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Sample records for richness estimates obtained

  1. An Improved Cluster Richness Estimator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rozo, Eduardo; /Ohio State U.; Rykoff, Eli S.; /UC, Santa Barbara; Koester, Benjamin P.; /Chicago U. /KICP, Chicago; McKay, Timothy; /Michigan U.; Hao, Jiangang; /Michigan U.; Evrard, August; /Michigan U.; Wechsler, Risa H.; /SLAC; Hansen, Sarah; /Chicago U. /KICP, Chicago; Sheldon, Erin; /New York U.; Johnston, David; /Houston U.; Becker, Matthew R.; /Chicago U. /KICP, Chicago; Annis, James T.; /Fermilab; Bleem, Lindsey; /Chicago U.; Scranton, Ryan; /Pittsburgh U.

    2009-08-03

    Minimizing the scatter between cluster mass and accessible observables is an important goal for cluster cosmology. In this work, we introduce a new matched filter richness estimator, and test its performance using the maxBCG cluster catalog. Our new estimator significantly reduces the variance in the L{sub X}-richness relation, from {sigma}{sub lnL{sub X}}{sup 2} = (0.86 {+-} 0.02){sup 2} to {sigma}{sub lnL{sub X}}{sup 2} = (0.69 {+-} 0.02){sup 2}. Relative to the maxBCG richness estimate, it also removes the strong redshift dependence of the richness scaling relations, and is significantly more robust to photometric and redshift errors. These improvements are largely due to our more sophisticated treatment of galaxy color data. We also demonstrate the scatter in the L{sub X}-richness relation depends on the aperture used to estimate cluster richness, and introduce a novel approach for optimizing said aperture which can be easily generalized to other mass tracers.

  2. Estimating tree species richness from forest inventory plot data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronald E. McRoberts; Dacia M. Meneguzzo

    2007-01-01

    Montreal Process Criterion 1, Conservation of Biological Diversity, expresses species diversity in terms of number of forest dependent species. Species richness, defined as the total number of species present, is a common metric for analyzing species diversity. A crucial difficulty in estimating species richness from sample data obtained from sources such as inventory...

  3. Robust Optical Richness Estimation with Reduced Scatter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rykoff, E.S.; /LBL, Berkeley; Koester, B.P.; /Chicago U. /Chicago U., KICP; Rozo, E.; /Chicago U. /Chicago U., KICP; Annis, J.; /Fermilab; Evrard, A.E.; /Michigan U. /Michigan U., MCTP; Hansen, S.M.; /Lick Observ.; Hao, J.; /Fermilab; Johnston, D.E.; /Fermilab; McKay, T.A.; /Michigan U. /Michigan U., MCTP; Wechsler, R.H.; /KIPAC, Menlo Park /SLAC

    2012-06-07

    Reducing the scatter between cluster mass and optical richness is a key goal for cluster cosmology from photometric catalogs. We consider various modifications to the red-sequence matched filter richness estimator of Rozo et al. (2009b), and evaluate their impact on the scatter in X-ray luminosity at fixed richness. Most significantly, we find that deeper luminosity cuts can reduce the recovered scatter, finding that {sigma}{sub ln L{sub X}|{lambda}} = 0.63 {+-} 0.02 for clusters with M{sub 500c} {approx}> 1.6 x 10{sup 14} h{sub 70}{sup -1} M{sub {circle_dot}}. The corresponding scatter in mass at fixed richness is {sigma}{sub ln M|{lambda}} {approx} 0.2-0.3 depending on the richness, comparable to that for total X-ray luminosity. We find that including blue galaxies in the richness estimate increases the scatter, as does weighting galaxies by their optical luminosity. We further demonstrate that our richness estimator is very robust. Specifically, the filter employed when estimating richness can be calibrated directly from the data, without requiring a-priori calibrations of the red-sequence. We also demonstrate that the recovered richness is robust to up to 50% uncertainties in the galaxy background, as well as to the choice of photometric filter employed, so long as the filters span the 4000 {angstrom} break of red-sequence galaxies. Consequently, our richness estimator can be used to compare richness estimates of different clusters, even if they do not share the same photometric data. Appendix A includes 'easy-bake' instructions for implementing our optimal richness estimator, and we are releasing an implementation of the code that works with SDSS data, as well as an augmented maxBCG catalog with the {lambda} richness measured for each cluster.

  4. IMPROVEMENT OF THE RICHNESS ESTIMATES OF maxBCG CLUSTERS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rozo, Eduardo; Rykoff, Eli S.; Koester, Benjamin P.; Hansen, Sarah; Becker, Matthew; Bleem, Lindsey; McKay, Timothy; Hao Jiangang; Evrard, August; Wechsler, Risa H.; Sheldon, Erin; Johnston, David; Annis, James; Scranton, Ryan

    2009-01-01

    Minimizing the scatter between cluster mass and accessible observables is an important goal for cluster cosmology. In this work, we introduce a new matched filter richness estimator, and test its performance using the maxBCG cluster catalog. Our new estimator significantly reduces the variance in the L X -richness relation, from σ lnLx 2 = (0.86±0.02) 2 to σ lnLx 2 = (0.69±0.02) 2 . Relative to the maxBCG richness estimate, it also removes the strong redshift dependence of the L X -richness scaling relations, and is significantly more robust to photometric and redshift errors. These improvements are largely due to the better treatment of galaxy color data. We also demonstrate the scatter in the L X -richness relation depends on the aperture used to estimate cluster richness, and introduce a novel approach for optimizing said aperture which can easily be generalized to other mass tracers.

  5. Microstructural characterization of the geopolymer obtained from iron-rich metakaolin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vassalo, Erica Antunes de S.; Aguilar, Maria Teresa P.; Gumieri, Adriana Guerra

    2014-01-01

    Geopolymer is a material derived from precursors rich in SiO_2 and Al_2O_3, activated in an alkaline solution by means of a polymerization process. In this process, units of tetrahedral aluminosilicate structures are organized in repetitions that share oxygen. One of the precursors most commonly used to obtain geopolymer is metakaolin. Recent studies have reported iron enhancement in a partial replacement of the aluminium present in metakaolin. This paper presents the microstructural characterization and analysis of a geopolymer obtained by means of the activation of iron-rich metakaolin with sodium hydroxide at 12, 15 and 18 mol, both at room temperature and in an oven at 85±3°C. The geopolymers obtained were classified and analysed using X-ray fluorescence testing (EDX-720), a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The results enabled an assessment of their physical-chemical and microstructural characteristics, as well as their reactive potential. (author)

  6. USING TAXONOMIC REVISION DATA TO ESTIMATE THE GLOBAL SPECIES RICHNESS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF UNDESCRIBED SPECIES OF DIVING BEETLES (COLEOPTERA: DYTISCIDAE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viktor Nilsson-Örtman

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Many methods used for estimating species richness are either difficult to use on poorly known taxa or require input data that are laborious and expensive to collect. In this paper we apply a method which takes advantage of the carefully conducted tests of how the described diversity compares to real species richness that are inherent in taxonomic revisions. We analyze the quantitative outcome from such revisions with respect to body size, zoogeographical region and phylogenetic relationship. The best fitting model is used to predict the diversity of unrevised groups if these would have been subject to as rigorous species level hypothesis-testing as the revised groups. The sensitivity of the predictive model to single observations is estimated by bootstrapping over resampled subsets of the original data. The Dytiscidae is with its 4080 described species (end of May 2009 the most diverse group of aquatic beetles and have a world-wide distribution. Extensive taxonomic work has been carried out on the family but still the number of described species increases exponentially in most zoogeographical regions making many commonly used methods of estimation difficult to apply. We provide independent species richness estimates of subsamples for which species richness estimates can be reached through extrapolation and compare these to the species richness estimates obtained through the method using revision data. We estimate there to be 5405 species of dytiscids, a 1.32-fold increase over the present number of described species. The undescribed diversity is likely to be biased towards species with small body size from tropical regions outside of Africa.

  7. Species richness in soil bacterial communities: a proposed approach to overcome sample size bias.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Youssef, Noha H; Elshahed, Mostafa S

    2008-09-01

    Estimates of species richness based on 16S rRNA gene clone libraries are increasingly utilized to gauge the level of bacterial diversity within various ecosystems. However, previous studies have indicated that regardless of the utilized approach, species richness estimates obtained are dependent on the size of the analyzed clone libraries. We here propose an approach to overcome sample size bias in species richness estimates in complex microbial communities. Parametric (Maximum likelihood-based and rarefaction curve-based) and non-parametric approaches were used to estimate species richness in a library of 13,001 near full-length 16S rRNA clones derived from soil, as well as in multiple subsets of the original library. Species richness estimates obtained increased with the increase in library size. To obtain a sample size-unbiased estimate of species richness, we calculated the theoretical clone library sizes required to encounter the estimated species richness at various clone library sizes, used curve fitting to determine the theoretical clone library size required to encounter the "true" species richness, and subsequently determined the corresponding sample size-unbiased species richness value. Using this approach, sample size-unbiased estimates of 17,230, 15,571, and 33,912 were obtained for the ML-based, rarefaction curve-based, and ACE-1 estimators, respectively, compared to bias-uncorrected values of 15,009, 11,913, and 20,909.

  8. Species richness and occupancy estimation in communities subject to temporary emigration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kery, M.; Royle, J. Andrew; Plattner, M.; Dorazio, R.M.

    2009-01-01

    Species richness is the most common biodiversity metric, although typically some species remain unobserved. Therefore, estimates of species richness and related quantities should account for imperfect detectability. Community dynamics can often be represented as superposition of species-specific phenologies (e. g., in taxa with well-defined flight [insects], activity [rodents], or vegetation periods [plants]). We develop a model for such predictably open communities wherein species richness is expressed as the sum over observed and unobserved species of estimated species-specific and site-specific occurrence indicators and where seasonal occurrence is modeled as a species-specific function of time. Our model is a multispecies extension of a multistate model with one unobservable state and represents a parsimonious way of dealing with a widespread form of 'temporary emigration.'' For illustration we use Swiss butterfly monitoring data collected under a robust design (RD); species were recorded on 13 transects during two secondary periods within data, where secondary samples are pooled. The latter model yielded unrealistically high estimates of total community size of 274 species. In contrast, estimates were similar under models applied to RD data with constant (122) or seasonally varying (126) detectability for each species, but the former was more parsimonious and therefore used for inference. Per transect, 6 44 (mean 21.1) species were detected. Species richness estimates averaged 29.3; therefore only 71% (range 32-92%) of all species present were ever detected. In any primary period, 0.4-5.6 species present were overlooked. Detectability varied by species and averaged 0.88 per primary sampling period. Our modeling framework is extremely flexible; extensions such as covariates for the occurrence or detectability of individual species are easy. It should be useful for communities with a predictable form of temporary emigration where rigorous estimation of community

  9. Limited sampling hampers "big data" estimation of species richness in a tropical biodiversity hotspot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engemann, Kristine; Enquist, Brian J; Sandel, Brody; Boyle, Brad; Jørgensen, Peter M; Morueta-Holme, Naia; Peet, Robert K; Violle, Cyrille; Svenning, Jens-Christian

    2015-02-01

    Macro-scale species richness studies often use museum specimens as their main source of information. However, such datasets are often strongly biased due to variation in sampling effort in space and time. These biases may strongly affect diversity estimates and may, thereby, obstruct solid inference on the underlying diversity drivers, as well as mislead conservation prioritization. In recent years, this has resulted in an increased focus on developing methods to correct for sampling bias. In this study, we use sample-size-correcting methods to examine patterns of tropical plant diversity in Ecuador, one of the most species-rich and climatically heterogeneous biodiversity hotspots. Species richness estimates were calculated based on 205,735 georeferenced specimens of 15,788 species using the Margalef diversity index, the Chao estimator, the second-order Jackknife and Bootstrapping resampling methods, and Hill numbers and rarefaction. Species richness was heavily correlated with sampling effort, and only rarefaction was able to remove this effect, and we recommend this method for estimation of species richness with "big data" collections.

  10. Estimation of anisotropy parameters in organic-rich shale: Rock physics forward modeling approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Herawati, Ida, E-mail: ida.herawati@students.itb.ac.id; Winardhi, Sonny; Priyono, Awali [Mining and Petroleum Engineering Faculty, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, 40132 (Indonesia)

    2015-09-30

    Anisotropy analysis becomes an important step in processing and interpretation of seismic data. One of the most important things in anisotropy analysis is anisotropy parameter estimation which can be estimated using well data, core data or seismic data. In seismic data, anisotropy parameter calculation is generally based on velocity moveout analysis. However, the accuracy depends on data quality, available offset, and velocity moveout picking. Anisotropy estimation using seismic data is needed to obtain wide coverage of particular layer anisotropy. In anisotropic reservoir, analysis of anisotropy parameters also helps us to better understand the reservoir characteristics. Anisotropy parameters, especially ε, are related to rock property and lithology determination. Current research aims to estimate anisotropy parameter from seismic data and integrate well data with case study in potential shale gas reservoir. Due to complexity in organic-rich shale reservoir, extensive study from different disciplines is needed to understand the reservoir. Shale itself has intrinsic anisotropy caused by lamination of their formed minerals. In order to link rock physic with seismic response, it is necessary to build forward modeling in organic-rich shale. This paper focuses on studying relationship between reservoir properties such as clay content, porosity and total organic content with anisotropy. Organic content which defines prospectivity of shale gas can be considered as solid background or solid inclusion or both. From the forward modeling result, it is shown that organic matter presence increases anisotropy in shale. The relationships between total organic content and other seismic properties such as acoustic impedance and Vp/Vs are also presented.

  11. Estimation of anisotropy parameters in organic-rich shale: Rock physics forward modeling approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herawati, Ida; Winardhi, Sonny; Priyono, Awali

    2015-01-01

    Anisotropy analysis becomes an important step in processing and interpretation of seismic data. One of the most important things in anisotropy analysis is anisotropy parameter estimation which can be estimated using well data, core data or seismic data. In seismic data, anisotropy parameter calculation is generally based on velocity moveout analysis. However, the accuracy depends on data quality, available offset, and velocity moveout picking. Anisotropy estimation using seismic data is needed to obtain wide coverage of particular layer anisotropy. In anisotropic reservoir, analysis of anisotropy parameters also helps us to better understand the reservoir characteristics. Anisotropy parameters, especially ε, are related to rock property and lithology determination. Current research aims to estimate anisotropy parameter from seismic data and integrate well data with case study in potential shale gas reservoir. Due to complexity in organic-rich shale reservoir, extensive study from different disciplines is needed to understand the reservoir. Shale itself has intrinsic anisotropy caused by lamination of their formed minerals. In order to link rock physic with seismic response, it is necessary to build forward modeling in organic-rich shale. This paper focuses on studying relationship between reservoir properties such as clay content, porosity and total organic content with anisotropy. Organic content which defines prospectivity of shale gas can be considered as solid background or solid inclusion or both. From the forward modeling result, it is shown that organic matter presence increases anisotropy in shale. The relationships between total organic content and other seismic properties such as acoustic impedance and Vp/Vs are also presented

  12. Limited sampling hampers “big data” estimation of species richness in a tropical biodiversity hotspot

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engemann, Kristine; Enquist, Brian J.; Sandel, Brody Steven

    2015-01-01

    in Ecuador, one of the most species-rich and climatically heterogeneous biodiversity hotspots. Species richness estimates were calculated based on 205,735 georeferenced specimens of 15,788 species using the Margalef diversity index, the Chao estimator, the second-order Jackknife and Bootstrapping resampling...

  13. Influence of Sampling Effort on the Estimated Richness of Road-Killed Vertebrate Wildlife

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bager, Alex; da Rosa, Clarissa A.

    2011-05-01

    Road-killed mammals, birds, and reptiles were collected weekly from highways in southern Brazil in 2002 and 2005. The objective was to assess variation in estimates of road-kill impacts on species richness produced by different sampling efforts, and to provide information to aid in the experimental design of future sampling. Richness observed in weekly samples was compared with sampling for different periods. In each period, the list of road-killed species was evaluated based on estimates the community structure derived from weekly samplings, and by the presence of the ten species most subject to road mortality, and also of threatened species. Weekly samples were sufficient only for reptiles and mammals, considered separately. Richness estimated from the biweekly samples was equal to that found in the weekly samples, and gave satisfactory results for sampling the most abundant and threatened species. The ten most affected species showed constant road-mortality rates, independent of sampling interval, and also maintained their dominance structure. Birds required greater sampling effort. When the composition of road-killed species varies seasonally, it is necessary to take biweekly samples for a minimum of one year. Weekly or more-frequent sampling for periods longer than two years is necessary to provide a reliable estimate of total species richness.

  14. Estimation of the frequency and magnetic field dependence of the skin depth in Co-rich magnetic microwires from GMI experiments

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    Arcady Zhukov

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available We studied giant magnetoimpedance (GMI effect in magnetically soft amorphous Co-rich microwires in the extended frequency range. From obtained experimentally dependences of the GMI ratio on magnetic field at different frequencies we estimated the penetration depth and its dependence on applied magnetic field and frequency.

  15. Estimating the spatial and temporal distribution of species richness within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.

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    Steve Wathen

    Full Text Available Evidence for significant losses of species richness or biodiversity, even within protected natural areas, is mounting. Managers are increasingly being asked to monitor biodiversity, yet estimating biodiversity is often prohibitively expensive. As a cost-effective option, we estimated the spatial and temporal distribution of species richness for four taxonomic groups (birds, mammals, herpetofauna (reptiles and amphibians, and plants within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks using only existing biological studies undertaken within the Parks and the Parks' long-term wildlife observation database. We used a rarefaction approach to model species richness for the four taxonomic groups and analyzed those groups by habitat type, elevation zone, and time period. We then mapped the spatial distributions of species richness values for the four taxonomic groups, as well as total species richness, for the Parks. We also estimated changes in species richness for birds, mammals, and herpetofauna since 1980. The modeled patterns of species richness either peaked at mid elevations (mammals, plants, and total species richness or declined consistently with increasing elevation (herpetofauna and birds. Plants reached maximum species richness values at much higher elevations than did vertebrate taxa, and non-flying mammals reached maximum species richness values at higher elevations than did birds. Alpine plant communities, including sagebrush, had higher species richness values than did subalpine plant communities located below them in elevation. These results are supported by other papers published in the scientific literature. Perhaps reflecting climate change: birds and herpetofauna displayed declines in species richness since 1980 at low and middle elevations and mammals displayed declines in species richness since 1980 at all elevations.

  16. Comparative performance of the protocol of plasma rich in growth factors - universal 1 (PRGF-U1 for obtaining platelet rich plasma.

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    Augusto Aguirre

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To compare the platelet concentration obtained after application of the protocol of plasma rich in growth factors - universal 1 (PRGF-U1 and the protocol of Anitua and Andia (PRP-A for obtaining platelet rich plasma. Material and Method: A descriptive, cross-sectional and comparative study was carried out with a simple random probabilistic sample consisting of 16 patients who attended the Periodontics service of the Unit of Second Specialization in Stomatology of the National University of Trujillo. Five blood samples were obtained from each patient, after applying a health questionnaire to rule out any disease or drug consumption, in order to obtain the baseline platelet concentration and that obtained after PRGF-U1 and PRP-A. To compare the platelet concentrations of the two protocols, Student’s t-test was used considering a significance level of p<0.05. RESULTS: The baseline platelet concentration was 371,250±68,203 platelets/μL, for PRGF-U1 it was 747,875±121,645 platelets/μL and for PRP-A it was 595,000±129,202 platelets/μL. A statistically significant difference (p<0.001 was found between both protocols. Conclusion: The PRGF-U1 protocol yielded a higher platelet concentration compared to the Anitúa and Andía protocol.

  17. Obtaining numerically consistent estimates from a mix of administrative data and surveys

    OpenAIRE

    de Waal, A.G.

    2016-01-01

    National statistical institutes (NSIs) fulfil an important role as providers of objective and undisputed statistical information on many different aspects of society. To this end NSIs try to construct data sets that are rich in information content and that can be used to estimate a large variety of population figures. At the same time NSIs aim to construct these rich data sets as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. This can be achieved by utilizing already available administrative d...

  18. Estimation of niobium, tantalum and zirconium in a carbonate rich ore

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Navale, A.S.; Venkatakrishnan, R.R.; Sreenivas, T.

    2013-01-01

    A simple method using ICP-OES for estimation of tantalum, niobium and zirconium in a carbonate rich matrix is described. The sample is boiled with 10% v/v hydrochloric acid for 15 min and filtered. The residue is fused with ammonium bifluoride-ammonium sulphate flux and the melt is leached with water. Nb, Ta and Zr are estimated in the water leach by ICP-OES. (author)

  19. Comparison between Winkler's extractor and pitfall traps to estimate leaf litter ants richness (Formicidae at a rainforest site in southest Brazil

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    G. Orsolon-Souza

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to compare in the same site the efficiency of the two most used techniques for sampling ant diversity, Winkler's extractors and pitfalls. We studied communities of leaf litter ants from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, compared richness estimates for genera and species, and built species accumulation curves. These two methods resulted in a satisfactory sampling of richness; 21.3% of the genera and 47.6% of the species were collected exclusively with Winkler's extractors, whereas 6.4% of the genera and 9.5% of the species were collected exclusively with pitfalls. Winkler's extractor had proven to be the most efficient single sampling technique to estimate richness. However, pitfalls also recorded a significant portion of the total richness. Despite differences in efficiency, species accumulation curves for both techniques were similar, as well as the curve obtained with both methods combined. We noticed that Winkler's extractors were c. 74.0% more efficient than pitfalls in the Atlantic Forest. Therefore, sampling techniques must be used with a well-structured sampling design in order to advance knowledge on the ant fauna of Brazilian biomes, especially in the leaf litter, allowing more complete environmental analyses.

  20. Fungicidal values of bio-oils and their lignin-rich fractions obtained from wood/bark fast pyrolysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohan, Dinesh; Shi, Jenny; Nicholas, Darrel D; Pittman, Charles U; Steele, Philip H; Cooper, Jerome E

    2008-03-01

    Pine wood, pine bark, oak wood and oak bark were pyrolyzed in an auger reactor. A total of 16 bio-oils or pyrolytic oils were generated at different temperatures and residence times. Two additional pine bio-oils were produced at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in a fluidized-bed reactor at different temperatures. All these bio-oils were fractionated to obtain lignin-rich fractions which consist mainly of phenols and neutrals. The pyrolytic lignin-rich fractions were obtained by liquid-liquid extraction. Whole bio-oils and their lignin-rich fractions were studied as potential environmentally benign wood preservatives to replace metal-based CCA and copper systems that have raised environmental concerns. Each bio-oil and several lignin-rich fractions were tested for antifungal properties. Soil block tests were conducted using one brown-rot fungus (Gloeophyllum trabeum) and one white-rot fungus (Trametes versicolor). The lignin-rich fractions showed greater fungal inhibition than whole bio-oils for a impregnation solution 10% concentration level. Water repellence tests were also performed to study wood wafer swelling behavior before and after bio-oil and lignin-rich fraction treatments. In this case, bio-oil fractions did not exhibit higher water repellency than whole bio-oils. Comparison of raw bio-oils in soil block tests, with unleached wafers, at 10% and 25% bio-oil impregnation solution concentration levels showed excellent wood preservation properties at the 25% level. The good performance of raw bio-oils at higher loading levels suggests that fractionation to generate lignin-rich fractions is unnecessary. At this more effective 25% loading level in general, the raw bio-oils performed similarly. Prevention of leaching is critically important for both raw bio-oils and their fractions to provide decay resistance. Initial tests of a polymerization chemical to prevent leaching showed some success.

  1. Development of new apple beverages rich in isothiocyanates by using extracts obtained from ultrasound-treated cauliflower by-products

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Amofa-Diatuo, Tracy; Anang, Daniel M.; Barba Orellana, Francisco Jose

    2017-01-01

    The objective of this study was to develop a new apple juice beverage enriched with isothiocyanates (ITC) - rich extracts obtained from cauliflower by-products. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) at different amplitudes (20-100%) and extraction times (0-10. min) at a frequency of 24. kHz was em......The objective of this study was to develop a new apple juice beverage enriched with isothiocyanates (ITC) - rich extracts obtained from cauliflower by-products. Ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) at different amplitudes (20-100%) and extraction times (0-10. min) at a frequency of 24. k......) and UAE (20%, 3. min), respectively. Moreover, the highest recovery of total phenolic compounds (TPC) (≈105. mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/L) μM) was found after UAE (100% amplitude, 3. min) of TPC from stems. ITC-rich extracts obtained from caulifower by-products at the optimum UAE conditions were...

