tensor normally and tangentially to a family of spacelike two-surfaces that foliate 3 B. The integral of the energy surface density over such a two-surface B is the quasilocal energy associated with a spacelike three-surface Σ whose orthogonal intersection with 3 B is the boundary B. The resulting expression for quasilocal energy is given in terms of the total mean curvature of the spatial boundary B as a surface embedded in Σ. The quasilocal energy is also the value of the Hamiltonian that generates unit magnitude proper-time translations on 3 B in the timelike direction orthogonal to B. Conserved charges such as angular momentum are defined using the surface stress tensor and Killing vector fields on 3 B. For spacetimes that are asymptotically flat in spacelike directions, the quasilocal energy and angular momentum defined here agree with the results of Arnowitt, Deser, and Misner in the limit that the boundary tends to spatial infinity. For spherically symmetric spacetimes, it is shown that the quasilocal energy has the correct Newtonian limit, and includes a negative contribution due to gravitational binding

  13. Habitat or matrix: which is more relevant to predict road-kill of vertebrates?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Bueno

    Full Text Available Abstract We believe that in tropics we need a community approach to evaluate road impacts on wildlife, and thus, suggest mitigation measures for groups of species instead a focal-species approach. Understanding which landscape characteristics indicate road-kill events may also provide models that can be applied in other regions. We intend to evaluate if habitat or matrix is more relevant to predict road-kill events for a group of species. Our hypothesis is: more permeable matrix is the most relevant factor to explain road-kill events. To test this hypothesis, we chose vertebrates as the studied assemblage and a highway crossing in an Atlantic Forest region in southeastern Brazil as the study site. Logistic regression models were designed using presence/absence of road-kill events as dependent variables and landscape characteristics as independent variables, which were selected by Akaike’s Information Criterion. We considered a set of candidate models containing four types of simple regression models: Habitat effect model; Matrix types effect models; Highway effect model; and, Reference models (intercept and buffer distance. Almost three hundred road-kills and 70 species were recorded. River proximity and herbaceous vegetation cover, both matrix effect models, were associated to most road-killed vertebrate groups. Matrix was more relevant than habitat to predict road-kill of vertebrates. The association between river proximity and road-kill indicates that rivers may be a preferential route for most species. We discuss multi-species mitigation measures and implications to movement ecology and conservation strategies.

  14. Vector analysis

    CERN Document Server

    Brand, Louis

    2006-01-01

    The use of vectors not only simplifies treatments of differential geometry, mechanics, hydrodynamics, and electrodynamics, but also makes mathematical and physical concepts more tangible and easy to grasp. This text for undergraduates was designed as a short introductory course to give students the tools of vector algebra and calculus, as well as a brief glimpse into these subjects' manifold applications. The applications are developed to the extent that the uses of the potential function, both scalar and vector, are fully illustrated. Moreover, the basic postulates of vector analysis are brou

  15. Selective Killing of Breast Cancer Cells by Doxorubicin-Loaded Fluorescent Gold Nanoclusters: Confocal Microscopy and FRET.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chattoraj, Shyamtanu; Amin, Asif; Jana, Batakrishna; Mohapatra, Saswat; Ghosh, Surajit; Bhattacharyya, Kankan

    2016-01-18

    Fluorescent gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) capped with lysozymes are used to deliver the anticancer drug doxorubicin to cancer and noncancer cells. Doxorubicin-loaded AuNCs cause the highly selective and efficient killing (90 %) of breast cancer cells (MCF7) (IC50 =155 nm). In contrast, the killing of the noncancer breast cells (MCF10A) by doxorubicin-loaded AuNCs is only 40 % (IC50 =4500 nm). By using a confocal microscope, the fluorescence spectrum and decay of the AuNCs were recorded inside the cell. The fluorescence maxima (at ≈490-515 nm) and lifetime (≈2 ns), of the AuNCs inside the cells correspond to Au10-13 . The intracellular release of doxorubicin from AuNCs is monitored by Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) imaging. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  16. Thou Shalt Not Kill: Conscientious Objection and the Decalogue

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-01

    used to condone animal cruelty .66 Second, n¥1 (ratsach) is not used in the context of proper punishment for a crime.67 Alan Cole explains...used to refer to the killing animals for food and sacrifices.63 Scripture records that God allowed the killing of animals for food.64 God also allowed...the slaying of animals for sacrifices.65 Consequently, the sixth commandment cannot be used to support the practice of vegetarianism nor can it be

  17. Optical cage generated by azimuthal- and radial-variant vector beams.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Man, Zhongsheng; Bai, Zhidong; Li, Jinjian; Zhang, Shuoshuo; Li, Xiaoyu; Zhang, Yuquan; Ge, Xiaolu; Fu, Shenggui

    2018-05-01

    We propose a method to generate an optical cage using azimuthal- and radial-variant vector beams in a high numerical aperture optical system. A new kind of vector beam that has azimuthal- and radial-variant polarization states is proposed and demonstrated theoretically. Then, an integrated analytical model to calculate the electromagnetic field and Poynting vector distributions of the input azimuthal- and radial-variant vector beams is derived and built based on the vector diffraction theory of Richards and Wolf. From calculations, a full polarization-controlled optical cage is obtained by simply tailoring the radial index of the polarization, the uniformity U of which is up to 0.7748, and the cleanness C is zero. Additionally, a perfect optical cage can be achieved with U=1, and C=0 by introducing an amplitude modulation; its magnetic field and energy flow are also demonstrated in detail. Such optical cages may be helpful in applications such as optical trapping and high-resolution imaging.

  18. Inflatable kill packers used in working over Kuwaiti wells

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miller, D. (Baker Oil Tools, Houston, TX (US)); Conover, G. (Baker Service Tools, Houston, TX (US))

    1992-03-09

    This paper reports on inflatable packers which are being used with great success in post-well capping workover operations in Kuwait oil fields. In mid-January, about one kill packer was being run per day. Use is expected to increase in March when a second post-capping crew arrives. Of several thousand unconventional ideas submitted to Kuwait Oil Co. (KOC) for controlling the well fires left in the aftermath of lst year's Gulf War, only about a dozen were actually used. Inflatable kill packers, designed and manufactured by Baker Service Tools and marketed by Baker Oil Tools, were one of the ideas that proved effective. The kill packers are modifications of Baker's inflatable packers that have successfully been used in capping producers on many blowouts throughout the world, including the Piper Alpha disaster in the North Sea and the Saga blowout offshore Norway.

  19. Vectors and Rotations in 3-Dimensions: Vector Algebra for the C++ Programmer

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-12-01

    release; distribution is unlimited. 1. Introduction This report describes 2 C++ classes: a Vector class for performing vector algebra in 3-dimensional...ARL-TR-7894•DEC 2016 US Army Research Laboratory Vectors and Rotations in 3-Dimensions:Vector Algebra for the C++ Programmer by Richard Saucier...Army Research Laboratory Vectors and Rotations in 3-Dimensions:Vector Algebra for the C++ Programmer by Richard Saucier Survivability/Lethality

  20. Anomalous couplings, resonances and unitarity in vector boson scattering

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sekulla, Marco

    2015-12-04

    The Standard Model of particle physics has proved itself as a reliable theory to describe interactions of elementary particles. However, many questions concerning the Higgs sector and the associated electroweak symmetry breaking are still open, even after (or because) a light Higgs boson has been discovered. The 2→2 scattering amplitude of weak vector bosons is suppressed in the Standard Model due to the Higgs boson exchange. Therefore, weak vector boson scattering processes are very sensitive to additional contributions beyond the Standard Model. Possible new physics deviations can be studied model-independently by higher dimensional operators within the effective field theory framework. In this thesis, a complete set of dimension six and eight operators are discussed for vector boson scattering processes. Assuming a scenario where new physics in the Higgs/Goldstone boson decouples from the fermion-sector and the gauge-sector in the high energy limit, the impact of the dimension six operator L{sub HD} and dimension eight operators L{sub S,0} and L{sub S,1} to vector boson scattering processes can be studied separately for complete processes at particle colliders. However, a conventional effective field theory analysis will violate the S-matrix unitarity above a certain energy limit. The direct T-matrix scheme is developed to allow a study of effective field theory operators consistent with basic quantum-mechanical principles in the complete energy reach of current and future colliders. Additionally, this scheme can be used preventively for any model, because it leaves theoretical predictions invariant, which already satisfies unitarity. The effective field theory approach is further extended by allowing additional generic resonances coupling to the Higgs/Goldstone boson sector, namely the isoscalar-scalar, isoscalar-tensor, isotensor-scalar and isotensor-tensor. In particular, the Stueckelberg formalism is used to investigate the impact of the tensor degree of

  1. Skyrmions and vector mesons: a symmetric approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caldi, D.G.

    1984-01-01

    We propose an extension of the effective, low-energy chiral Lagrangian known as the Skyrme model, to one formulated by a non-linear sigma model generalized to include vector mesons in a symmetric way. The model is based on chiral SU(6) x SU(6) symmetry spontaneously broken to static SU(6). The rho and other vector mesons are dormant Goldstone bosons since they are in the same SU(6) multiplet as the pion and other pseudoscalars. Hence the manifold of our generalized non-linear sigma model is the coset space (SU(6) x SU(6))/Su(6). Relativistic effects, via a spin-dependent mass term, break the static SU(6) and give the vectors a mass. The model can then be fully relativistic and covariant. The lowest-lying Skyrmion in this model is the whole baryonic 56-plet, which splits into the octet and decuplet in the presence of relativistic SU(6)-breaking. Due to the built-in SU(6) and the presence of vector mesons, the model is expected to have better phenomenological results, as well as providing a conceptually more unified picture of mesons and baryons. 29 references

  2. Small-angle neutron polarization for the /sup 2/H(d vector,n vector)/sup 3/He reaction near Esub(d) = 8MeV

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tornow, W.; Woye, W.; Mack, G. (Tuebingen Univ. (Germany, F.R.). Physikalisches Inst.); Walter, R.L.; Floyd, C.E.; Guss, P.P.; Byrd, R.C. (Duke Univ., Durham, NC (USA). Dept. of Physics; Triangle Universities Nuclear Lab., Durham, NC (USA))

    1981-12-15

    Considerable improvement in the quality of analyzing power experiments performed with polarized fast neutrons has been achieved during the last few years by using neutrons from the polarization transfer reaction /sup 2/H(d vector,n vector)/sup 3/He at a reaction angle of theta = 0/sup 0/. To compromise in these experiments between intensity problems and finite geometry corrections, it is desirable in some instances to subtend a full-width angle ..delta..theta of 20/sup 0/ (lab) centered about theta = 0/sup 0/. In order to investigate the suitability of this reaction as a source of polarized neutrons for cases where the scatterer is close to the neutron source, the neutron polarization of the reaction /sup 2/H(d vector,n vector)/sup 3/He has been studied with ..delta..theta of about 3/sup 0/ in 3/sup 0/ steps out to theta = 20/sup 0/ (lab). An incident deuteron energy near 8 MeV was chosen to yield outgoing neutrons at 11.0 MeV, a typical energy for neutron analyzing power experiments. It is found that the effective neutron polarization, a combination of the two polarizations measured when the direction of the deuteron polarization is inverted or flipped at the polarized ion source, is large and nearly constant for angles between theta = 0/sup 0/ and theta = 10/sup 0/ (lab).

  3. Black hole superradiance signatures of ultralight vectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baryakhtar, Masha; Lasenby, Robert; Teo, Mae

    2017-08-01

    The process of superradiance can extract angular momentum and energy from astrophysical black holes (BHs) to populate gravitationally bound states with an exponentially large number of light bosons. We analytically calculate superradiant growth rates for vectors around rotating BHs in the regime where the vector Compton wavelength is much larger than the BH size. Spin-1 bound states have superradiance times as short as a second around stellar BHs, growing up to a thousand times faster than their spin-0 counterparts. The fast rates allow us to use measurements of rapidly spinning BHs in x-ray binaries to exclude a wide range of masses for weakly coupled spin-1 particles, 5 ×10-14-2 ×10-11 eV ; lighter masses in the range 6 ×10-20-2 ×10-17 eV start to be constrained by supermassive BH spin measurements at a lower level of confidence. We also explore routes to detection of new vector particles possible with the advent of gravitational wave (GW) astronomy. The LIGO-Virgo Collaboration could discover hints of a new light vector particle in statistical analyses of masses and spins of merging BHs. Vector annihilations source continuous monochromatic gravitational radiation which could be observed by current GW observatories. At design sensitivity, Advanced LIGO may measure up to thousands of annihilation signals from within the Milky Way, while hundreds of BHs born in binary mergers across the observable Universe may superradiate vector bound states and become new beacons of monochromatic gravitational waves.

  4. To Kill, Stay or Flee: The Effects of Lions and Landscape Factors on Habitat and Kill Site Selection of Cheetahs in South Africa

    OpenAIRE

    Rostro-Garc?a, Susana; Kamler, Jan F.; Hunter, Luke T. B.

    2015-01-01

    Understanding how animals utilize available space is important for their conservation, as it provides insight into the ecological needs of the species, including those related to habitat, prey and inter and intraspecific interactions. We used 28 months of radio telemetry data and information from 200 kill locations to assess habitat selection at the 3rd order (selection of habitats within home ranges) and 4th order (selection of kill sites within the habitats used) of a reintroduced populatio...

  5. Dynamics of Human Complement–Mediated Killing of Klebsiella pneumoniae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nypaver, Christina M.; Thornton, Margaret M.; Yin, Suellen M.; Bracho, David O.; Nelson, Patrick W.; Jones, Alan E.; Bortz, David M.; Younger, John G.

    2010-01-01

    With an in vitro system that used a luminescent strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae to assess bacterial metabolic activity in near-real-time, we investigated the dynamics of complement-mediated attack in healthy individuals and in patients presenting to the emergency department with community-acquired severe sepsis. A novel mathematical/statistical model was developed to simplify light output trajectories over time into two fitted parameters, the rate of complement activation and the delay from activation to the onset of killing. Using Factor B–depleted serum, the alternative pathway was found to be the primary bactericidal effector: In the absence of B, C3 opsonization as measured by flow cytometry did not progress and bacteria proliferated near exponentially. Defects in bacterial killing were easily demonstrable in patients with severe sepsis compared with healthy volunteers. In most patients with sepsis, the rate of activation was higher than in normal subjects but was associated with a prolonged delay between activation and bacterial killing (P < 0.05 for both). Theoretical modeling suggested that this combination of accentuated but delayed function should allow successful bacterial killing but with significantly greater complement activation. The use of luminescent bacteria allowed for the development of a novel and powerful tool for assessing complement immunology for the purposes of mechanistic study and patient evaluation. PMID:20008281

  6. Vector parametrization, partial angular momenta and unusual commutation relations in physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gatti, Fabien; Nauts, Andre

    2003-01-01

    When studying an N-particle system by means of N-1 vectors i.e., by means of a vector parametrization, one unavoidably comes across several angular momenta: not only the total angular momentum of the system but also the various partial angular momenta corresponding to the motion of the various vectors. All these momenta can, in addition, be referred to a variety of reference frames. The use of vector parametrizations and partial angular momenta in physics greatly simplifies the classical as well as quantum expressions of the kinetic energy. The present paper is devoted to a detailed and rigorous study of the partial angular momenta and the various commutation relations they satisfy, in particular the unusual commutation relations whose origin is traced back to the very structure of the coordinate changes used to define the Body-Fixed (BF) frames. The direct quantization of the classical expressions of the kinetic energy obtained in the context of various vector parametrizations is also given in detail. It turns out to be an efficient extension of well-known quantization procedures to the case where supernumerary quasi-momenta are used. As an illustration, the case of a four-particle system is treated in detail for a particular choice of the BF frames. Finally, the analogies between the classical and quantum approaches are emphasized

  7. How Effective Is Road Mitigation at Reducing Road-Kill? A Meta-Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Rytwinski, Trina; Soanes, Kylie; Jaeger, Jochen A. G.; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C. Scott; Houlahan, Jeff; van der Ree, Rodney; van der Grift, Edgar A

    2016-01-01

    Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill). For road planners, deciding on what mitigation method to use has been problematic because there is little good information about the relative effectiveness of these measures in reducing road-kill, and the costs of these...

  8. Measurement of Charmless B to Vector-Vector decays at BaBar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olaiya, Emmanuel

    2011-01-01

    The authors present results of B → vector-vector (VV) and B → vector-axial vector (VA) decays B 0 → φX(X = φ,ρ + or ρ 0 ), B + → φK (*)+ , B 0 → K*K*, B 0 → ρ + b 1 - and B + → K* 0 α 1 + . The largest dataset used for these results is based on 465 x 10 6 Υ(4S) → B(bar B) decays, collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II B meson factory located at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). Using larger datasets, the BABAR experiment has provided more precise B → VV measurements, further supporting the smaller than expected longitudinal polarization fraction of B → φK*. Additional B meson to vector-vector and vector-axial vector decays have also been studied with a view to shedding light on the polarization anomaly. Taking into account the available errors, we find no disagreement between theory and experiment for these additional decays.

  9. Production ratio of pseudoscalar to vector mesons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chliapnikov, P.V.; Uvarov, V.A.

    1990-01-01

    The P/V ratio of directly produced pseudoscalar (P) to vector (V) mesons is analysed using the data on the K S 0 and K * (892) total inclusive cross sections in pp, π + p and K ± p reactions. The indication for a change of P/V from a value of about 1 at low energies, where the fragmentation processes dominate, to a value of 1/3, suggested by spin-statistics, at high energies is discussed. (orig.)