  2. How many dinosaur species were there? Fossil bias and true richness estimated using a Poisson sampling model.

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    Starrfelt, Jostein; Liow, Lee Hsiang

    2016-04-05

    The fossil record is a rich source of information about biological diversity in the past. However, the fossil record is not only incomplete but has also inherent biases due to geological, physical, chemical and biological factors. Our knowledge of past life is also biased because of differences in academic and amateur interests and sampling efforts. As a result, not all individuals or species that lived in the past are equally likely to be discovered at any point in time or space. To reconstruct temporal dynamics of diversity using the fossil record, biased sampling must be explicitly taken into account. Here, we introduce an approach that uses the variation in the number of times each species is observed in the fossil record to estimate both sampling bias and true richness. We term our technique TRiPS (True Richness estimated using a Poisson Sampling model) and explore its robustness to violation of its assumptions via simulations. We then venture to estimate sampling bias and absolute species richness of dinosaurs in the geological stages of the Mesozoic. Using TRiPS, we estimate that 1936 (1543-2468) species of dinosaurs roamed the Earth during the Mesozoic. We also present improved estimates of species richness trajectories of the three major dinosaur clades: the sauropodomorphs, ornithischians and theropods, casting doubt on the Jurassic-Cretaceous extinction event and demonstrating that all dinosaur groups are subject to considerable sampling bias throughout the Mesozoic. © 2016 The Authors.

  3. Evaluation of species richness estimators based on quantitative performance measures and sensitivity to patchiness and sample grain size

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    Willie, Jacob; Petre, Charles-Albert; Tagg, Nikki; Lens, Luc

    2012-11-01

    Data from forest herbaceous plants in a site of known species richness in Cameroon were used to test the performance of rarefaction and eight species richness estimators (ACE, ICE, Chao1, Chao2, Jack1, Jack2, Bootstrap and MM). Bias, accuracy, precision and sensitivity to patchiness and sample grain size were the evaluation criteria. An evaluation of the effects of sampling effort and patchiness on diversity estimation is also provided. Stems were identified and counted in linear series of 1-m2 contiguous square plots distributed in six habitat types. Initially, 500 plots were sampled in each habitat type. The sampling process was monitored using rarefaction and a set of richness estimator curves. Curves from the first dataset suggested adequate sampling in riparian forest only. Additional plots ranging from 523 to 2143 were subsequently added in the undersampled habitats until most of the curves stabilized. Jack1 and ICE, the non-parametric richness estimators, performed better, being more accurate and less sensitive to patchiness and sample grain size, and significantly reducing biases that could not be detected by rarefaction and other estimators. This study confirms the usefulness of non-parametric incidence-based estimators, and recommends Jack1 or ICE alongside rarefaction while describing taxon richness and comparing results across areas sampled using similar or different grain sizes. As patchiness varied across habitat types, accurate estimations of diversity did not require the same number of plots. The number of samples needed to fully capture diversity is not necessarily the same across habitats, and can only be known when taxon sampling curves have indicated adequate sampling. Differences in observed species richness between habitats were generally due to differences in patchiness, except between two habitats where they resulted from differences in abundance. We suggest that communities should first be sampled thoroughly using appropriate taxon sampling

  4. Plant DNA barcodes can accurately estimate species richness in poorly known floras.

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    Costion, Craig; Ford, Andrew; Cross, Hugh; Crayn, Darren; Harrington, Mark; Lowe, Andrew

    2011-01-01

    Widespread uptake of DNA barcoding technology for vascular plants has been slow due to the relatively poor resolution of species discrimination (∼70%) and low sequencing and amplification success of one of the two official barcoding loci, matK. Studies to date have mostly focused on finding a solution to these intrinsic limitations of the markers, rather than posing questions that can maximize the utility of DNA barcodes for plants with the current technology. Here we test the ability of plant DNA barcodes using the two official barcoding loci, rbcLa and matK, plus an alternative barcoding locus, trnH-psbA, to estimate the species diversity of trees in a tropical rainforest plot. Species discrimination accuracy was similar to findings from previous studies but species richness estimation accuracy proved higher, up to 89%. All combinations which included the trnH-psbA locus performed better at both species discrimination and richness estimation than matK, which showed little enhanced species discriminatory power when concatenated with rbcLa. The utility of the trnH-psbA locus is limited however, by the occurrence of intraspecific variation observed in some angiosperm families to occur as an inversion that obscures the monophyly of species. We demonstrate for the first time, using a case study, the potential of plant DNA barcodes for the rapid estimation of species richness in taxonomically poorly known areas or cryptic populations revealing a powerful new tool for rapid biodiversity assessment. The combination of the rbcLa and trnH-psbA loci performed better for this purpose than any two-locus combination that included matK. We show that although DNA barcodes fail to discriminate all species of plants, new perspectives and methods on biodiversity value and quantification may overshadow some of these shortcomings by applying barcode data in new ways.

  5. Estimation and Forecasting in Vector Autoregressive Moving Average Models for Rich Datasets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dias, Gustavo Fruet; Kapetanios, George

    We address the issue of modelling and forecasting macroeconomic variables using rich datasets, by adopting the class of Vector Autoregressive Moving Average (VARMA) models. We overcome the estimation issue that arises with this class of models by implementing an iterative ordinary least squares (...

  6. Plant DNA barcodes can accurately estimate species richness in poorly known floras.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Craig Costion

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Widespread uptake of DNA barcoding technology for vascular plants has been slow due to the relatively poor resolution of species discrimination (∼70% and low sequencing and amplification success of one of the two official barcoding loci, matK. Studies to date have mostly focused on finding a solution to these intrinsic limitations of the markers, rather than posing questions that can maximize the utility of DNA barcodes for plants with the current technology. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we test the ability of plant DNA barcodes using the two official barcoding loci, rbcLa and matK, plus an alternative barcoding locus, trnH-psbA, to estimate the species diversity of trees in a tropical rainforest plot. Species discrimination accuracy was similar to findings from previous studies but species richness estimation accuracy proved higher, up to 89%. All combinations which included the trnH-psbA locus performed better at both species discrimination and richness estimation than matK, which showed little enhanced species discriminatory power when concatenated with rbcLa. The utility of the trnH-psbA locus is limited however, by the occurrence of intraspecific variation observed in some angiosperm families to occur as an inversion that obscures the monophyly of species. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrate for the first time, using a case study, the potential of plant DNA barcodes for the rapid estimation of species richness in taxonomically poorly known areas or cryptic populations revealing a powerful new tool for rapid biodiversity assessment. The combination of the rbcLa and trnH-psbA loci performed better for this purpose than any two-locus combination that included matK. We show that although DNA barcodes fail to discriminate all species of plants, new perspectives and methods on biodiversity value and quantification may overshadow some of these shortcomings by applying barcode data in new ways.

  7. Application of DNA barcoding in biodiversity studies of shallow-water octocorals: molecular proxies agree with morphological estimates of species richness in Palau

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFadden, C. S.; Brown, A. S.; Brayton, C.; Hunt, C. B.; van Ofwegen, L. P.

    2014-06-01

    The application of DNA barcoding to anthozoan cnidarians has been hindered by their slow rates of mitochondrial gene evolution and the failure to identify alternative molecular markers that distinguish species reliably. Among octocorals, however, multilocus barcodes can distinguish up to 70 % of morphospecies, thereby facilitating the identification of species that are ecologically important but still very poorly known taxonomically. We tested the ability of these imperfect DNA barcodes to estimate species richness in a biodiversity survey of the shallow-water octocoral fauna of Palau using multilocus ( COI, mtMutS, 28S rDNA) sequences obtained from 305 specimens representing 38 genera of octocorals. Numbers and identities of species were estimated independently (1) by a taxonomic expert using morphological criteria and (2) by assigning sequences to molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) using predefined genetic distance thresholds. Estimated numbers of MOTUs ranged from 73 to 128 depending on the barcode and distance threshold applied, bracketing the estimated number of 118 morphospecies. Concordance between morphospecies identifications and MOTUs ranged from 71 to 75 % and differed little among barcodes. For the speciose and ecologically dominant genus Sinularia, however, we were able to identify 95 % of specimens correctly simply by comparing mtMutS sequences and in situ photographs of colonies to an existing vouchered database. Because we lack a clear understanding of species boundaries in most of these taxa, numbers of morphospecies and MOTUs are both estimates of the true species diversity, and we cannot currently determine which is more accurate. Our results suggest, however, that the two methods provide comparable estimates of species richness for shallow-water Indo-Pacific octocorals. Use of molecular barcodes in biodiversity surveys will facilitate comparisons of species richness and composition among localities and over time, data that do not

  8. A Hybrid Dry and Aqueous Fractionation Method to Obtain Protein-Rich Fractions from Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Avila Ruiz, Geraldine; Arts, Anke; Minor, Marcel; Schutyser, Maarten

    2016-01-01

    Combination of dry and aqueous fractionation is investigated to obtain protein-rich fractions from quinoa in a milder and more sustainable way compared to conventional wet fractionation. Dry fractionation of quinoa involved milling and subsequent air classification, generating a protein-enriched

  9. Method to obtain platelet-rich plasma from rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josiane M. Pazzini

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP is a product easy and inxpesnsive, and stands out to for its growth factors in tissue repair. To obtain PRP, centrifugation of whole blood is made with specific time and gravitational forces. Thus, the present work aimed to study a method of double centrifugation to obtain PRP in order to evaluate the effective increase of platelet concentration in the final product, the preparation of PRP gel, and to optimize preparation time of the final sample. Fifteen female White New Zealand rabbits underwent blood sampling for the preparation of PRP. Samples were separated in two sterile tubes containing sodium citrate. Tubes were submitted to the double centrifugation protocol, with lid closed and 1600 revolutions per minute (rpm for 10 minutes, resulting in the separation of red blood cells, plasma with platelets and leucocytes. After were opened and plasma was pipetted and transferred into another sterile tube. Plasma was centrifuged again at 2000rpm for 10 minutes; as a result it was split into two parts: on the top, consisting of platelet-poor plasma (PPP and at the bottom of the platelet button. Part of the PPP was discarded so that only 1ml remained in the tube along with the platelet button. This material was gently agitated to promote platelets resuspension and activated when added 0.3ml of calcium gluconate, resulting in PRP gel. Double centrifugation protocol was able to make platelet concentration 3 times higher in relation to the initial blood sample. The volume of calcium gluconate used for platelet activation was 0.3ml, and was sufficient to coagulate the sample. Coagulation time ranged from 8 to 20 minutes, with an average of 17.6 minutes. Therefore, time of blood centrifugation until to obtain PRP gel took only 40 minutes. It was concluded that PRP was successfully obtained by double centrifugation protocol, which is able to increase the platelet concentration in the sample compared with whole blood

  10. Redox potential distribution of an organic-rich contaminated site obtained by the inversion of self-potential data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbas, M.; Jardani, A.; Soueid Ahmed, A.; Revil, A.; Brigaud, L.; Bégassat, Ph.; Dupont, J. P.

    2017-11-01

    Mapping the redox potential of shallow aquifers impacted by hydrocarbon contaminant plumes is important for the characterization and remediation of such contaminated sites. The redox potential of groundwater is indicative of the biodegradation of hydrocarbons and is important in delineating the shapes of contaminant plumes. The self-potential method was used to reconstruct the redox potential of groundwater associated with an organic-rich contaminant plume in northern France. The self-potential technique is a passive technique consisting in recording the electrical potential distribution at the surface of the Earth. A self-potential map is essentially the sum of two contributions, one associated with groundwater flow referred to as the electrokinetic component, and one associated with redox potential anomalies referred to as the electroredox component (thermoelectric and diffusion potentials are generally negligible). A groundwater flow model was first used to remove the electrokinetic component from the observed self-potential data. Then, a residual self-potential map was obtained. The source current density generating the residual self-potential signals is assumed to be associated with the position of the water table, an interface characterized by a change in both the electrical conductivity and the redox potential. The source current density was obtained through an inverse problem by minimizing a cost function including a data misfit contribution and a regularizer. This inversion algorithm allows the determination of the vertical and horizontal components of the source current density taking into account the electrical conductivity distribution of the saturated and non-saturated zones obtained independently by electrical resistivity tomography. The redox potential distribution was finally determined from the inverted residual source current density. A redox map was successfully built and the estimated redox potential values correlated well with in

  11. On the Origin of Light Emission in Silicon Rich Oxide Obtained by Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition

    OpenAIRE

    Aceves-Mijares, M.; González-Fernández, A. A.; López-Estopier, R.; Luna-López, A.; Berman-Mendoza, D.; Morales, A.; Falcony, C.; Domínguez, C.; Murphy-Arteaga, R.

    2012-01-01

    Silicon Rich Oxide (SRO) has been considered as a material to overcome the drawbacks of silicon to achieve optical functions. Various techniques can be used to produce it, including Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition (LPCVD). In this paper, a brief description of the studies carried out and discussions of the results obtained on electro-, cathode-, and photoluminescence properties of SRO prepared by LPCVD and annealed at 1,100°C are presented. The experimental results lead us to accept th...

  12. Targeted estimation of nuisance parameters to obtain valid statistical inference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Laan, Mark J

    2014-01-01

    In order to obtain concrete results, we focus on estimation of the treatment specific mean, controlling for all measured baseline covariates, based on observing independent and identically distributed copies of a random variable consisting of baseline covariates, a subsequently assigned binary treatment, and a final outcome. The statistical model only assumes possible restrictions on the conditional distribution of treatment, given the covariates, the so-called propensity score. Estimators of the treatment specific mean involve estimation of the propensity score and/or estimation of the conditional mean of the outcome, given the treatment and covariates. In order to make these estimators asymptotically unbiased at any data distribution in the statistical model, it is essential to use data-adaptive estimators of these nuisance parameters such as ensemble learning, and specifically super-learning. Because such estimators involve optimal trade-off of bias and variance w.r.t. the infinite dimensional nuisance parameter itself, they result in a sub-optimal bias/variance trade-off for the resulting real-valued estimator of the estimand. We demonstrate that additional targeting of the estimators of these nuisance parameters guarantees that this bias for the estimand is second order and thereby allows us to prove theorems that establish asymptotic linearity of the estimator of the treatment specific mean under regularity conditions. These insights result in novel targeted minimum loss-based estimators (TMLEs) that use ensemble learning with additional targeted bias reduction to construct estimators of the nuisance parameters. In particular, we construct collaborative TMLEs (C-TMLEs) with known influence curve allowing for statistical inference, even though these C-TMLEs involve variable selection for the propensity score based on a criterion that measures how effective the resulting fit of the propensity score is in removing bias for the estimand. As a particular special

  13. Bioactive compounds and antioxidant potential for polyphenol-rich cocoa extract obtained by agroindustrial residue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabbay Alves, Taís Vanessa; Silva da Costa, Russany; Aliakbarian, Bahar; Casazza, Alessandro Alberto; Perego, Patrizia; Pinheiro Arruda, Mara Silvia; Carréra Silva Júnior, José Otávio; Converti, Attilio; Ribeiro Costa, Roseane Maria

    2017-11-10

    Processing of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) beans responsible for agricultural exports leads to large amounts of solid waste that were discarded, however, this one presents high contents of metabolites with biological activities. The major objective of this study was to valorise cocoa agroindustrial residue obtained by hydraulic pressing for extract rich in antioxidants. For it, the centesimal composition of residue was investigated, the green extraction was carried out from the residue after, the bioactive compounds, sugar contents and screaming by HPTLC were quantified for extract. The extract has a total polyphenol content of 229.64 mg/g and high antioxidant activity according to ABTS 225.0 μM/g. HTPLC analysis confirmed the presence in the extract, residue of terpenes, sesquiterpenes, flavonoids and antioxidant activity. These results, as a whole, suggest that the extract from the cocoa residue has interesting characteristics to alternative crops with potential industrial uses.

  14. Method for calculating the variance and prediction intervals for biomass estimates obtained from allometric equations

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Kirton, A

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available for calculating the variance and prediction intervals for biomass estimates obtained from allometric equations A KIRTON B SCHOLES S ARCHIBALD CSIR Ecosystem Processes and Dynamics, Natural Resources and the Environment P.O. BOX 395, Pretoria, 0001, South... intervals (confidence intervals for predicted values) for allometric estimates can be obtained using an example of estimating tree biomass from stem diameter. It explains how to deal with relationships which are in the power function form - a common form...

  15. Methods for obtaining distributions of uranium occurrence from estimates of geologic features

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ford, C.E.; McLaren, R.A.

    1980-04-01

    The problem addressed in this paper is the determination of a quantitative estimate of a resource from estimates of fundamental variables which describe the resource. Due to uncertainty about the estimates, these basic variables are stochastic. The evaluation of random equations involving these variables is the core of the analysis process. The basic variables are originally described in terms of a low and a high percentile (the 5th and 95th, for example) and a central value (the mode, mean or median). The variable thus described is then generally assumed to be represented by a three-parameter lognormal distribution. Expressions involving these variables are evaluated by computing the first four central moments of the random functions (which are usually products and sums of variables). Stochastic independence is discussed. From the final set of moments a Pearson distribution is obtained; the high values of skewness and kurtosis resulting from uranium data require obtaining Pearson curves beyond those described in published tables. A cubic spline solution to the Pearson differential equation accomplishes this task. A sample problem is used to illustrate the application of the process; sensitivity to the estimated values of the basic variables is discussed. Appendices contain details of the methods and descriptions of computer programs

  16. Methods for obtaining distributions of uranium occurrence from estimates of geologic features

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ford, C.E.; McLaren, R.A.

    1980-04-01

    The problem addressed in this report is the determination of a quantitative estimate of a resource from estimates of fundamental variables which describe the resource. Due to uncertainty about the estimates, these basic variables are stochastic. The evaluation of random equations involving these variables is the core of the analysis process. The basic variables are originally described in terms of a low and a high percentile (the 5th and 95th, for example) and a central value (the mode, mean or median). The variable thus described is then generally assumed to be represented by a three-parameter lognormal distribution. Expressions involving these variables are evaluated by computing the first four central moments of the random functions (which are usually products and sums of variables). Stochastic independence is discussed. From the final set of moments a Pearson distribution is obtained; the high values of skewness and kurtosis resulting from uranium data requires obtaining Pearson curves beyond those described in published tables. A cubic spline solution to the Pearson differential equation accomplishes this task. A sample problem is used to illustrate the application of the process; sensitivity to the estimated values of the basic variables is discussed. Appendices contain details of the methods and descriptions of computer programs

  17. Standardization of a Protocol for Obtaining Platelet Rich Plasma from blood Donors; a Tool for Tissue Regeneration Procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez, Lina Andrea; Escobar, Magally; Peñuela, Oscar

    2015-01-01

    To develop a protocol for obtaining autologous platelet rich plasma in healthy individuals and to determine the concentration of five major growth factors before platelet activation. This protocol could be integrated into the guidelines of good clinical practice and research in regenerative medicine. Platelet rich plasma was isolated by centrifugation from 38 healthy men and 42 women ranging from 18 to 59 years old. The platelet count and quantification of growth factors were analyzed in eighty samples, stratified for age and gender of the donor. Analyses were performed using parametric the t-test or Pearson's analysis for non-parametric distribution. P platelet counts from 1.6 to 4.9 times (mean = 2.8). There was no correlation between platelet concentration and the level of the following growth factors: VEGF-D (r = 0.009, p = 0.4105), VEGF-A (r = 0.0068, p = 0.953), PDGF subunit AA (p = 0.3618; r = 0.1047), PDGF-BB (p = 0.5936; r = 0.6095). In the same way, there was no correlation between donor gender and growth factor concentrations. Only TGF-β concentration was correlated to platelet concentration (r = 0.3163, p = 0.0175). The procedure used allowed us to make preparations rich in platelets, low in leukocytes and red blood cells, and sterile. Our results showed biological variations in content of growth factors in PRP. The factors influencing these results should be further studied.

  18. On the Origin of Light Emission in Silicon Rich Oxide Obtained by Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Aceves-Mijares

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Silicon Rich Oxide (SRO has been considered as a material to overcome the drawbacks of silicon to achieve optical functions. Various techniques can be used to produce it, including Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition (LPCVD. In this paper, a brief description of the studies carried out and discussions of the results obtained on electro-, cathode-, and photoluminescence properties of SRO prepared by LPCVD and annealed at 1,100°C are presented. The experimental results lead us to accept that SRO emission properties are due to oxidation state nanoagglomerates rather than to nanocrystals. The emission mechanism is similar to Donor-Acceptor decay in semiconductors, and a wide emission spectrum, from 450 to 850 nm, has been observed. The results show that emission is a function of both silicon excess in the film and excitation energy. As a result different color emissions can be obtained by selecting the suitable excitation energy.

  19. Obtaining and Estimating Low Noise Floors in Vibration Sensors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brincker, Rune; Larsen, Jesper Abildgaard

    2007-01-01

    For some applications like seismic applications and measuring ambient vibrations in structures, it is essential that the noise floors of the sensors and other system components are low and known to the user. Some of the most important noise sources are reviewed and it is discussed how the sensor...... can be designed in order to obtain a low noise floor. Techniques to estimate the noise floors for sensors are reviewed and are demonstrated on a commercial commonly used sensor for vibration testing. It is illustrated how the noise floor can be calculated using the coherence between simultaneous...

  20. Estimating species richness and status of solitary bees and bumblebees in agricultural semi-natural habitats

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Calabuig, Isabel

    2000-01-01

    Estimation of Western Europe number of bee species varies between 2000 and 4500 (Williams 1995) but there are substantial indications of a decline in bee species in Europe and other regions. In Denmark, wild bee species richness, distribution, and abundance have not been studied in detail for about...... 75 years, and nothing is known about which species are potentially vulnerable or endangered. A rough estimate of solitary bees and bumblebees includes approximately 238 species (26 genera) and 29 species respectively. In a pan-trap survey of six kilometres of semi-natural habitats in a Danish...... agricultural landscape, 72 solitary bee species and 19 species of bumblebees were recorded, several of which are considered vulnerable or endangered in neighbouring countries. Nesting conditions for rare cavity-nesting species and the possible role of the semi-natural habitats as corridors for species...

  1. An evaluation of species richness estimators for tardigrades of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee and North Carolina, USA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diane R. NELSON

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available For the past 5 years we have been conducting a large-scale, multi-habitat inventory of the tardigrades in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S.A. as part of the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI (see www.dlia.org. In terrestrial habitats, we collected moss, lichen, and soil samples from 19 permanent ATBI plots, representing all major land cover types within the park. Each ATBI plot is 100 × 100 m. In each plot, when available, 16 moss samples, 16 lichen samples, and 4 soil samples were collected in paper bags and air dried in the laboratory. Specimens were isolated with LudoxAM centrifugation, and for each sample up to 50 adults plus eggs were individually mounted on microscope slides in Hoyer's medium and identified using phase contrast and DIC microscopy. Additional collections were made in the limestone caves of the Cades Cove region of the park, bird nests, and 13 different streams. To date (1-Jun-06, 589 samples have been collected, and of these 401 have been analyzed, yielding a total of 8133 identifiable tardigrades or, in some cases, species groups. A total of 73 species have been found in the park, 14 of which we believe are new to science. Seven species richness estimators have been developed to predict total species richness (see EstimateS 7.5 software, viceroy.eeb.uconn.edu/estimates, and these were evaluated by comparing predictions from half of our data to the actual numbers from the total database. The results of this comparison indicate that different estimators work best in different habitats. Using the best estimators in each habitat, EstimateS 7.5 indicates that a total of 96 species are likely to occur throughout the park. Thus, Great Smoky Mountains National Park tardigrade diversity represents 10% of the world's known tardigrade fauna.

  2. Frequency and Magnetic Field Dependence of the Skin Depth in Co-rich Soft Magnetic Microwires

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Zhukov

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available We studied giant magnetoimpedance (GMI effect in magnetically soft amorphous Co-rich microwires in the extended frequency range. From obtained experimentally dependences of GMI ratio on magnetic field and different frequencies we estimated the penetration depth and its dependence on applied magnetic field and frequency

  3. A Comparison of Platelet Count and Enrichment Percentages in the Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) Obtained Following Preparation by Three Different Methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabarish, Ram; Lavu, Vamsi; Rao, Suresh Ranga

    2015-02-01

    Platelet rich plasma (PRP) represents an easily accessible and rich source of autologous growth factors. Different manual methods for the preparation of PRP have been suggested. Lacuna in knowledge exists about the efficacy of PRP preparation by these different manual methods. This study was performed to determine the effects of centrifugation rate revolutions per minute (RPM) and time on the platelet count and enrichment percentages in the concentrates obtained following the three different manual methods of PRP preparation. In vitro experimental study. This was an experimental study in which platelet concentration was assessed in the PRP prepared by three different protocols as suggested by Marx R (method 1), Okuda K (method 2) and Landesberg R (method 3). A total of 60 peripheral blood samples, (n=20 per method) were obtained from healthy volunteers. Baseline platelet count was assessed for all the subjects following which PRP was prepared. The platelet count in the PRP was determined using coulter counter (Sysmex XT 2000i). The mean of the platelet count obtained and their enrichment percentage were calculated and intergroup comparison was done (Tukey's HSD test). The number of platelets and enrichment percentage in PRP prepared by method 1 was higher compared to method 2 and method 3; this difference in platelet concentrates was found to be statistically significant (p < 0.05). The centrifugation rate and time appear to be important parameters, which influence the platelet yield. Method 1 which had lower centrifugation rate and time yielded a greater platelet count and enrichment percentage.

  4. Analysis of cytokine profile and growth factors in platelet-rich plasma obtained by open systems and commercial columns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pochini, Alberto de Castro; Antonioli, Eliane; Bucci, Daniella Zanetti; Sardinha, Luiz Roberto; Andreoli, Carlos Vicente; Ferretti, Mario; Ejnisman, Benno; Goldberg, Anna Carla; Cohen, Moisés

    2016-01-01

    To evaluate growth factors and cytokines in samples of platelet-rich plasma obtained by three different centrifugation methods. Peripheral blood of six individuals with no hematological diseases, aged 18 to 68 years, was drawn to obtain platelet-rich plasma, using the open method and commercial columns by Medtronic and Biomet. The products obtained with the different types of centrifugation were submitted to laboratory analysis, including pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines by flow cytometry assays, the concentration of fibroblast growth factors-2 (FGF-2) and transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-β1). The diverse separation methods generated systematically different profiles regarding number of platelets and leukocytes. The Medtronic system yielded a product with the highest concentration of platelets, and the open method, with the lowest concentration of platelets. The results of cytokine analysis showed that the different types of centrifugation yielded products with high concentrations of interleukin 8, interleukin 1β. The open system resulted in a product with high levels of interleukin 6. Other cytokines and chemokines measured were similar between systems. The product obtained with the open method showed higher levels of TGF-β1 in relation to other systems and low FGF-2 levels. The formed elements, growth factors and cytokines in samples of platelet-rich plasma varied according to the centrifugation technique used. Avaliar fatores de crescimento e citocinas em amostras de plasma rico em plaquetas obtidas por três diferentes métodos de centrifugação. Foi coletado sangue periférico de seis indivíduos, sem doença hematológica, com idades entre 18 e 68 anos, para obtenção de plasma rico em plaquetas, utilizando o método aberto e sistemas comerciais das empresas Medtronic e Biomet. Os produtos obtidos com os diferentes tipos de centrifugação foram submetidos às análises laboratoriais, incluindo citocinas próinflamatórias e quimiocinas

  5. Reliability of fish size estimates obtained from multibeam imaging sonar

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hightower, Joseph E.; Magowan, Kevin J.; Brown, Lori M.; Fox, Dewayne A.

    2013-01-01

    Multibeam imaging sonars have considerable potential for use in fisheries surveys because the video-like images are easy to interpret, and they contain information about fish size, shape, and swimming behavior, as well as characteristics of occupied habitats. We examined images obtained using a dual-frequency identification sonar (DIDSON) multibeam sonar for Atlantic sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus, striped bass Morone saxatilis, white perch M. americana, and channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus of known size (20–141 cm) to determine the reliability of length estimates. For ranges up to 11 m, percent measurement error (sonar estimate – total length)/total length × 100 varied by species but was not related to the fish's range or aspect angle (orientation relative to the sonar beam). Least-square mean percent error was significantly different from 0.0 for Atlantic sturgeon (x̄  =  −8.34, SE  =  2.39) and white perch (x̄  = 14.48, SE  =  3.99) but not striped bass (x̄  =  3.71, SE  =  2.58) or channel catfish (x̄  = 3.97, SE  =  5.16). Underestimating lengths of Atlantic sturgeon may be due to difficulty in detecting the snout or the longer dorsal lobe of the heterocercal tail. White perch was the smallest species tested, and it had the largest percent measurement errors (both positive and negative) and the lowest percentage of images classified as good or acceptable. Automated length estimates for the four species using Echoview software varied with position in the view-field. Estimates tended to be low at more extreme azimuthal angles (fish's angle off-axis within the view-field), but mean and maximum estimates were highly correlated with total length. Software estimates also were biased by fish images partially outside the view-field and when acoustic crosstalk occurred (when a fish perpendicular to the sonar and at relatively close range is detected in the side lobes of adjacent beams). These sources of

  6. Evaluating the performance of species richness estimators: sensitivity to sample grain size

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hortal, Joaquín; Borges, Paulo A. V.; Gaspar, Clara

    2006-01-01

    and several recent estimators [proposed by Rosenzweig et al. (Conservation Biology, 2003, 17, 864-874), and Ugland et al. (Journal of Animal Ecology, 2003, 72, 888-897)] performed poorly. 3.  Estimations developed using the smaller grain sizes (pair of traps, traps, records and individuals) presented similar....... Data obtained with standardized sampling of 78 transects in natural forest remnants of five islands were aggregated in seven different grains (i.e. ways of defining a single sample): islands, natural areas, transects, pairs of traps, traps, database records and individuals to assess the effect of using...

  7. Estimation of the species richness of fish parasite fauna: an ecological approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ieshko Evgeny Pavlovich

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available We studied the biological diversity of the parasite fauna in pike from four habitats found in northern lakes of Karelia. The curves of the expected species richness versus sampling effort (the number of examined specimens dependency were plotted. A universal approach to the description of the new species replenishment dynamics is proposed – including finding (through combinatorial analysis the median value between the fastest and the slowest paths of the species richness growth followed by approximation using logistic function . Our analysis showed that the leading ecological factors controlling the formation of the parasite species richness in a specific waterbody are the richness of infracommunities and the age composition of the host sample. The sample of 15 host specimens contains at least 80% of all species in the parasite community.

  8. Digestion of Alumina from Non-Magnetic Material Obtained from Magnetic Separation of Reduced Iron-Rich Diasporic Bauxite with Sodium Salts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guanghui Li

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Recovery of iron from iron-rich diasporic bauxite ore via reductive roasting followed by magnetic separation has been explored recently. However, the efficiency of alumina extraction in the non-magnetic materials is absent. In this paper, a further study on the digestion of alumina by the Bayer process from non-magnetic material obtained after magnetic separation of reduced iron-rich diasporic bauxite with sodium salts was investigated. The results indicate that the addition of sodium salts can destroy the original occurrences of iron-, aluminum- and silicon-containing minerals of bauxite ore during reductive roasting. Meanwhile, the reactions of sodium salts with complex aluminum- and silicon-bearing phases generate diaoyudaoite and sodium aluminosilicate. The separation of iron via reductive roasting of bauxite ore with sodium salts followed by magnetic separation improves alumina digestion in the Bayer process. When the alumina-bearing material in bauxite ore is converted into non-magnetic material, the digestion temperature decreases significantly from 280 °C to 240 °C with a nearly 99% relative digestion ratio of alumina.

  9. Olivine-rich asteroids in the near-Earth space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popescu, Marcel; Perna, D.; Barucci, M. A.; Fornasier, S.; Doressoundiram, A.; Lantz, C.; Merlin, F.; Belskaya, I. N.; Fulchignoni, M.

    2018-06-01

    In the framework of a 30-night spectroscopic survey of small near-Earth asteroids (NEAs), we present new results regarding the identification of olivine-rich objects. The following NEAs were classified as A-type using visible spectra obtained with 3.6-m New Technology Telescope: (293726) 2007 RQ17, (444584) 2006 UK, 2012 NP, 2014 YS34, 2015 HB117, 2015 LH, 2015 TB179, 2015 TW144. We determined a relative abundance of 5.4 per cent (8 out of 147 observed targets) A-types at a 100-m size range of NEA population. The ratio is at least five times larger compared with the previously known A-types, which represent less than ˜ 1 per cent of NEAs taxonomically classified. By taking into account that part of our targets may not be confirmed as olivine-rich asteroids by their near-infrared spectra, or they can have a nebular origin, our result provides an upper-limit estimation of mantle fragments at size ranges below 300 m. Our findings are compared with the `battered-to-bits' scenario, claiming that at small sizes the olivine-rich objects should be more abundant when compared with basaltic and iron ones.

  10. Olivine-rich asteroids in the near-Earth space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popescu, Marcel; Perna, D.; Barucci, M. A.; Fornasier, S.; Doressoundiram, A.; Lantz, C.; Merlin, F.; Belskaya, I. N.; Fulchignoni, M.

    2018-03-01

    In the framework of a 30-night spectroscopic survey of small near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) we present new results regarding the identification of olivine-rich objects. The following NEAs were classified as A-type using visible spectra obtained with 3.6 m NTT telescope: (293726) 2007 RQ17, (444584) 2006 UK, 2012 NP, 2014 YS34, 2015 HB117, 2015 LH, 2015 TB179, 2015 TW144. We determined a relative abundance of 5.4% (8 out of 147 observed targets) A-types at hundred meter size range of NEAs population. The ratio is at least five times larger compared with the previously known A-types, which represent less than ˜1% of NEAs taxonomically classified. By taking into account that part of our targets may not be confirmed as olivine-rich asteroids by their near-infrared spectra, or they can have a nebular origin, our result provides an upper-limit estimation of mantle fragments at size ranges bellow 300m. Our findings are compared with the "battered-to-bits" scenario, claiming that at small sizes the olivine-rich objects should be more abundant when compared with basaltic and iron ones.

  11. Vineyard Yield Estimation Based on the Analysis of High Resolution Images Obtained with Artificial Illumination at Night

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davinia Font

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a method for vineyard yield estimation based on the analysis of high-resolution images obtained with artificial illumination at night. First, this paper assesses different pixel-based segmentation methods in order to detect reddish grapes: threshold based, Mahalanobis distance, Bayesian classifier, linear color model segmentation and histogram segmentation, in order to obtain the best estimation of the area of the clusters of grapes in this illumination conditions. The color spaces tested were the original RGB and the Hue-Saturation-Value (HSV. The best segmentation method in the case of a non-occluded reddish table-grape variety was the threshold segmentation applied to the H layer, with an estimation error in the area of 13.55%, improved up to 10.01% by morphological filtering. Secondly, after segmentation, two procedures for yield estimation based on a previous calibration procedure have been proposed: (1 the number of pixels corresponding to a cluster of grapes is computed and converted directly into a yield estimate; and (2 the area of a cluster of grapes is converted into a volume by means of a solid of revolution, and this volume is converted into a yield estimate; the yield errors obtained were 16% and −17%, respectively.

  12. Sugarcane leaf area estimate obtained from the corrected Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Moura Pereira

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Large farmland areas and the knowledge on the interaction between solar radiation and vegetation canopies have increased the use of data from orbital remote sensors in sugarcane monitoring. However, the constituents of the atmosphere affect the reflectance values obtained by imaging sensors. This study aimed at improving a sugarcane Leaf Area Index (LAI estimation model, concerning the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI subjected to atmospheric correction. The model generated by the NDVI with atmospheric correction showed the best results (R2 = 0.84; d = 0.95; MAE = 0.44; RMSE = 0.55, in relation to the other models compared. LAI estimation with this model, during the sugarcane plant cycle, reached a maximum of 4.8 at the vegetative growth phase and 2.3 at the end of the maturation phase. Thus, the use of atmospheric correction to estimate the sugarcane LAI is recommended, since this procedure increases the correlations between the LAI estimated by image and by plant parameters.

  13. Quantitative estimation of defects from measurement obtained by remote field eddy current inspection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davoust, M.E.; Fleury, G.

    1999-01-01

    Remote field eddy current technique is used for dimensioning grooves that may occurs in ferromagnetic pipes. This paper proposes a method to estimate the depth and the length of corrosion grooves from measurement of a pick-up coil signal phase at different positions close to the defect. Grooves dimensioning needs the knowledge of the physical relation between measurements and defect dimensions. So, finite element calculations are performed to obtain a parametric algebraic function of the physical phenomena. By means of this model and a previously defined general approach, an estimate of groove size may be given. In this approach, algebraic function parameters and groove dimensions are linked through a polynomial function. In order to validate this estimation procedure, a statistical study has been performed. The approach is proved to be suitable for real measurements. (authors)

  14. Evaluating species richness: biased ecological inference results from spatial heterogeneity in species detection probabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNew, Lance B.; Handel, Colleen M.

    2015-01-01

    Accurate estimates of species richness are necessary to test predictions of ecological theory and evaluate biodiversity for conservation purposes. However, species richness is difficult to measure in the field because some species will almost always be overlooked due to their cryptic nature or the observer's failure to perceive their cues. Common measures of species richness that assume consistent observability across species are inviting because they may require only single counts of species at survey sites. Single-visit estimation methods ignore spatial and temporal variation in species detection probabilities related to survey or site conditions that may confound estimates of species richness. We used simulated and empirical data to evaluate the bias and precision of raw species counts, the limiting forms of jackknife and Chao estimators, and multi-species occupancy models when estimating species richness to evaluate whether the choice of estimator can affect inferences about the relationships between environmental conditions and community size under variable detection processes. Four simulated scenarios with realistic and variable detection processes were considered. Results of simulations indicated that (1) raw species counts were always biased low, (2) single-visit jackknife and Chao estimators were significantly biased regardless of detection process, (3) multispecies occupancy models were more precise and generally less biased than the jackknife and Chao estimators, and (4) spatial heterogeneity resulting from the effects of a site covariate on species detection probabilities had significant impacts on the inferred relationships between species richness and a spatially explicit environmental condition. For a real dataset of bird observations in northwestern Alaska, the four estimation methods produced different estimates of local species richness, which severely affected inferences about the effects of shrubs on local avian richness. Overall, our results

  15. Testing the Relationships between Diversification, Species Richness, and Trait Evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozak, Kenneth H; Wiens, John J

    2016-11-01

    Understanding which traits drive species diversification is essential for macroevolutionary studies and to understand patterns of species richness among clades. An important tool for testing if traits influence diversification is to estimate rates of net diversification for each clade, and then test for a relationship between traits and diversification rates among clades. However, this general approach has become very controversial. Numerous papers have now stated that it is inappropriate to analyze net diversification rates in groups in which clade richness is not positively correlated with clade age. Similarly, some have stated that variation in net diversification rates does not explain variation in species richness patterns among clades across the Tree of Life. Some authors have also suggested that strong correlations between richness and diversification rates are a statistical artifact and effectively inevitable. If this latter point is true, then correlations between richness and diversification rates would be uninformative (or even misleading) for identifying how much variation in species richness among clades is explained by variation in net diversification rates. Here, we use simulations (based on empirical data for plethodontid salamanders) to address three main questions. First, how is variation in net diversification rates among clades related to the relationship between clade age and species richness? Second, how accurate are these net diversification rate estimators, and does the age-richness relationship have any relevance to their accuracy? Third, is a relationship between species richness and diversification rates an inevitable, statistical artifact? Our simulations show that strong, positive age-richness relationships arise when diversification rates are invariant among clades, whereas realistic variation in diversification rates among clades frequently disrupts this relationship. Thus, a significant age-richness relationship should not be a

  16. Media Screening for Obtaining Haematococcus pluvialis Red Motile Macrozooids Rich in Astaxanthin and Fatty Acids.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, Thomas O; McDougall, Gordon J; Campbell, Raymond; Stanley, Michele S; Day, John G

    2017-12-26

    Astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis is commercially produced in a two-stage process, involving green vegetative (macrozooid) and red aplanospore stages. This approach has been scaled up to an industrial process but constraints limit its commercial success and profitability, including: contamination issues, high pigment extraction costs, requirements for high light levels and photo-bleaching in the red stage. However, in addition to the aplanospore stage, this alga can produce astaxanthin in vegetative palmelloid and motile macrozooid cells. In this study, a two-stage process utilising different media in the green stage, with subsequent re-suspension in medium without nitrate was employed to optimise the formation of red motile macrozooids. Optimal growth in the green phase was obtained on cultivation under mixotrophic conditions in EG:JM media followed by re-suspension in medium without nitrate resulting in red motile macrozooids with an astaxanthin content of 2.74% (78.4% of total carotenoids) and a lipid content of 35.3% (rich in unsaturated fatty acids. It is envisaged that the red motile macrozooids could be harvested and fed as a whole-cell product directly in the animal feed and aquaculture sectors, or used as a blend of carotenoids and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in nutraceutical products.

  17. Media Screening for Obtaining Haematococcus pluvialis Red Motile Macrozooids Rich in Astaxanthin and Fatty Acids

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas O. Butler

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis is commercially produced in a two-stage process, involving green vegetative (macrozooid and red aplanospore stages. This approach has been scaled up to an industrial process but constraints limit its commercial success and profitability, including: contamination issues, high pigment extraction costs, requirements for high light levels and photo-bleaching in the red stage. However, in addition to the aplanospore stage, this alga can produce astaxanthin in vegetative palmelloid and motile macrozooid cells. In this study, a two-stage process utilising different media in the green stage, with subsequent re-suspension in medium without nitrate was employed to optimise the formation of red motile macrozooids. Optimal growth in the green phase was obtained on cultivation under mixotrophic conditions in EG:JM media followed by re-suspension in medium without nitrate resulting in red motile macrozooids with an astaxanthin content of 2.74% (78.4% of total carotenoids and a lipid content of 35.3% (rich in unsaturated fatty acids. It is envisaged that the red motile macrozooids could be harvested and fed as a whole-cell product directly in the animal feed and aquaculture sectors, or used as a blend of carotenoids and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs in nutraceutical products.

  18. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and fibrinogen concentration of whole blood influences the cellular composition of platelet-rich plasma obtained from centrifugation methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Wenjing; Xu, Zhengliang; Sheng, Jiagen; Xie, Xuetao; Zhang, Changqing

    2017-09-01

    Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), which reflects the sedimentation rate of platelets, leukocytes and erythrocytes in response to centrifugal force, may influence the cellular composition of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) obtained via centrifugation methods. However, no relevant studies have substantiated this. In the present study, blood was collected from 40 healthy volunteers and used to prepare PRP with two plasma-based preparation systems [YinPRP and Plasma Rich in Growth Factor (PRGF) systems] and two buffy coat-based systems (RegenPRP and WEGOPRP systems) in a single-donor model. Volumes of PRP and platelet-poor plasma (PPP) that were removed in the preparation process were recorded. Analyses of ESR, haematocrit, C-reaction protein, coagulation, serum glucose and serum lipid of the whole blood used for PRP preparation were performed to evaluate the levels of ESR and the factors known to influence it. Whole blood analysis was performed to evaluate the cellular composition of PRP. Results demonstrated that there were marked positive correlations between the ESR of the whole blood used for PRP preparation and PPP removal efficiencies, platelet concentrations, platelet capture efficiencies and platelet enrichment factors of PRP formulations obtained from plasma-based systems, and PRP yield efficiency of RegenPRP and PPP removal efficiency of WEGOPRP. Furthermore, there were marked negative correlations between ESR and concentrations and enrichment factors of platelets, leukocytes and erythrocytes of RegenPRP. Fibrinogen concentration of the whole blood, which had a marked positive correlation with ESR, also influenced the cellular composition of PRP. These findings may increase the understanding of PRP preparation and provide substantial evidence for the individualised optimisation of PRP preparation systems used in clinical practice.

  19. Species richness of motile cryptofauna across a gradient of reef framework erosion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Enochs, I. C.; Manzello, D. P.

    2012-09-01

    Coral reef ecosystems contain exceptionally high concentrations of marine biodiversity, potentially encompassing millions of species. Similar to tropical rainforests and their insects, the majority of reef animal species are small and cryptic, living in the cracks and crevices of structural taxa (trees and corals). Although the cryptofauna make up the majority of a reef's metazoan biodiversity, we know little about their basic ecology. We sampled motile cryptofaunal communities from both live corals and dead carbonate reef framework across a gradient of increasing erosion on a reef in Pacific Panamá. A total of 289 Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) from six phyla were identified. We used species-accumulation models fitted to individual- and sample-based rarefaction curves, as well as seven nonparametric richness estimators to estimate species richness among the different framework types. All procedures predicted the same trends in species richness across the differing framework types. Estimated species richness was higher in dead framework (261-370 OTUs) than in live coral substrates (112-219 OTUs). Surprisingly, richness increased as framework structure was eroded: coral rubble contained the greatest number of species (227-320 OTUs) and the lowest estimated richness of 47-115 OTUs was found in the zone where the reef framework had the greatest vertical relief. This contradicts the paradigm that abundant live coral indicates the apex of reef diversity.

  20. Obtaining anthocyanin-rich extracts from frozen açai (Euterpe oleracea Mart. pulp using pressurized liquid extraction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sylvia Carolina ALCÁZAR-ALAY

    Full Text Available Abstract Açai is considered a functional food, and in addition to being a source of energy and fiber, it is a valuable source of bioactive compounds such as anthocyanins, minerals and fatty acids. In the present work, antioxidant-rich extracts from açai pulp were obtained using pressurized liquid extraction (PLE. The effects of the independent variables, including solvent type (pure ethanol and ethanol/water (50:50 v/v, citric acid (0 and 0.3%, w/w, pressure (20 and 80 bar and temperature (30 and 60 °C were evaluated using a full factorial design. The extraction was affected primarily by the solvent type and the citric acid percentage. The results indicate that the maximum overall yield (X0 was 64± 9 (%, d.b. when the process was performed using ethanol (99.5% and citric acid (0.3% w/w. The maximum total anthocyanin content and anthocyanin recovered from the raw material were 7 ± 1 (mg anthocyanin/g extract, d.b. and 11 ± 2 (%, d.b., respectively.

  1. Four-Wave Mixing in Silicon-Rich Nitride Waveguides

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mitrovic, Miranda; Guan, Xiaowei; Ji, Hua

    2015-01-01

    We demonstrate four-wave mixing wavelength conversion in silicon-rich nitride waveguides which are a promising alternative to silicon for nonlinear applications. The obtained conversion efficiency reaches -13.6 dB while showing no significant nonlinear loss.......We demonstrate four-wave mixing wavelength conversion in silicon-rich nitride waveguides which are a promising alternative to silicon for nonlinear applications. The obtained conversion efficiency reaches -13.6 dB while showing no significant nonlinear loss....

  2. Mars: a water-rich planet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carr, M.H.

    1987-01-01

    Good geomorphic evidence is presented for a planet that was once water rich, and that a lower limit on the amount of water available for a given Martian watershed may be estimated by assuming that the volume of material eroded was equal to the volume of water available. This estimate, coupled with high latitude water estimates of 50 to 100 m gives a global inventory of about 500 m total water in the subsurface. It was emphasized that this is a lower limit as considerable water may be bound in weathered debris and in primary minerals

  3. The CBM RICH project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adamczewski-Musch, J. [GSI Darmstadt (Germany); Becker, K.-H. [University Wuppertal (Germany); Belogurov, S. [ITEP Moscow (Russian Federation); Boldyreva, N. [PNPI Gatchina (Russian Federation); Chernogorov, A. [ITEP Moscow (Russian Federation); Deveaux, C. [University Gießen (Germany); Dobyrn, V. [PNPI Gatchina (Russian Federation); Dürr, M. [University Gießen (Germany); Eom, J. [Pusan National University (Korea, Republic of); Eschke, J. [GSI Darmstadt (Germany); Höhne, C. [University Gießen (Germany); Kampert, K.-H. [University Wuppertal (Germany); Kleipa, V. [GSI Darmstadt (Germany); Kochenda, L. [PNPI Gatchina (Russian Federation); Kolb, B. [GSI Darmstadt (Germany); Kopfer, J. [University Wuppertal (Germany); Kravtsov, P. [PNPI Gatchina (Russian Federation); Lebedev, S.; Lebedeva, E. [University Gießen (Germany); Leonova, E. [PNPI Gatchina (Russian Federation); and others

    2014-12-01

    The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment will study the properties of super dense nuclear matter by means of heavy ion collisions at the future FAIR facility. An integral detector component is a large Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector with CO{sub 2} gas radiator, which will mainly serve for electron identification and pion suppression necessary to access rare dileptonic probes like e{sup +}e{sup −} decays of light vector mesons or J/Ψ. We describe the design of this future RICH detector and focus on results obtained by building a CBM RICH detector prototype tested at CERN-PS.