  10. Traffics and wildlife: A preliminary study on road-kill

    OpenAIRE

    Rustiati, Elly Lestari

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents the preliminary finding on road kill survey by direct observations onthe high ways. The road-kills recorded of small wildlife, including medium size-mammal (2.50%, n =1), birds (5.00%, n = 2) and small mammals (92.50%, n = 37). The small mammals include the mostcommon mammals in the areas, squirrels, raccoons, skunks and woodchuck. Of mammals, squirrels(35.00%) were the highest recorded, followed by woodchucks (25.00%), mice/shrew (17.50%),raccoons (10.00%), skunk (5.00%) ...

  11. Oil is killing Africa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paris, H.

    2007-09-01

    Sub-Saharan Africa, with its mining and petroleum resources, is still the object of covetous desires from developed countries. The Gulf of Guinea is a promising area and probably the future battlefield of the 21. century. The fighters of this war are the African people and the big powers, the USA and China at the head, who call upon mercenaries to get their share of this fabulous treasure. Oil was a chance for Africa, but now oil is killing it

  12. Age and sex composition of seals killed by polar bears in the eastern Beaufort Sea.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicholas W Pilfold

    Full Text Available Polar bears (Ursus maritimus of the Beaufort Sea enter hyperphagia in spring and gain fat reserves to survive periods of low prey availability. We collected information on seals killed by polar bears (n=650 and hunting attempts on ringed seal (Pusa hispida lairs (n=1396 observed from a helicopter during polar bear mark-recapture studies in the eastern Beaufort Sea in spring in 1985-2011. We investigated how temporal shifts in ringed seal reproduction affect kill composition and the intraspecific vulnerabilities of ringed seals to polar bear predation.Polar bears primarily preyed on ringed seals (90.2% while bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus only comprised 9.8% of the kills, but 33% of the biomass. Adults comprised 43.6% (150/344 of the ringed seals killed, while their pups comprised 38.4% (132/344. Juvenile ringed seals were killed at the lowest proportion, comprising 18.0% (62/344 of the ringed seal kills. The proportion of ringed seal pups was highest between 2007-2011, in association with high ringed seal productivity. Half of the adult ringed seal kills were ≥ 21 years (60/121, and kill rates of adults increased following the peak of parturition. Determination of sex from DNA revealed that polar bears killed adult male and adult female ringed seals equally (0.50, n=78. The number of hunting attempts at ringed seal subnivean lair sites was positively correlated with the number of pup kills (r(2 =0.30, P=0.04, but was not correlated with the number of adult kills (P=0.37.Results are consistent with decadal trends in ringed seal productivity, with low numbers of pups killed by polar bears in spring in years of low pup productivity, and conversely when pup productivity was high. Vulnerability of adult ringed seals to predation increased in relation to reproductive activities and age, but not gender.

  13. Wind farm facilities in Germany kill noctule bats from near and far.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linn S Lehnert

    Full Text Available Over recent years, it became widely accepted that alternative, renewable energy may come at some risk for wildlife, for example, when wind turbines cause large numbers of bat fatalities. To better assess likely populations effects of wind turbine related wildlife fatalities, we studied the geographical origin of the most common bat species found dead below German wind turbines, the noctule bat (Nyctalus noctula. We measured stable isotope ratios of non-exchangeable hydrogen in fur keratin to separate migrants from local individuals, used a linear mixed-effects model to identify temporal, spatial and biological factors explaining the variance in measured stable isotope ratios and determined the geographical breeding provenance of killed migrants using isoscape origin models. We found that 72% of noctule bat casualties (n = 136 were of local origin, while 28% were long-distance migrants. These findings highlight that bat fatalities at German wind turbines may affect both local and distant populations. Our results indicated a sex and age-specific vulnerability of bats towards lethal accidents at turbines, i.e. a relatively high proportion of killed females were recorded among migratory individuals, whereas more juveniles than adults were recorded among killed bats of local origin. Migratory noctule bats were found to originate from distant populations in the Northeastern parts of Europe. The large catchment areas of German wind turbines and high vulnerability of female and juvenile noctule bats call for immediate action to reduce the negative cross-boundary effects of bat fatalities at wind turbines on local and distant populations. Further, our study highlights the importance of implementing effective mitigation measures and developing species and scale-specific conservation approaches on both national and international levels to protect source populations of bats. The efficacy of local compensatory measures appears doubtful, at least for migrant

  14. Angular momentum conservation for uniformly expanding flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayward, Sean A

    2007-01-01

    Angular momentum has recently been defined as a surface integral involving an axial vector and a twist 1-form, which measures the twisting around the spacetime due to a rotating mass. The axial vector is chosen to be a transverse, divergence-free, coordinate vector, which is compatible with any initial choice of axis and integral curves. Then a conservation equation expresses the rate of the change of angular momentum along a uniformly expanding flow as a surface integral of angular momentum densities, with the same form as the standard equation for an axial Killing vector, apart from the inclusion of an effective energy tensor for gravitational radiation

  15. Vectorization, parallelization and porting of nuclear codes (porting). Progress report fiscal 1999

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kawasaki, Nobuo; Nemoto, Toshiyuki; Kawai, Wataru; Ishizuki, Shigeru [Fujitsu Ltd., Tokyo (Japan); Ogasawara, Shinobu; Kume, Etsuo; Adachi, Masaaki [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment; Yatake, Yo-ichi [Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

    2001-01-01

    Several computer codes in the nuclear field have been vectorized, parallelized and transported on the FUJITSU VPP500 system, the AP3000 system, the SX-4 system and the Paragon system at Center for Promotion of Computational Science and Engineering in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. We dealt with 18 codes in fiscal 1999. These results are reported in 3 parts, i.e., the vectorization and the parallelization part on vector processors, the parallelization port on scalar processors and the porting part. In this report, we describe the porting. In this porting part, the porting of Assisted Model Building with Energy Refinement code version 5 (AMBER5), general purpose Monte Carlo codes far neutron and photon transport calculations based on continuous energy and multigroup methods (MVP/GMVP), automatic editing system for MCNP library code (autonj), neutron damage calculations for materials irradiations and neutron damage calculations for compounds code (SPECTER/SPECOMP), severe accident analysis code (MELCOR) and COolant Boiling in Rod Arrays, Two-Fluid code (COBRA-TF) on the VPP500 system and/or the AP3000 system are described. (author)

  16. Speaker Recognition from Emotional Speech Using I-vector Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MACKOVÁ Lenka

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available In recent years the concept of i-vectors become very popular and successful in the field of the speaker verification. The basic principle of i-vectors is that each utterance is represented by fixed-length feature vector of low-dimension. In the literature for purpose of speaker verification various recordings obtained from telephones or microphones were used. The aim of this experiment was to perform speaker verification using speaker model trained with emotional recordings on i-vector basis. The Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC, log energy, their deltas and acceleration coefficients were used in process of features extraction. As the classification methods of the verification system Mahalanobis distance metric in combination with Eigen Factor Radial normalization was used and in the second approach Cosine Distance Scoring (CSS metric with Within-class Covariance Normalization as a channel compensation was employed. This verification system used emotional recordings of male subjects from freely available German emotional database (Emo-DB.

  17. The killing of African trypanosomes by ethidium bromide.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arnab Roy Chowdhury

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduced in the 1950s, ethidium bromide (EB is still used as an anti-trypanosomal drug for African cattle although its mechanism of killing has been unclear and controversial. EB has long been known to cause loss of the mitochondrial genome, named kinetoplast DNA (kDNA, a giant network of interlocked minicircles and maxicircles. However, the existence of viable parasites lacking kDNA (dyskinetoplastic led many to think that kDNA loss could not be the mechanism of killing. When recent studies indicated that kDNA is indeed essential in bloodstream trypanosomes and that dyskinetoplastic cells survive only if they have a compensating mutation in the nuclear genome, we investigated the effect of EB on kDNA and its replication. We here report some remarkable effects of EB. Using EM and other techniques, we found that binding of EB to network minicircles is low, probably because of their association with proteins that prevent helix unwinding. In contrast, covalently-closed minicircles that had been released from the network for replication bind EB extensively, causing them, after isolation, to become highly supertwisted and to develop regions of left-handed Z-DNA (without EB, these circles are fully relaxed. In vivo, EB causes helix distortion of free minicircles, preventing replication initiation and resulting in kDNA loss and cell death. Unexpectedly, EB also kills dyskinetoplastic trypanosomes, lacking kDNA, by inhibiting nuclear replication. Since the effect on kDNA occurs at a >10-fold lower EB concentration than that on nuclear DNA, we conclude that minicircle replication initiation is likely EB's most vulnerable target, but the effect on nuclear replication may also contribute to cell killing.

  18. Vectorization of KENO IV code and an estimate of vector-parallel processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asai, Kiyoshi; Higuchi, Kenji; Katakura, Jun-ichi; Kurita, Yutaka.

    1986-10-01

    The multi-group criticality safety code KENO IV has been vectorized and tested on FACOM VP-100 vector processor. At first the vectorized KENO IV on a scalar processor became slower than the original one by a factor of 1.4 because of the overhead introduced by the vectorization. Making modifications of algorithms and techniques for vectorization, the vectorized version has become faster than the original one by a factor of 1.4 and 3.0 on the vector processor for sample problems of complex and simple geometries, respectively. For further speedup of the code, some improvements on compiler and hardware, especially on addition of Monte Carlo pipelines to the vector processor, are discussed. Finally a pipelined parallel processor system is proposed and its performance is estimated. (author)

  19. Light vector meson production at the LHC with the ALICE detector

    CERN Document Server

    Incani, Elisa

    2013-01-01

    The measurement of light vector meson production (\\rho, \\omega, \\phi) in pp collisions provides insight into soft Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) processes in the LHC energy range. Calculations in this regime are based on QCD inspired phenomenological models that must be tuned to the data. Moreover, light vector meson production provides a reference for high-energy heavy-ion collisions. A measurement of the \\phi and \\omega differential cross sections as performed by the ALICE experiment in pp collisions at 7 TeV and of the \\phi cross section in pp collisions at 2.76 TeV through their decay to muon pairs and in the rapidity interval 2.5 < y < 4.

  20. Complement-mediated killing of Borrelia burgdorferi by nonimmune sera from sika deer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, D R; Rooney, S; Miller, N J; Mather, T N

    2000-12-01

    Various species of cervid deer are the preferred hosts for adult, black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus) in the United States. Although frequently exposed to the agent of Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi), these animals, for the most part, are incompetent as transmission reservoirs. We examined the borreliacidal activity of normal and B. burgdorferi-immune sera from sika deer (Cervus nippon) maintained in a laboratory setting and compared it to that of similar sera from reservoir-competent mice and rabbits. All normal deer sera (NDS) tested killed > 90% of B. burgdorferi cells. In contrast, normal mouse and rabbit sera killed feeding exhibited IFA titers of 1:256, whereas sera from mice and rabbits similarly exposed had titers of > 1:1,024. Heat treatment (56 C, 30 min) of NDS reduced borreliacidal activity, with complement-mediated killing. The chelators EGTA and EDTA were used to block the classical or both the classical and alternative complement pathways, respectively. Addition of 10 mM EGTA to NDS had a negligible effect on borreliacidal activity, with > 90% of the cells killed. Addition of 10 mM EDTA reduced the killing to approximately 30%, whereas the addition of Mg2+ (10 mM) restored borreliacidal activity to NDS. The addition of zymosan A, an activator of the alternative pathway, increased the survival of B. burgdorferi cells to approximately 80% in NDS. These data suggest that the alternative complement activation pathway plays a major role in the borreliacidal activity of NDS. Additionally, 10 mM EGTA had almost no effect on the killing activity of B. burgdorferi-exposed deer sera, suggesting that the classical pathway is not involved in Borrelia killing, even in sera from B. burgdorferi-exposed deer.

  1. Reconstruction of missing transverse energy and prospect of searching for Higgs boson produced via vector boson fusion in Compact Muon Solenoid experiment

    CERN Document Server

    Pi, Haifeng

    2005-01-01

    We performed full detector simulation studies of missing transverse energy (Emiss T ) reconstruction and correction, and the prospects for searching for a low mass Higgs Boson (120 < mH < 250 GeV/c 2 ) produced via the vector boson fusion (VBF) process through the decay of H → W+W− → `νjj at Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment in Large Hadron Collider (LHC). We developed a new jet energy correction algorithm by parameterizing the jet energy distribution around the jet axis. The jet energy resolution is improved by calibrating the jet energy scale and by reducing the variance of the measurement error. Correction functions showed good performance in restoring the jet transverse momentum (pT) spectrum. The methods provide a good framework to study jet quantities and optimize jet reconstruction and correction techniques. We evaluated the performance of the CMS detector for measuring the Emiss T using QCD events. We also studied the contributions from detector resolution, minimum bias pileup, event...

  2. Geometry of all supersymmetric four-dimensional N = 1 supergravity backgrounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gran, U.; Gutowski, J.; Papadopoulos, G.

    2008-01-01

    We solve the Killing spinor equations of N = 1 supergravity, with four supercharges, coupled to any number of vector and scalar multiplets in all cases. We find that backgrounds with N = 1 supersymmetry admit a null, integrable, Killing vector field. There are two classes of N = 2 backgrounds. The spacetime in the first class admits a parallel null vector field and so it is a pp-wave. The spacetime of the other class admits three Killing vector fields, and a vector field that commutes with the three Killing directions. These backgrounds are of cohomogeneity one with homogenous sections either R 2,1 or AdS 3 and have an interpretation as domain walls. The N = 3 backgrounds are locally maximally supersymmetric. There are N = 3 backgrounds which arise as discrete identifications of maximally supersymmetric ones. The maximally supersymmetric backgrounds are locally isometric to either R 3,1 or AdS 4 .

  3. Prevalence of alcohol and other psychoactive substances in injured and killed drivers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Isalberti, Cristina; Linden, Trudy Van der; Legrand, Sara-Ann

    2011-01-01

    regarding the prevalence of alcohol and other psychoactive substances in drivers who have been injured/killed in traffic accidents. Part 1 of this report presents the general results of the hospital & killed driver studies. After a short introduction, the representativeness of the populations in the EU...... countries as well as the representativeness of hospitalised and killed driver samples are addressed. An overview of the non-response issues in the various countries is also included. Based on the toxicological findings, a general summary of the prevalence of drug use is given for the 9 participating...

  4. Subordinations In “To Kill A Mockingbird” By Harper Lee

    OpenAIRE

    Siregar, Rut Sri Novitawaty

    2011-01-01

    Salah satu yang dipelajari mahasiswa adalah tulis menulis. Secara ilmiah tulis menulis adalah penyampaian informasi dalam bentuk tulisan serta bagaimana informasi itu disampaikan. Judul kertas karya ini adalah Kalimat Subordinat yang ditemukan dalam novel To Kill a Mockingbird karya Harper Lee: SUBORDINATION IN TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD BY HARPER LEE. Penulis mengangkat hal ini karena penulis tertarik dengan bentuk–bentuk serta fungsi-fungsi kalimat subordinat yang terdapat dalam tulisan-tulisan ...

  5. 40 CFR 180.1107 - Delta endotoxin of Bacillus thuringiensis variety kurstaki encapsulated into killed Pseudomonas...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... thuringiensis variety kurstaki encapsulated into killed Pseudomonas fluorescens; exemption from the requirement... killed Pseudomonas fluorescens; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. The delta endotoxin of Bacillus thuringiensis variety kurstaki encapsulated into killed Pseudomonas fluorescens is exempt from the...

  6. KILLING, VIEWED FROM A CONFLICT RESOLUTION PERSPECTIVE

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    DODO

    2017-07-01

    Jul 1, 2017 ... ... million people were killed as part of the industrial policy of Belgium's ..... the seeds of hate and further conspiracies against others, the entire .... International Commission On Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) 2001.

  7. An Analysis Of Intrinsic Elements In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird

    OpenAIRE

    Simbolon, Hendra Halomoan

    2011-01-01

    Skripsi ini berjudul “An Analysis of Intrinsic Elements in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird”. Skripsi ini mengenai unsur-unsur intrinsik yakni karakter, plot, setting, tema, sudut pandang dan gaya penulisan yang terdapat pada karya Charles Dickens yang berjudul To Kill A Mockingbird. Di dalam skripsi ini, penulis ingin membuktikan keterkaitan unsur-unsur intrinsik yang terdapat dalam novel To Kill A Mockingbird karya Harper Lee. Adapun metode yang digunakan penul...

  8. Experiment for dose measurement during beam killing at Indus-1 synchrotron radiation source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nayak, M.K.; Dev, Vipin; Haridas, G.; Thakkar, K.K.; Sarkar, P.K.; Sharma, D.N.

    2006-01-01

    Experimental measurement of radiation dose likely to be received by an occupational worker in the experimental hall of Indus-1 during accidental beam killing was carried out. Various accidental beam-killing scenarios were experimentally simulated for the measurement. The measurement was carried out using direct reading dosimeters. Result shows that in the event of accidental beam killing, dose likely to be received by an occupational worker outside the shield is negligible. (author)

  9. Versatile generation of optical vector fields and vector beams using a non-interferometric approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tripathi, Santosh; Toussaint, Kimani C

    2012-05-07

    We present a versatile, non-interferometric method for generating vector fields and vector beams which can produce all the states of polarization represented on a higher-order Poincaré sphere. The versatility and non-interferometric nature of this method is expected to enable exploration of various exotic properties of vector fields and vector beams. To illustrate this, we study the propagation properties of some vector fields and find that, in general, propagation alters both their intensity and polarization distribution, and more interestingly, converts some vector fields into vector beams. In the article, we also suggest a modified Jones vector formalism to represent vector fields and vector beams.