  4. Models to estimate volume of individual trees by morphometry of crowns obtained with lidar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evandro Orfanó Figueiredo

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The volumetric estimate from digital scanning of the forests through the use of LIDAR increases the precision of forest management techniques in planning tropical forest logging operations. The use of this remote detection technology allows the incorporation of crown morphometric variables which are still little known and little used due to the difficulty of collecting field data for volume equations. The objective of this study was to build equations capable of estimating the stem volume of dominant and codominant individual trees from the crown's morphometry obtained by airborne LIDAR, considering two forest inventory situations: a with the collection of diameter at breast height (DBH, and crown morphometric variables obtained from LIDAR data and b using only the crown morphometry variables. For the selection of models the factors considered were: the correlation matrix of predictor variables and the combination of variables that generates the best results by statistical criteria Syx, Syx(% and Pressp, and that were homoscedastic and had a normal and independent distribution of errors. The influence analysis was performed for the best equations. The results for the statistical fit of the equations to the two situations allowed the selection of models with and without DBH, with R2aj.( % values of a 92.92 and b 79.44, Syx(% values of a 16.73 and b 27.47, and, Pressp criterion values of a 201.15 m6 and b 537.47 m6, respectively. Through morphometric variables it was possible to develop equations capable of accurately estimating the stem volume of dominant and codominant trees in tropical forests.

  5. Estimating bacterial diversity for ecological studies: methods, metrics, and assumptions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Birtel

    Full Text Available Methods to estimate microbial diversity have developed rapidly in an effort to understand the distribution and diversity of microorganisms in natural environments. For bacterial communities, the 16S rRNA gene is the phylogenetic marker gene of choice, but most studies select only a specific region of the 16S rRNA to estimate bacterial diversity. Whereas biases derived from from DNA extraction, primer choice and PCR amplification are well documented, we here address how the choice of variable region can influence a wide range of standard ecological metrics, such as species richness, phylogenetic diversity, β-diversity and rank-abundance distributions. We have used Illumina paired-end sequencing to estimate the bacterial diversity of 20 natural lakes across Switzerland derived from three trimmed variable 16S rRNA regions (V3, V4, V5. Species richness, phylogenetic diversity, community composition, β-diversity, and rank-abundance distributions differed significantly between 16S rRNA regions. Overall, patterns of diversity quantified by the V3 and V5 regions were more similar to one another than those assessed by the V4 region. Similar results were obtained when analyzing the datasets with different sequence similarity thresholds used during sequences clustering and when the same analysis was used on a reference dataset of sequences from the Greengenes database. In addition we also measured species richness from the same lake samples using ARISA Fingerprinting, but did not find a strong relationship between species richness estimated by Illumina and ARISA. We conclude that the selection of 16S rRNA region significantly influences the estimation of bacterial diversity and species distributions and that caution is warranted when comparing data from different variable regions as well as when using different sequencing techniques.

  6. Can Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS and Forest Estimates Derived from Satellite Images Be Used to Predict Abundance and Species Richness of Birds and Beetles in Boreal Forest?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Lindberg

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available In managed landscapes, conservation planning requires effective methods to identify high-biodiversity areas. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of airborne laser scanning (ALS and forest estimates derived from satellite images extracted at two spatial scales for predicting the stand-scale abundance and species richness of birds and beetles in a managed boreal forest landscape. Multiple regression models based on forest data from a 50-m radius (i.e., corresponding to a homogenous forest stand had better explanatory power than those based on a 200-m radius (i.e., including also parts of adjacent stands. Bird abundance and species richness were best explained by the ALS variables “maximum vegetation height” and “vegetation cover between 0.5 and 3 m” (both positive. Flying beetle abundance and species richness, as well as epigaeic (i.e., ground-living beetle richness were best explained by a model including the ALS variable “maximum vegetation height” (positive and the satellite-derived variable “proportion of pine” (negative. Epigaeic beetle abundance was best explained by “maximum vegetation height” at 50 m (positive and “stem volume” at 200 m (positive. Our results show that forest estimates derived from satellite images and ALS data provide complementary information for explaining forest biodiversity patterns. We conclude that these types of remote sensing data may provide an efficient tool for conservation planning in managed boreal landscapes.

  7. Differences in species richness patterns between unicellular and multicellular organisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hillebrand, Helmut; Watermann, Frank; Karez, Rolf; Berninger, Ulrike-G

    2001-01-01

    For unicellular organisms, a lack of effects of local species richness on ecosystem function has been proposed due to their locally high species richness and their ubiquitous distribution. High dispersal ability and high individual numbers may enable unicellular taxa to occur everywhere. Using our own and published data sets on uni- and multicellular organisms, we conducted thorough statistical analyses to test whether (1) unicellular taxa show higher relative local species richness compared to multicellular taxa, (2) unicellular taxa show lower slopes of the species:area relationships and species:individuals relationships, and (3) the species composition of unicellular taxa is less influenced by geographic distance compared to multicellular taxa. We found higher local species richness compared to the global species pool for unicellular organisms than for metazoan taxa. The difference was significant if global species richness was conservatively estimated but not if extrapolated, and therefore higher richness estimates were used. Both microalgae and protozoans showed lower slopes between species richness and sample size (area or individuals) compared to macrozoobenthos, also indicating higher local species richness for unicellular taxa. The similarity of species composition of both benthic diatoms and ciliates decreased with increasing geographic distance. This indicated restricted dispersal ability of protists and the absence of ubiquity. However, a steeper slope between similarity and distance was found for polychaetes and corals, suggesting a stronger effect of distance on the dispersal of metazoans compared to unicellular taxa. In conclusion, we found partly different species richness patterns among uni- and multicellular eukaryotes, but no strict ubiquity of unicellular taxa. Therefore, the effect of local unicellular species richness on ecosystem function has to be reanalyzed. Macroecological patterns suggested for multicellular organisms may differ in

  8. An improved nonparametric lower bound of species richness via a modified good-turing frequency formula.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiu, Chun-Huo; Wang, Yi-Ting; Walther, Bruno A; Chao, Anne

    2014-09-01

    It is difficult to accurately estimate species richness if there are many almost undetectable species in a hyper-diverse community. Practically, an accurate lower bound for species richness is preferable to an inaccurate point estimator. The traditional nonparametric lower bound developed by Chao (1984, Scandinavian Journal of Statistics 11, 265-270) for individual-based abundance data uses only the information on the rarest species (the numbers of singletons and doubletons) to estimate the number of undetected species in samples. Applying a modified Good-Turing frequency formula, we derive an approximate formula for the first-order bias of this traditional lower bound. The approximate bias is estimated by using additional information (namely, the numbers of tripletons and quadrupletons). This approximate bias can be corrected, and an improved lower bound is thus obtained. The proposed lower bound is nonparametric in the sense that it is universally valid for any species abundance distribution. A similar type of improved lower bound can be derived for incidence data. We test our proposed lower bounds on simulated data sets generated from various species abundance models. Simulation results show that the proposed lower bounds always reduce bias over the traditional lower bounds and improve accuracy (as measured by mean squared error) when the heterogeneity of species abundances is relatively high. We also apply the proposed new lower bounds to real data for illustration and for comparisons with previously developed estimators. © 2014, The International Biometric Society.

  9. An iterative procedure for obtaining maximum-likelihood estimates of the parameters for a mixture of normal distributions, Addendum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, B. C., Jr.; Walker, H. F.

    1975-01-01

    New results and insights concerning a previously published iterative procedure for obtaining maximum-likelihood estimates of the parameters for a mixture of normal distributions were discussed. It was shown that the procedure converges locally to the consistent maximum likelihood estimate as long as a specified parameter is bounded between two limits. Bound values were given to yield optimal local convergence.

  10. Scaling disturbance instead of richness to better understand anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen J Mayor

    Full Text Available A primary impediment to understanding how species diversity and anthropogenic disturbance are related is that both diversity and disturbance can depend on the scales at which they are sampled. While the scale dependence of diversity estimation has received substantial attention, the scale dependence of disturbance estimation has been essentially overlooked. Here, we break from conventional examination of the diversity-disturbance relationship by holding the area over which species richness is estimated constant and instead manipulating the area over which human disturbance is measured. In the boreal forest ecoregion of Alberta, Canada, we test the dependence of species richness on disturbance scale, the scale-dependence of the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, and the consistency of these patterns in native versus exotic species and among human disturbance types. We related field observed species richness in 1 ha surveys of 372 boreal vascular plant communities to remotely sensed measures of human disturbance extent at two survey scales: local (1 ha and landscape (18 km2. Supporting the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, species richness-disturbance relationships were quadratic at both local and landscape scales of disturbance measurement. This suggests the shape of richness-disturbance relationships is independent of the scale at which disturbance is assessed, despite that local diversity is influenced by disturbance at different scales by different mechanisms, such as direct removal of individuals (local or indirect alteration of propagule supply (landscape. By contrast, predictions of species richness did depend on scale of disturbance measurement: with high local disturbance richness was double that under high landscape disturbance.

  11. Inferring species richness and turnover by statistical multiresolution texture analysis of satellite imagery.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matteo Convertino

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The quantification of species-richness and species-turnover is essential to effective monitoring of ecosystems. Wetland ecosystems are particularly in need of such monitoring due to their sensitivity to rainfall, water management and other external factors that affect hydrology, soil, and species patterns. A key challenge for environmental scientists is determining the linkage between natural and human stressors, and the effect of that linkage at the species level in space and time. We propose pixel intensity based Shannon entropy for estimating species-richness, and introduce a method based on statistical wavelet multiresolution texture analysis to quantitatively assess interseasonal and interannual species turnover. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We model satellite images of regions of interest as textures. We define a texture in an image as a spatial domain where the variations in pixel intensity across the image are both stochastic and multiscale. To compare two textures quantitatively, we first obtain a multiresolution wavelet decomposition of each. Either an appropriate probability density function (pdf model for the coefficients at each subband is selected, and its parameters estimated, or, a non-parametric approach using histograms is adopted. We choose the former, where the wavelet coefficients of the multiresolution decomposition at each subband are modeled as samples from the generalized Gaussian pdf. We then obtain the joint pdf for the coefficients for all subbands, assuming independence across subbands; an approximation that simplifies the computational burden significantly without sacrificing the ability to statistically distinguish textures. We measure the difference between two textures' representative pdf's via the Kullback-Leibler divergence (KL. Species turnover, or [Formula: see text] diversity, is estimated using both this KL divergence and the difference in Shannon entropy. Additionally, we predict species

  12. Structure of Light Neutron-rich Nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dlouhy, Zdenek

    2007-01-01

    In this contribution we searched for irregularities in various separation energies in the frame of mass measurement of neutron-rich nuclei at GANIL. On this basis we can summarize that the new doubly magic nuclei are 8 He, 22 O and 24 O. They are characterized by extra stability and, except 24 O, they cannot accept and bind additional neutrons. However, if we add to these nuclei a proton we obtain 9 Li and 25 F which are the core for two-neutron halo nucleus 11 Li and enables that fluorine can bound even 6 more neutrons, respectively. In that aspect the doubly magic nuclei in the neutron-rich region can form the basis either for neutron halo or very neutron-rich nuclei. (Author)

  13. Thermodynamics of neutron-rich nuclear matter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    López, Jorge A., E-mail: jorgelopez@utep.edu [Department of Physics, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, Texas 79968, U.S.A (United States); Porras, Sergio Terrazas, E-mail: sterraza@uacj.mx; Gutiérrez, Araceli Rodríguez, E-mail: al104010@alumnos.uacj.mx [Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México (Mexico)

    2016-07-07

    This manuscript presents methods to obtain properties of neutron-rich nuclear matter from classical molecular dynamics. Some of these are bulk properties of infinite nuclear matter, phase information, the Maxwell construction, spinodal lines and symmetry energy.

  14. The use of importance sampling in a trial assessment to obtain converged estimates of radiological risk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, K.; Lucas, R.

    1986-12-01

    In developing a methodology for assessing potential sites for the disposal of radioactive wastes, the Department of the Environment has conducted a series of trial assessment exercises. In order to produce converged estimates of radiological risk using the SYVAC A/C simulation system an efficient sampling procedure is required. Previous work has demonstrated that importance sampling can substantially increase sampling efficiency. This study used importance sampling to produce converged estimates of risk for the first DoE trial assessment. Four major nuclide chains were analysed. In each case importance sampling produced converged risk estimates with between 10 and 170 times fewer runs of the SYVAC A/C model. This increase in sampling efficiency can reduce the total elapsed time required to obtain a converged estimate of risk from one nuclide chain by a factor of 20. The results of this study suggests that the use of importance sampling could reduce the elapsed time required to perform a risk assessment of a potential site by a factor of ten. (author)

  15. Antimicrobial effect of platelet-rich plasma and platelet-rich fibrin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Badade, Pallavi S; Mahale, Swapna A; Panjwani, Alisha A; Vaidya, Prutha D; Warang, Ayushya D

    2016-01-01

    Platelet concentrates have been extensively used in a variety of medical fields to promote soft- and hard-tissue regeneration. The significance behind their use lies in the abundance of growth factors (GFs) in platelets α-granules that promote wound healing. Other than releasing a pool of GFs upon activation, platelets also have many features that indicate their role in the anti-infective host defense. The aim of this study is to evaluate the antimicrobial activities of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) against periodontal disease-associated bacteria. Blood samples were obtained from ten adult male patients. PRP and PRF were procured using centrifugation. The antimicrobial activity of PRP and PRF was evaluated by microbial culturing using bacterial strains of Porphyromonas gingivalis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans were inhibited by PRP but not by PRF. PRP is a potentially useful substance in the fight against periodontal pathogens. This might represent a valuable property in adjunct to the enhancement of tissue regeneration.

  16. Estimation of the reactive mineral surface area during CO2-rich fluid-rock interaction: the influence of neogenic phases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scislewski, A.; Zuddas, P.

    2010-12-01

    Mineral dissolution and precipitation reactions actively participate to control fluid chemistry during water-rock interaction. It is however, difficult to estimate and well normalize bulk reaction rates if the mineral surface area exposed to the aqueous solution and effectively participating on the reactions is unknown. We evaluated the changing of the reactive mineral surface area during the interaction between CO2-rich fluids and Albitite/Granitoid rocks (similar mineralogy but different abundances), reacting under flow-through conditions. Our methodology, adopting an inverse modeling approach, is based on the estimation of dissolution rate and reactive surface area of the different minerals participating in the reactions by the reconstruction the chemical evolution of the interacting fluids. The irreversible mass-transfer processes is defined by a fractional degree of advancement, while calculations were carried out for Albite, Microcline, Biotite and Calcite assuming that the ion activity of dissolved silica and aluminium ions was limited by the equilibrium with quartz and kaolinite. Irrespective of the mineral abundance in granite and albitite, we found that mineral dissolution rates did not change significantly in the investigated range of time where output solution’s pH remained in the range between 6 and 8, indicating that the observed variation in fluid composition depends not on pH but rather on the variation of the parent mineral’s reactive surface area. We found that the reactive surface area of Albite varied by more than 2 orders of magnitude, while Microcline, Calcite and Biotite surface areas changed by 1-2 orders of magnitude. We propose that parent mineral chemical heterogeneity and, particularly, the stability of secondary mineral phases may explain the observed variation of the reactive surface area of the minerals. Formation of coatings at the dissolving parent mineral surfaces significantly reduced the amount of surface available to react

  17. Beneath the veil: Plant growth form influences the strength of species richness-productivity relationships in forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oberle, B.; Grace, J.B.; Chase, J.M.

    2009-01-01

    Aim: Species richness has been observed to increase with productivity at large spatial scales, though the strength of this relationship varies among functional groups. In forests, canopy trees shade understorey plants, and for this reason we hypothesize that species richness of canopy trees will depend on macroclimate, while species richness of shorter growth forms will additionally be affected by shading from the canopy. In this study we test for differences in species richness-productivity relationships (SRPRs) among growth forms (canopy trees, shrubs, herbaceous species) in small forest plots. Location: We analysed 231 plots ranging from 34.0?? to 48.3?? N latitude and from 75.0?? to 124.2?? W longitude in the United States. Methods: We analysed data collected by the USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis program for plant species richness partitioned into different growth forms, in small plots. We used actual evapotranspiration as a macroclimatic estimate of regional productivity and calculated the area of light-blocking tissue in the immediate area surrounding plots for an estimate of the intensity of local shading. We estimated and compared SRPRs for different partitions of the species richness dataset using generalized linear models and we incorporated the possible indirect effects of shading using a structural equation model. Results: Canopy tree species richness increased strongly with regional productivity, while local shading primarily explained the variation in herbaceous plant richness. Shrub species richness was related to both regional productivity and local shading. Main conclusions: The relationship between total forest plant species richness and productivity at large scales belies strong effects of local interactions. Counter to the pattern for overall richness, we found that understorey herbaceous plant species richness does not respond to regional productivity gradients, and instead is strongly influenced by canopy density, while shrub species

  18. Platelet Counts in Insoluble Platelet-Rich Fibrin Clots: A Direct Method for Accurate Determination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yutaka Kitamura

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF clots have been used in regenerative dentistry most often, with the assumption that growth factor levels are concentrated in proportion to the platelet concentration. Platelet counts in PRF are generally determined indirectly by platelet counting in other liquid fractions. This study shows a method for direct estimation of platelet counts in PRF. To validate this method by determination of the recovery rate, whole-blood samples were obtained with an anticoagulant from healthy donors, and platelet-rich plasma (PRP fractions were clotted with CaCl2 by centrifugation and digested with tissue-plasminogen activator. Platelet counts were estimated before clotting and after digestion using an automatic hemocytometer. The method was then tested on PRF clots. The quality of platelets was examined by scanning electron microscopy and flow cytometry. In PRP-derived fibrin matrices, the recovery rate of platelets and white blood cells was 91.6 and 74.6%, respectively, after 24 h of digestion. In PRF clots associated with small and large red thrombi, platelet counts were 92.6 and 67.2% of the respective total platelet counts. These findings suggest that our direct method is sufficient for estimating the number of platelets trapped in an insoluble fibrin matrix and for determining that platelets are distributed in PRF clots and red thrombi roughly in proportion to their individual volumes. Therefore, we propose this direct digestion method for more accurate estimation of platelet counts in most types of platelet-enriched fibrin matrix.

  19. Upscaling species richness and abundances in tropical forests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tovo, Anna; Suweis, Samir; Formentin, Marco; Favretti, Marco; Volkov, Igor; Banavar, Jayanth R; Azaele, Sandro; Maritan, Amos

    2017-10-01

    The quantification of tropical tree biodiversity worldwide remains an open and challenging problem. More than two-fifths of the number of worldwide trees can be found either in tropical or in subtropical forests, but only ≈0.000067% of species identities are known. We introduce an analytical framework that provides robust and accurate estimates of species richness and abundances in biodiversity-rich ecosystems, as confirmed by tests performed on both in silico-generated and real forests. Our analysis shows that the approach outperforms other methods. In particular, we find that upscaling methods based on the log-series species distribution systematically overestimate the number of species and abundances of the rare species. We finally apply our new framework on 15 empirical tropical forest plots and quantify the minimum percentage cover that should be sampled to achieve a given average confidence interval in the upscaled estimate of biodiversity. Our theoretical framework confirms that the forests studied are comprised of a large number of rare or hyper-rare species. This is a signature of critical-like behavior of species-rich ecosystems and can provide a buffer against extinction.

  20. An Optimal Estimation Method to Obtain Surface Layer Turbulent Fluxes from Profile Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, D.

    2015-12-01

    In the absence of direct turbulence measurements, the turbulence characteristics of the atmospheric surface layer are often derived from measurements of the surface layer mean properties based on Monin-Obukhov Similarity Theory (MOST). This approach requires two levels of the ensemble mean wind, temperature, and water vapor, from which the fluxes of momentum, sensible heat, and water vapor can be obtained. When only one measurement level is available, the roughness heights and the assumed properties of the corresponding variables at the respective roughness heights are used. In practice, the temporal mean with large number of samples are used in place of the ensemble mean. However, in many situations the samples of data are taken from multiple levels. It is thus desirable to derive the boundary layer flux properties using all measurements. In this study, we used an optimal estimation approach to derive surface layer properties based on all available measurements. This approach assumes that the samples are taken from a population whose ensemble mean profile follows the MOST. An optimized estimate is obtained when the results yield a minimum cost function defined as a weighted summation of all error variance at each sample altitude. The weights are based one sample data variance and the altitude of the measurements. This method was applied to measurements in the marine atmospheric surface layer from a small boat using radiosonde on a tethered balloon where temperature and relative humidity profiles in the lowest 50 m were made repeatedly in about 30 minutes. We will present the resultant fluxes and the derived MOST mean profiles using different sets of measurements. The advantage of this method over the 'traditional' methods will be illustrated. Some limitations of this optimization method will also be discussed. Its application to quantify the effects of marine surface layer environment on radar and communication signal propagation will be shown as well.

  1. Platelet adhesiveness: the effect of centrifugation on the measurement of adhesiveness in platelet-rich plasma

    Science.gov (United States)

    McBride, J. A.

    1968-01-01

    Platelet adhesiveness has been measured in citrated whole blood and in platelet-rich plasma obtained from normal subjects, splenectomized patients, and from patients in whom the diagnosis of recurrent venous thrombosis had been made. The duration of centrifugation used in the preparation of platelet-rich plasma was found to have a profound effect on the measurement of platelet adhesiveness because the figure for platelet adhesiveness measured in platelet-rich plasma obtained by centrifugation was considerably lower than that found in citrated whole blood. This effect was particularly marked when platelet-rich plasma was obtained from subjects in whom platelet adhesiveness measured in whole blood was increased. PMID:5699080

  2. Long-term cytokine and growth factor release from equine platelet-rich fibrin clots obtained with two different centrifugation protocols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez-Aristizabal, Román F; López, Catalina; Álvarez, María E; Giraldo, Carlos; Prades, Marta; Carmona, Jorge U

    2017-09-01

    To compare the temporal release (over three weeks) of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 4 (IL-4), IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), platelet-derived growth factor BB (PDGF-BB) and transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β 1 ) from two platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) preparations from equine blood obtained at either 240g/8min or 416g/10min. Whole blood from 10 horses was used to obtain PRF clots by two different centrifugation protocols. After 1h of rest, PRF clots were deposited in wells with culture medium, which was changed at 6h, 24h and then every 48h to 21days. Cytokines and GFs were measured by ELISA at 1h (serum supernatants from PRF clots) and all time points of culture medium change. A negative control (plasma) and a positive control (blood lysate) were also included. There were no relevant differences between the two protocols for the temporal release of proteins. However, a significant (p=0.01) effect of time was noted. All cytokines were detected after 6h of PRF clot culture until day 21. GF were detected at 1h until day 21. The concentrations for these proteins diminished gradually over time. A highly significant (p=0.01) correlation was noticed between all the proteins evaluated. Leukocytes enmeshed in PRF clots were able to produce cytokines, TGF-β 1 and PDGF-BB. These findings demonstrate a paramount role of leukocytes in wound healing induced or modified by PRF clots in mammals. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Modeling Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Richness Using Landscape Attributes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcia S. Meixler

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We used a rapid, repeatable, and inexpensive geographic information system (GIS approach to predict aquatic macroinvertebrate family richness using the landscape attributes stream gradient, riparian forest cover, and water quality. Stream segments in the Allegheny River basin were classified into eight habitat classes using these three landscape attributes. Biological databases linking macroinvertebrate families with habitat classes were developed using life habits, feeding guilds, and water quality preferences and tolerances for each family. The biological databases provided a link between fauna and habitat enabling estimation of family composition in each habitat class and hence richness predictions for each stream segment. No difference was detected between field collected and modeled predictions of macroinvertebrate families in a paired t-test. Further, predicted stream gradient, riparian forest cover, and total phosphorus, total nitrogen, and suspended sediment classifications matched observed classifications much more often than by chance alone. High gradient streams with forested riparian zones and good water quality were predicted to have the greatest macroinvertebrate family richness and changes in water quality were predicted to have the greatest impact on richness. Our findings indicate that our model can provide meaningful landscape scale macroinvertebrate family richness predictions from widely available data for use in focusing conservation planning efforts.

  4. Ohio USA stoneflies (Insecta, Plecoptera): species richness estimation, distribution of functional niche traits, drainage affiliations, and relationships to other states

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeWalt, R. Edward; Cao, Yong; Tweddale, Tari; Grubbs, Scott A.; Hinz, Leon; Pessino, Massimo; Robinson, Jason L.

    2012-01-01

    Abstract Ohio is an eastern USA state that historically was >70% covered in upland and mixed coniferous forest; about 60% of it glaciated by the Wisconsinan glacial episode. Its stonefly fauna has been studied in piecemeal fashion until now. The assemblage of Ohio stoneflies was assessed from over 4,000 records accumulated from 18 institutions, new collections, and trusted literature sources. Species richness totaled 102 with estimators Chao2 and ICE Mean predicting 105.6 and 106.4, respectively. Singletons and doubletons totaled 18 species. All North American families were represented with Perlidae accounted for the highest number of species at 34. The family Peltoperlidae contributed a single species. Most species had univoltine–fast life cycles with the vast majority emerging in summer, although there was a significant component of winter stoneflies. Nine United States Geological Survey hierarchical drainage units level 6 (HUC6) were used to stratify specimen data. Species richness was significantly related to the number of unique HUC6 locations, but there was no relationship with HUC6 drainage area. A nonparametric multidimensional scaling analysis found that larger HUC6s in the western part of the state had similar assemblages with lower species richness that were found to align with more savanna and wetland habitat. Other drainages having richer assemblages were aligned with upland deciduous and mixed coniferous forests of the east and south where slopes were higher. The Ohio assemblage was most similar to the well–studied fauna of Indiana (88 spp.) and Kentucky (108 spp.), two neighboring states. Many rare species and several high quality stream reaches should be considered for greater protection. PMID:22539876

  5. Ohio USA stoneflies (Insecta, Plecoptera: species richness estimation, distribution of functional niche traits, drainage affiliations, and relationships to other states

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. DeWalt

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Ohio is an eastern USA state that historically was >70% covered in upland and mixed coniferous forest; about 60% of it glaciated by the Wisconsinan glacial episode. Its stonefly fauna has been studied in piecemeal fashion until now. The assemblage of Ohio stoneflies was assessed from over 4,000 records accumulated from 18 institutions, new collections, and trusted literature sources. Species richness totaled 102 with estimators Chao2 and ICE Mean predicting 105.6 and 106.4, respectively. Singletons and doubletons totaled 18 species. All North American families were represented with Perlidae accounted for the highest number of species at 34. The family Peltoperlidae contributed a single species. Most species had univoltine–fast life cycles with the vast majority emerging in summer, although there was a significant component of winter stoneflies. Nine United States Geological Survey hierarchical drainage units level 6 (HUC6 were used to stratify specimen data. Species richness was significantly related to the number of unique HUC6 locations, but there was no relationship with HUC6 drainage area. A nonparametric multidimensional scaling analysis found that larger HUC6s in the western part of the state had similar assemblages with lower species richness that were found to align with more savanna and wetland habitat. Other drainagesricher assemblages were aligned with upland deciduous and mixed coniferous forests of the east and south where slopes were higher. The Ohio assemblage was most similar to the well–studied fauna of Indiana (88 spp. and Kentucky (108 spp., two neighboring states. Many rare species and several high quality stream reaches should be considered for greater protection.

  6. Estimating dust production rate of carbon-rich stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nanni, A.; Marigo, P.; Groenewegen, M. A. T.; Aringer, B.; Pastorelli, G.; Rubele, S.; Girardi, L.; Bressan, A.; Bladh, S.

    We compute a grid of spectra describing dusty Circumstellar Envelopes of Thermally Pulsing Asymptotic Giant Branch carbon-rich stars by employing a physically grounded description for dust growth. The optical constants for carbon dust have been selected in order to reproduce simultaneously the most important color-color diagrams in the Near and Mid Infrared bands. We fit the Spectral Energy Distribution of ≈2000 carbon-rich in the Small Magellanic Cloud and we compute their total dust production rate. We compare our results with the ones in the literature. Different choices of the dust-to-gas ratio and outflow expansion velocity adopted in different works, yield, in some cases, a total dust budget about three times lower than the one derived from our scheme, with the same optical data set for carbon dust.

  7. Obtaining appropriate interval estimates for age when multiple indicators are used

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fieuws, Steffen; Willems, Guy; Larsen, Sara Tangmose

    2016-01-01

    When an estimate of age is needed, typically multiple indicators are present as found in skeletal or dental information. There exists a vast literature on approaches to estimate age from such multivariate data. Application of Bayes' rule has been proposed to overcome drawbacks of classical regres...... the need for interval estimation. To illustrate and evaluate the method, Köhler et al. (1995) third molar scores are used to estimate the age in a dataset of 3200 male subjects in the juvenile age range.......When an estimate of age is needed, typically multiple indicators are present as found in skeletal or dental information. There exists a vast literature on approaches to estimate age from such multivariate data. Application of Bayes' rule has been proposed to overcome drawbacks of classical...... regression models but becomes less trivial as soon as the number of indicators increases. Each of the age indicators can lead to a different point estimate ("the most plausible value for age") and a prediction interval ("the range of possible values"). The major challenge in the combination of multiple...

  8. Experiments with neutron-rich isomeric beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rykaczewski, K.; Lewitowicz, M.; Pfuetzner, M.

    1998-01-01

    A review of experimental results obtained on microsecond-isomeric states in neutron-rich nuclei produced in fragmentation reactions and studied with SISSI-Alpha-LISE3 spectrometer system at GANIL Caen is given. The perspectives of experiments based on secondary reactions with isomeric beams are presented

  9. Statistical Estimation of the Protein-Ligand Binding Free Energy Based On Direct Protein-Ligand Interaction Obtained by Molecular Dynamics Simulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haruki Nakamura

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available We have developed a method for estimating protein-ligand binding free energy (DG based on the direct protein-ligand interaction obtained by a molecular dynamics simulation. Using this method, we estimated the DG value statistically by the average values of the van der Waals and electrostatic interactions between each amino acid of the target protein and the ligand molecule. In addition, we introduced fluctuations in the accessible surface area (ASA and dihedral angles of the protein-ligand complex system as the entropy terms of the DG estimation. The present method included the fluctuation term of structural change of the protein and the effective dielectric constant. We applied this method to 34 protein-ligand complex structures. As a result, the correlation coefficient between the experimental and calculated DG values was 0.81, and the average error of DG was 1.2 kcal/mol with the use of the fixed parameters. These results were obtained from a 2 nsec molecular dynamics simulation.

  10. Global assessment of the effects of terrestrial acidification on plant species richness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azevedo, Ligia B.; Zelm, Rosalie van; Hendriks, A. Jan; Bobbink, Roland; Huijbregts, Mark A.J.

    2013-01-01

    This study estimates the potential losses of vascular plant species richness due to terrestrial acidification for different world's biomes. We used empirical occurrence data of 2409 species from 140 studies and estimated the relative species richness – pH response curves using logistic regressions. The regressions were then used to quantify the fraction of species that are potentially lost due to soil pH changes. Although we found considerable variability within biomes, out results show that the pH at which species richness was maximized was found to be the lowest in (sub)tropical forests (pH = 4.1) and the highest in deserts (pH = 7.4). We also found that (sub)tropical moist forests are highly sensitive to decreases of in soil pH below 4.1. This study can be coupled with existing atmospheric deposition models to quantify the risk of species richness loss following soil acidification. Highlights: ► We compare the sensitivity of four biomes to soil acidification. ► We develop logistic regressions using observational field data. ► Sub(tropical) moist forests are highly affected by pH decreases. ► Logistic regressions can be linked to global scale atmospheric and soil fate models. -- Relationships of potential species richness loss along a soil pH gradient are proposed

  11. Cloud based automated framework for semantic rich ontology construction and similarity computation for E-health applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. MuthamilSelvan

    Full Text Available Ontology structure, a core of semantic web is an excellent tool for knowledge representation and semantic visualization. Moreover, knowledge reuse is made possible through similarity measure estimation between two ontologies, threshold estimation and use of simple if-then rules for checking relevancy and irrelevancy measures. Reduced semantic representations of the ontology provide reduced knowledge visualization which is critical especially for e-health data processing and analysis. This usually occurs due to the presence of implicit knowledge and polymorphic objects and can be made semantically rich through the construction by resolving this implicit knowledge occurring in the form of non-dominant words and conditional dependence actions. This paper presents the working of the automated framework for the construction of semantic rich ontology structures and store in the repository. This construction uses dyadic deontic logic based Graph Derivation Representation in order to construct semantically rich ontologies. Moreover, in order to retrieve a set of relevant documents in response to the cloud user document, the degree of similarity between two ontologies is estimated using the traditional cosine similarity measure and simple if-then rules are used to determine the number of relevant documents and obtain such document's metadata for further processing. These working modules will be extremely beneficial to the authenticated cloud users for document retrieval, information extraction and domain dictionary construction which are especially used for e-health applications. The proposed framework is implemented using diabetes dataset and the effectiveness of the experimental results is high when compared to other Graph Derivation Representation methods. The graphical results shown in the paper is an added visualization for viewing the performance of the proposed framework. Keywords: Ontology, Implicit knowledge, Conditional dependence, Graph

  12. Three-dimensional structure and cytokine distribution of platelet-rich fibrin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bai, Meng-Yi; Wang, Ching-Wei; Wang, Jyun-Yi; Lin, Ming-Fang; Chan, Wing P

    2017-02-01

    Previous reports have revealed that several cytokines (including platelet-derived growth factor-BB, transforming growth factors-β1 and insulin-like growth factor-1) can enhance the rate of bone formation and synthesis of extracellular matrix in orthopaedics or periodontology. This study aimed to determine the concentration of cytokines within platelet-rich fibrin microstructures and investigate whether there are differences in the different portions of platelet-rich fibrin, which has implications for proper clinical use of platelet-rich fibrin gel. Whole blood was obtained from six New Zealand rabbits (male, 7 to 39 weeks old, weight 2.7-4 kg); it was then centrifuged for preparation of platelet-rich fibrin gels and harvest of plasma. The resultant platelet-rich fibrin gels were used for cytokine determination, histological analyses and scanning electron microscopy. All plasmas obtained were subject to the same cytokine determination assays for the purpose of comparison. Cytokines platelet-derived growth factor-BB and transforming growth factor-β1 formed concentration gradients from high at the red blood cell end of the platelet-rich fibrin gel (p=1.88×10-5) to low at the plasma end (p=0.19). Insulin-like growth factor-1 concentrations were similar at the red blood cell and plasma ends. The porosities of the platelet-rich fibrin samples taken in sequence from the red blood cell end to the plasma end were 6.5% ± 4.9%, 24.8% ± 7.5%, 30.3% ± 8.5%, 41.4% ± 12.3%, and 40.3% ± 11.7%, respectively, showing a gradual decrease in the compactness of the platelet-rich fibrin network. Cytokine concentrations are positively associated with platelet-rich fibrin microstructure and portion in a rabbit model. As platelet-rich fibrin is the main entity currently used in regenerative medicine, assessing cytokine concentration and the most valuable portion of PRF gels is essential and recommended to all physicians.

  13. Three-dimensional structure and cytokine distribution of platelet-rich fibrin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meng-Yi Bai

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: Previous reports have revealed that several cytokines (including platelet-derived growth factor-BB, transforming growth factors-β1 and insulin-like growth factor-1 can enhance the rate of bone formation and synthesis of extracellular matrix in orthopaedics or periodontology. This study aimed to determine the concentration of cytokines within platelet-rich fibrin microstructures and investigate whether there are differences in the different portions of platelet-rich fibrin, which has implications for proper clinical use of platelet-rich fibrin gel. METHODS: Whole blood was obtained from six New Zealand rabbits (male, 7 to 39 weeks old, weight 2.7-4 kg; it was then centrifuged for preparation of platelet-rich fibrin gels and harvest of plasma. The resultant platelet-rich fibrin gels were used for cytokine determination, histological analyses and scanning electron microscopy. All plasmas obtained were subject to the same cytokine determination assays for the purpose of comparison. RESULTS: Cytokines platelet-derived growth factor-BB and transforming growth factor-β1 formed concentration gradients from high at the red blood cell end of the platelet-rich fibrin gel (p=1.88×10-5 to low at the plasma end (p=0.19. Insulin-like growth factor-1 concentrations were similar at the red blood cell and plasma ends. The porosities of the platelet-rich fibrin samples taken in sequence from the red blood cell end to the plasma end were 6.5% ± 4.9%, 24.8% ± 7.5%, 30.3% ± 8.5%, 41.4% ± 12.3%, and 40.3% ± 11.7%, respectively, showing a gradual decrease in the compactness of the platelet-rich fibrin network. CONCLUSION: Cytokine concentrations are positively associated with platelet-rich fibrin microstructure and portion in a rabbit model. As platelet-rich fibrin is the main entity currently used in regenerative medicine, assessing cytokine concentration and the most valuable portion of PRF gels is essential and recommended to all physicians.

  14. Comparison of internal dose estimates obtained using organ-level, voxel S value, and Monte Carlo techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grimes, Joshua, E-mail: grimes.joshua@mayo.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V5Z 1L8 (Canada); Celler, Anna [Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V5Z 1L8 (Canada)

    2014-09-15

    Purpose: The authors’ objective was to compare internal dose estimates obtained using the Organ Level Dose Assessment with Exponential Modeling (OLINDA/EXM) software, the voxel S value technique, and Monte Carlo simulation. Monte Carlo dose estimates were used as the reference standard to assess the impact of patient-specific anatomy on the final dose estimate. Methods: Six patients injected with{sup 99m}Tc-hydrazinonicotinamide-Tyr{sup 3}-octreotide were included in this study. A hybrid planar/SPECT imaging protocol was used to estimate {sup 99m}Tc time-integrated activity coefficients (TIACs) for kidneys, liver, spleen, and tumors. Additionally, TIACs were predicted for {sup 131}I, {sup 177}Lu, and {sup 90}Y assuming the same biological half-lives as the {sup 99m}Tc labeled tracer. The TIACs were used as input for OLINDA/EXM for organ-level dose calculation and voxel level dosimetry was performed using the voxel S value method and Monte Carlo simulation. Dose estimates for {sup 99m}Tc, {sup 131}I, {sup 177}Lu, and {sup 90}Y distributions were evaluated by comparing (i) organ-level S values corresponding to each method, (ii) total tumor and organ doses, (iii) differences in right and left kidney doses, and (iv) voxelized dose distributions calculated by Monte Carlo and the voxel S value technique. Results: The S values for all investigated radionuclides used by OLINDA/EXM and the corresponding patient-specific S values calculated by Monte Carlo agreed within 2.3% on average for self-irradiation, and differed by as much as 105% for cross-organ irradiation. Total organ doses calculated by OLINDA/EXM and the voxel S value technique agreed with Monte Carlo results within approximately ±7%. Differences between right and left kidney doses determined by Monte Carlo were as high as 73%. Comparison of the Monte Carlo and voxel S value dose distributions showed that each method produced similar dose volume histograms with a minimum dose covering 90% of the volume (D90

  15. Variation in the diversity and richness of parasitoid wasps based on sampling effort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saunders, Thomas E; Ward, Darren F

    2018-01-01

    Parasitoid wasps are a mega-diverse, ecologically dominant, but poorly studied component of global biodiversity. In order to maximise the efficiency and reduce the cost of their collection, the application of optimal sampling techniques is necessary. Two sites in Auckland, New Zealand were sampled intensively to determine the relationship between sampling effort and observed species richness of parasitoid wasps from the family Ichneumonidae. Twenty traps were deployed at each site at three different times over the austral summer period, resulting in a total sampling effort of 840 Malaise-trap-days. Rarefaction techniques and non-parametric estimators were used to predict species richness and to evaluate the variation and completeness of sampling. Despite an intensive Malaise-trapping regime over the summer period, no asymptote of species richness was reached. At best, sampling captured two-thirds of parasitoid wasp species present. The estimated total number of species present depended on the month of sampling and the statistical estimator used. Consequently, the use of fewer traps would have caught only a small proportion of all species (one trap 7-21%; two traps 13-32%), and many traps contributed little to the overall number of individuals caught. However, variation in the catch of individual Malaise traps was not explained by seasonal turnover of species, vegetation or environmental conditions surrounding the trap, or distance of traps to one another. Overall the results demonstrate that even with an intense sampling effort the community is incompletely sampled. The use of only a few traps and/or for very short periods severely limits the estimates of richness because (i) fewer individuals are caught leading to a greater number of singletons; and (ii) the considerable variation of individual traps means some traps will contribute few or no individuals. Understanding how sampling effort affects the richness and diversity of parasitoid wasps is a useful

  16. An iterative procedure for obtaining maximum-likelihood estimates of the parameters for a mixture of normal distributions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, B. C., Jr.; Walker, H. F.

    1978-01-01

    This paper addresses the problem of obtaining numerically maximum-likelihood estimates of the parameters for a mixture of normal distributions. In recent literature, a certain successive-approximations procedure, based on the likelihood equations, was shown empirically to be effective in numerically approximating such maximum-likelihood estimates; however, the reliability of this procedure was not established theoretically. Here, we introduce a general iterative procedure, of the generalized steepest-ascent (deflected-gradient) type, which is just the procedure known in the literature when the step-size is taken to be 1. We show that, with probability 1 as the sample size grows large, this procedure converges locally to the strongly consistent maximum-likelihood estimate whenever the step-size lies between 0 and 2. We also show that the step-size which yields optimal local convergence rates for large samples is determined in a sense by the 'separation' of the component normal densities and is bounded below by a number between 1 and 2.

  17. Color-magnitude diagrams for six metal-rich, low-latitude globular clusters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Armandroff, Taft E.

    1988-01-01

    Colors and magnitudes for stars on CCD frames for six metal-rich, low-latitude, previously unstudied globular clusters and one well-studied, metal-rich cluster (47 Tuc) have been derived and color-magnitude diagrams have been constructed. The photometry for stars in 47 Tuc are in good agreement with previous studies, while the V magnitudes of the horizontal-branch stars in the six program clusters do not agree with estimates based on secondary methods. The distances to these clusters are different from prior estimates. Redding values are derived for each program cluster. The horizontal branches of the program clusters all appear to lie entirely redwards of the red edge of the instability strip, as is normal for their metallicities.

  18. Design and R&D of RICH detectors for EIC experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Dotto, A.; Wong, C.-P.; Allison, L.; Awadi, M.; Azmoun, B.; Barbosa, F.; Brooks, W.; Cao, T.; Chiu, M.; Cisbani, E.; Contalbrigo, M.; Datta, A.; Demarteau, M.; Durham, J. M.; Dzhygadlo, R.; Fields, D.; Furletova, Y.; Gleason, C.; Grosse-Perdekamp, M.; Harris, J.; He, X.; van Hecke, H.; Horn, T.; Huang, J.; Hyde, C.; Ilieva, Y.; Kalicy, G.; Kimball, M.; Kistenev, E.; Kulinich, Y.; Liu, M.; Majka, R.; McKisson, J.; Mendez, R.; Nadel-Turonski, P.; Park, K.; Peters, K.; Rao, T.; Pisani, R.; Qiang, Y.; Rescia, S.; Rossi, P.; Sarsour, M.; Schwarz, C.; Schwiening, J.; da Silva, C. L.; Smirnov, N.; Stein, H.; Stevens, J.; Sukhanov, A.; Syed, S.; Tate, A.; Toh, J.; Towell, C.; Towell, R.; Tsang, T.; Wagner, R.; Wang, J.; Woody, C.; Xi, W.; Xie, J.; Zhao, Z. W.; Zihlmann, B.; Zorn, C.

    2017-12-01

    An Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) has been proposed to further explore the strong force and QCD, focusing on the structure and the interaction of gluon-dominated matter. A generic detector R&D program (EIC PID consortium) for the particle identification in EIC experiments was formed to explore technologically advanced solutions in this scope. In this context two Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) counters have been proposed: a modular RICH detector which consists of an aerogel radiator, a Fresnel lens, a mirrored box, and pixelated photon sensor; a dual-radiator RICH, consisting of an aerogel radiator and C2F6 gas in a mirror-focused configuration. We present the simulations of the two detectors and their estimated performance.

  19. An estimate of the number of tropical tree species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slik, J. W. Ferry; Arroyo-Rodríguez, Víctor; Aiba, Shin-Ichiro; Alvarez-Loayza, Patricia; Alves, Luciana F.; Ashton, Peter; Balvanera, Patricia; Bastian, Meredith L.; Bellingham, Peter J.; van den Berg, Eduardo; Bernacci, Luis; da Conceição Bispo, Polyanna; Blanc, Lilian; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin; Boeckx, Pascal; Bongers, Frans; Boyle, Brad; Bradford, Matt; Brearley, Francis Q.; Breuer-Ndoundou Hockemba, Mireille; Bunyavejchewin, Sarayudh; Calderado Leal Matos, Darley; Castillo-Santiago, Miguel; Catharino, Eduardo L. M.; Chai, Shauna-Lee; Chen, Yukai; Colwell, Robert K.; Chazdon, Robin L.; Clark, Connie; Clark, David B.; Clark, Deborah A.; Culmsee, Heike; Damas, Kipiro; Dattaraja, Handanakere S.; Dauby, Gilles; Davidar, Priya; DeWalt, Saara J.; Doucet, Jean-Louis; Duque, Alvaro; Durigan, Giselda; Eichhorn, Karl A. O.; Eisenlohr, Pedro V.; Eler, Eduardo; Ewango, Corneille; Farwig, Nina; Feeley, Kenneth J.; Ferreira, Leandro; Field, Richard; de Oliveira Filho, Ary T.; Fletcher, Christine; Forshed, Olle; Franco, Geraldo; Fredriksson, Gabriella; Gillespie, Thomas; Gillet, Jean-François; Amarnath, Giriraj; Griffith, Daniel M.; Grogan, James; Gunatilleke, Nimal; Harris, David; Harrison, Rhett; Hector, Andy; Homeier, Jürgen; Imai, Nobuo; Itoh, Akira; Jansen, Patrick A.; Joly, Carlos A.; de Jong, Bernardus H. J.; Kartawinata, Kuswata; Kearsley, Elizabeth; Kelly, Daniel L.; Kenfack, David; Kessler, Michael; Kitayama, Kanehiro; Kooyman, Robert; Larney, Eileen; Laumonier, Yves; Laurance, Susan; Laurance, William F.; Lawes, Michael J.; do Amaral, Ieda Leao; Letcher, Susan G.; Lindsell, Jeremy; Lu, Xinghui; Mansor, Asyraf; Marjokorpi, Antti; Martin, Emanuel H.; Meilby, Henrik; Melo, Felipe P. L.; Metcalfe, Daniel J.; Medjibe, Vincent P.; Metzger, Jean Paul; Millet, Jerome; Mohandass, D.; Montero, Juan C.; de Morisson Valeriano, Márcio; Mugerwa, Badru; Nagamasu, Hidetoshi; Nilus, Reuben; Ochoa-Gaona, Susana; Onrizal; Page, Navendu; Parolin, Pia; Parren, Marc; Parthasarathy, Narayanaswamy; Paudel, Ekananda; Permana, Andrea; Piedade, Maria T. F.; Pitman, Nigel C. A.; Poorter, Lourens; Poulsen, Axel D.; Poulsen, John; Powers, Jennifer; Prasad, Rama C.; Puyravaud, Jean-Philippe; Razafimahaimodison, Jean-Claude; Reitsma, Jan; dos Santos, João Roberto; Roberto Spironello, Wilson; Romero-Saltos, Hugo; Rovero, Francesco; Rozak, Andes Hamuraby; Ruokolainen, Kalle; Rutishauser, Ervan; Saiter, Felipe; Saner, Philippe; Santos, Braulio A.; Santos, Fernanda; Sarker, Swapan K.; Satdichanh, Manichanh; Schmitt, Christine B.; Schöngart, Jochen; Schulze, Mark; Suganuma, Marcio S.; Sheil, Douglas; da Silva Pinheiro, Eduardo; Sist, Plinio; Stevart, Tariq; Sukumar, Raman; Sun, I.-Fang; Sunderland, Terry; Suresh, H. S.; Suzuki, Eizi; Tabarelli, Marcelo; Tang, Jangwei; Targhetta, Natália; Theilade, Ida; Thomas, Duncan W.; Tchouto, Peguy; Hurtado, Johanna; Valencia, Renato; van Valkenburg, Johan L. C. H.; Van Do, Tran; Vasquez, Rodolfo; Verbeeck, Hans; Adekunle, Victor; Vieira, Simone A.; Webb, Campbell O.; Whitfeld, Timothy; Wich, Serge A.; Williams, John; Wittmann, Florian; Wöll, Hannsjoerg; Yang, Xiaobo; Adou Yao, C. Yves; Yap, Sandra L.; Yoneda, Tsuyoshi; Zahawi, Rakan A.; Zakaria, Rahmad; Zang, Runguo; de Assis, Rafael L.; Garcia Luize, Bruno; Venticinque, Eduardo M.

    2015-01-01

    The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher’s alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between ∼40,000 and ∼53,000, i.e., at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of ∼19,000–25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of ∼4,500–6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa. PMID:26034279

  20. Butterfly Species Richness in Selected West Albertine Rift Forests

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrice Kasangaki

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The butterfly species richness of 17 forests located in the western arm of the Albertine Rift in Uganda was compared using cluster analysis and principal components analysis (PCA to assess similarities among the forests. The objective was to compare the butterfly species richness of the forests. A total of 630 butterfly species were collected in 5 main families. The different species fell into 7 ecological groupings with the closed forest group having the most species and the swamp/wetland group with the fewest number of species. Three clusters were obtained. The first cluster had forests characterized by relatively high altitude and low species richness despite the big area in the case of Rwenzori and being close to the supposed Pleistocene refugium. The second cluster had forests far away from the supposed refugium except Kisangi and moderate species richness with small areas, whereas the third cluster had those forests that were more disturbed, high species richness, and low altitudinal levels with big areas.