  10. Lepton flavor violation with light vector bosons

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julian Heeck

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available New sub-GeV vector bosons with couplings to muons but not electrons have been discussed in order to explain the muon's magnetic moment, the gap of high-energy neutrinos in IceCube or the proton radius puzzle. If such a light Z′ not only violates lepton universality but also lepton flavor, as expected for example from the recent hint for h→μτ at CMS, the two-body decay mode τ→μZ′ opens up and for MZ′<2mμ gives better constraints than τ→3μ already with 20-year-old ARGUS limits. We discuss the general prospects and motivation of light vector bosons with lepton-flavor-violating couplings.

  11. Black holes in an expanding universe and supersymmetry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dietmar Klemm

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the supersymmetric solutions to five and six-dimensional minimal (ungauged supergravities for which the bilinear Killing vector constructed from the Killing spinor is null. We focus on the spacetimes which admit an additional SO(1,1 boost symmetry. Upon the toroidal dimensional reduction along the Killing vector corresponding to the boost, we show that the solution in the ungauged case describes a charged, nonextremal black hole in a Friedmann–Lemaître–Robertson–Walker (FLRW universe with an expansion driven by a massless scalar field. For the gauged case, the solution corresponds to a charged, nonextremal black hole embedded conformally into a Kantowski–Sachs universe. It turns out that these dimensional reductions break supersymmetry since the bilinear Killing vector and the Killing vector corresponding to the boost fail to commute. This represents a new mechanism of supersymmetry breaking that has not been considered in the literature before.

  12. ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF HABITAT PATCHES ON WILDLIFE ROAD-KILL

    OpenAIRE

    Seok, S.; Lee, J.

    2015-01-01

    The ecosystem fragmentation due to transportation infrastructure causes a road-kill phenomenon. When making policies for mitigating road-kill it is important to select target-species in order to enhance its efficiency. However, many wildlife crossing structures have been questioned regarding their effectiveness due to lack of considerations such as target-species selection, site selection, management, etc. The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of habitat patches on wildlife road-...

  13. Vectorized Monte Carlo

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brown, F.B.

    1981-01-01

    Examination of the global algorithms and local kernels of conventional general-purpose Monte Carlo codes shows that multigroup Monte Carlo methods have sufficient structure to permit efficient vectorization. A structured multigroup Monte Carlo algorithm for vector computers is developed in which many particle events are treated at once on a cell-by-cell basis. Vectorization of kernels for tracking and variance reduction is described, and a new method for discrete sampling is developed to facilitate the vectorization of collision analysis. To demonstrate the potential of the new method, a vectorized Monte Carlo code for multigroup radiation transport analysis was developed. This code incorporates many features of conventional general-purpose production codes, including general geometry, splitting and Russian roulette, survival biasing, variance estimation via batching, a number of cutoffs, and generalized tallies of collision, tracklength, and surface crossing estimators with response functions. Predictions of vectorized performance characteristics for the CYBER-205 were made using emulated coding and a dynamic model of vector instruction timing. Computation rates were examined for a variety of test problems to determine sensitivities to batch size and vector lengths. Significant speedups are predicted for even a few hundred particles per batch, and asymptotic speedups by about 40 over equivalent Amdahl 470V/8 scalar codes arepredicted for a few thousand particles per batch. The principal conclusion is that vectorization of a general-purpose multigroup Monte Carlo code is well worth the significant effort required for stylized coding and major algorithmic changes

  14. Double vector meson production in γγ interactions at hadronic colliders

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goncalves, V.P. [Lund University, Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Physics, Lund (Sweden); Universidade Federal de Pelotas, High and Medium Energy Group, Instituto de Fisica e Matematica, Pelotas, RS (Brazil); Moreira, B.D.; Navarra, F.S. [Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto de Fisica, C.P. 66318, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2016-03-15

    In this paper we revisit the double vector meson production in γγ interactions at heavy ion collisions and present, by the first time, predictions for the ρρ and J/ΨJ/Ψ production in proton.nucleus and proton.proton collisions. In order to obtain realistic predictions for rapidity distributions and total cross sections for the double vector production in ultra peripheral hadronic collisions we take into account the description of γγ → VV cross section at lowenergies as well as its behavior at large energies, associated to the gluonic interaction between the color dipoles. Our results demonstrate that the double ρ production is dominated by the low energy behavior of the γγ → VV cross section. In contrast, for the double J/Ψ production, the contribution associated to the description of the QCD dynamics at high energies contributes significantly, mainly in pp collisions. Predictions for the RHIC, LHC, FCC, and CEPC-SPPC energies are shown. (orig.)

  15. Assisted suicide and the killing of people? Maybe. Physician-assisted suicide and the killing of patients? No: the rejection of Shaw's new perspective on euthanasia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLachlan, Hugh V

    2010-05-01

    David Shaw presents a new argument to support the old claim that there is not a significant moral difference between killing and letting die and, by implication, between active and passive euthanasia. He concludes that doctors should not make a distinction between them. However, whether or not killing and letting die are morally equivalent is not as important a question as he suggests. One can justify legal distinctions on non-moral grounds. One might oppose physician-assisted suicide and active euthanasia when performed by doctors on patients whether or not one is in favour of the legalisation of assisted suicide and active euthanasia. Furthermore, one can consider particular actions to be contrary to appropriate professional conduct even in the absence of legal and ethical objections to them. Someone who wants to die might want only a doctor to kill him or to help him to kill himself. However, we are not entitled to everything that we want in life or death. A doctor cannot always fittingly provide all that a patient wants or needs. It is appropriate that doctors provide their expert advice with regard to the performance of active euthanasia but they can and should do so while, qua doctors, they remain hors de combat.

  16. Vector Network Coding

    OpenAIRE

    Ebrahimi, Javad; Fragouli, Christina

    2010-01-01

    We develop new algebraic algorithms for scalar and vector network coding. In vector network coding, the source multicasts information by transmitting vectors of length L, while intermediate nodes process and combine their incoming packets by multiplying them with L X L coding matrices that play a similar role as coding coefficients in scalar coding. Our algorithms for scalar network jointly optimize the employed field size while selecting the coding coefficients. Similarly, for vector co...

  17. Using DNA to describe and quantify interspecific killing of fishers in California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greta M. Wengert; Mourad W. Gabriel; Sean M. Matthews; J. Mark Higley; Rick A. Sweitzer; Craig. M. Thompson; Kathryn L. Purcell; Reginald H. Barrett; Leslie W. Woods; Rebecca E. Green; Stefan M. Keller; Patricia M. Gaffney; Megan Jones; Benjamin N. Sacks

    2014-01-01

    Interspecific killing is common among carnivores and can have population-level effects on imperiled species. The fisher (Pekania [Martes] pennant) is a rare forest carnivore in western North America and a candidate for listing under the United States Endangered Species Act. Interspecific killing and...

  18. Vector independent transmission of the vector-borne bluetongue virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Sluijs, Mirjam Tineke Willemijn; de Smit, Abraham J; Moormann, Rob J M

    2016-01-01

    Bluetongue is an economically important disease of ruminants. The causative agent, Bluetongue virus (BTV), is mainly transmitted by insect vectors. This review focuses on vector-free BTV transmission, and its epizootic and economic consequences. Vector-free transmission can either be vertical, from dam to fetus, or horizontal via direct contract. For several BTV-serotypes, vertical (transplacental) transmission has been described, resulting in severe congenital malformations. Transplacental transmission had been mainly associated with live vaccine strains. Yet, the European BTV-8 strain demonstrated a high incidence of transplacental transmission in natural circumstances. The relevance of transplacental transmission for the epizootiology is considered limited, especially in enzootic areas. However, transplacental transmission can have a substantial economic impact due to the loss of progeny. Inactivated vaccines have demonstrated to prevent transplacental transmission. Vector-free horizontal transmission has also been demonstrated. Since direct horizontal transmission requires close contact of animals, it is considered only relevant for within-farm spreading of BTV. The genetic determinants which enable vector-free transmission are present in virus strains circulating in the field. More research into the genetic changes which enable vector-free transmission is essential to better evaluate the risks associated with outbreaks of new BTV serotypes and to design more appropriate control measures.

  19. Geometrical meaning of Baecklund transformation for Ernst equation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hou Boyu; Hou Boyuan; Wang Pei

    1983-01-01

    An Einstein spacetime E admitting a two-parameter Abelian group G 2 of isometries may be described covariantly on a two dimensional manifold S. From the two independent Killing vector fields that generate the group G 2 a 2x2 matrix is obtained. For simplicity the authors stick to the assumption that both Killing vectors are spacelike, but the case that one of Killing vectors is timelike can be discussed similarly. So in this case the base space S is a 2-dimensional Minkowski space. (Auth.)

  20. Spin waves in terbium. III. Magnetic anisotropy at zero wave vector

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Houmann, Jens Christian Gylden; Jensen, J.; Touborg, P.

    1975-01-01

    The energy gap at zero wave vector in the spin-wave dispersion relation of ferromagnetic. Tb has been studied by inelastic neutron scattering. The energy was measured as a function of temperature and applied magnetic field, and the dynamic anisotropy parameters were deduced from the results...... the effects of zero-point deviations from the fully aligned ground state, and we tentatively propose polarization-dependent two-ion couplings as their origin........ The axial anisotropy is found to depend sensitively on the orientation of the magnetic moments in the basal plane. This behavior is shown to be a convincing indication of considerable two-ion contributions to the magnetic anisotropy at zero wave vector. With the exception of the sixfold basal...

  1. Relative susceptibility of Giardia muris trophozoites to killing by mouse antibodies of different isotypes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heyworth, M F

    1992-02-01

    The aim of this work was to examine the ability of mouse IgA, IgG, and IgM anti-Giardia antibodies to kill Giardia muris trophozoites in the presence and absence of complement. Using a 2-color flow cytometry assay, binding of antibody to trophozoites was assessed with fluorescein-conjugated anti-mouse immunoglobulin, and percentages of killed trophozoites were quantified by staining with propidium iodide. Trophozoites were killed in the presence of complement by IgG3 and IgM anti-trophozoite monoclonal antibodies. Anti-trophozoite IgA, obtained from the intestinal lumen of G. muris-infected BALB/c mice, became bound to trophozoites in vitro but did not kill these organisms in the presence or absence of complement. The results suggest that clearance of G. muris infection by intestinal IgA directed against G. muris trophozoites does not involve antibody-dependent killing of trophozoites in the intestinal lumen.

  2. Efficacy of common laboratory disinfectants and heat on killing trypanosomatid parasites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tyler Kevin M

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The disinfectants TriGene, bleach, ethanol and liquid hand soap, and water and temperature were tested for their ability to kill bloodstream forms of Trypanosoma brucei, epimastigotes of Trypanosoma rangeli and promastigotes of Leishmania major. A 5-min exposure to 0.2% TriGene, 0.1% liquid hand soap and 0.05% bleach (0.05% NaOCl killed all three trypanosomatids. Ethanol and water destroyed the parasites within 5 min at concentrations of 15–17.5% and 80–90%, respectively. All three organisms were also killed when treated for 5 min at 50°C. The results indicate that the disinfectants, water and temperature treatment (i.e. autoclaving are suitable laboratory hygiene measures against trypanosomatid parasites.

  3. Vectorization of DOT3.5 code

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nonomiya, Iwao; Ishiguro, Misako; Tsutsui, Tsuneo

    1990-07-01

    In this report, we describe the vectorization of two-dimensional Sn-method radiation transport code DOT3.5. Vectorized codes are not only the NEA original version developed at ORNL but also the versions improved by JAERI: DOT3.5 FNS version for fusion neutronics analyses, DOT3.5 FER version for fusion reactor design, and ESPRIT module of RADHEAT-V4 code system for radiation shielding and radiation transport analyses. In DOT3.5, input/output processing time amounts to a great part of the elapsed time when a large number of energy groups and/or a large number of spatial mesh points are used in the calculated problem. Therefore, an improvement has been made for the speedup of input/output processing in the DOT3.5 FNS version, and DOT-DD (Double Differential cross section) code. The total speedup ratio of vectorized version to the original scalar one is 1.7∼1.9 for DOT3.5 NEA version, 2.2∼2.3 fro DOT3.5 FNS version, 1.7 for DOT3.5 FER version, and 3.1∼4.4 for RADHEAT-V4, respectively. The elapsed times for improved DOT3.5 FNS version and DOT-DD are reduced to 50∼65% that of the original version by the input/output speedup. In this report, we describe summary of codes, the techniques used for the vectorization and input/output speedup, verification of computed results, and speedup effect. (author)

  4. VectorBase

    Data.gov (United States)

    U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — VectorBase is a Bioinformatics Resource Center for invertebrate vectors. It is one of four Bioinformatics Resource Centers funded by NIAID to provide web-based...

  5. Custodial vector model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Becciolini, Diego; Franzosi, Diogo Buarque; Foadi, Roshan

    2015-01-01

    We analyze the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) phenomenology of heavy vector resonances with a $SU(2)_L\\times SU(2)_R$ spectral global symmetry. This symmetry partially protects the electroweak S-parameter from large contributions of the vector resonances. The resulting custodial vector model spectrum...

  6. The effect of Ageratum fastigiatum extract on Rhodnius nasutus, vector of Chagas disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bethânia A. Avelar-Freitas

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Control of Chagas disease is based on insecticide spraying in domiciles in order to exterminate triatomine populations. However, since the vectors differ in susceptibility to currently used insecticides, the screening of the toxic potential of Brazilian flora may identify new molecules lethal to triatomines. This study evaluated the toxicity of ethanolic extract of Ageratum fastigiatum (Gardner R.M. King & H. Rob., Asteraceae, on Rhodnius nasutus, a known vector of Chagas disease. Ethanolic extracts of the aerial parts of A. fastigiatum were prepared at 25 and 50 mg/mL concentrations, and 5 µL was applied to fifth-instar nymphs of R. nasutus (n=30. Controls included nymphs that were treated with 5 µL ethanol (n=30 or left untreated (n=30. The percentage of dead insects in each group was observed at 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h after application. The extracts of A. fastigiatum showed a mortality rate of about 37% and 77% after 120 h, at concentrations of 25 and 50 mg/mL, respectively. In control groups, the mortality rate remained under 7%. The extract of A. fastigiatum contains a coumarin, a molecule with recognized toxicity in insects, and which may be responsible for killing the triatomines.

  7. Experimental demonstration of vector E x vector B plasma divertor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strait, E.J.; Kerst, D.W.; Sprott, J.C.

    1977-01-01

    The vector E x vector B drift due to an applied radial electric field in a tokamak with poloidal divertor can speed the flow of plasma out of the scrape-off region, and provide a means of externally controlling the flow rate and thus the width of the density fall-off. An experiment in the Wisconsin levitated toroidal octupole, using vector E x vector B drifts alone, demonstrates divertor-like behavior, including 70% reduction of plasma density near the wall and 40% reduction of plasma flux to the wall, with no adverse effects on confinement of the main plasma

  8. Estimation in Discretely Observed Diffusions Killed at a Threshold

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bibbona, Enrico; Ditlevsen, Susanne

    2013-01-01

    are modelled as discretely observed diffusions which are killed when the threshold is reached. Statistical inference is often based on a misspecified likelihood ignoring the presence of the threshold causing severe bias, e.g. the bias incurred in the drift parameters of the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck model...... for biological relevant parameters can be up to 25–100 per cent. We compute or approximate the likelihood function of the killed process. When estimating from a single trajectory, considerable bias may still be present, and the distribution of the estimates can be heavily skewed and with a huge variance...

  9. How effective is road mitigation at reducing road-kill? A meta-analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rytwinski, Trina; Soanes, Kylie; Jaeger, Jochen A.G.; Fahrig, Lenore; Findlay, C.S.; Houlahan, Jeff; Ree, van der Rodney; Grift, van der Edgar A.

    2016-01-01

    Road traffic kills hundreds of millions of animals every year, posing a critical threat to the populations of many species. To address this problem there are more than forty types of road mitigation measures available that aim to reduce wildlife mortality on roads (road-kill). For road planners,

  10. Multi-mode energy management strategy for fuel cell electric vehicles based on driving pattern identification using learning vector quantization neural network algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Ke; Li, Feiqiang; Hu, Xiao; He, Lin; Niu, Wenxu; Lu, Sihao; Zhang, Tong

    2018-06-01

    The development of fuel cell electric vehicles can to a certain extent alleviate worldwide energy and environmental issues. While a single energy management strategy cannot meet the complex road conditions of an actual vehicle, this article proposes a multi-mode energy management strategy for electric vehicles with a fuel cell range extender based on driving condition recognition technology, which contains a patterns recognizer and a multi-mode energy management controller. This paper introduces a learning vector quantization (LVQ) neural network to design the driving patterns recognizer according to a vehicle's driving information. This multi-mode strategy can automatically switch to the genetic algorithm optimized thermostat strategy under specific driving conditions in the light of the differences in condition recognition results. Simulation experiments were carried out based on the model's validity verification using a dynamometer test bench. Simulation results show that the proposed strategy can obtain better economic performance than the single-mode thermostat strategy under dynamic driving conditions.