  1. New helium spectrum variable and a new helium-rich star

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walborn, N.R.

    1974-01-01

    HD 184927, known previously as a helium-rich star, has been found to have a variable helium spectrum; the equivalent widths of five He I lines are larger by an average of 46 percent on a 1974 spectrogram than on one obtained with the same equipment in 1970. HD 186205 has been found to be a new, pronounced helium-rich star. (auth)

  2. Lithium storage into carbonaceous materials obtained from sugarcane bagasse

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsubara, Elaine Y.; Lala, Stella M.; Rosolen, Jose Mauricio

    2010-01-01

    Carbonaceous materials with different structures are prepared by carbonization of sugarcane bagasse. Depending on carbonization conditions, it is possible to obtain soot rich in flakes or in honeycomb-shaped micrometric particles, whose concentration has large influence on lithium storage into electrodes. The soot rich in honeycomb-shaped particles provides the best electrochemical performance, with a reversible specific capacity of 310 mAh g -1 . The results suggest that the sugarcane bagasse can be potentially used in the design of anodic materials for lithium ion batteries. (author)

  3. Influence of Silane modified nano silica on the corrosion protection of zinc rich coating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nguyen Thuy Duong; To Thi Xuan Hang; Trinh Anh Truc; Pham Gia Vu; Bui Van Truoc; Thai Hoang

    2015-01-01

    Zinc rich coatings are the best effective primers for corrosion protection of carbon steel in aggressive conditions. For traditional zinc rich primer the zinc content is very high, more than 90 wt.%. The coating adhesion is decreased with the increase of zinc content, so that it is necessary to decrease the zinc content by using additives. In this study the nano silica modified by N-(2-Aminoethyl)-3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane was prepared and incorporated in zinc rich epoxy coatings containing 85 wt.% zinc powder. The corrosion protection performance of coatings was evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results obtained show that the presence of nano silica improved corrosion protection of zinc rich epoxy coating and the best protection was obtained with 3 wt.% nano silica. (author)

  4. A time-frequency analysis method to obtain stable estimates of magnetotelluric response function based on Hilbert-Huang transform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Jianhua

    2017-05-01

    The time-frequency analysis method represents signal as a function of time and frequency, and it is considered a powerful tool for handling arbitrary non-stationary time series by using instantaneous frequency and instantaneous amplitude. It also provides a possible alternative to the analysis of the non-stationary magnetotelluric (MT) signal. Based on the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT), a time-frequency analysis method is proposed to obtain stable estimates of the magnetotelluric response function. In contrast to conventional methods, the response function estimation is performed in the time-frequency domain using instantaneous spectra rather than in the frequency domain, which allows for imaging the response parameter content as a function of time and frequency. The theory of the method is presented and the mathematical model and calculation procedure, which are used to estimate response function based on HHT time-frequency spectrum, are discussed. To evaluate the results, response function estimates are compared with estimates from a standard MT data processing method based on the Fourier transform. All results show that apparent resistivities and phases, which are calculated from the HHT time-frequency method, are generally more stable and reliable than those determined from the simple Fourier analysis. The proposed method overcomes the drawbacks of the traditional Fourier methods, and the resulting parameter minimises the estimation bias caused by the non-stationary characteristics of the MT data.

  5. Platelet-rich fibrin or platelet-rich plasma – which one is better? an opinion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shweta Bansal

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The healing of hard and soft tissue in mediated by a wide range of intracellular and extracellular events that are regulated by signaling proteins. Platelets can play a crucial role in periodontal regeneration as they are the reservoirs of growth factors and cytokines which are the key factors for regeneration of bone and maturation of soft tissue. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP is first generation platelet concentrate. However, the short duration of cytokine release and its poor mechanical properties have resulted in search of new material. Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF is a natural fibrin-based biomaterial prepared from an anticoagulant-free blood harvest without any artificial biochemical modification (no bovine thrombin is required that allows obtaining fibrin membranes enriched with platelets and growth factors. The slow polymerization during centrifugation, fibrin-based structure, ease of preparation, minimal expense makes PRF somewhat superior in some aspect to PRP.

  6. Anti-Dermatophyte and Anti-Malassezia Activity of Extracts Rich in Polymeric Flavan-3-ols Obtained from Vitis vinifera Seeds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simonetti, Giovanna; D'Auria, Felicia Diodata; Mulinacci, Nadia; Innocenti, Marzia; Antonacci, Donato; Angiolella, Letizia; Santamaria, Anna Rita; Valletta, Alessio; Donati, Livia; Pasqua, Gabriella

    2017-01-01

    Several human skin diseases are associated with fungi as dermatophytes and Malassezia. Skin mycoses are increasing and new alternatives to conventional treatments with improved efficacy and/or safety profiles are desirable. For the first time, the anti-dermatophytes and the anti-Malassezia activities of Vitis vinifera seed extracts obtained from different table and wine cultivars have been evaluated. Geometric minimal inhibitory concentration ranged from 20 to 97 µg/mL for dermatophytes and from 32 to 161 µg/mL for Malassezia furfur. Dried grape seed extracts analyzed by HPLC/DAD/ESI/MS showed different quali-quantitative compositions in terms of monomeric and polymeric flavan-3-ols. The minimal inhibitory concentrations for Trichophyton mentagrophytes and for M. furfur were inversely correlated with the amount of the polymeric fraction (r = -0.7639 and r = -0.7228, respectively). Differently, the antifungal activity against T. mentagrophytes was not correlated to the content of flavan-3-ol monomers (r = 0.2920) and only weakly correlated for M. furfur (r = -0.53604). These results suggest that extracts rich in polymeric flavan-3-ols, recovered from V.  vinifera seeds, could be used for the treatment of skin fungal infections. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  7. Colour evaluation of a phycobiliprotein-rich extract obtained from Nostoc PCC9205 in acidic solutions and yogurt.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de O Moreira, Isabela; Passos, Thaís S; Chiapinni, Claudete; Silveira, Gabrielle K; Souza, Joana C M; Coca-Vellarde, Luis Guillermo; Deliza, Rosires; de Lima Araújo, Kátia G

    2012-02-01

    Phycobiliproteins are coloured proteins produced by cyanobacteria, which have several applications because of their colour properties. However, there is no available information about the colour stability of phycobiliproteins from Nostoc sp. in food systems. The aim of this work was to study the colour stability of a purple-coloured phycobiliprotein-rich extract from the cyanobacterium Nostoc PCC9205 in acidic solutions and yogurt. Variations of pH for Nostoc PCC9205 extract have shown stability for the L* (lightness) and a* (redness) indexes in the range 1.0-7.0. The b* index (blueness), however, increased at pH values below 4.0, indicating loss of the blue colour. The Nostoc PCC9205 extract was used as colorant in yogurt (pH 4.17) stored for 60 days. Instrumental colour analysis showed no changes for the L* and a* indexes during storage, whereas the b* index changed after 20 days of storage. A multiple comparison test showed colour instability after 20 days of storage. A hedonic scale test performed on the 60th day of storage showed acceptability of the product. The red component of the phycobiliprotein-rich extract from Nostoc PCC9205 presented an improved stability in acidic media and yogurt compared with the blue component of this extract. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

  8. An iterative procedure for obtaining maximum-likelihood estimates of the parameters for a mixture of normal distributions, 2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, B. C., Jr.; Walker, H. F.

    1976-01-01

    The problem of obtaining numerically maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters for a mixture of normal distributions is addressed. In recent literature, a certain successive approximations procedure, based on the likelihood equations, is shown empirically to be effective in numerically approximating such maximum-likelihood estimates; however, the reliability of this procedure was not established theoretically. Here, a general iterative procedure is introduced, of the generalized steepest-ascent (deflected-gradient) type, which is just the procedure known in the literature when the step-size is taken to be 1. With probability 1 as the sample size grows large, it is shown that this procedure converges locally to the strongly consistent maximum-likelihood estimate whenever the step-size lies between 0 and 2. The step-size which yields optimal local convergence rates for large samples is determined in a sense by the separation of the component normal densities and is bounded below by a number between 1 and 2.

  9. Chiral-symmetry restoration in baryon-rich environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kogut, J.; Matsuoka, H.; Stone, M.; Wyld, H.W.; Shenker, S.; Shigemitsu, J.; Sinclair, D.K.

    1983-04-01

    Chiral symmetry restoration in an environment rich in baryons is studied by computer simulation methods in SU(2) and SU(3) gauge theories in the quenched approximation. The basic theory of symmetry restoration as a function of chemical potential is illustrated and the implementation of the ideas on a lattice is made explicit. A simple mean field model is presented to guide one's expectations. The second order conjugate-gradient iterative method and the pseudo-fermion Monte Carlo procedure are convergent methods of calculating the fermion propagator in an environment rich in baryons. Computer simulations of SU(3) gauge theory show an abrupt chiral symmetry restoring transition and the critical chemical potential and induced baryon density are estimated crudely. A smoother transition is observed for the color group SU(2)

  10. Methane Emission and Milk Production of Dairy Cows Grazing Pastures Rich in Legumes or Rich in Grasses in Uruguay.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dini, Yoana; Gere, José; Briano, Carolina; Manetti, Martin; Juliarena, Paula; Picasso, Valentin; Gratton, Roberto; Astigarraga, Laura

    2012-06-08

    Understanding the impact of changing pasture composition on reducing emissions of GHGs in dairy grazing systems is an important issue to mitigate climate change. The aim of this study was to estimate daily CH₄ emissions of dairy cows grazing two mixed pastures with contrasting composition of grasses and legumes: L pasture with 60% legumes on Dry Matter (DM) basis and G pasture with 75% grasses on DM basis. Milk production and CH₄ emissions were compared over two periods of two weeks during spring using eight lactating Holstein cows in a 2 × 2 Latin square design. Herbage organic matter intake (HOMI) was estimated by chromic oxide dilution and herbage organic matter digestibility (OMD) was estimated by faecal index. Methane emission was estimated by using the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer technique adapted to collect breath samples over 5-day periods. OMD (0.71) and HOMI (15.7 kg OM) were not affected by pasture composition. Milk production (20.3 kg/d), milk fat yield (742 g/d) and milk protein yield (667 g/d) were similar for both pastures. This may be explained by the high herbage allowance (30 kg DM above 5 cm/cow) which allowed the cows to graze selectively, in particular in grass sward. Similarly, methane emission expressed as absolute value (368 g/d or 516 L/d) or expressed as methane yield (6.6% of Gross Energy Intake (GEI)) was not affected by treatments. In conclusion, at high herbage allowance, the quality of the diet selected by grazing cows did not differ between pastures rich in legumes or rich in grasses, and therefore there was no effect on milk or methane production.

  11. A convenient method of obtaining percentile norms and accompanying interval estimates for self-report mood scales (DASS, DASS-21, HADS, PANAS, and sAD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crawford, John R; Garthwaite, Paul H; Lawrie, Caroline J; Henry, Julie D; MacDonald, Marie A; Sutherland, Jane; Sinha, Priyanka

    2009-06-01

    A series of recent papers have reported normative data from the general adult population for commonly used self-report mood scales. To bring together and supplement these data in order to provide a convenient means of obtaining percentile norms for the mood scales. A computer program was developed that provides point and interval estimates of the percentile rank corresponding to raw scores on the various self-report scales. The program can be used to obtain point and interval estimates of the percentile rank of an individual's raw scores on the DASS, DASS-21, HADS, PANAS, and sAD mood scales, based on normative sample sizes ranging from 758 to 3822. The interval estimates can be obtained using either classical or Bayesian methods as preferred. The computer program (which can be downloaded at www.abdn.ac.uk/~psy086/dept/MoodScore.htm) provides a convenient and reliable means of supplementing existing cut-off scores for self-report mood scales.

  12. Propargyl Recombination: Estimation of the High Temperature, Low Pressure Rate Constant from Flame Measurements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Christian Lund; Skjøth-Rasmussen, Martin Skov; Jensen, Anker

    2005-01-01

    The most important cyclization reaction in hydrocarbon flames is probably recombination of propargyl radicals. This reaction may, depending on reaction conditions, form benzene, phenyl or fulvene, as well as a range of linear products. A number of rate measurements have been reported for C3H3 + C3H......3 at temperatures below 1000 K, while data at high temperature and low pressure only can be obtained from flames. In the present work, an estimate of the rate constant for the reaction at 1400 +/- 50 K and 20 Torr is obtained from analysis of the fuel-rich acetylene flame of Westmoreland, Howard...

  13. Isospin Conservation in Neutron Rich Systems of Heavy Nuclei

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Ashok Kumar; Garg, Swati

    2018-05-01

    It is generally believed that isospin would diminish in its importance as we go towards heavy mass region due to isospin mixing caused by the growing Coulomb forces. However, it was realized quite early that isospin could become an important and useful quantum number for all nuclei including heavy nuclei due to neutron richness of the systems [1]. Lane and Soper [2] also showed in a theoretical calculation that isospin indeed remains quite good in heavy mass neutron rich systems. In this paper, we present isospin based calculations [3, 4] for the fission fragment distributions obtained from heavy-ion fusion fission reactions. We discuss in detail the procedure adopted to assign the isospin values and the role of neutron multiplicity data in obtaining the total fission fragment distributions. We show that the observed fragment distributions can be reproduced rather reasonably well by the calculations based on the idea of conservation of isospin. This is a direct experimental evidence of the validity of isospin in heavy nuclei, which arises largely due to the neutron-rich nature of heavy nuclei and their fragments. This result may eventually become useful for the theories of nuclear fission and also in other practical applications.

  14. Antiproliferative and Antioxidant Properties of Anthocyanin Rich Extracts from Blueberry and Blackcurrant Juice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zoriţa Diaconeasa

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The present study was aimed at evaluating the antiproliferative potential of anthocyanin-rich fractions (ARFs obtained from two commercially available juices (blueberry and blackcurrant juices on three tumor cell lines; B16F10 (murine melanoma, A2780 (ovarian cancer and HeLa (cervical cancer. Individual anthocyanin determination, identification and quantification were done using HPLC-MS. Antioxidant activity of the juices was determined through different mechanism methods such as DPPH and ORAC. For biological testing, the juices were purified through C18 cartridges in order to obtain fractions rich in anthocyanins. The major anthocyanins identified were glycosylated cyanidin derivatives. The antiproliferative activity of the fractions was tested using the MTT assay. The antiproliferative potential of ARF was found to be associated with those bioactive molecules, anthocyanins due to their antioxidant potential. The results obtained indicated that both blueberry and blackcurrants are rich sources of antioxidants including anthocyanins and therefore these fruits are highly recommended for daily consumption to prevent numerous degenerative diseases.

  15. Evidence of a metal-rich surface for the Asteroid (16) Psyche from interferometric observations in the thermal infrared

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matter, Alexis; Delbo, Marco; Carry, Benoit; Ligori, Sebastiano

    2013-09-01

    We describe the first determination of thermal properties and size of the M-type Asteroid (16) Psyche from interferometric observations obtained with the Mid-Infrared Interferometric Instrument (MIDI) of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer. We used a thermophysical model to interpret our interferometric data. Our analysis shows that Psyche has a low macroscopic surface roughness. Using a convex 3-D shape model obtained by Kaasalainen et al. (Kaasalainen, M., Torppa, J., Piironen, J. [2002]. Icarus 159, 369-395), we derived a volume-equivalent diameter for (16) Psyche of 247 ± 25 km or 238 ± 24 km, depending on the possible values of surface roughness. Our corresponding thermal inertia estimates are 133 or 114 J m-2 s-0.5 K-1, with a total uncertainty estimated at 40 J m-2 s-0.5 K-1. They are among the highest thermal inertia values ever measured for an asteroid of this size. We consider this as a new evidence of a metal-rich surface for the Asteroid (16) Psyche.

  16. A level playing field: Obtaining consistent cost estimates for advanced reactor designs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudson, C.R. II; Rohm, H.H.; Humphreys, J.R. Jr.

    1987-01-01

    Rules and guidelines for developing cost estimates are given which provide a means for presenting cost estimates for advanced concepts on a consistent and equitable basis. For advanced reactor designs, the scope of a cost estimate includes the plant capital cost, the operating and maintenance cost, the fuel cycle cost, and the cost of decommissioning. Each element is subdivided as is necessary to provide a common reporting format for all power plant concepts. The total generation cost is taken to be a suitable choice for a summary figure of merit. To test the application of the rules and guidelines as well as developing reference costs for current technologies, several different sized coal and pressurized water reactor plant cost estimates have been prepared

  17. Haemolytic and Antimicrobial Activites of Saponin-Rich Extracts from Guar Meal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saponin-rich GM extract was prepared by refluxing 25 g of GM with 250 ml of EtOH/H2O (1:1, v/v) for 3 h then filtering and distilling EtOH at 50oC. The refluxed extract was partitioned with equal volume of BuOH obtaining crude saponin-rich GM extract with 4.8 ± 0.6% DM of GM that was purified by RP...

  18. Methane Emission and Milk Production of Dairy Cows Grazing Pastures Rich in Legumes or Rich in Grasses in Uruguay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Gratton

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the impact of changing pasture composition on reducing emissions of GHGs in dairy grazing systems is an important issue to mitigate climate change. The aim of this study was to estimate daily CH4 emissions of dairy cows grazing two mixed pastures with contrasting composition of grasses and legumes: L pasture with 60% legumes on Dry Matter (DM basis and G pasture with 75% grasses on DM basis. Milk production and CH4 emissions were compared over two periods of two weeks during spring using eight lactating Holstein cows in a 2 × 2 Latin square design. Herbage organic matter intake (HOMI was estimated by chromic oxide dilution and herbage organic matter digestibility (OMD was estimated by faecal index. Methane emission was estimated by using the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6 tracer technique adapted to collect breath samples over 5-day periods. OMD (0.71 and HOMI (15.7 kg OM were not affected by pasture composition. Milk production (20.3 kg/d, milk fat yield (742 g/d and milk protein yield (667 g/d were similar for both pastures. This may be explained by the high herbage allowance (30 kg DM above 5 cm/cow which allowed the cows to graze selectively, in particular in grass sward. Similarly, methane emission expressed as absolute value (368 g/d or 516 L/d or expressed as methane yield (6.6% of Gross Energy Intake (GEI was not affected by treatments. In conclusion, at high herbage allowance, the quality of the diet selected by grazing cows did not differ between pastures rich in legumes or rich in grasses, and therefore there was no effect on milk or methane production.

  19. NSCC-A NEW SCHEME OF CLASSIFICATION OF C-RICH STARS DEVISED FROM OPTICAL AND INFRARED OBSERVATIONS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Mello, A. B.; De Araujo, F. X.; Pereira, C. Bastos; Landaberry, S. J. Codina; Lorenz-Martins, S.

    2009-01-01

    A new classification system for carbon-rich stars is presented based on an analysis of 51 asymptotic giant branch carbon stars through the most relevant classifying indices available. The extension incorporated, which also represents the major advantage of this new system, is the combination of the usual optical indices that describe the photospheres of the objects, with new infrared ones, which allow an interpretation of the circumstellar environment of the carbon-rich stars. This new system is presented with the usual spectral subclasses and C 2 -, j-, MS-, and temperature indices, and also with the new SiC- (SiC/C.A. abundance estimation) and τ- (opacity) indices. The values for the infrared indices were carried out through a Monte Carlo simulation of the radiative transfer in the circumstellar envelopes of the stars. The full set of indices, when applied to our sample, resulted in a more efficient system of classification, since an examination in a wide spectral range allows us to obtain a complete scenario for carbon stars.

  20. A level playing field-obtaining consistent cost estimates for advanced reactor designs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hudson, C.R.; Rohm, H.H.; Humphreys, J.R.

    1987-01-01

    A level playing field in sports is necessary to avoid a situation in which a team has an unfair advantage over its competition. Similarly, rules and guidelines for developing cost estimates can be established which, in effect, provide a level playing field whereby cost estimates for advanced power plant concepts can be presented on a consistent and equitable basis. As an example, consider the capital costs shown in Table 1. Both sets of cost are for the exact same power plant; Estimate 1 is expressed in constant dollars while Estimate 2 is presented in nominal or as-spent dollars. As shown, the costs in Table 1 are not directly comparable. Similar problems can be introduced as a result of differing assumptions in any number of parameters including the scope of the cost estimate, inflation/escalation and interest rates, contingency costs, and site location. Of course, the motivation for having consistent cost estimates is to permit comparison among various concepts. As the U.S. Department of Energy sponsors research and development work on several advanced reactor concepts in which expected cost is a key evaluation parameter, the emphasis in this particular endeavor has been in promoting the comparability of advanced reactor cost estimates among themselves and to existing power plant types. To continue with the analogy, the idea is to lay out the playing field and the rules of the contest such that each team participates in the match on an equal basis with the final score being solely determined by the inherent strengths and abilities of the teams. A description of the playing field and some of the more important rules will now be provided

  1. Anti-Atherogenic Activity of Polyphenol-Rich Extract from Bee Pollen

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Rzepecka-Stojko

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the effect of polyphenol-rich ethanol extract of bee pollen (EEP on atherosclerosis induced by a high-fat diet in ApoE-knockout mice. EEP was given with feed in two doses of 0.1 and 1 g/kg body mass (BM. The studies have been conducted in a period of 16 weeks. The following factors were estimated: total cholesterol (TC, oxidized low density lipoproteins (ox-LDL, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE and angiotensin II (ANG II in the 5th, 10th, 12th, 14th, and 16th week of the experiment. In the last, i.e., 16th week of the studies the development of coronary artery disease (CAD was also estimated histopathologically. Supplementing diet with EEP resulted in decreasing TC level. EEP reduced oxidative stress by lowering the levels of ox-LDL, ADMA, ANG II and ACE. EEP protected coronary arteries by significantly limiting the development of atherosclerosis (the dose of 0.1 g/kg BM or completely preventing its occurrence (the dose of 1 g/kg BM. The obtained results demonstrate that EEP may be useful as a potential anti-atherogenic agent.

  2. Collective animal behavior from Bayesian estimation and probability matching.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alfonso Pérez-Escudero

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Animals living in groups make movement decisions that depend, among other factors, on social interactions with other group members. Our present understanding of social rules in animal collectives is mainly based on empirical fits to observations, with less emphasis in obtaining first-principles approaches that allow their derivation. Here we show that patterns of collective decisions can be derived from the basic ability of animals to make probabilistic estimations in the presence of uncertainty. We build a decision-making model with two stages: Bayesian estimation and probabilistic matching. In the first stage, each animal makes a Bayesian estimation of which behavior is best to perform taking into account personal information about the environment and social information collected by observing the behaviors of other animals. In the probability matching stage, each animal chooses a behavior with a probability equal to the Bayesian-estimated probability that this behavior is the most appropriate one. This model derives very simple rules of interaction in animal collectives that depend only on two types of reliability parameters, one that each animal assigns to the other animals and another given by the quality of the non-social information. We test our model by obtaining theoretically a rich set of observed collective patterns of decisions in three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, a shoaling fish species. The quantitative link shown between probabilistic estimation and collective rules of behavior allows a better contact with other fields such as foraging, mate selection, neurobiology and psychology, and gives predictions for experiments directly testing the relationship between estimation and collective behavior.

  3. Vascular plant and vertebrate species richness in national parks of the eastern United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatfield, Jeffrey S.; Myrick, Kaci E.; Huston, Michael A.; Weckerly, Floyd W.; Green, M. Clay

    2013-01-01

    Given the estimates that species diversity is diminishing at 50-100 times the normal rate, it is critical that we be able to evaluate changes in species richness in order to make informed decisions for conserving species diversity. In this study, we examined the potential of vascular plant species richness to be used as a surrogate for vertebrate species richness in the classes of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Vascular plants, as primary producers, represent the biotic starting point for ecological community structure and are the logical place to start for understanding vertebrate species associations. We used data collected by the United States (US) National Park Service (NPS) on species presence within parks in the eastern US to estimate simple linear regressions between plant species richness and vertebrate richness. Because environmental factors may also influence species diversity, we performed simple linear regressions of species richness versus natural logarithm of park area, park latitude, mean annual precipitation, mean annual temperature, and human population density surrounding the parks. We then combined plant species richness and environmental variables in multiple regressions to determine the variables that remained as significant predictors of vertebrate species richness. As expected, we detected significant relationships between plant species richness and amphibian, bird, and mammal species richness. In some cases, plant species richness was predicted by park area alone. Species richness of mammals was only related to plant species richness. Reptile species richness, on the other hand, was related to plant species richness, park latitude and annual precipitation, while amphibian species richness was related to park latitude, park area, and plant species richness. Thus, plant species richness predicted species richness of different vertebrate groups to varying degrees and should not be used exclusively as a surrogate for vertebrate

  4. Methane Emission Estimates from Landfills Obtained with Dynamic Plume Measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hensen, A.; Scharff, H.

    2001-01-01

    Methane emissions from 3 different landfills in the Netherlands were estimated using a mobile Tuneable Diode Laser system (TDL). The methane concentration in the cross section of the plume is measured downwind of the source on a transect perpendicular to the wind direction. A gaussian plume model was used to simulate the concentration levels at the transect. The emission from the source is calculated from the measured and modelled concentration levels.Calibration of the plume dispersion model is done using a tracer (N 2 O) that is released from the landfill and measured simultaneously with the TDL system. The emission estimates for the different locations ranged from 3.6 to 16 m 3 ha -1 hr -1 for the different sites. The emission levels were compared to emission estimates based on the landfill gas production models. This comparison suggests oxidation rates that are up to 50% in spring and negligible in November. At one of the three sites measurements were performed in campaigns in 3 consecutive years. Comparison of the emission levels in the first and second year showed a reduction of the methane emission of about 50% due to implementation of a gas extraction system. From the second to the third year emissions increased by a factor of 4 due to new land filling. Furthermore measurements were performed in winter when oxidation efficiency was reduced. This paper describes the measurement technique used, and discusses the results of the experimental sessions that were performed

  5. Evaluation of Co-rich manganese deposits by image analysis and photogrammetric techniques

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Yamazaki, T.; Sharma, R.; Tsurusaki, K.

    Stereo-seabed photographs of Co-rich manganese deposits on a mid-Pacific seamount, were analysed using an image analysis software for coverage estimation and size classification of nodules, and a photogrammetric software for calculation of height...

  6. Characterization of sunflower oils obtained separately by pressing and subsequent solvent extraction from a new line of seeds rich in phytosterols and conventional seeds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aguirre Marta R.

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available In this study we evaluate the chemical composition of sunflower oils obtained separately by pressing and subsequent solvent extraction from a new seeds rich in phytosterols (IASP-18 and conventional seeds (HA-89. Results have shown that the total content of oil was much lower in the IASP-18 (18.1% than in the conventional (37.5% seeds. The extraction yield obtained by pressing was as low as 3% in the IASP-18 seeds and 37.5% in HA-89, while in the solvent extraction it was of the same order (~18 wt% on seeds extracted by pressing for the two types of seeds. No significant changes in the fatty acid composition were found between the oils extracted by the two procedures, but the pressed oils presented significantly lower acidity and larger content of the unsaponifiable fraction. Expressed as free sterols, the total sterols were 37–38% more concentrated in the oils extracted with solvent, reaching amounts of 13 700 and 6500 mg/kg in the IASP-18 and HA-89 oils, respectively. No substantial differences were found in the composition of total sterols analysed as free sterols between the oils extracted with the two procedures, but the contents of free sterols and sterol glycosides were much higher in the oils extracted with solvent.

  7. A comparison of morphological and molecular-based surveys to estimate the species richness of Chaetoceros and Thalassiosira (bacillariophyta, in the Bay of Fundy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah E Hamsher

    Full Text Available The goal of this study was to compare the ability of morphology and molecular-based surveys to estimate species richness for two species-rich diatom genera, Chaetoceros Ehrenb. and Thalassiosira Cleve, in the Bay of Fundy. Phytoplankton tows were collected from two sites at intervals over two years and subsampled for morphology-based surveys (2010, 2011, a culture-based DNA reference library (DRL; 2010, and a molecular-based survey (2011. The DRL and molecular-based survey utilized the 3' end of the RUBISCO large subunit (rbcL-3P to identify genetic species groups (based on 0.1% divergence in rbcL-3P, which were subsequently identified morphologically to allow comparisons to the morphology-based survey. Comparisons were compiled for the year (2011 by site (n = 2 and by season (n = 3. Of the 34 taxa included in the comparisons, 50% of taxa were common to both methods, 35% were unique to the molecular-based survey, and 12% were unique to the morphology-based survey, while the remaining 3% of taxa were unidentified genetic species groups. The morphology-based survey excelled at identifying rare taxa in individual tow subsamples, which were occasionally missed with the molecular approach used here, while the molecular methods (the DRL and molecular-based survey, uncovered nine cryptic species pairs and four previously overlooked species. The last mentioned were typically difficult to identify and were generically assigned to Thalassiosira spp. during the morphology-based survey. Therefore, for now we suggest a combined approach encompassing routine morphology-based surveys accompanied by periodic molecular-based surveys to monitor for cryptic and difficult to identify taxa. As sequencing technologies improve, molecular-based surveys should become routine, leading to a more accurate representation of species composition and richness in monitoring programs.

  8. Optical High-resolution Spectroscopy of 14 Young α-rich Stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuno, Tadafumi; Yong, David; Aoki, Wako; Ishigaki, Miho N.

    2018-06-01

    We report chemical abundances of 14 young α-rich stars including neutron-capture elements based on high-quality optical spectra from HIRES/Keck I and differential line-by-line analysis. From a comparison of the abundance patterns of young α-rich stars to those of nearby bright red giants with a similar metallicity range (‑0.7 branch stars plays an important role in the formation of young α-rich stars. The high frequency of radial velocity variation (more than 50%) is also confirmed. We argue that mass transfer from low-mass red giants is the likely dominant formation mechanism for young α-rich stars. The data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.

  9. System tests of the LHCb RICH detectors in a charged particle beam

    CERN Document Server

    Skottowe, Hugh

    2009-01-01

    The RICH detectors of the LHCb experiment will provide efficient particle identification over the momentum range 1-100 GeV=c. Results are presented from a beam test of the LHCb RICH system using final production pixel Hybrid Photon Detectors, the final readout electronics and an adapted version of LHCb RICH reconstruction software. Measurements of the photon yields and Cherenkov angle resolutions for both nitrogen and C4F10 radiators agree well with full simulations. The quality of the data and the results obtained demonstrate that all aspects meet the stringent physics requirements of the experiment are now ready for first data.

  10. An appraisal of the properties of bottom waste obtained from bio-mass congestion to estimate the ways of its environmental use

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Śliwka Małgorzata

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The bottom waste obtained from bio-mass burning shows a huge variability of chemical and physical properties, depending on the kind of bio-mass, the type of a cauldron and burning parameters. The huge variability of the bottom ashes from the incineration plant and co-combustion of bio-mass makes it difficult to find any way to its management. In reality, only the bottom ashes from coal combustion and the small amount from lignite combustion are used, mainly in the building industry and in mining industry. The article presents the initial research, concerning the estimation of the properties of the bottom ashes obtained from bio-mass congestion in the fluidized-bed boiler to use them safely for the environment. To determine the influence of the tested waste on plants, a number of pot experiments have been conducted. The plants which have been used are recommended for phytotoxicity estimation, and are also used for biological reclamation.

  11. Species richness in natural and disturbed habitats: Asteraceae and Flower-head insects (Tephritidae: Diptera).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diniz, Soraia; Prado, Paulo I; Lewinsohn, Thomas M

    2010-01-01

    Anthropogenic changes in the landscape result in an environmental mosaic with serious consequences for biodiversity. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of the anthropogenic changes on Asteraceae richness and abundance, and to evaluate the consequences for the richness of Tephritidae assemblages in five sampling sites, with three sampled habitats in each: cerrado (Brazilian savanna), eucalyptus stands and pasture. Sampling was carried out in 15 random transects (cerrados and one pasture) and in 30 transects (eucalyptus stands and the remaining pastures). Composition, species richness and insect abundance in each habitat type was estimated by sampling the flower heads for each species of host plant, collected by four people for 1h. Differences in mean abundance of plant population between habitats and sites were tested by two-way ANOVA. Differences in plant species richness between habitats and sites and effects of habitat, site and host plant richness on insect richness were tested using a generalized linear model with Poisson errors. Within each sampling site, cerrados showed higher species richness of Asteraceae than pastures and eucalyptus stands. There were also significant differences in plant richness among sites. Mean population abundance values were significantly different among habitats, but not among sites. Increased host plant richness led to significant insect species richness. There were no additional significant effects of habitat on insect richness. Therefore, anthropogenic alterations in landscape determined the impoverishment of plant assemblages and therefore of insect assemblages, because of the positive relationship between host plant richness and insect richness.

  12. Can temporal and spatial NDVI predict regional bird-species richness?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastián Nieto

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the distribution of the species and its controls over biogeographic scales is still a major challenge in ecology. National Park Networks provide an opportunity to assess the relationship between ecosystem functioning and biodiversity in areas with low human impacts. We tested the productivity–biodiversity hypothesis which states that the number of species increases with the available energy, and the ​variability–biodiversity hypothesis which states that the number of species increases with the diversity of habitats. The available energy and habitat heterogeneity estimated by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI was shown as a good predictor of bird-species richness for a diverse set of biomes in previously published studies. However, there is not a universal relationship between NDVI and bird-species richness. Here we tested if the NDVI can predict bird species richness in areas with low human impact in Argentina. Using a dataset from the National Park Network of Argentina we found that the best predictor of bird species richness was the minimum value of NDVI per year which explained 75% of total variability. The inclusion of the spatial heterogeneity of NDVI improved the explanation power to 80%. Minimum NDVI was highly correlated with precipitation and winter temperature. Our analysis provides a tool for assessing bird-species richness at scales on which land-use planning practitioners make their decisions for Southern South America.

  13. Operation of the Electronics for the AMS-02RICH Detector Prototype

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aguayo, P.; Aguilar, M.; Berdugo, J.; Casaus, J.; Delgado, C.; Diaz, C.; Fernandez, C.; Garcia-Tabares, L.; Lanciotti, E.; Mana, C.; Marin, J.; Martinez, G.; Palomares, C.; Sanchez, E.; Sevilla, I.; Torrento, A.; Wilmott, C.; Yanez, J.

    2002-07-01

    The operation and behaviour of the RICH prototype electronics developed for the AMS-02 experiment is presented. It includes results and conclusions obtained from experimental tests data with cosmic rays. (Author)

  14. Fission decay properties of ultra neutron-rich uranium isotopes

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    in the chain of neutron-rich uranium isotopes is examined here. The neutron ... mean field theory, this nucleus is shown to undergo exotic decay mode of thermal neu- .... For 250U with a fission barrier of 4.3 MeV [5], we obtain the value of.

  15. Digital literacy and problem solving in technology-rich environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vesna Dolničar

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Rapid development and progress, as well as the growing presence of information and communications technologies dictate the need for more highly developed digital skills in individuals. The paper focuses on the concepts of digital skills and problem solving in technology-rich environments. It examines these on the basis of empirical data obtained in the international study PIAAC. The introductory part presents an overview of the literature and the results of previous research in the field of measurement of digital skills, and data on the use of information society services among the EU Member States. The second part of the article refers to the results obtained in the study PIAAC. The results, confirmed by the results of other studies, showed the impact of age and education level on the problem solving in technology-rich environments. Article concludes with suggestions for improving the current state of integration of all population groups in training programs in the field of digital skills.

  16. New Technique for TOC Estimation Based on Thermal Core Logging in Low-Permeable Formations (Bazhen fm.)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popov, Evgeny; Popov, Yury; Spasennykh, Mikhail; Kozlova, Elena; Chekhonin, Evgeny; Zagranovskaya, Dzhuliya; Belenkaya, Irina; Alekseev, Aleksey

    2016-04-01

    A practical method of organic-rich intervals identifying within the low-permeable dispersive rocks based on thermal conductivity measurements along the core is presented. Non-destructive non-contact thermal core logging was performed with optical scanning technique on 4 685 full size core samples from 7 wells drilled in four low-permeable zones of the Bazhen formation (B.fm.) in the Western Siberia (Russia). The method employs continuous simultaneous measurements of rock anisotropy, volumetric heat capacity, thermal anisotropy coefficient and thermal heterogeneity factor along the cores allowing the high vertical resolution (of up to 1-2 mm). B.fm. rock matrix thermal conductivity was observed to be essentially stable within the range of 2.5-2.7 W/(m*K). However, stable matrix thermal conductivity along with the high thermal anisotropy coefficient is characteristic for B.fm. sediments due to the low rock porosity values. It is shown experimentally that thermal parameters measured relate linearly to organic richness rather than to porosity coefficient deviations. Thus, a new technique employing the transformation of the thermal conductivity profiles into continuous profiles of total organic carbon (TOC) values along the core was developed. Comparison of TOC values, estimated from the thermal conductivity values, with experimental pyrolytic TOC estimations of 665 samples from the cores using the Rock-Eval and HAWK instruments demonstrated high efficiency of the new technique for the organic rich intervals separation. The data obtained with the new technique are essential for the SR hydrocarbon generation potential, for basin and petroleum system modeling application, and estimation of hydrocarbon reserves. The method allows for the TOC richness to be accurately assessed using the thermal well logs. The research work was done with financial support of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science (unique identification number RFMEFI58114X0008).

  17. Changes in Species Richness and Composition of Tiger Moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) among Three Neotropical Ecoregions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beccacece, Hernán Mario; Zeballos, Sebastián Rodolfo; Zapata, Adriana Inés

    2016-01-01

    Paraná, Yungas and Chaco Serrano ecoregions are among the most species-rich terrestrial habitats at higher latitude. However, the information for tiger moths, one of the most speciose groups of moths, is unknown in these ecoregions. In this study, we assess their species richness and composition in all three of these ecoregions. Also we investigated whether the species composition of tiger moths is influenced by climatic factors and altitude. Tiger moth species were obtained with samples from 71 sites using standardized protocols (21 sites were in Yungas, 19 in Paraná and 31 in Chaco Serrano). Rarefaction-extrapolation curves, non-parametric estimators for incidence and sample coverage indices were performed to assess species richness in the ecoregions studied. Non metric multidimensional scaling and adonis tests were performed to compare the species composition of tiger moths among ecoregions. Permutest analysis and Pearson correlation were used to evaluate the relationship among species composition and annual mean temperature, annual temperature range, annual precipitation, precipitation seasonality and altitude. Among ecoregions Paraná was the richest with 125 species, followed by Yungas with 63 species and Chaco Serrano with 24 species. Species composition differed among these ecoregions, although Yungas and Chaco Serrano were more similar than Paraná. Species composition was significantly influenced by climatic factors and altitude. This study showed that species richness and species composition of tiger moths differed among the three ecoregions assessed. Furthermore, not only climatic factors and altitude influence the species composition of tiger moths among ecoregions, but also climatic seasonality at higher latitude in Neotropical South America becomes an important factor. PMID:27681478

  18. Changes in Species Richness and Composition of Tiger Moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae among Three Neotropical Ecoregions.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hernán Mario Beccacece

    Full Text Available Paraná, Yungas and Chaco Serrano ecoregions are among the most species-rich terrestrial habitats at higher latitude. However, the information for tiger moths, one of the most speciose groups of moths, is unknown in these ecoregions. In this study, we assess their species richness and composition in all three of these ecoregions. Also we investigated whether the species composition of tiger moths is influenced by climatic factors and altitude. Tiger moth species were obtained with samples from 71 sites using standardized protocols (21 sites were in Yungas, 19 in Paraná and 31 in Chaco Serrano. Rarefaction-extrapolation curves, non-parametric estimators for incidence and sample coverage indices were performed to assess species richness in the ecoregions studied. Non metric multidimensional scaling and adonis tests were performed to compare the species composition of tiger moths among ecoregions. Permutest analysis and Pearson correlation were used to evaluate the relationship among species composition and annual mean temperature, annual temperature range, annual precipitation, precipitation seasonality and altitude. Among ecoregions Paraná was the richest with 125 species, followed by Yungas with 63 species and Chaco Serrano with 24 species. Species composition differed among these ecoregions, although Yungas and Chaco Serrano were more similar than Paraná. Species composition was significantly influenced by climatic factors and altitude. This study showed that species richness and species composition of tiger moths differed among the three ecoregions assessed. Furthermore, not only climatic factors and altitude influence the species composition of tiger moths among ecoregions, but also climatic seasonality at higher latitude in Neotropical South America becomes an important factor.

  19. The choice of the conditions to receive the electrolytic zinc powders for metal-rich compositions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Patrushev

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available In the work a method of obtaining highly dispersed zinc powders by electrolysis and comparison of the properties of zinc-rich compositions prepared using as a pigment zinc powders obtained by different methods is provided. Conducted measurements have shown that the electrical conductivity of zinc-rich coatings comprising electrolytic zinc powder does not inferior to the conductivity of the film with PZHD-0 powder obtained by the  evaporation-condensation method, despite the significant difference in the amount of zinc pigment. On the basis of the received data one can conclude that the use of electrolytic zinc powder as a pigment will significantly save zinc.

  20. Estimation of spectral kurtosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutawanir

    2017-03-01

    Rolling bearings are the most important elements in rotating machinery. Bearing frequently fall out of service for various reasons: heavy loads, unsuitable lubrications, ineffective sealing. Bearing faults may cause a decrease in performance. Analysis of bearing vibration signals has attracted attention in the field of monitoring and fault diagnosis. Bearing vibration signals give rich information for early detection of bearing failures. Spectral kurtosis, SK, is a parameter in frequency domain indicating how the impulsiveness of a signal varies with frequency. Faults in rolling bearings give rise to a series of short impulse responses as the rolling elements strike faults, SK potentially useful for determining frequency bands dominated by bearing fault signals. SK can provide a measure of the distance of the analyzed bearings from a healthy one. SK provides additional information given by the power spectral density (psd). This paper aims to explore the estimation of spectral kurtosis using short time Fourier transform known as spectrogram. The estimation of SK is similar to the estimation of psd. The estimation falls in model-free estimation and plug-in estimator. Some numerical studies using simulations are discussed to support the methodology. Spectral kurtosis of some stationary signals are analytically obtained and used in simulation study. Kurtosis of time domain has been a popular tool for detecting non-normality. Spectral kurtosis is an extension of kurtosis in frequency domain. The relationship between time domain and frequency domain analysis is establish through power spectrum-autocovariance Fourier transform. Fourier transform is the main tool for estimation in frequency domain. The power spectral density is estimated through periodogram. In this paper, the short time Fourier transform of the spectral kurtosis is reviewed, a bearing fault (inner ring and outer ring) is simulated. The bearing response, power spectrum, and spectral kurtosis are plotted to

  1. Swimming clusters in thallium-rich liquid caesium-thallium alloys

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Aart, SA; van der Lugt, W; Badyal, YS; Verkerk, P

    The purpose of the work presented here is to obtain structural information on thallium-rich caesium-thallium alloys by means of neutron diffraction. The alloys exhibit a long-range (>1 nm) superstructure. This range increases with the thallium content. The results are interpreted with the help of a

  2. Value-Added Products From FGD Sulfite-Rich Scrubber Materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vivak M. Malhotra

    2006-09-30

    Massive quantities of sulfite-rich flue gas desulfurization (FGD) scrubber materials are produced every year in the USA. In fact, at present, the production of wet sulfite-rich scrubber cake outstrips the production of wet sulfate-rich scrubber cake by about 6 million tons per year. However, most of the utilization focus has centered on FGD gypsum. Therefore, we have recently initiated research on developing new strategies for the economical, but environmentally-sound, utilization of sulfite-rich scrubber material. In this exploratory project (Phase I), we attempted to ascertain whether it is feasible to develop reconstituted wood replacement products from sulfite-rich scrubber material. In pursuit of this goal, we characterized two different wet sulfite-rich scrubber materials, obtained from two power plants burning Midwestern coal, for their suitability for the development of value-added products. The overall strategy adopted was to fabricate composites where the largest ingredient was scrubber material with additional crop materials as additives. Our results suggested that it may be feasible to develop composites with flexural strength as high as 40 MPa (5800 psi) without the addition of external polymers. We also attempted to develop load-bearing composites from scrubber material, natural fibers, and phenolic polymer. The polymer-to-solid ratio was limited to {le} 0.4. The formulated composites showed flexural strengths as high as 73 MPa (10,585 psi). We plan to harness the research outcomes from Phase I to develop parameters required to upscale our value-added products in Phase II.

  3. Improved automation of dissolved organic carbon sampling for organic-rich surface waters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grayson, Richard P; Holden, Joseph

    2016-02-01

    In-situ UV-Vis spectrophotometers offer the potential for improved estimates of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) fluxes for organic-rich systems such as peatlands because they are able to sample and log DOC proxies automatically through time at low cost. In turn, this could enable improved total carbon budget estimates for peatlands. The ability of such instruments to accurately measure DOC depends on a number of factors, not least of which is how absorbance measurements relate to DOC and the environmental conditions. Here we test the ability of a S::can Spectro::lyser™ for measuring DOC in peatland streams with routinely high DOC concentrations. Through analysis of the spectral response data collected by the instrument we have been able to accurately measure DOC up to 66 mg L(-1), which is more than double the original upper calibration limit for this particular instrument. A linear regression modelling approach resulted in an accuracy >95%. The greatest accuracy was achieved when absorbance values for several different wavelengths were used at the same time in the model. However, an accuracy >90% was achieved using absorbance values for a single wavelength to predict DOC concentration. Our calculations indicated that, for organic-rich systems, in-situ measurement with a scanning spectrophotometer can improve fluvial DOC flux estimates by 6 to 8% compared with traditional sampling methods. Thus, our techniques pave the way for improved long-term carbon budget calculations from organic-rich systems such as peatlands. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Lettuce facing microcystins-rich irrigation water at different developmental stages: Effects on plant performance and microcystins bioaccumulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levizou, Efi; Statiris, George; Papadimitriou, Theodoti; Laspidou, Chrysi S; Kormas, Konstantinos Ar

    2017-09-01

    This study investigated the microcystins (MCs)-rich irrigation water effect on lettuce of different developmental stages, i.e. during a two months period, covering the whole period from seed germination to harvest at marketable size of the plant. We followed four lettuce plant groups receiving MCs-rich water (1.81μgl -1 of dissolved MCs), originating from the Karla Reservoir, central Greece: 1) from seeds, 2) the cotyledon, 3) two true leaves and 4) four true leaves stages, all of which were compared to control plants that received tap water. Lettuce growth, photosynthetic performance, biochemical and mineral characteristics, as well as MCs accumulation in leaves, roots and soil were measured. The overall performance of lettuce at various developmental stages pointed to increased tolerance since growth showed minor alterations and non-enzymatic antioxidants remained unaffected. Plants receiving MCs-rich water from the seed stage exhibited higher photosynthetic capacity, chlorophylls and leaf nitrogen content. Nevertheless, considerable MCs accumulation in various plant tissues occurred. The earlier in their development lettuce plants started receiving MCs-rich water, the more MCs they accumulated: roots and leaves of plants exposed to MCs-rich water from seeds and cotyledons stage exhibited doubled MCs concentrations compared to respective tissues of the 4 Leaves group. Furthermore, roots accumulated significantly higher MCs amounts than leaves of the same plant group. Concerning human health risk, the Estimated Daily Intake values (EDI) of Seed and Cotyledon groups leaves exceeded Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) by a factor of 6, while 2 Leaves and 4 Leaves groups exceeded TDI by a factor of 4.4 and 2.4 respectively. Our results indicate that irrigation of lettuce with MCs-rich water may constitute a serious public health risk, especially when contaminated water is received from the very early developmental stages (seed and cotyledon). Finally, results obtained for

  5. Functional richness: Overview of indices and underlying concepts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legras, G.; Loiseau, N.; Gaertner, J.-C.

    2018-02-01

    Functional richness, currently defined as the amount of niche space occupied by the species within a community, is one of the three major components of functional diversity. Different indices have been developed in order to quantify this component. However, the range of indices available for assessing functional richness, often mathematically complex and based on different rationales, can cause confusion for field ecologists and lead to misinterpretation of the results obtained. In this context, we have provided the first study exclusively focused on the comparison of the definitions, advantages and drawbacks of a large set of functional richness indices. The first part of this work is focused on four indices (FDP&G, FRic, TOP and N-hypervolumes indices) that are currently the most commonly used for assessing functional richness. We have completed our study by including recently developed indices that enable us to take into account the intraspecific trait variability (i.e. FRim index and TDP framework), because there is currently a growing scientific consensus regarding the necessity of including this aspect in the assessment of the functional diversity of communities. We demonstrate that although authors have argued that their index describes the functional richness, each of them describes only part of it, and this part may strongly differ from one index to another. Rather than advocating the general use of a single index and/or systematically avoiding others, our study highlights the need for selecting indices in close relation with the context, the available data and the aims of each study. Such a strategy is an essential preliminary step for preventing misunderstanding and artefactual controversies. Along these lines, we propose some guidelines to help users in selecting the most appropriate indices according both to the facet of functional richness on which they wish to focus and to the characteristics of the available data.