  11. Rotations with Rodrigues' vector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pina, E

    2011-01-01

    The rotational dynamics was studied from the point of view of Rodrigues' vector. This vector is defined here by its connection with other forms of parametrization of the rotation matrix. The rotation matrix was expressed in terms of this vector. The angular velocity was computed using the components of Rodrigues' vector as coordinates. It appears to be a fundamental matrix that is used to express the components of the angular velocity, the rotation matrix and the angular momentum vector. The Hamiltonian formalism of rotational dynamics in terms of this vector uses the same matrix. The quantization of the rotational dynamics is performed with simple rules if one uses Rodrigues' vector and similar formal expressions for the quantum operators that mimic the Hamiltonian classical dynamics.

  12. Violation of vector dominance in the vector manifestation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sasaki, Chihiro

    2003-01-01

    The vector manifestation (VM) is a new pattern for realizing the chiral symmetry in QCD. In the VM, the massless vector meson becomes the chiral partner of pion at the critical point, in contrast with the restoration based on the linear sigma model. Including the intrinsic temperature dependences of the parameters of the hidden local symmetry (HLS) Lagrangian determined from the underlying QCD through the Wilsonian matching together with the hadronic thermal corrections, we present a new prediction of the VM on the direct photon-π-π coupling which measures the validity of the vector dominance (VD) of the electromagnetic form factor of the pion. We find that the VD is largely violated at the critical temperature, which indicates that the assumption of the VD made in several analysis on the dilepton spectra in hot matter may need to be weakened for consistently including the effect of the dropping mass of the vector meson. (author)

  13. How to kill creativity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amabile, T M

    1998-01-01

    In today's knowledge economy, creativity is more important than ever. But many companies unwittingly employ managerial practices that kill it. How? By crushing their employees' intrinsic motivation--the strong internal desire to do something based on interests and passions. Managers don't kill creativity on purpose. Yet in the pursuit of productivity, efficiency, and control--all worthy business imperatives--they undermine creativity. It doesn't have to be that way, says Teresa Amabile. Business imperatives can comfortably coexist with creativity. But managers will have to change their thinking first. Specifically, managers will need to understand that creativity has three parts: expertise, the ability to think flexibly and imaginatively, and motivation. Managers can influence the first two, but doing so is costly and slow. It would be far more effective to increase employees' intrinsic motivation. To that end, managers have five levers to pull: the amount of challenge they give employees, the degree of freedom they grant around process, the way they design work groups, the level of encouragement they give, and the nature of organizational support. Take challenge as an example. Intrinsic motivation is high when employees feel challenged but not overwhelmed by their work. The task for managers, therefore, becomes matching people to the right assignments. Consider also freedom. Intrinsic motivation--and thus creativity--soars when managers let people decide how to achieve goals, not what goals to achieve. Managers can make a difference when it comes to employee creativity. The result can be truly innovative companies in which creativity doesn't just survive but actually thrives.

  14. Same-sign dilepton excesses and vector-like quarks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chen, Chuan-Ren [Department of Physics, National Taiwan Normal University,Ting-Chou Road, Taipei 116, Taiwan (China); Cheng, Hsin-Chia [Department of Physics, University of California,One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616 (United States); Low, Ian [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Northwestern University,Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208 (United States); High Energy Physics Division, Argonne National Laboratory,S. Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439 (United States)

    2016-03-15

    Multiple analyses from ATLAS and CMS collaborations, including searches for ttH production, supersymmetric particles and vector-like quarks, observed excesses in the same-sign dilepton channel containing b-jets and missing transverse energy in the LHC Run 1 data. In the context of little Higgs theories with T parity, we explain these excesses using vector-like T-odd quarks decaying into a top quark, a W boson and the lightest T-odd particle (LTP). For heavy vector-like quarks, decay topologies containing the LTP have not been searched for at the LHC. The bounds on the masses of the T-odd quarks can be estimated in a simplified model approach by adapting the search limits for top/bottom squarks in supersymmetry. Assuming a realistic decay branching fraction, a benchmark with a 750 GeV T-odd b{sup ′} quark is proposed. We also comment on the possibility to fit excesses in different analyses in a common framework.

  15. 40 CFR 180.1108 - Delta endotoxin of Bacillus thuringiensis variety San Diego encapsulated into killed Pseudomonas...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... thuringiensis variety San Diego encapsulated into killed Pseudomonas fluorescens; exemption from the requirement... into killed Pseudomonas fluorescens; exemption from the requirement of a tolerance. The delta endotoxin of Bacillus thuringiensis variety San Diego encapsulated into killed Pseudomonas fluorescens is...

  16. Rigid supersymmetry from conformal supergravity in five dimensions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pini, Alessandro; Rodriguez-Gomez, Diego; Schmude, Johannes

    2015-01-01

    We study the rigid limit of 5d conformal supergravity with minimal supersymmetry on Riemannian manifolds. The necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a solution is the existence of a conformal Killing vector. Whenever a certain SU(2) curvature becomes abelian the backgrounds define a transversally holomorphic foliation. Subsequently we turn to the question under which circumstances these backgrounds admit a kinetic Yang-Mills term in the action of a vector multiplet. Here we find that the conformal Killing vector has to be Killing. We supplement the discussion with various appendices.

  17. Hydrogen, energy vector of the future?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Perrin, J.; Deschamps, J.F.

    2004-01-01

    In the framework of a sustainable development with a reduction of the greenhouse gases emissions, the hydrogen seems a good solution because its combustion produces only water. From the today hydrogen industrial market, the authors examine the technological challenges and stakes of the hydrogen-energy. They detail the hydrogen production, distribution and storage and compare with the petrol and the natural gas. Then they explain the fuel cells specificity and realize a classification of the energy efficiency of many associations production-storage-distribution-use. a scenario of transition is proposed. (A.L.B.)

  18. Vectorization, parallelization and implementation of Quantum molecular dynamics codes (QQQF, MONTEV)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kato, Kaori [High Energy Accelerator Research Organization, Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan); Kunugi, Tomoaki; Kotake, Susumu; Shibahara, Masahiko

    1998-03-01

    This report describes parallelization, vectorization and implementation for two simulation codes, Quantum molecular dynamics simulation code QQQF and Photon montecalro molecular dynamics simulation code MONTEV, that have been developed for the analysis of the thermalization of photon energies in the molecule or materials. QQQF has been vectorized and parallelized on Fujitsu VPP and has been implemented from VPP to Intel Paragon XP/S and parallelized. MONTEV has been implemented from VPP to Paragon and parallelized. (author)

  19. Anomalous vector-boson self-interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nir, Y.

    1988-03-01

    We study the possibility that vector-boson self-couplings may differ from their standard model values. We find that known constraints from loop-effects and from unitarity already imply that such deviations are of order 10 -2 or less. Consequently, even if the correct model differs from the standard model and even if the energy scale of new physics is as low as 1 TeV, a direct observation of anomalous couplings is very improbable in the LEP-200 and Tevatron experiments. (author)

  20. Raster images vectorization system

    OpenAIRE

    Genytė, Jurgita

    2006-01-01

    The problem of raster images vectorization was analyzed and researched in this work. Existing vectorization systems are quite expensive, the results are inaccurate, and the manual vectorization of a large number of drafts is impossible. That‘s why our goal was to design and develop a new raster images vectorization system using our suggested automatic vectorization algorithm and the way to record results in a new universal vectorial file format. The work consists of these main parts: analysis...

  1. Half-supersymmetric solutions in five-dimensional supergravity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gutowski, Jan B.; Sabra, Wafic

    2007-01-01

    We present a systematic classification of half-supersymmetric solutions of gauged N = 2, D = 5 supergravity coupled to an arbitrary number of abelian vector multiplets for which at least one of the Killing spinors generate a time-like Killing vector

  2. Activity of telithromycin (HMR 3647) against anaerobic bacteria compared to those of eight other agents by time-kill methodology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Credito, K L; Ednie, L M; Jacobs, M R; Appelbaum, P C

    1999-08-01

    Time-kill studies examined the activities of telithromycin (HMR 3647), erythromycin A, azithromycin, clarithromycin, roxithromycin, clindamycin, pristinamycin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, and metronidazole against 11 gram-positive and gram-negative anaerobic bacteria. Time-kill studies were carried out with the addition of Oxyrase in order to prevent the introduction of CO(2). Macrolide-azalide-ketolide MICs were 0.004 to 32.0 microg/ml. Of the latter group, telithromycin had the lowest MICs, especially against non-Bacteroides fragilis group strains, followed by azithromycin, clarithromycin, erythromycin A, and roxithromycin. Clindamycin was active (MIC /=99.9% killing) against 6 strains, with 99% killing of 9 strains and 90% killing of 10 strains. After 24 h at twice the MIC, 90, 99, and 99.9% killing of nine, six, and three strains, respectively, occurred. Lower rates of killing were seen at earlier times. Similar kill kinetics relative to the MIC were seen with other macrolides. After 48 h at the MIC, clindamycin was bactericidal against 8 strains, with 99 and 90% killing of 9 and 10 strains, respectively. After 24 h, 90% killing of 10 strains occurred at the MIC. The kinetics of clindamycin were similar to those of pristinamycin. After 48 h at the MIC, amoxicillin-clavulanate showed 99.9% killing of seven strains, with 99% killing of eight strains and 90% killing of nine strains. At four times the MIC, metronidazole was bactericidal against 8 of 10 strains tested after 48 h and against all 10 strains after 24 h; after 12 h, 99% killing of all 10 strains occurred.

  3. Finding a Hadamard matrix by simulated annealing of spin vectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayu Suksmono, Andriyan

    2017-05-01

    Reformulation of a combinatorial problem into optimization of a statistical-mechanics system enables finding a better solution using heuristics derived from a physical process, such as by the simulated annealing (SA). In this paper, we present a Hadamard matrix (H-matrix) searching method based on the SA on an Ising model. By equivalence, an H-matrix can be converted into a seminormalized Hadamard (SH) matrix, whose first column is unit vector and the rest ones are vectors with equal number of -1 and +1 called SH-vectors. We define SH spin vectors as representation of the SH vectors, which play a similar role as the spins on Ising model. The topology of the lattice is generalized into a graph, whose edges represent orthogonality relationship among the SH spin vectors. Starting from a randomly generated quasi H-matrix Q, which is a matrix similar to the SH-matrix without imposing orthogonality, we perform the SA. The transitions of Q are conducted by random exchange of {+, -} spin-pair within the SH-spin vectors that follow the Metropolis update rule. Upon transition toward zeroth energy, the Q-matrix is evolved following a Markov chain toward an orthogonal matrix, at which the H-matrix is said to be found. We demonstrate the capability of the proposed method to find some low-order H-matrices, including the ones that cannot trivially be constructed by the Sylvester method.

  4. Mechanisms of Bacterial (Serratia marcescens) Attachment to, Migration along, and Killing of Fungal Hyphae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hover, Tal; Maya, Tal; Ron, Sapir; Sandovsky, Hani; Shadkchan, Yana; Kijner, Nitzan; Mitiagin, Yulia; Fichtman, Boris; Harel, Amnon; Shanks, Robert M Q; Bruna, Roberto E; García-Véscovi, Eleonora; Osherov, Nir

    2016-05-01

    We have found a remarkable capacity for the ubiquitous Gram-negative rod bacterium Serratia marcescens to migrate along and kill the mycelia of zygomycete molds. This migration was restricted to zygomycete molds and several basidiomycete species. No migration was seen on any molds of the phylum Ascomycota. S. marcescens migration did not require fungal viability or surrounding growth medium, as bacteria migrated along aerial hyphae as well.S. marcescens did not exhibit growth tropism toward zygomycete mycelium. Bacterial migration along hyphae proceeded only when the hyphae grew into the bacterial colony. S. marcescens cells initially migrated along the hyphae, forming attached microcolonies that grew and coalesced to generate a biofilm that covered and killed the mycelium. Flagellum-defective strains of S. marcescens were able to migrate along zygomycete hyphae, although they were significantly slower than the wild-type strain and were delayed in fungal killing. Bacterial attachment to the mycelium does not necessitate type 1 fimbrial adhesion, since mutants defective in this adhesin migrated equally well as or faster than the wild-type strain. Killing does not depend on the secretion of S. marcescens chitinases, as mutants in which all three chitinase genes were deleted retained wild-type killing abilities. A better understanding of the mechanisms by which S. marcescens binds to, spreads on, and kills fungal hyphae might serve as an excellent model system for such interactions in general; fungal killing could be employed in agricultural fungal biocontrol. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  5. Killing a Peacock: A Case Study of the Targeted Killing of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-03-24

    assertions by-in-large fell on deaf ears in the United States, Yamamoto nevertheless took special interest in Mitchell’s claims, and returned to Japan in...deliberations on April 17.106 Upon receiving an update brief of the planning order, Viccellio immediately identified a problem . He knew that the P-38’s fuel...what, it all happened all too fast to know and he was content on calling it a “team kill.”152 Instead, he left resolution of the issue to Barber and

  6. Keberanian Dalam Novel to Kill a Mockingbird Karya Harper Lee

    OpenAIRE

    Tiolemba, Melissa

    2013-01-01

    The skripsi is entitled “Keberanian dalam Novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee”. The objective of this research is to analyze the bravery as the main theme in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The data are collected by focusing on the character, plot and setting which describe about the main theme in the story. This research uses the theory of Stanton (1965) in analyzing the data. The writer uses descriptive method intrinsically. Intrinsic approach is to examine the elements within the no...

  7. Predator-dependent functional response in wolves: from food limitation to surplus killing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zimmermann, Barbara; Sand, Håkan; Wabakken, Petter; Liberg, Olof; Andreassen, Harry Peter

    2015-01-01

    The functional response of a predator describes the change in per capita kill rate to changes in prey density. This response can be influenced by predator densities, giving a predator-dependent functional response. In social carnivores which defend a territory, kill rates also depend on the individual energetic requirements of group members and their contribution to the kill rate. This study aims to provide empirical data for the functional response of wolves Canis lupus to the highly managed moose Alces alces population in Scandinavia. We explored prey and predator dependence, and how the functional response relates to the energetic requirements of wolf packs. Winter kill rates of GPS-collared wolves and densities of cervids were estimated for a total of 22 study periods in 15 wolf territories. The adult wolves were identified as the individuals responsible for providing kills to the wolf pack, while pups could be described as inept hunters. The predator-dependent, asymptotic functional response models (i.e. Hassell-Varley type II and Crowley-Martin) performed best among a set of 23 competing linear, asymptotic and sigmoid models. Small wolf packs acquired >3 times as much moose biomass as required to sustain their field metabolic rate (FMR), even at relatively low moose abundances. Large packs (6-9 wolves) acquired less biomass than required in territories with low moose abundance. We suggest the surplus killing by small packs is a result of an optimal foraging strategy to consume only the most nutritious parts of easy accessible prey while avoiding the risk of being detected by humans. Food limitation may have a stabilizing effect on pack size in wolves, as supported by the observed negative relationship between body weight of pups and pack size. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

  8. Estimated Number of Birds Killed by House Cats (Felis catus in Canada

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Blancher

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Predation by house cats (Felis catus is one of the largest human-related sources of mortality for wild birds in the United States and elsewhere, and has been implicated in extinctions and population declines of several species. However, relatively little is known about this topic in Canada. The objectives of this study were to provide plausible estimates for the number of birds killed by house cats in Canada, identify information that would help improve those estimates, and identify species potentially vulnerable to population impacts. In total, cats are estimated to kill between 100 and 350 million birds per year in Canada (> 95% of estimates were in this range, with the majority likely to be killed by feral cats. This range of estimates is based on surveys indicating that Canadians own about 8.5 million pet cats, a rough approximation of 1.4 to 4.2 million feral cats, and literature values of predation rates from studies conducted elsewhere. Reliability of the total kill estimate would be improved most by better knowledge of feral cat numbers and diet in Canada, though any data on birds killed by cats in Canada would be helpful. These estimates suggest that 2-7% of birds in southern Canada are killed by cats per year. Even at the low end, predation by house cats is probably the largest human-related source of bird mortality in Canada. Many species of birds are potentially vulnerable to at least local population impacts in southern Canada, by virtue of nesting or feeding on or near ground level, and habitat choices that bring them into contact with human-dominated landscapes where cats are abundant. Because cat predation is likely to remain a primary source of bird mortality in Canada for some time, this issue needs more scientific attention in Canada.

  9. Determination of key parameters of vector multifractal vector fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schertzer, D. J. M.; Tchiguirinskaia, I.

    2017-12-01

    For too long time, multifractal analyses and simulations have been restricted to scalar-valued fields (Schertzer and Tchiguirinskaia, 2017a,b). For instance, the wind velocity multifractality has been mostly analysed in terms of scalar structure functions and with the scalar energy flux. This restriction has had the unfortunate consequences that multifractals were applicable to their full extent in geophysics, whereas it has inspired them. Indeed a key question in geophysics is the complexity of the interactions between various fields or they components. Nevertheless, sophisticated methods have been developed to determine the key parameters of scalar valued fields. In this communication, we first present the vector extensions of the universal multifractal analysis techniques to multifractals whose generator belong to a Levy-Clifford algebra (Schertzer and Tchiguirinskaia, 2015). We point out further extensions noting the increased complexity. For instance, the (scalar) index of multifractality becomes a matrice. Schertzer, D. and Tchiguirinskaia, I. (2015) `Multifractal vector fields and stochastic Clifford algebra', Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, 25(12), p. 123127. doi: 10.1063/1.4937364. Schertzer, D. and Tchiguirinskaia, I. (2017) `An Introduction to Multifractals and Scale Symmetry Groups', in Ghanbarian, B. and Hunt, A. (eds) Fractals: Concepts and Applications in Geosciences. CRC Press, p. (in press). Schertzer, D. and Tchiguirinskaia, I. (2017b) `Pandora Box of Multifractals: Barely Open ?', in Tsonis, A. A. (ed.) 30 Years of Nonlinear Dynamics in Geophysics. Berlin: Springer, p. (in press).

  10. The evaporative vector: Homogeneous systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klots, C.E.

    1987-05-01

    Molecular beams of van der Waals molecules are the subject of much current research. Among the methods used to form these beams, three-sputtering, laser ablation, and the sonic nozzle expansion of neat gases - yield what are now recognized to be ''warm clusters.'' They contain enough internal energy to undergo a number of first-order processes, in particular that of evaporation. Because of this evaporation and its attendant cooling, the properties of such clusters are time-dependent. The states of matter which can be arrived at via an evaporative vector on a typical laboratory time-scale are discussed. Topics include the (1) temperatures, (2) metastability, (3) phase transitions, (4) kinetic energies of fragmentation, and (5) the expression of magical properties, all for evaporating homogeneous clusters

  11. Forecasting energy consumption of multi-family residential buildings using support vector regression: Investigating the impact of temporal and spatial monitoring granularity on performance accuracy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jain, Rishee K.; Smith, Kevin M.; Culligan, Patricia J.; Taylor, John E.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We develop a building energy forecasting model using support vector regression. • Model is applied to data from a multi-family residential building in New York City. • We extend sensor based energy forecasting to multi-family residential buildings. • We examine the impact temporal and spatial granularity has on model accuracy. • Optimal granularity occurs at the by floor in hourly temporal intervals. - Abstract: Buildings are the dominant source of energy consumption and environmental emissions in urban areas. Therefore, the ability to forecast and characterize building energy consumption is vital to implementing urban energy management and efficiency initiatives required to curb emissions. Advances in smart metering technology have enabled researchers to develop “sensor based” approaches to forecast building energy consumption that necessitate less input data than traditional methods. Sensor-based forecasting utilizes machine learning techniques to infer the complex relationships between consumption and influencing variables (e.g., weather, time of day, previous consumption). While sensor-based forecasting has been studied extensively for commercial buildings, there is a paucity of research applying this data-driven approach to the multi-family residential sector. In this paper, we build a sensor-based forecasting model using Support Vector Regression (SVR), a commonly used machine learning technique, and apply it to an empirical data-set from a multi-family residential building in New York City. We expand our study to examine the impact of temporal (i.e., daily, hourly, 10 min intervals) and spatial (i.e., whole building, by floor, by unit) granularity have on the predictive power of our single-step model. Results indicate that sensor based forecasting models can be extended to multi-family residential buildings and that the optimal monitoring granularity occurs at the by floor level in hourly intervals. In addition to implications for

  12. Sabretoothed carnivores and the killing of large prey.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ki Andersson

    Full Text Available Sabre-like canines clearly have the potential to inflict grievous wounds leading to massive blood loss and rapid death. Hypotheses concerning sabretooth killing modes include attack to soft parts such as the belly or throat, where biting deep is essential to generate strikes reaching major blood vessels. Sabretoothed carnivorans are widely interpreted as hunters of larger and more powerful prey than that of their present-day nonsabretoothed relatives. However, the precise functional advantage of the sabretooth bite, particularly in relation to prey size, is unknown. Here, we present a new point-to-point bite model and show that, for sabretooths, depth of the killing bite decreases dramatically with increasing prey size. The extended gape of sabretooths only results in considerable increase in bite depth when biting into prey with a radius of less than ∼10 cm. For sabretooths, this size-reversed functional advantage suggests predation on species within a similar size range to those attacked by present-day carnivorans, rather than "megaherbivores" as previously believed. The development of the sabretooth condition appears to represent a shift in function and killing behaviour, rather than one in predator-prey relations. Furthermore, our results demonstrate how sabretoothed carnivorans are likely to have evolved along a functionally continuous trajectory: beginning as an extension of a jaw-powered killing bite, as adopted by present-day pantherine cats, followed by neck-powered biting and thereafter shifting to neck-powered shear-biting. We anticipate this new insight to be a starting point for detailed study of the evolution of pathways that encompass extreme specialisation, for example, understanding how neck-powered biting shifts into shear-biting and its significance for predator-prey interactions. We also expect that our model for point-to-point biting and bite depth estimations will yield new insights into the behaviours of a broad range of

  13. Clinical Concentrations of Thioridazine Kill Intracellular Multidrug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ordway, Diane; Viveiros, Miguel; Leandro, Clara; Bettencourt, Rosário; Almeida, Josefina; Martins, Marta; Kristiansen, Jette E.; Molnar, Joseph; Amaral, Leonard

    2003-01-01

    The phenothiazines chlorpromazine (CPZ) and thioridazine (TZ) have equal in vitro activities against antibiotic-sensitive and -resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis. These compounds have not been used as anti-M. tuberculosis agents because their in vitro activities take place at concentrations which are beyond those that are clinically achievable. In addition, chronic administration of CPZ produces frequent severe side effects. Because CPZ has been shown to enhance the killing of intracellular M. tuberculosis at concentrations in the medium that are clinically relevant, we have investigated whether TZ, a phenothiazine whose negative side effects are less frequent and serious than those associated with CPZ, kills M. tuberculosis organisms that have been phagocytosed by human macrophages, which have nominal killing activities against these bacteria. Both CPZ and TZ killed intracellular antibiotic-sensitive and -resistant M. tuberculosis organisms when they were used at concentrations in the medium well below those present in the plasma of patients treated with these agents. These concentrations in vitro were not toxic to the macrophage, nor did they affect in vitro cellular immune processes. TZ thus appears to be a serious candidate for the management of a freshly diagnosed infection of pulmonary tuberculosis or as an adjunct to conventional antituberculosis therapy if the patient originates from an area known to have a high prevalence of multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis isolates. Nevertheless, we must await the outcomes of clinical trials to determine whether TZ itself may be safely and effectively used as an antituberculosis agent. PMID:12604522

  14. Illegal killing for ivory drives global decline in African elephants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittemyer, George; Northrup, Joseph M; Blanc, Julian; Douglas-Hamilton, Iain; Omondi, Patrick; Burnham, Kenneth P

    2014-09-09

    Illegal wildlife trade has reached alarming levels globally, extirpating populations of commercially valuable species. As a driver of biodiversity loss, quantifying illegal harvest is essential for conservation and sociopolitical affairs but notoriously difficult. Here we combine field-based carcass monitoring with fine-scale demographic data from an intensively studied wild African elephant population in Samburu, Kenya, to partition mortality into natural and illegal causes. We then expand our analytical framework to model illegal killing rates and population trends of elephants at regional and continental scales using carcass data collected by a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species program. At the intensively monitored site, illegal killing increased markedly after 2008 and was correlated strongly with the local black market ivory price and increased seizures of ivory destined for China. More broadly, results from application to continental data indicated illegal killing levels were unsustainable for the species between 2010 and 2012, peaking to ∼ 8% in 2011 which extrapolates to ∼ 40,000 elephants illegally killed and a probable species reduction of ∼ 3% that year. Preliminary data from 2013 indicate overharvesting continued. In contrast to the rest of Africa, our analysis corroborates that Central African forest elephants experienced decline throughout the last decade. These results provide the most comprehensive assessment of illegal ivory harvest to date and confirm that current ivory consumption is not sustainable. Further, our approach provides a powerful basis to determine cryptic mortality and gain understanding of the demography of at-risk species.

  15. A n-vector model for charge transport in molecular semiconductors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Nicholas E; Kohlstedt, Kevin L; Chen, Lin X; Ratner, Mark A

    2016-11-28

    We develop a lattice model utilizing coarse-grained molecular sites to study charge transport in molecular semiconducting materials. The model bridges atomistic descriptions and structureless lattice models by mapping molecular structure onto sets of spatial vectors isomorphic with spin vectors in a classical n-vector Heisenberg model. Specifically, this model incorporates molecular topology-dependent orientational and intermolecular coupling preferences, including the direct inclusion of spatially correlated transfer integrals and site energy disorder. This model contains the essential physics required to explicitly simulate the interplay of molecular topology and correlated structural disorder, and their effect on charge transport. As a demonstration of its utility, we apply this model to analyze the effects of long-range orientational correlations, molecular topology, and intermolecular interaction strength on charge motion in bulk molecular semiconductors.

  16. Break the Kill Chain, Not the Budget: How to Avoid U.S. Strategic Retrenchment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-06-10

    mass quantities. The United States maintained a Cold War offset strategy focused on technology and kill chain annihilation with an understanding of...Annihilating the kill chain with advanced instruments of war is more the norm than the exception in the post- Cold War era U.S. military. The U.S. Air...Masters Thesis 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 27-07-2015 to 10-06-2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER BREAK THE KILL CHAIN

  17. Vector grammars and PN machines

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    蒋昌俊

    1996-01-01

    The concept of vector grammars under the string semantic is introduced.The dass of vector grammars is given,which is similar to the dass of Chomsky grammars.The regular vector grammar is divided further.The strong and weak relation between the vector grammar and scalar grammar is discussed,so the spectrum system graph of scalar and vector grammars is made.The equivalent relation between the regular vector grammar and Petri nets (also called PN machine) is pointed.The hybrid PN machine is introduced,and its language is proved equivalent to the language of the context-free vector grammar.So the perfect relation structure between vector grammars and PN machines is formed.

  18. Vector velocimeter

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2012-01-01

    The present invention relates to a compact, reliable and low-cost vector velocimeter for example for determining velocities of particles suspended in a gas or fluid flow, or for determining velocity, displacement, rotation, or vibration of a solid surface, the vector velocimeter comprising a laser...

  19. Characterization of cell lysis in Pseudomonas putida induced upon expression of heterologous killing genes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ronchel, M.C.; Molina, L.; Witte, A.

    1998-01-01

    Active biological containment systems are based on the controlled expression of killing genes. These systems are of interest for the Pseudomonadaceae because of the potential applications of these microbes as bioremediation agents and biopesticides, The physiological effects that lead to cell dea...... protein was the killing agent. In both cases, cell death occurred as a result of impaired respiration, altered membrane permeability, and the release of some cytoplasmic contents to the extracellular medium.......Active biological containment systems are based on the controlled expression of killing genes. These systems are of interest for the Pseudomonadaceae because of the potential applications of these microbes as bioremediation agents and biopesticides, The physiological effects that lead to cell death......, respectively. Expression of the killing genes is controlled by the LacI protein, whose expression is initiated from the XylS-dependent Pm promoter. Under induced conditions, killing of P. putida CMC12 cells mediated by phi X174 lysis protein E was faster than that observed for P. putida CMC4, for which the Gef...

  20. Kill ratio calculation for in-line yield prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenzo, Alfonso; Oter, David; Cruceta, Sergio; Valtuena, Juan F.; Gonzalez, Gerardo; Mata, Carlos

    1999-04-01

    The search for better yields in IC manufacturing calls for a smarter use of the vast amount of data that can be generated by a world class production line.In this scenario, in-line inspection processes produce thousands of wafer maps, number of defects, defect type and pictures every day. A step forward is to correlate these with the other big data- generator area: test. In this paper, we present how these data can be put together and correlated to obtain a very useful yield predicting tool. This correlation will first allow us to calculate the kill ratio, i.e. the probability for a defect of a certain size in a certain layer to kill the die. Then we will use that number to estimate the cosmetic yield that a wafer will have.

  1. Cloning vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guilfoyle, Richard A.; Smith, Lloyd M.

    1994-01-01

    A vector comprising a filamentous phage sequence containing a first copy of filamentous phage gene X and other sequences necessary for the phage to propagate is disclosed. The vector also contains a second copy of filamentous phage gene X downstream from a promoter capable of promoting transcription in a bacterial host. In a preferred form of the present invention, the filamentous phage is M13 and the vector additionally includes a restriction endonuclease site located in such a manner as to substantially inactivate the second gene X when a DNA sequence is inserted into the restriction site.

  2. Cloning vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guilfoyle, R.A.; Smith, L.M.

    1994-12-27

    A vector comprising a filamentous phage sequence containing a first copy of filamentous phage gene X and other sequences necessary for the phage to propagate is disclosed. The vector also contains a second copy of filamentous phage gene X downstream from a promoter capable of promoting transcription in a bacterial host. In a preferred form of the present invention, the filamentous phage is M13 and the vector additionally includes a restriction endonuclease site located in such a manner as to substantially inactivate the second gene X when a DNA sequence is inserted into the restriction site. 2 figures.

  3. Projected future distributions of vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi in North America under climate change scenarios.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miroslava Garza

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Chagas disease kills approximately 45 thousand people annually and affects 10 million people in Latin America and the southern United States. The parasite that causes the disease, Trypanosoma cruzi, can be transmitted by insects of the family Reduviidae, subfamily Triatominae. Any study that attempts to evaluate risk for Chagas disease must focus on the ecology and biogeography of these vectors. Expected distributional shifts of vector species due to climate change are likely to alter spatial patterns of risk of Chagas disease, presumably through northward expansion of high risk areas in North America.We forecast the future (2050 distributions in North America of Triatoma gerstaeckeri and T. sanguisuga, two of the most common triatomine species and important vectors of Trypanosoma cruzi in the southern United States. Our aim was to analyze how climate change might affect the future shift of Chagas disease in North America using a maximum entropy algorithm to predict changes in suitable habitat based on vector occurrence points and predictive environmental variables. Projections based on three different general circulation models (CCCMA, CSIRO, and HADCM3 and two IPCC scenarios (A2 and B2 were analyzed. Twenty models were developed for each case and evaluated via cross-validation. The final model averages result from all twenty of these models. All models had AUC >0.90, which indicates that the models are robust. Our results predict a potential northern shift in the distribution of T. gerstaeckeri and a northern and southern distributional shift of T. sanguisuga from its current range due to climate change.The results of this study provide baseline information for monitoring the northward shift of potential risk from Chagas disease in the face of climate change.

  4. MULTI-VECTOR DIVERSIFICATION: KAZAKHASTAN´S TRANSNATIONAL FUTURE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elvira Aidarkhanova

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The recent election of the Republic of Kazakhstan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council gives the country an opportunity to participate more directly in shaping regional and global energy, economics, and security. A multi-vector and balanced foreign policy will allow Kazakhstan to strengthen regional security and enhance integration processes with Central Asian states. Kazakhstan can contribute to regional energy security, counterterrorism, nuclear nonproliferation, and other goals. Kazakhstan is among a few countries in the Eurasian region where primary energy production significantly exceeds energy consumption. The country also has striven to reduce regional tensions and terrorism. Meanwhile, non-proliferation has since independence has come to represent the organizing principle of the country’s cooperative foreign policy, one that seeks independence through simultaneous engagement with external powers

  5. Landscape integration of freeways: how does it affect road kill rates?

    OpenAIRE

    Sanz, Luis

    2001-01-01

    Some ecological processes are affected by the transportation infrastructure development. The barrier effect caused by roads, which alters the movement patterns of terrestrial wildlife and increases its road kill risk, is just an example. Road kills must be considered both from environmental and highway safety perspectives, and are related to road permeability and to the surrounding environment. This paper compares the landscape fragmentation caused by two freeways in Navarra (north of Spain) ...

  6. From Attitudes to Actions: Predictors of Lion Killing by Maasai Warriors

    OpenAIRE

    Hazzah, Leela; Bath, Alistair; Dolrenry, Stephanie; Dickman, Amy; Frank, Laurence

    2017-01-01

    Despite legal protection, deliberate killing by local people is one of the major threats to the conservation of lions and other large carnivores in Africa. Addressing this problem poses particular challenges, mainly because it is difficult to uncover illicit behavior. This article examined two groups of Maasai warriors: individuals who have killed African lions (Panthera leo) and those who have not. We conducted interviews to explore the relationship between attitudes, intentions and known li...

  7. Vector 33: A reduce program for vector algebra and calculus in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harper, David

    1989-06-01

    This paper describes a package with enables REDUCE 3.3 to perform algebra and calculus operations upon vectors. Basic algebraic operations between vectors and between scalars and vectors are provided, including scalar (dot) product and vector (cross) product. The vector differential operators curl, divergence, gradient and Laplacian are also defined, and are valid in any orthogonal curvilinear coordinate system. The package is written in RLISP to allow algebra and calculus to be performed using notation identical to that for operations. Scalars and vectors can be mixed quite freely in the same expression. The package will be of interest to mathematicians, engineers and scientists who need to perform vector calculations in orthogonal curvilinear coordinates.

  8. Probing deformed orbitals with vector A( vector e, e' N)B reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garrido, E.; Caballero, J.A.; Moya de Guerra, E.; Sarriguren, P.; Udias, J.M.

    1995-01-01

    We present results for response functions and asymmetries in the nuclear reactions 37 vector Ar( vector e, e' n) 36 Ar and 37 vector K( vector e,e' p) 36 Ar at quasifree kinematics. We compare PWIA results obtained using deformed HF wave functions with PWIA and DWIA results obtained assuming a spherical mean field. We show that the complex structure of the deformed orbitals can be probed by coincidence measurements with polarized beam and targets. ((orig.))

  9. Effective Clipart Image Vectorization through Direct Optimization of Bezigons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Ming; Chao, Hongyang; Zhang, Chi; Guo, Jun; Yuan, Lu; Sun, Jian

    2016-02-01

    Bezigons, i.e., closed paths composed of Bézier curves, have been widely employed to describe shapes in image vectorization results. However, most existing vectorization techniques infer the bezigons by simply approximating an intermediate vector representation (such as polygons). Consequently, the resultant bezigons are sometimes imperfect due to accumulated errors, fitting ambiguities, and a lack of curve priors, especially for low-resolution images. In this paper, we describe a novel method for vectorizing clipart images. In contrast to previous methods, we directly optimize the bezigons rather than using other intermediate representations; therefore, the resultant bezigons are not only of higher fidelity compared with the original raster image but also more reasonable because they were traced by a proficient expert. To enable such optimization, we have overcome several challenges and have devised a differentiable data energy as well as several curve-based prior terms. To improve the efficiency of the optimization, we also take advantage of the local control property of bezigons and adopt an overlapped piecewise optimization strategy. The experimental results show that our method outperforms both the current state-of-the-art method and commonly used commercial software in terms of bezigon quality.

  10. Heterosigma bloom and associated fish kill

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hershberger, P.K.; Rensel, J.E.; Postel, J.R.; Taub, F.B.

    1997-01-01

    A bloom of the harmful marine phytoplankton, Heterosigma carterae occurred in upper Case Inlet, south Puget Sound, Washington in late September, 1994, correlating with the presence of at least 35 dead salmon. This marks the first time that this alga has been closely correlated with a wild fish kill; in the past it was thought to be associated with kills of penned fish at fish farms only. We were informed of the presence of a possible harmful algal bloom and dead salinois Ilear the town of Allyn on 27 September and a team was formed to investigate. We arrived at the Allyn waterfront at 17:30 hours the same day. Prior to our arrival, state agency personnel walked approximatcly two miles of shoreline from the powerlines north of the dock, to the mouth of Sherwood Creek and conducted the only official count of dead fish present along the shore consisting of 12 coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), 11 chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), 12 chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha), one flat fish, and one sculpin on the morning of 9/27. Since previous harmful blooms of Heterosigma have resultedin the majority of net penreared salmon sinking to the bottom of pens, and only approximately two miles of shoreline were sampled, it is suspected that many more exposed fish may have succumbed than were counted. Witnesses who explored the east side of the bay reported seeing many dead salmon there as well, but no counts were made. State agency personnel who observed the fish kill reported seeing “dying fish coming to the beach, gulping at the surface, trying to get out of the water” Scavengers were seen consuming the salmon carcasses; these included two harbor seals, a house cat, and Hymenopteran insects. None suffered any noticeable acute ill effects. Although precise cause of death has not been ascertained, visual inspection of the reproductive organs from a deceased male chum salmon found on the shore at Allyn confirmed that the fish was not yet reproductively mature and

  11. Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) movements and behavior around a kill site and implications for GPS collar studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mech, L. David

    2011-01-01

    Global Positioning System (GPS) radio-collars are increasingly used to estimate Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) kill rates. In interpreting results from this technology, researchers make various assumptions about wolf behavior around kills, yet no detailed description of this behavior has been published. This article describes the behavior of six wolves in an area of constant daylight during 30 hours, from when the pack killed a Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) calf and yearling on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, to when they abandoned the kill remains. Although this is only a single incident, it demonstrates one possible scenario of pack behavior around a kill. Combined with the literature, this observation supports placing a radio-collar on the breeding male to maximize finding kills via GPS collars and qualifying results depending on whatever other information is available about the collared wolf's pack.

  12. Road kills of amphibians in different land use areas from Sharavathi river basin, central Western Ghats, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K.S. Seshadri

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available A survey of amphibian mortality on roads was carried out in the Sharavathi river basin in the central Western Ghats. Road kills in three different land use areas: agricultural fields, water bodies and forests were recorded for four days along three 100m stretches in each type of area. One-hundred-and-forty-four individuals belonging to two orders, eight families, 11 genera and 13 species were recorded in the survey. Kills/km observed were: in forest 55, agricultural fields 38 and water bodies 27, for an overall average of 40 kills/km. Kill species compositions varied significantly between land use areas, but not overall kill rates.

  13. Reorientation effects for 52 MeV vector polarized deuterons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nurzynski, J.; Kihm, T.; Knopfle, K.T.; Mairle, G.; Clement, H.

    1987-01-01

    The differential cross sections and the vector analysing powers were measured for the elastic and inelastic scattering of 52 MeV vector polarized deuterons from 20 Ne, 22 Ne, 26 Mg, 28 Si, 32 S, 34 S, 36 Ar and 40 Ar nuclei. Coupled channels analysis was carried out using an axially symmetric rotational model with either prolate or oblate quadrupole deformations for each isotope. Calculations assuming harmonic vibrator model were also carried out. In general, reorientation effects were found to be weak. A global optical model potential containing an imaginary spin-orbit component was found to be the most suitable in describing the experimental data at this energy

  14. Intestinal mucus protects Giardia lamblia from killing by human milk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zenian, A J; Gillin, F D

    1987-02-01

    We have previously shown that nonimmune human milk kills Giardia lamblia trophozoites in vitro. Killing requires a bile salt and the activity of the milk bile salt-stimulated lipase. We now show that human small-intestinal mucus protects trophozoites from killing by milk. Parasite survival increased with mucus concentration, but protection was overcome during longer incubation times or with greater milk concentrations. Trophozoites preincubated with mucus and then washed were not protected. Protective activity was associated with non-mucin CsCl density gradient fractions. Moreover, it was heat-stable, non-dialyzable, and non-lipid. Whereas whole mucus inhibited milk lipolytic activity, protective mucus fractions did not inhibit the enzyme. Furthermore, mucus partially protected G. lamblia trophozoites against the toxicity of oleic acid, a fatty acid which is released from milk triglycerides by lipase. These studies show that mucus protects G. lamblia both by inhibiting lipase activity and by decreasing the toxicity of products of lipolysis. The ability of mucus to protect G. lamblia from toxic lipolytic products may help to promote intestinal colonization by this parasite.

  15. Holographic vector superconductor in Gauss–Bonnet gravity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun-Wang Lu

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available In the probe limit, we numerically study the holographic p-wave superconductor phase transitions in the higher curvature theory. Concretely, we study the influences of Gauss–Bonnet parameter α on the Maxwell complex vector model (MCV in the five-dimensional Gauss–Bonnet–AdS black hole and soliton backgrounds, respectively. In the two backgrounds, the improving Gauss–Bonnet parameter α and dimension of the vector operator Δ inhibit the vector condensate. In the black hole, the condensate quickly saturates a stable value at lower temperature. Moreover, both the stable value of condensate and the ratio ωg/Tc increase with α. In the soliton, the location of the second pole of the imaginary part increases with α, which implies that the energy of the quasiparticle excitation increases with the improving higher curvature correction. In addition, the influences of the Gauss–Bonnet correction on the MCV model are similar to the ones on the SU(2 p-wave model, which confirms that the MCV model is a generalization of the SU(2 Yang–Mills model even without the applied magnetic field to some extent.

  16. 'Molecular switch' vectors for hypoxia- and radiation-mediated gene therapy of cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Greco, O.; Marples, B.; Joiner, M.C.; Scott, S.D.

    2003-01-01

    Intratumoral areas of low oxygen concentration are known to be refractive to radiotherapy treatment. However, this physiological condition can be exploited for selective cancer gene therapy. We have developed a series of synthetic promoters selectively responsive to both hypoxia and ionizing radiation (IR). These promoters contain hypoxia regulatory elements (HREs) from the erythropoietin (Epo), the phosphoglycerate kinase1(PGK1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) genes, and/or IR-responsive CArG elements from the Early Growth Response 1 (Egr1) gene. The HRE and CArG promoters were able to regulate expression of reporter and suicide genes in human tumor cells, following corresponding stimulation with hypoxia (0.1% O2) or X-irradiation (5Gy) [Greco et al, 2002, Gene Therapy 9:1403]. Furthermore, the chimeric HRE + CArG promoters could be activated by these stimuli independently or even more significantly when given in combination, with the Epo HRE/CArG promoter proving to be the most responsive and robust. In order to amplify and maintain transgene expression even following withdrawal of the triggering stimuli, we have developed a 'molecular switch' system [Scott et al, 2000, Gene Therapy 7:1121]. This 'switch' system has now been engineered as a single vector molecule, containing HRE and CArG promoters. This new series of HRE/CArG switch vectors have been tested in a herpes simplex thymidine kinase (HSVtk)/ganciclovir (GCV) suicide gene assay. Results indicate that a) higher and more selective tumor cell kill is achieved with the switch when compared with the HRE and CArG promoters directly driving HSVtk expression and b) the Epo HRE/CArG switch vectors appear to function as efficiently as the strong constitutive cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter construct

  17. Effect of Shark Liver Oil on Peritoneal Murine Macrophages in Responses to Killed-Candida albicans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monire Hajimoradi

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective(sShark Liver Oil (SLO is an immunomodulator. Macrophages play a key role in host defense against pathogens like fungi. Candida albicans have mechanisms to escape immune system. We determined the effect of killed-Candida on the in vitro viability of macrophages and the effect of SLO on augmentation of this potency.Materials and MethodsPeritoneal macrophages were separated and cultured (3×105/well. At first, the effect of killed-Candida (200 cells/well on macrophage viability was evaluated, using MTT test. Then, MTT was performed on macrophages stimulated with killed-Candida in the presence of SLO. ResultsKilled-Candida suppressed the ability of MTT reduction and hence macrophages viability (P=0.026, but addition of SLO (100 mg/ml significantly enhanced cell viability (P=0.00. So, SLO could neutralize the inhibitory effect of Candida.ConclusionSimultaneous with cytotoxic effect of killed-Candida cells on macrophages viability, SLO augment macrophages viability. So, it can be applied in candidiasis as a complement.

  18. Quantification of dichlorvos released from kill strips used in boll weevil eradication programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Two types of kill strips, Hercon Vaportape II and Plato Insecticide Strip, are used by boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis (Boheman), eradication programs in the U.S. Both types utilize dichlorvos as the killing agent and are marketed to last up to a month in traps. Consequently, programs typically re...

  19. Correlation-based motion vector processing with adaptive interpolation scheme for motion-compensated frame interpolation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Ai-Mei; Nguyen, Truong

    2009-04-01

    In this paper, we address the problems of unreliable motion vectors that cause visual artifacts but cannot be detected by high residual energy or bidirectional prediction difference in motion-compensated frame interpolation. A correlation-based motion vector processing method is proposed to detect and correct those unreliable motion vectors by explicitly considering motion vector correlation in the motion vector reliability classification, motion vector correction, and frame interpolation stages. Since our method gradually corrects unreliable motion vectors based on their reliability, we can effectively discover the areas where no motion is reliable to be used, such as occlusions and deformed structures. We also propose an adaptive frame interpolation scheme for the occlusion areas based on the analysis of their surrounding motion distribution. As a result, the interpolated frames using the proposed scheme have clearer structure edges and ghost artifacts are also greatly reduced. Experimental results show that our interpolated results have better visual quality than other methods. In addition, the proposed scheme is robust even for those video sequences that contain multiple and fast motions.

  20. Serum killing of Ureaplasma parvum shows serovar-determined susceptibility for normal individuals and common variable immuno-deficiency patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beeton, Michael L; Daha, Mohamed R; El-Shanawany, Tariq; Jolles, Stephen R; Kotecha, Sailesh; Spiller, O Brad

    2012-02-01

    Many Gram-negative bacteria, unlike Gram-positive, are directly lysed by complement. Ureaplasma can cause septic arthritis and meningitis in immunocompromised individuals and induce premature birth. Ureaplasma has no cell wall, cannot be Gram-stain classified and its serum susceptibility is unknown. Survival of Ureaplasma serovars (SV) 1, 3, 6 and 14 (collectively Ureaplasma parvum) were measured following incubation with normal or immunoglobulin-deficient patient serum (relative to heat-inactivated controls). Blocking monoclonal anti-C1q antibody and depletion of calcium, immunoglobulins, or lectins were used to determine the complement pathway responsible for killing. Eighty-three percent of normal sera killed SV1, 67% killed SV6 and 25% killed SV14; greater killing correlating to strong immunoblot identification of anti-Ureaplasma antibodies; killing was abrogated following ProteinA removal of IgG1. All normal sera killed SV3 in a C1q-dependent fashion, irrespective of immunoblot identification of anti-Ureaplasma antibodies; SV3 killing was unaffected by total IgG removal by ProteinG, where complement activity was retained. Only one of four common variable immunodeficient (CVID) patient sera failed to kill SV3, despite profound IgM and IgG deficiency for all; however, killing of SV3 and SV1 was restored with therapeutic intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. Only the classical complement pathway mediated Ureaplasma-cidal activity, sometimes in the absence of observable immunoblot reactive bands. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  1. Multi-perspective views of students’ difficulties with one-dimensional vector and two-dimensional vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fauzi, Ahmad; Ratna Kawuri, Kunthi; Pratiwi, Retno

    2017-01-01

    Researchers of students’ conceptual change usually collects data from written tests and interviews. Moreover, reports of conceptual change often simply refer to changes in concepts, such as on a test, without any identification of the learning processes that have taken place. Research has shown that students have difficulties with vectors in university introductory physics courses and high school physics courses. In this study, we intended to explore students’ understanding of one-dimensional and two-dimensional vector in multi perspective views. In this research, we explore students’ understanding through test perspective and interviews perspective. Our research study adopted the mixed-methodology design. The participants of this research were sixty students of third semester of physics education department. The data of this research were collected by testand interviews. In this study, we divided the students’ understanding of one-dimensional vector and two-dimensional vector in two categories, namely vector skills of the addition of one-dimensionaland two-dimensional vector and the relation between vector skills and conceptual understanding. From the investigation, only 44% of students provided correct answer for vector skills of the addition of one-dimensional and two-dimensional vector and only 27% students provided correct answer for the relation between vector skills and conceptual understanding.

  2. Reviving the shear-free perfect fluid conjecture in general relativity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sikhonde, Muzikayise E.; Dunsby, Peter K. S.

    2017-12-01

    Employing a Mathematica symbolic computer algebra package called xTensor, we present (1+3) -covariant special case proofs of the shear-free perfect fluid conjecture in general relativity. We first present the case where the pressure is constant, and where the acceleration is parallel to the vorticity vector. These cases were first presented in their covariant form by Senovilla et al. We then provide a covariant proof for the case where the acceleration and vorticity vectors are orthogonal, which leads to the existence of a Killing vector along the vorticity. This Killing vector satisfies the new constraint equations resulting from the vanishing of the shear. Furthermore, it is shown that in order for the conjecture to be true, this Killing vector must have a vanishing spatially projected directional covariant derivative along the velocity vector field. This in turn implies the existence of another basic vector field along the direction of the vorticity for the conjecture to hold. Finally, we show that in general, there exists a basic vector field parallel to the acceleration for which the conjecture is true.

  3. Anuran road-kills neighboring a peri-urban reserve in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coelho, Igor Pfeifer; Teixeira, Fernanda Zimmermann; Colombo, Patrick; Coelho, Artur Vicente Pfeifer; Kindel, Andreas

    2012-12-15

    Mortality from road-kills may figure among the important causes of decline in amphibian populations and species extinctions worldwide. Evaluation of the magnitude, composition, and temporal and spatial distributions of amphibian road-kills is a key step for mitigation planning, especially in peri-urban reserves. Once a month for 16 months, we surveyed, on foot, a 4.4 km section of state road ERS-389 bordering the Itapeva reserve in the southern Atlantic Forest. We recorded 1433 anuran road-kills and estimated a mortality rate of 9002 road-kills/km/year. The species most often recorded were the largest ones: Leptodactylus latrans, Rhinella icterica, Leptodactylus gracilis and Hypsiboas faber; 54.5% of the carcasses could not be identified. Anuran mortality was concentrated in summer, and was associated with temperature, rainfall and photoperiod. Leptodactylus road-kills were strongly influenced by vehicle traffic, probably because of its high abundance during the entire study period. Road-kill hotspots differed for anurans as a group and for single species, and we found an association among spatial patterns of mortality and types of land cover, distance from the nearest waterbody, roadside ditches, and artificial light. Traffic should be banned temporarily during periods of high mortality, which can be forecasted based on meteorological data. A comprehensive mitigation approach should take into account hotspots of all anuran records, and also of target species for selecting locations for amphibian passages and fencing. Roadside ditches, artificial waterbodies, and conventional street lights should be reduced as much as possible, since they may represent ecological traps for anuran populations. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Custodial vector model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becciolini, Diego; Franzosi, Diogo Buarque; Foadi, Roshan; Frandsen, Mads T.; Hapola, Tuomas; Sannino, Francesco

    2015-07-01

    We analyze the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) phenomenology of heavy vector resonances with a S U (2 )L×S U (2 )R spectral global symmetry. This symmetry partially protects the electroweak S parameter from large contributions of the vector resonances. The resulting custodial vector model spectrum and interactions with the standard model fields lead to distinct signatures at the LHC in the diboson, dilepton, and associated Higgs channels.

  5. Vector Differential Calculus

    OpenAIRE

    HITZER, Eckhard MS

    2002-01-01

    This paper treats the fundamentals of the vector differential calculus part of universal geometric calculus. Geometric calculus simplifies and unifies the structure and notation of mathematics for all of science and engineering, and for technological applications. In order to make the treatment self-contained, I first compile all important geometric algebra relationships,which are necesssary for vector differential calculus. Then differentiation by vectors is introduced and a host of major ve...

  6. The 7Li(d-vector,n0)8Be and 7Li(d-vector,n1)8Be reactions below 160 keV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sabourov, A.; Ahmed, M. W.; Blackston, M. A.; Crowell, A. S.; Howell, C. R.; Joshi, K.; Nelson, S. O.; Perdue, B. A.; Sabourov, K.; Tonchev, A.; Weller, H. R.; Prior, R. M.; Spraker, M. C.; Braizinha, B.; Kalantar-Nayestanaki, N.

    2006-01-01

    The polarization observables have been determined for the 7 Li(d-vector,n 0 ) 8 Be and 7 Li(d-vector ,n 1 ) 8 Be reactions at beam energies between 80 and 160 keV. A Transition Matrix Element (TME) analysis revealed unique, dominant p-wave solutions for both neutron channels. The polarization observables were compared with distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA) and coupled reaction channels (CRC) calculations. The general features of the data can be reproduced by the CRC calculations when a large target spin-orbit interaction is included. However, serious discrepancies are observed when the TMEs of the theory and experiment are compared

  7. Research on killing Escherichia Coli by reactive oxygen species based on strong ionization discharging plasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Y J; Tian, Y P; Zhang, Z T; Li, R H; Cai, L J; Gao, J Y

    2013-01-01

    Reactive oxygen species solution produced by strong ionization discharging plasma was used to kill Escherichia coli by spraying. Several effect factors such as pH value, solution temperature, spraying time and exposure time were observed in this study, and their effects on killing rate of Escherichia coli were discussed and analysed. Results show that the treating efficiency of ROS solution for Escherichia coli is higher in alkaline solution than that in acid solution. The killing rate of Escherichia coli increases while the spraying time and exposure time are longer and the temperature is lower. The effects of different factors on killing rate of Escherichia coli are as follows: spraying time > pH value > exposure time > solution temperature.

  8. Enzyme-driven Bacillus spore coat degradation leading to spore killing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mundra, Ruchir V; Mehta, Krunal K; Wu, Xia; Paskaleva, Elena E; Kane, Ravi S; Dordick, Jonathan S

    2014-04-01

    The bacillus spore coat confers chemical and biological resistance, thereby protecting the core from harsh environments. The primarily protein-based coat consists of recalcitrant protein crosslinks that endow the coat with such functional protection. Proteases are present in the spore coat, which play a putative role in coat degradation in the environment. However these enzymes are poorly characterized. Nonetheless given the potential for proteases to catalyze coat degradation, we screened 10 commercially available proteases for their ability to degrade the spore coats of B. cereus and B. anthracis. Proteinase K and subtilisin Carlsberg, for B. cereus and B. anthracis spore coats, respectively, led to a morphological change in the otherwise impregnable coat structure, increasing coat permeability towards cortex lytic enzymes such as lysozyme and SleB, thereby initiating germination. Specifically in the presence of lysozyme, proteinase K resulted in 14-fold faster enzyme induced germination and exhibited significantly shorter lag times, than spores without protease pretreatment. Furthermore, the germinated spores were shown to be vulnerable to a lytic enzyme (PlyPH) resulting in effective spore killing. The spore surface in response to proteolytic degradation was probed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which provided key insights regarding coat degradation. The extent of coat degradation and spore killing using this enzyme-based pretreatment approach is similar to traditional, yet far harsher, chemical decoating methods that employ detergents and strong denaturants. Thus the enzymatic route reduces the environmental burden of chemically mediated spore killing, and demonstrates that a mild and environmentally benign biocatalytic spore killing is achievable. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Elliptic-symmetry vector optical fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Yue; Li, Yongnan; Li, Si-Min; Ren, Zhi-Cheng; Kong, Ling-Jun; Tu, Chenghou; Wang, Hui-Tian

    2014-08-11

    We present in principle and demonstrate experimentally a new kind of vector fields: elliptic-symmetry vector optical fields. This is a significant development in vector fields, as this breaks the cylindrical symmetry and enriches the family of vector fields. Due to the presence of an additional degrees of freedom, which is the interval between the foci in the elliptic coordinate system, the elliptic-symmetry vector fields are more flexible than the cylindrical vector fields for controlling the spatial structure of polarization and for engineering the focusing fields. The elliptic-symmetry vector fields can find many specific applications from optical trapping to optical machining and so on.

  10. Chikungunya Virus–Vector Interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lark L. Coffey

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Chikungunya virus (CHIKV is a mosquito-borne alphavirus that causes chikungunya fever, a severe, debilitating disease that often produces chronic arthralgia. Since 2004, CHIKV has emerged in Africa, Indian Ocean islands, Asia, Europe, and the Americas, causing millions of human infections. Central to understanding CHIKV emergence is knowledge of the natural ecology of transmission and vector infection dynamics. This review presents current understanding of CHIKV infection dynamics in mosquito vectors and its relationship to human disease emergence. The following topics are reviewed: CHIKV infection and vector life history traits including transmission cycles, genetic origins, distribution, emergence and spread, dispersal, vector competence, vector immunity and microbial interactions, and co-infection by CHIKV and other arboviruses. The genetics of vector susceptibility and host range changes, population heterogeneity and selection for the fittest viral genomes, dual host cycling and its impact on CHIKV adaptation, viral bottlenecks and intrahost diversity, and adaptive constraints on CHIKV evolution are also discussed. The potential for CHIKV re-emergence and expansion into new areas and prospects for prevention via vector control are also briefly reviewed.

  11. Glucocorticoids and Polyamine Inhibitors Synergize to Kill Human Leukemic CEM Cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aaron L. Miller

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Glucocorticoids are well-known apoptotic agents in certain classes of lymphoid cell malignancies. Reduction of intracellular polyamine levels by use of inhibitors that block polyamine synthesis slows or inhibits growth of many cells in vitro. Several such inhibitors have shown efficacy in clinical trials, though the toxicity of some compounds has limited their usefulness. We have tested the effects of combinations of the glucocorticoid dexamethasone. (20Dex and two polyamine inhibitors, difluoromethylornithine. (20DFMO and methyl glyoxal bis guanylhydrazone. (20MGBG, on the clonal line of human acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells, CEM-C7-14. Dex alone kills these cells, though only after a delay of at least 24 hours. We also evaluated a partially glucocorticoid-resistant c-Myc-expressing CEM-C7-14 clone. We show that Dex downregulates ornithine decarboxylase. (20ODC, the rate-limiting enzyme in polyamine synthesis. Pretreatment with the ODC inhibitor DFMO, followed by addition of Dex, enhances steroid-evoked kill slightly. The combination of pretreatment with sublethal concentrations of both DFMO and the inhibitor of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase, MGBG, followed by addition of Dex, results in strong synergistic cell kill. Both the rapidity and extent of cell kill are enhanced compared to the effects of Dex alone. These results suggest that use of such combinations in vivo may result in apoptosis of malignant cells with lower overall toxicity.

  12. Extended vector-tensor theories

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kimura, Rampei; Naruko, Atsushi; Yoshida, Daisuke, E-mail: rampei@th.phys.titech.ac.jp, E-mail: naruko@th.phys.titech.ac.jp, E-mail: yoshida@th.phys.titech.ac.jp [Department of Physics, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8551 (Japan)

    2017-01-01

    Recently, several extensions of massive vector theory in curved space-time have been proposed in many literatures. In this paper, we consider the most general vector-tensor theories that contain up to two derivatives with respect to metric and vector field. By imposing a degeneracy condition of the Lagrangian in the context of ADM decomposition of space-time to eliminate an unwanted mode, we construct a new class of massive vector theories where five degrees of freedom can propagate, corresponding to three for massive vector modes and two for massless tensor modes. We find that the generalized Proca and the beyond generalized Proca theories up to the quartic Lagrangian, which should be included in this formulation, are degenerate theories even in curved space-time. Finally, introducing new metric and vector field transformations, we investigate the properties of thus obtained theories under such transformations.

  13. Hyperbolic-symmetry vector fields.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Xu-Zhen; Pan, Yue; Cai, Meng-Qiang; Li, Yongnan; Tu, Chenghou; Wang, Hui-Tian

    2015-12-14

    We present and construct a new kind of orthogonal coordinate system, hyperbolic coordinate system. We present and design a new kind of local linearly polarized vector fields, which is defined as the hyperbolic-symmetry vector fields because the points with the same polarization form a series of hyperbolae. We experimentally demonstrate the generation of such a kind of hyperbolic-symmetry vector optical fields. In particular, we also study the modified hyperbolic-symmetry vector optical fields with the twofold and fourfold symmetric states of polarization when introducing the mirror symmetry. The tight focusing behaviors of these vector fields are also investigated. In addition, we also fabricate micro-structures on the K9 glass surfaces by several tightly focused (modified) hyperbolic-symmetry vector fields patterns, which demonstrate that the simulated tightly focused fields are in good agreement with the fabricated micro-structures.

  14. Supergravity inspired vector curvaton

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dimopoulos, Konstantinos

    2007-01-01

    It is investigated whether a massive Abelian vector field, whose gauge kinetic function is growing during inflation, can be responsible for the generation of the curvature perturbation in the Universe. Particle production is studied and it is shown that the vector field can obtain a scale-invariant superhorizon spectrum of perturbations with a reasonable choice of kinetic function. After inflation the vector field begins coherent oscillations, during which it corresponds to pressureless isotropic matter. When the vector field dominates the Universe, its perturbations give rise to the observed curvature perturbation following the curvaton scenario. It is found that this is possible if, after the end of inflation, the mass of the vector field increases at a phase transition at temperature of order 1 TeV or lower. Inhomogeneous reheating, whereby the vector field modulates the decay rate of the inflaton, is also studied

  15. A radiolabel release microassay for phagocytic killing of Candida albicans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bistoni, F.; Baccarini, M.; Blasi, E.; Marconi, P.; Puccetti, P.

    1982-01-01

    The chromium-51 release technique for quantifying intracellular killing of radiolabelled Candida albicans particles was exploited in a microassay in which murine and human phagocytes acted as effectors under peculiarly simple conditions. At appropriate effector: target ratios and with a 4 h incubation, up to 50% specific chromium release could be detected in the supernatant with no need for opsonization or lysis of phagocytes. This simple microassay permits easy-to-perform, simultaneous testing of a variety of different phagocytes even if only available in limited amounts, and provides an objective measurement of intracellular killing of Candida albicans. (Auth.)

  16. Comparative antianaerobic activities of doripenem determined by MIC and time-kill analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Credito, Kim L; Ednie, Lois M; Appelbaum, Peter C

    2008-01-01

    Against 447 anaerobe strains, the investigational carbapenem doripenem had an MIC 50 of 0.125 microg/ml and an MIC 90 of 1 microg/ml. Results were similar to those for imipenem, meropenem, and ertapenem. Time-kill studies showed that doripenem had very good bactericidal activity compared to other carbapenems, with 99.9% killing of 11 strains at 2x MIC after 48 h.

  17. Recommendation on vectors and vector-transmitted diseases

    OpenAIRE

    Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority

    2009-01-01

    In view of their increasing risk of introduction and their possible implications in causing major disease outbreaks, vectors, as well as vector-transmitted diseases like dengue, West Nile disease, Lyme disease and bluetongue need to be recognised as a threat to public and animal health and to the economy, also in the Netherlands. There has been an increase in the incidence of these diseases in the past two to three decades. Climate changes and changes in the use of land, water managemen...

  18. Activity of Telithromycin (HMR 3647) against Anaerobic Bacteria Compared to Those of Eight Other Agents by Time-Kill Methodology†

    Science.gov (United States)

    Credito, Kim L.; Ednie, Lois M.; Jacobs, Michael R.; Appelbaum, Peter C.

    1999-01-01

    Time-kill studies examined the activities of telithromycin (HMR 3647), erythromycin A, azithromycin, clarithromycin, roxithromycin, clindamycin, pristinamycin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, and metronidazole against 11 gram-positive and gram-negative anaerobic bacteria. Time-kill studies were carried out with the addition of Oxyrase in order to prevent the introduction of CO2. Macrolide-azalide-ketolide MICs were 0.004 to 32.0 μg/ml. Of the latter group, telithromycin had the lowest MICs, especially against non-Bacteroides fragilis group strains, followed by azithromycin, clarithromycin, erythromycin A, and roxithromycin. Clindamycin was active (MIC ≤ 2.0 μg/ml) against all anaerobes except Peptostreptococcus magnus and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, while pristinamycin MICs were 0.06 to 4.0 μg/ml. Amoxicillin-clavulanate had MICs of ≤1.0 μg/ml, while metronidazole was active (MICs, 0.03 to 2.0 μg/ml) against all except Propionibacterium acnes. After 48 h at twice the MIC, telithromycin was bactericidal (≥99.9% killing) against 6 strains, with 99% killing of 9 strains and 90% killing of 10 strains. After 24 h at twice the MIC, 90, 99, and 99.9% killing of nine, six, and three strains, respectively, occurred. Lower rates of killing were seen at earlier times. Similar kill kinetics relative to the MIC were seen with other macrolides. After 48 h at the MIC, clindamycin was bactericidal against 8 strains, with 99 and 90% killing of 9 and 10 strains, respectively. After 24 h, 90% killing of 10 strains occurred at the MIC. The kinetics of clindamycin were similar to those of pristinamycin. After 48 h at the MIC, amoxicillin-clavulanate showed 99.9% killing of seven strains, with 99% killing of eight strains and 90% killing of nine strains. At four times the MIC, metronidazole was bactericidal against 8 of 10 strains tested after 48 h and against all 10 strains after 24 h; after 12 h, 99% killing of all 10 strains occurred. PMID:10428930

  19. Gauge anomaly with vector and axial-vector fields in 6D curved space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yajima, Satoshi; Eguchi, Kohei; Fukuda, Makoto; Oka, Tomonori

    2018-03-01

    Imposing the conservation equation of the vector current for a fermion of spin 1/2 at the quantum level, a gauge anomaly for the fermion coupling with non-Abelian vector and axial-vector fields in 6D curved space is expressed in tensorial form. The anomaly consists of terms that resemble the chiral U(1) anomaly and the commutator terms that disappear if the axial-vector field is Abelian.

  20. Neutron–gamma discrimination based on the support vector machine method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, Xunzhen; Zhu, Jingjun; Lin, ShinTed; Wang, Li; Xing, Haoyang; Zhang, Caixun; Xia, Yuxi; Liu, Shukui; Yue, Qian; Wei, Weiwei; Du, Qiang; Tang, Changjian

    2015-01-01

    In this study, the combination of the support vector machine (SVM) method with the moment analysis method (MAM) is proposed and utilized to perform neutron/gamma (n/γ) discrimination of the pulses from an organic liquid scintillator (OLS). Neutron and gamma events, which can be firmly separated on the scatter plot drawn by the charge comparison method (CCM), are detected to form the training data set and the test data set for the SVM, and the MAM is used to create the feature vectors for individual events in the data sets. Compared to the traditional methods, such as CCM, the proposed method can not only discriminate the neutron and gamma signals, even at lower energy levels, but also provide the corresponding classification accuracy for each event, which is useful in validating the discrimination. Meanwhile, the proposed method can also offer a predication of the classification for the under-energy-limit events

  1. Vector-Quantization using Information Theoretic Concepts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lehn-Schiøler, Tue; Hegde, Anant; Erdogmus, Deniz

    2005-01-01

    interpretation and relies on minimization of a well defined cost-function. It is also shown how the potential field approach can be linked to information theory by use of the Parzen density estimator. In the light of information theory it becomes clear that minimizing the free energy of the system is in fact......The process of representing a large data set with a smaller number of vectors in the best possible way, also known as vector quantization, has been intensively studied in the recent years. Very efficient algorithms like the Kohonen Self Organizing Map (SOM) and the Linde Buzo Gray (LBG) algorithm...... have been devised. In this paper a physical approach to the problem is taken, and it is shown that by considering the processing elements as points moving in a potential field an algorithm equally efficient as the before mentioned can be derived. Unlike SOM and LBG this algorithm has a clear physical...

  2. Load-Unload Response Ratio (LURR), Accelerating Moment/Energy Release (AM/ER) and State Vector Saltation as Precursors to Failure of Rock Specimens

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Xiang-Chu; Yu, Huai-Zhong; Kukshenko, Victor; Xu, Zhao-Yong; Wu, Zhishen; Li, Min; Peng, Keyin; Elizarov, Surgey; Li, Qi

    2004-12-01

    In order to verify some precursors such as LURR (Load/Unload Response Ratio) and AER (Accelerating Energy Release) before large earthquakes or macro-fracture in heterogeneous brittle media, four acoustic emission experiments involving large rock specimens under tri-axial stress, have been conducted. The specimens were loaded in two ways: monotonous or cycling. The experimental results confirm that LURR and AER are precursors of macro-fracture in brittle media. A new measure called the state vector has been proposed to describe the damage evolution of loaded rock specimens.

  3. Vector manifestation and violation of vector dominance in hot matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harada, Masayasu; Sasaki, Chihiro

    2004-01-01

    We show the details of the calculation of the hadronic thermal corrections to the two-point functions in the effective field theory of QCD for pions and vector mesons based on the hidden local symmetry (HLS) in hot matter using the background field gauge. We study the temperature dependence of the pion velocity in the low-temperature region determined from the hadronic thermal corrections, and show that, due to the presence of the dynamical vector meson, the pion velocity is smaller than the speed of the light already at one-loop level, in contrast to the result obtained in the ordinary chiral perturbation theory including only the pion at one-loop. Including the intrinsic temperature dependences of the parameters of the HLS Lagrangian determined from the underlying QCD through the Wilsonian matching, we show how the vector manifestation (VM), in which the massless vector meson becomes the chiral partner of pion, is realized at the critical temperature. We present a new prediction of the VM on the direct photon-π-π coupling which measures the validity of the vector dominance (VD) of the electromagnetic form factor of the pion: we find that the VD is largely violated at the critical temperature, which indicates that the assumption of the VD made in several analyses on the dilepton spectra in hot matter may need to be weakened for consistently including the effect of the dropping mass of the vector meson

  4. 'David and Goliath' of the soil food web - Flagellates that kill nematodes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Strandmark, Lisa Bjørnlund; Rønn, Regin

    2008-01-01

    Nematodes and flagellates are important bacterial predators in soil and sediments. Generally, these organisms are considered to be competitors for bacterial food. We studied the interaction among flagellates and nematodes using axenic liquid cultures amended with heat-killed bacteria as food...... and showed for the first time that a small and common soil flagellate (Cercomonas sp.) is able to attack and kill the much larger nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The killing process is not caused by soluble metabolites but requires direct contact between the flagellate cells and the nematode surface...... and occurs rapidly (within a few hours) at high flagellate density. At lower flagellate density, adult nematodes sometimes avoid attachment of flagellates, feed on them and become the dominant bacterial predator. Considering that bacterial feeders affect bacterial communities differently, and that one...

  5. Killing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by Chicken Cathelicidin-2 Is Immunogenically Silent, Preventing Lung Inflammation In Vivo

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coorens, Maarten; Banaschewski, Brandon J. H.; Baer, Brandon J.; Yamashita, Cory; van Dijk, Albert; Veldhuizen, Ruud A. W.; Veldhuizen, Edwin J. A.

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT The development of antibiotic resistance by Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major concern in the treatment of bacterial pneumonia. In the search for novel anti-infective therapies, the chicken-derived peptide cathelicidin-2 (CATH-2) has emerged as a potential candidate, with strong broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and the ability to limit inflammation by inhibiting Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) and TLR4 activation. However, as it is unknown how CATH-2 affects inflammation in vivo, we investigated how CATH-2-mediated killing of P. aeruginosa affects lung inflammation in a murine model. First, murine macrophages were used to determine whether CATH-2-mediated killing of P. aeruginosa reduced proinflammatory cytokine production in vitro. Next, a murine lung model was used to analyze how CATH-2-mediated killing of P. aeruginosa affects neutrophil and macrophage recruitment as well as cytokine/chemokine production in the lung. Our results show that CATH-2 kills P. aeruginosa in an immunogenically silent manner both in vitro and in vivo. Treatment with CATH-2-killed P. aeruginosa showed reduced neutrophil recruitment to the lung as well as inhibition of cytokine and chemokine production, compared to treatment with heat- or gentamicin-killed bacteria. Together, these results show the potential for CATH-2 as a dual-activity antibiotic in bacterial pneumonia, which can both kill P. aeruginosa and prevent excessive inflammation. PMID:28947647

  6. Heavy Scalar, Vector, and Axial-Vector Mesons in Hot and Dense Nuclear Medium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arvind Kumar

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In this work we shall investigate the mass modifications of scalar mesons (D0; B0, vector mesons (D*; B*, and axial-vector mesons (D1; B1 at finite density and temperature of the nuclear medium. The above mesons are modified in the nuclear medium through the modification of quark and gluon condensates. We will find the medium modification of quark and gluon condensates within chiral SU(3 model through the medium modification of scalar-isoscalar fields σ and ζ at finite density and temperature. These medium modified quark and gluon condensates will further be used through QCD sum rules for the evaluation of in-medium properties of the above mentioned scalar, vector, and axial vector mesons. We will also discuss the effects of density and temperature of the nuclear medium on the scattering lengths of the above scalar, vector, and axial-vector mesons. The study of the medium modifications of the above mesons may be helpful for understanding their production rates in heavy-ion collision experiments. The results of present investigations of medium modifications of scalar, vector, and axial-vector mesons at finite density and temperature can be verified in the compressed baryonic matter (CBM experiment of FAIR facility at GSI, Germany.

  7. Scalar and vector Galileons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodríguez, Yeinzon; Navarro, Andrés A.

    2017-01-01

    An alternative for the construction of fundamental theories is the introduction of Galileons. These are fields whose action leads to non higher than second-order equations of motion. As this is a necessary but not sufficient condition to make the Hamiltonian bounded from below, as long as the action is not degenerate, the Galileon construction is a way to avoid pathologies both at the classical and quantum levels. Galileon actions are, therefore, of great interest in many branches of physics, specially in high energy physics and cosmology. This proceedings contribution presents the generalities of the construction of both scalar and vector Galileons following two different but complimentary routes. (paper)

  8. Vector Fields on Product Manifolds

    OpenAIRE

    Kurz, Stefan

    2011-01-01

    This short report establishes some basic properties of smooth vector fields on product manifolds. The main results are: (i) On a product manifold there always exists a direct sum decomposition into horizontal and vertical vector fields. (ii) Horizontal and vertical vector fields are naturally isomorphic to smooth families of vector fields defined on the factors. Vector fields are regarded as derivations of the algebra of smooth functions.

  9. Light scattering of rectangular slot antennas: parallel magnetic vector vs perpendicular electric vector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Dukhyung; Kim, Dai-Sik

    2016-01-01

    We study light scattering off rectangular slot nano antennas on a metal film varying incident polarization and incident angle, to examine which field vector of light is more important: electric vector perpendicular to, versus magnetic vector parallel to the long axis of the rectangle. While vector Babinet’s principle would prefer magnetic field along the long axis for optimizing slot antenna function, convention and intuition most often refer to the electric field perpendicular to it. Here, we demonstrate experimentally that in accordance with vector Babinet’s principle, the incident magnetic vector parallel to the long axis is the dominant component, with the perpendicular incident electric field making a small contribution of the factor of 1/|ε|, the reciprocal of the absolute value of the dielectric constant of the metal, owing to the non-perfectness of metals at optical frequencies.

  10. Generalization of concurrence vectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Changshui; Song Heshan

    2004-01-01

    In this Letter, based on the generalization of concurrence vectors for bipartite pure state with respect to employing tensor product of generators of the corresponding rotation groups, we generalize concurrence vectors to the case of mixed states; a new criterion of separability of multipartite pure states is given out, for which we define a concurrence vector; we generalize the vector to the case of multipartite mixed state and give out a good measure of free entanglement

  11. Vector Network Coding Algorithms

    OpenAIRE

    Ebrahimi, Javad; Fragouli, Christina

    2010-01-01

    We develop new algebraic algorithms for scalar and vector network coding. In vector network coding, the source multicasts information by transmitting vectors of length L, while intermediate nodes process and combine their incoming packets by multiplying them with L x L coding matrices that play a similar role as coding c in scalar coding. Our algorithms for scalar network jointly optimize the employed field size while selecting the coding coefficients. Similarly, for vector coding, our algori...

  12. Perturbations of ultralight vector field dark matter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cembranos, J.A.R.; Maroto, A.L.; Jareño, S.J. Núñez [Departamento de Física Teórica I, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, E-28040 Madrid (Spain)

    2017-02-13

    We study the dynamics of cosmological perturbations in models of dark matter based on ultralight coherent vector fields. Very much as for scalar field dark matter, we find two different regimes in the evolution: for modes with k{sup 2}≪Hma, we have a particle-like behaviour indistinguishable from cold dark matter, whereas for modes with k{sup 2}≫Hma, we get a wave-like behaviour in which the sound speed is non-vanishing and of order c{sub s}{sup 2}≃k{sup 2}/m{sup 2}a{sup 2}. This implies that, also in these models, structure formation could be suppressed on small scales. However, unlike the scalar case, the fact that the background evolution contains a non-vanishing homogeneous vector field implies that, in general, the evolution of the three kinds of perturbations (scalar, vector and tensor) can no longer be decoupled at the linear level. More specifically, in the particle regime, the three types of perturbations are actually decoupled, whereas in the wave regime, the three vector field perturbations generate one scalar-tensor and two vector-tensor perturbations in the metric. Also in the wave regime, we find that a non-vanishing anisotropic stress is present in the perturbed energy-momentum tensor giving rise to a gravitational slip of order (Φ−Ψ)/Φ∼c{sub s}{sup 2}. Moreover in this regime the amplitude of the tensor to scalar ratio of the scalar-tensor modes is also h/Φ∼c{sub s}{sup 2}. This implies that small-scale density perturbations are necessarily associated to the presence of gravity waves in this model. We compare their spectrum with the sensitivity of present and future gravity waves detectors.

  13. Integrating Poetry and "To Kill a Mockingbird."

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jolley, Susan Arpajian

    2002-01-01

    Outlines a method of teaching "To Kill a Mockingbird" along with the study of poetry. Notes that this method allows students to consider the themes of courage and developing compassion. Concludes that teaching such a multigenre unit allows students to look for connections among fact and fiction, the past and present, their own lives and…

  14. Speed Kills: Highly Relativistic Spaceflight Would be Fatal for People and Instruments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edelstein, William; Edelstein, Arthur

    2010-02-01

    Stories, books and movies about space travel often describe journeys at near-light velocities. Such high speed is desirable, as the resulting relativistic time dilation reduces the duration of the trip, at least for the travelers, so that they can cover interstellar distances in a reasonable amount of time (by their own clocks) and live long enough to reach their destination. The relativistic rocket equation shows the enormous difficulty of achieving such velocities. As spaceship velocities approach the speed of light, interstellar hydrogen, although only present on average at a density of about 2 atoms per cm^3, impinges on the spacecraft and turns into intense radiation (Purcell, 1963) that would quickly kill passengers and destroy instrumentation. In addition, the energy loss of ionizing radiation passing through the ship's hull represents an increasing heat load which necessitates large expenditures of energy to cool the ship. Preventing this irradiation by the use of material or electromagnetic shields is a daunting and, as far as we know, unsolvable problem. The presence of interstellar hydrogen is yet another formidable obstacle to interstellar travel. )

  15. p13 from group II baculoviruses is a killing-associated gene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yipeng Qi

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available p13 gene was first described in Leucania separata multinuclearpolyhedrosis virus (Ls-p13 several years ago, but the functionof P13 protein has not been experimentally investigated todate. In this article, we indicated that the expression of p13from Heliothis armigera single nucleocapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus(Ha-p13 was regulated by both early and late promoter.Luciferase assay demonstrated that the activity of Ha-p13promoter with hr4 enhancer was more than 100 times inheterologous Sf9 cells than that in nature host Hz-AM1 cells.Both Ls-P13 and Ha-P13 are transmembrane proteins. Confocalmicroscopic analysis showed that both mainly located in thecytoplasm membrane at 48 h. Results of RNA interferenceindicated that Ha-p13 was a killing-associated gene for hostinsects H. armigera. The AcMNPV acquired the mentionedkilling activity and markedly accelerate the killing rate whenexpressing Ls-p13. In conclusion, p13 is a killing associatedgene in both homologous and heterologous nucleopolyhedrovirus.

  16. Prediction of the Cabibbo angle in the vector model for electroweak interactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reifler, F.; Morris, R.

    1985-01-01

    In a recent paper we presented a vector model for the electroweak interactions which is similar to the Weinberg--Salam model but differs in the following features. (1) In the vector model all fermion wave functions are bispinors or equivalently isotropic Yang--Mills triplets (as opposed to a state vector composed of a spinor and bispinors in the Weinberg--Salam model). Particles are distinguished by their Higgs fields. (2) The vector model predicts that sin 2 theta/sub W/ = 1/4 , where theta/sub W/ is the Weinberg angle. (3) The vector model accounts for conservation of lepton number, electric charge, and baryon number. (4) In the vector model an antiparticle is characterized by opposite lepton number, electric charge, and baryon number; yet both particles and antiparticles propagate forward in time with positive energies. In this paper we extend the vector theory to include interactions between fermions and the gauge bosons mediating the electroweak force. We model the bosons as Yang--Mills fields with their own Higgs fields. We further propose a specific configuration of Higgs fields for the u,d,s, and c quarks. With these features, the model accounts for electroweak transitions of quarks and leptons and predicts that cos theta/sub C/ = 0.9744, where theta/sub C/ is the Cabibbo angle. We further show that the vector model accounts for the intrinsic parity of particles and antiparticles, and parity violations and CPT invariance for electroweak interactions

  17. Complex Polynomial Vector Fields

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dias, Kealey

    vector fields. Since the class of complex polynomial vector fields in the plane is natural to consider, it is remarkable that its study has only begun very recently. There are numerous fundamental questions that are still open, both in the general classification of these vector fields, the decomposition...... of parameter spaces into structurally stable domains, and a description of the bifurcations. For this reason, the talk will focus on these questions for complex polynomial vector fields.......The two branches of dynamical systems, continuous and discrete, correspond to the study of differential equations (vector fields) and iteration of mappings respectively. In holomorphic dynamics, the systems studied are restricted to those described by holomorphic (complex analytic) functions...

  18. The 1990 Arthur Kill oil spills

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Astor, P.H.

    1990-01-01

    On January 1-2, 1990, Exxon discharged 567,000 gallons of No. 2 heating oil in the Arthur Kill, the strait separating Staten Island, New York from New Jersey. Lawsuits against Exxon were filed by the State of New Jersey, New York City, and the City of Elizabeth. They seek to force Exxon to reimburse the municipalities and the state for cleanup costs and to restore damaged wetlands and other natural resources. The three plaintiffs, joined by New York State and the federal government, initiated a three-tiered natural resource damage assessment study (Tier II), currently underway, includes sampling and chemical analysis of sediments and benthic invertebrates, mapping of impacted wetlands and measurement of direct impacts on water birds and their prey. The purposes of the study are to quantify the damages and determine the presence of Exxon's oil in the sediments. Since the Exxon spill, there have been two major spills and an intermediate-size spill. During the first size months of 1990, over one million gallons of petroleum products have been discharged into the Arthur Kill and nearby waters. This paper reports that a review of these incidents provides lessons for the prevention, investigation, and cleanup of spills in urban estuaries

  19. Improved Killing of Ovarian Cancer Stem Cells by Combining a Novel Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Based Immunotherapy and Chemotherapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klapdor, Rüdiger; Wang, Shuo; Hacker, Ulrich; Büning, Hildegard; Morgan, Michael; Dörk, Thilo; Hillemanns, Peter; Schambach, Axel

    2017-10-01

    Ovarian cancer represents the most lethal gynecological cancer. Although cytoreductive chemotherapy and surgery lead to complete macroscopic tumor removal, most of the patients in advanced stages suffer from recurrent disease and subsequently die. This may be explained by the activity of cancer stem cells (CSC), which are a subpopulation of cells with an elevated chemoresistance and an increased capacity for self-renewal and metastatic spread. Specifically targeting these cells by adoptive immunotherapy represents a promising strategy to reduce the risk for recurrent disease. This study selected the widely accepted CSC marker CD133 as a target for a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-based immunotherapeutic approach to treat ovarian cancer. A lentiviral vector was generated encoding a third-generation anti-CD133-CAR, and clinically used NK92 cells were transduced. These engineered natural killer (NK) cells showed specific killing against CD133-positive ovarian cancer cell lines and primary ovarian cancer cells cultured from sequential ascites harvests. Additionally, specific activation of these engineered NK cells was demonstrated via interferon-gamma secretion assays. To improve clinical efficacy of ovarian cancer treatment, the effect of the chemotherapeutic agent cisplatin was evaluated together with CAR-transduced NK cell treatment. It was demonstrated that NK cells remain cytotoxic and active under cisplatin treatment and, importantly, that sequential treatment with cisplatin followed by CAR-NK cells led to the strongest killing effect. The specific eradication of ovarian CSCs by anti-CD133-CAR expressing NK92 cells represents a promising strategy and, when confirmed in vivo, shall be the basis of future clinical studies with the aim to prevent recurrent disease.

  20. Comparative Antianaerobic Activities of Doripenem Determined by MIC and Time-Kill Analysis▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Credito, Kim L.; Ednie, Lois M.; Appelbaum, Peter C.

    2008-01-01

    Against 447 anaerobe strains, the investigational carbapenem doripenem had an MIC50 of 0.125 μg/ml and an MIC90 of 1 μg/ml. Results were similar to those for imipenem, meropenem, and ertapenem. Time-kill studies showed that doripenem had very good bactericidal activity compared to other carbapenems, with 99.9% killing of 11 strains at 2× MIC after 48 h. PMID:17938185