  6. Clovamide-rich extract from Trifolium pallidum reduces oxidative stress-induced damage to blood platelets and plasma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolodziejczyk, Joanna; Olas, Beata; Wachowicz, Barbara; Szajwaj, Barbara; Stochmal, Anna; Oleszek, Wieslaw

    2011-09-01

    Numerous plants (including clovers) have been widely used in folk medicine for the treatment of different disorders. This in vitro study was designed to examine the antioxidative effects of the clovamide-rich fraction, obtained from aerial parts of Trifolium pallidum, in the protection of blood platelets and plasma against the nitrative and oxidative damage, caused by peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)). Carbonyl groups and 3-nitrotyrosine in blood platelet and plasma proteins were determined by ELISA tests. Thiol groups level was estimated by using 5,5'-dithio-bis(2-nitro-benzoic acid, DTNB). Plasma lipid peroxidation was measured spectrophotometrically as the production of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances. The results from our work indicate that clovamide-rich T. pallidum extract may reveal the protective properties in the prevention against oxidative stress. The presence of clovamide-rich T. pallidum extract (12.5-100 μg/ml) partly inhibited ONOO(-)-mediated protein carbonylation and nitration. All the used concentrations of T. pallidum extract reduced lipid peroxidation in plasma. The antioxidative action of the tested extract in the protection of blood platelet lipids was less effective; the extract at the lowest final concentration (12.5 μg/ml) had no protective effect against lipid peroxidation. The present results indicate that the extract from T. pallidum is likely to be a source of compounds with the antioxidative properties, useful in the prevention against the oxidative stress-related diseases.

  7. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of the Impatiens noli-tangere and Stachys officinalis polyphenolic-rich extracts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriela Paun

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT This study evaluated the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of Impatiens noli-tangere L., Balsaminaceae, and of Stachys officinalis L., Lamiaceae, polyphenolic-rich extracts obtained by nanofiltration process. Results showed the great potential and efficiency of the nanofiltration process to concentrate the herbal extract's main polyphenolic compounds (over 91% phenolic acids and flavonoids retention. S. officinalis polyphenolic-rich extracts had high antioxidant activities (IC50 2.5 µg/ml compared to I. noli-tangere polyphenolic-rich extracts (IC50 19.3 µg/ml and similar with that of ascorbic acid. Polyphenolic-rich extracts were investigated to determine the pro-inflammatory enzymes lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 and their inhibitory activity. Furthermore, high inhibitory activity of the examined extracts was reported for the first time, for both lipoxygenase (IC50 2.46 and 1.22 µg/ml for I. noli-tangere and S. officinalis polyphenolic-rich extracts, respectively, cyclooxygenase-1 (IC50 18.4 and 10.1 µg/ml for I. noli-tangere and S. officinalis polyphenolic-rich extracts, respectively and cyclooxygenase-2 (IC50 = 1.9 and 1.2 mg/ml for I. noli-tangere and S. officinalis polyphenolic-rich extracts, respectively. Additionally, the in vivo studies showed that S. officinalis polyphenolic-rich extract has a higher anti-inflammatory effect, the hind-paw volume employed for both models determined that I. noli-tangere polyphenolic-rich extract and is also higher than that of diclofenac. It was noticed that their anti-inflammatory effect persists for more than 24 h. The I. noli-tangere and S. officinalis polyphenolic-rich extracts exert anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities and these properties can be at least partly assigned to the presence of ursolic acid, caffeic acid, rosmarinic acid, quercetin and also anthocyanidins (genistin. The obtained results indicate the anti-inflammatory potential of the

  8. Estimating cyclopoid copepod species richness and geographical distribution (Crustacea across a large hydrographical basin: comparing between samples from water column (plankton and macrophyte stands

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gilmar Perbiche-Neves

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Species richness and geographical distribution of Cyclopoida freshwater copepods were analyzed along the "La Plata" River basin. Ninety-six samples were taken from 24 sampling sites, twelve sites for zooplankton in open waters and twelve sites for zooplankton within macrophyte stands, including reservoirs and lotic stretches. There were, on average, three species per sample in the plankton compared to five per sample in macrophytes. Six species were exclusive to the plankton, 10 to macrophyte stands, and 17 were common to both. Only one species was found in similar proportions in plankton and macrophytes, while five species were widely found in plankton, and thirteen in macrophytes. The distinction between species from open water zooplankton and macrophytes was supported by nonmetric multidimensional analysis. There was no distinct pattern of endemicity within the basin, and double sampling contributes to this result. This lack of sub-regional faunal differentiation is in accordance with other studies that have shown that cyclopoids generally have wide geographical distribution in the Neotropics and that some species there are cosmopolitan. This contrasts with other freshwater copepods such as Calanoida and some Harpacticoida. We conclude that sampling plankton and macrophytes together provided a more accurate estimate of the richness and geographical distribution of these organisms than sampling in either one of those zones alone.

  9. Estimating evaporative fraction from readily obtainable variables in mangrove forests of the Everglades, U.S.A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yagci, Ali Levent; Santanello, Joseph A.; Jones, John W.; Barr, Jordan G.

    2017-01-01

    A remote-sensing-based model to estimate evaporative fraction (EF) – the ratio of latent heat (LE; energy equivalent of evapotranspiration –ET–) to total available energy – from easily obtainable remotely-sensed and meteorological parameters is presented. This research specifically addresses the shortcomings of existing ET retrieval methods such as calibration requirements of extensive accurate in situ micrometeorological and flux tower observations or of a large set of coarse-resolution or model-derived input datasets. The trapezoid model is capable of generating spatially varying EF maps from standard products such as land surface temperature (Ts) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and daily maximum air temperature (Ta). The 2009 model results were validated at an eddy-covariance tower (Fluxnet ID: US-Skr) in the Everglades using Ts and NDVI products from Landsat as well as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors. Results indicate that the model accuracy is within the range of instrument uncertainty, and is dependent on the spatial resolution and selection of end-members (i.e. wet/dry edge). The most accurate results were achieved with the Ts from Landsat relative to the Ts from the MODIS flown on the Terra and Aqua platforms due to the fine spatial resolution of Landsat (30 m). The bias, mean absolute percentage error and root mean square percentage error were as low as 2.9% (3.0%), 9.8% (13.3%), and 12.1% (16.1%) for Landsat-based (MODIS-based) EF estimates, respectively. Overall, this methodology shows promise for bridging the gap between temporally limited ET estimates at Landsat scales and more complex and difficult to constrain global ET remote-sensing models.

  10. Platelet-rich-fibrin: A novel root coverage approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anilkumar K

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Treatment of gingival recession has become an important therapeutic issue due to increasing cosmetic demand. Multiple surgical procedures have been developed to obtain predictable esthetic root coverage. More specifically, after periodontal regenerative surgery, the aim is to achieve complete wound healing and regeneration of the periodontal unit. A recent innovation in dentistry is the preparation and use of platelet-rich plasma (PRP, a concentrated suspension of the growth factors, found in platelets. These growth factors are involved in wound healing and postulated as promoters of tissue regeneration. This paper reports the use of PRF membrane for root coverage on the labial surfaces of the mandibular anterior teeth. This was accomplished using laterally displaced flap technique with platelet rich fibrin (PRF membrane at the recipient site.

  11. Structure of the neutron-rich lithium isotopes in heavy-ion reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bespalova, O.V.; Galakhmatova, B.S.; Romanovskij, E.A.; Shitikova, K.V.; Burov, V.V.; Rzyanin, M.V.; Miller, H.G.; Yen, G.D.

    1993-01-01

    The structure properties, for factors, angular distributions and interaction cross sections of Li neutron-rich isotopes have been analyzed in the unified way. A good qualitative agreement with the experiment data was obtained. 20 refs.; 11 figs.; 1 tab

  12. Investigation on the production of hydrogen rich gas in a plasma converter for motorcycle applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horng, R.-F.; Chang, Y.-P.; Wu, S.-C.

    2006-01-01

    A plasma fuel converter producing a hydrogen rich gas fuel has been designed and constructed. The methodology included using a high voltage electric arc generator to ionize the mixture of methane fuel and air, which was then reformed into a hydrogen rich gas. It transpired from the experiment that the higher the arc frequency, the higher was the generated hydrogen concentration, with a maximum concentration of 43 vol.% attained with an arc frequency of 200 Hz and an O/C (O 2 /CH 4 ) ratio of 0.10. The maximum hydrogen yield of 0.55 was obtained with an arc frequency of 200 Hz and an O/C ratio between 0.20 and 0.25. By fueling a four stroke motorcycle engine with the hydrogen rich gas, low emissions during the cold start idle condition can be obtained

  13. Spectroscopy of neutron-rich isotopes of nickel and iron

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Girod, M.; Dessagne, P.; Bernas, M.; Langevin, M.; Pougheon, F.; Roussel, P.

    1987-01-01

    Spectroscopy of neutron rich isotopes of 67 Ni, 68 Ni and 62 Fe is studied using the quasi-elastic transfer reactions ( 14 C, 16 O) and ( 14 C, 17 O) on mass separated targets of 70 Zn and of 64 Ni. The structure of these new nuclei is investigated through the Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov (HFB) calculations, using the D1SA interaction. Inertial parameters are calculated in the cranking approximation. Collective excited states are obtained consistently by solving the Bohr Hamiltonian. Based on these results, quantum numbers are tentatively assigned to the observed states and angular distributions, measured and calculated from the DWBA, are used to check this assignment. The spectroscopy of more neutron rich nuclei, yet unknown, is anticipated. A sharper test of wave functions is provided by the monopole operator of the O 2 + → O 1 + transition in 68 Ni, which have been deduced from the halflife measurement performed in delayed coincidence experiments. An impressive agreement is obtained between the measured halflife and its value calculated using complete HFB wave functions

  14. Chromatographic, NMR and vibrational spectroscopic investigations of astaxanthin esters: application to "Astaxanthin-rich shrimp oil" obtained from processing of Nordic shrimps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Subramanian, B; Thibault, M-H; Djaoued, Y; Pelletier, C; Touaibia, M; Tchoukanova, N

    2015-11-07

    Astaxanthin (ASTX) is a keto carotenoid, which possesses a non-polar linear central conjugated chain and polar β-ionone rings with ketone and hydroxyl groups at the extreme ends. It is well known as a super anti-oxidant, and recent clinical studies have established its nutritional benefits. Although it occurs in several forms, including free molecule, crystalline, aggregates and various geometrical isomers, in nature it exists primarily in the form of esters. Marine animals accumulate ASTX from primary sources such as algae. Nordic shrimps (P. borealis), which are harvested widely in the Atlantic Ocean, form a major source of astaxanthin esters. "Astaxanthin-rich shrimp oil" was developed as a novel product in a shrimp processing plant in Eastern Canada. A compositional analysis of the shrimp oil was performed, with a view to possibly use it as a nutraceutical product for humans and animals. Astaxanthin-rich shrimp oil contains 50% MUFAs and 22% PUFAs, of which 20% are omega-3. In addition, the shrimp oil contains interesting amounts of EPA and DHA, with 10%/w and 8%/w, respectively. Astaxanthin concentrations varied between 400 and 1000 ppm, depending on the harvesting season of the shrimp. Astaxanthin and its esters were isolated from the oil and analysed by NMR, FTIR and Micro-Raman spectroscopy. Astaxanthin mono- and diesters were synthesized and used as standards for the analysis of astaxanthin-rich shrimp oil. NMR and vibrational spectroscopy techniques were successfully used for the rapid characterization of monoesters and diesters of astaxanthin. Raman spectroscopy provided important intermolecular interactions present in the esterified forms of astaxanthin molecules. Also discussed in this paper is the use of NMR, FTIR and Micro-Raman spectroscopy for the detection of astaxanthin esters in shrimp oil.

  15. The leucine-rich repeat structure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bella, J; Hindle, K L; McEwan, P A; Lovell, S C

    2008-08-01

    The leucine-rich repeat is a widespread structural motif of 20-30 amino acids with a characteristic repetitive sequence pattern rich in leucines. Leucine-rich repeat domains are built from tandems of two or more repeats and form curved solenoid structures that are particularly suitable for protein-protein interactions. Thousands of protein sequences containing leucine-rich repeats have been identified by automatic annotation methods. Three-dimensional structures of leucine-rich repeat domains determined to date reveal a degree of structural variability that translates into the considerable functional versatility of this protein superfamily. As the essential structural principles become well established, the leucine-rich repeat architecture is emerging as an attractive framework for structural prediction and protein engineering. This review presents an update of the current understanding of leucine-rich repeat structure at the primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary levels and discusses specific examples from recently determined three-dimensional structures.

  16. The CAPRICE RICH detector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Basini, G. [INFN, Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, Rome (Italy); Codino, A.; Grimani, C. [Perugia Univ. (Italy)]|[INFN, Perugia (Italy); De Pascale, M.P. [Rome Univ. `Tor Vergata` (Italy). Dip. di Fisica]|[INFN, Sezione Univ. `Tor Vergata` Rome (Italy); Cafagna, F. [Bari Univ. (Italy)]|[INFN, Bari (Italy); Golden, R.L. [New Mexico State Univ., Las Cruces, NM (United States). Particle Astrophysics Lab.; Brancaccio, F.; Bocciolini, M. [Florence Univ. (Italy)]|[INFN, Florence (Italy); Barbiellini, G.; Boezio, M. [Trieste Univ. (Italy)]|[INFN, Trieste (Italy)

    1995-09-01

    A compact RICH detector has been developed and used for particle identification in a balloon borne spectrometer to measure the flux of antimatter in the cosmic radiation. This is the first RICH detector ever used in space experiments that is capable of detecting unit charged particles, such as antiprotons. The RICH and all other detectors performed well during the 27 hours long flight.

  17. Avian species richness in relation to intensive forest management practices in early seral tree plantations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Jay E; Kroll, Andrew J; Giovanini, Jack; Duke, Steven D; Ellis, Tana M; Betts, Matthew G

    2012-01-01

    Managers of landscapes dedicated to forest commodity production require information about how practices influence biological diversity. Individual species and communities may be threatened if management practices truncate or simplify forest age classes that are essential for reproduction and survival. For instance, the degradation and loss of complex diverse forest in young age classes have been associated with declines in forest-associated Neotropical migrant bird populations in the Pacific Northwest, USA. These declines may be exacerbated by intensive forest management practices that reduce hardwood and broadleaf shrub cover in order to promote growth of economically valuable tree species in plantations. We used a Bayesian hierarchical model to evaluate relationships between avian species richness and vegetation variables that reflect stand management intensity (primarily via herbicide application) on 212 tree plantations in the Coast Range, Oregon, USA. Specifically, we estimated the influence of broadleaf hardwood vegetation cover, which is reduced through herbicide applications, on bird species richness and individual species occupancy. Our model accounted for imperfect detection. We used average predictive comparisons to quantify the degree of association between vegetation variables and species richness. Both conifer and hardwood cover were positively associated with total species richness, suggesting that these components of forest stand composition may be important predictors of alpha diversity. Estimates of species richness were 35-80% lower when imperfect detection was ignored (depending on covariate values), a result that has critical implications for previous efforts that have examined relationships between forest composition and species richness. Our results revealed that individual and community responses were positively associated with both conifer and hardwood cover. In our system, patterns of bird community assembly appear to be associated with

  18. Phosphorus Chemistry in Oxygen Rich Stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernal, Jacob; Schmidt, Deborah; Anderson, Julie; Ziurys, Lucy M.

    2017-06-01

    Observations of PO and PN have been carried out at the Arizona Radio Observatory at 1, 2, and 3 mm. Multiple transitions of PO and PN have been detected towards the O-rich AGB stars TX Cam and RCas. Data obtained toward supergiant stars VY Canis Majoris and NML Cyg have also been analyzed. Abundances were obtained for these molecules in all four objects using the radiative transfer code ESCAPADE, which is suitable for symmetric and asymmetric stellar outflows. The abundances of PN and PO were found to be in the range 10^{-8} - 10^{-7} relative to H_{2}. While PN appears to be a parent molecule formed by LTE chemistry near the stellar photosphere, PO appears to be created further out from the star at r > 400 R_*.

  19. Homogeneity of Ge-rich nanostructures as characterized by chemical etching and transmission electron microscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bollani, Monica; Chrastina, Daniel; Montuori, Valeria; Vanacore, Giovanni M; Tagliaferri, Alberto; Sordan, Roman; Terziotti, Daniela; Bonera, Emiliano; Spinella, Corrado; Nicotra, Giuseppe

    2012-01-01

    The extension of SiGe technology towards new electronic and optoelectronic applications on the Si platform requires that Ge-rich nanostructures be obtained in a well-controlled manner. Ge deposition on Si substrates usually creates SiGe nanostructures with relatively low and inhomogeneous Ge content. We have realized SiGe nanostructures with a very high (up to 90%) Ge content. Using substrate patterning, a regular array of nanostructures is obtained. We report that electron microscopy reveals an abrupt change in Ge content of about 20% between the filled pit and the island, which has not been observed in other Ge island systems. Dislocations are mainly found within the filled pit and only rarely in the island. Selective chemical etching and electron energy-loss spectroscopy reveal that the island itself is homogeneous. These Ge-rich islands are possible candidates for electronic applications requiring locally induced stress, and optoelectronic applications which exploit the Ge-like band structure of Ge-rich SiGe. (paper)

  20. Homogeneity of Ge-rich nanostructures as characterized by chemical etching and transmission electron microscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bollani, Monica; Chrastina, Daniel; Montuori, Valeria; Terziotti, Daniela; Bonera, Emiliano; Vanacore, Giovanni M; Tagliaferri, Alberto; Sordan, Roman; Spinella, Corrado; Nicotra, Giuseppe

    2012-02-03

    The extension of SiGe technology towards new electronic and optoelectronic applications on the Si platform requires that Ge-rich nanostructures be obtained in a well-controlled manner. Ge deposition on Si substrates usually creates SiGe nanostructures with relatively low and inhomogeneous Ge content. We have realized SiGe nanostructures with a very high (up to 90%) Ge content. Using substrate patterning, a regular array of nanostructures is obtained. We report that electron microscopy reveals an abrupt change in Ge content of about 20% between the filled pit and the island, which has not been observed in other Ge island systems. Dislocations are mainly found within the filled pit and only rarely in the island. Selective chemical etching and electron energy-loss spectroscopy reveal that the island itself is homogeneous. These Ge-rich islands are possible candidates for electronic applications requiring locally induced stress, and optoelectronic applications which exploit the Ge-like band structure of Ge-rich SiGe.

  1. Effect of carbo-nitride-rich and oxide-rich inclusions on the pitting susceptibility of depleted uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pu, Zhen; Chen, Xianglin; Meng, Xiandong; Wu, Yanping; Shen, Liang; Wang, Qingfu; Liu, Tianwei; Shuai, Maobing

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: •The Volta potential differences relative to the matrix are positive for both types of inclusions. •Both types of inclusions are cathodic in the “inclusion/matrix” microgalvanic couples. •The oxide-rich inclusions show a larger Volta potential value of about 115 mV than the carbo-nitride-rich inclusions. •The oxide-rich inclusions give stronger local galvanic coupling with the matrix. •The oxide-rich inclusions are more predisposed to initiate pitting corrosion. -- Abstract: The effects of carbo-nitride-rich and oxide-rich inclusions on the pitting susceptibility of depleted uranium were investigated by electrochemical corrosion measurements, optical microscopy, scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy (SKPFM), and SEM. The results of the potentiodynamic polarization tests suggest that oxide-rich inclusions are more likely to induce pitting corrosion than carbo-nitride-rich inclusions. This enhanced corrosion may be explained by the strong local galvanic coupling between the oxide-rich inclusion and the surrounding matrix, which, from the sight of SKPFM analysis, exhibits a 115 V higher Volta potential than the coupling between the carbo-nitride-rich inclusions and the matrix, respectively.

  2. Intra-class correlation estimates for assessment of vitamin A intake in children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal, Girdhar G; Awasthi, Shally; Walter, Stephen D

    2005-03-01

    In many community-based surveys, multi-level sampling is inherent in the design. In the design of these studies, especially to calculate the appropriate sample size, investigators need good estimates of intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), along with the cluster size, to adjust for variation inflation due to clustering at each level. The present study used data on the assessment of clinical vitamin A deficiency and intake of vitamin A-rich food in children in a district in India. For the survey, 16 households were sampled from 200 villages nested within eight randomly-selected blocks of the district. ICCs and components of variances were estimated from a three-level hierarchical random effects analysis of variance model. Estimates of ICCs and variance components were obtained at village and block levels. Between-cluster variation was evident at each level of clustering. In these estimates, ICCs were inversely related to cluster size, but the design effect could be substantial for large clusters. At the block level, most ICC estimates were below 0.07. At the village level, many ICC estimates ranged from 0.014 to 0.45. These estimates may provide useful information for the design of epidemiological studies in which the sampled (or allocated) units range in size from households to large administrative zones.

  3. Using Google Earth Surface Metrics to Predict Plant Species Richness in a Complex Landscape

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sebastián Block

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Google Earth provides a freely available, global mosaic of high-resolution imagery from different sensors that has become popular in environmental and ecological studies. However, such imagery lacks the near-infrared band often used in studying vegetation, thus its potential for estimating vegetation properties remains unclear. In this study, we assess the potential of Google Earth imagery to describe and predict vegetation attributes. Further, we compare it to the potential of SPOT imagery, which has additional spectral information. We measured basal area, vegetation height, crown cover, density of individuals, and species richness in 60 plots in the oak forests of a complex volcanic landscape in central Mexico. We modelled each vegetation attribute as a function of surface metrics derived from Google Earth and SPOT images, and selected the best-supported linear models from each source. Total species richness was the best-described and predicted variable: the best Google Earth-based model explained nearly as much variation in species richness as its SPOT counterpart (R2 = 0.44 and 0.51, respectively. However, Google Earth metrics emerged as poor predictors of all remaining vegetation attributes, whilst SPOT metrics showed potential for predicting vegetation height. We conclude that Google Earth imagery can be used to estimate species richness in complex landscapes. As it is freely available, Google Earth can broaden the use of remote sensing by researchers and managers in low-income tropical countries where most biodiversity hotspots are found.

  4. Estimation of niobium, tantalum and zirconium in a carbonate rich ore

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Navale, A.S.; Venkatakrishnan, R.R.; Sreenivas, T.

    2013-01-01

    Tantalum, niobium and zirconium form refractory compounds and therefore pose problems in estimation by methods like spectrophotometry, AAS etc. Their estimation is best carried out with ICP-OES as the plasma is capable of breaking the refractory compounds and releases these elements in the form of excited atoms. But another major problem is bringing these elements in solution as they require very strong reagents and tend to hydrolyze easily in solution. Complexing agents need to be added to maintain these elements in dissolved condition. The commonly employed dissolution techniques for these elements are fusion with potassium pyrosulfate (for Nb and Ta), sodium hydroxide or peroxide (for zirconium). Digestion with mineral acids in combination with hydrofluoric acid is also employed

  5. Estimating rates of local species extinction, colonization and turnover in animal communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, James D.; Boulinier, T.; Hines, J.E.; Pollock, K.H.; Sauer, J.R.

    1998-01-01

    Species richness has been identified as a useful state variable for conservation and management purposes. Changes in richness over time provide a basis for predicting and evaluating community responses to management, to natural disturbance, and to changes in factors such as community composition (e.g., the removal of a keystone species). Probabilistic capture-recapture models have been used recently to estimate species richness from species count and presence-absence data. These models do not require the common assumption that all species are detected in sampling efforts. We extend this approach to the development of estimators useful for studying the vital rates responsible for changes in animal communities over time; rates of local species extinction, turnover, and colonization. Our approach to estimation is based on capture-recapture models for closed animal populations that permit heterogeneity in detection probabilities among the different species in the sampled community. We have developed a computer program, COMDYN, to compute many of these estimators and associated bootstrap variances. Analyses using data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) suggested that the estimators performed reasonably well. We recommend estimators based on probabilistic modeling for future work on community responses to management efforts as well as on basic questions about community dynamics.

  6. Proton-rich nuclear statistical equilibrium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Seitenzahl, I.R.; Timmes, F.X.; Marin-Lafleche, A.; Brown, E.; Magkotsios, G.; Truran, J.

    2008-01-01

    Proton-rich material in a state of nuclear statistical equilibrium (NSE) is one of the least studied regimes of nucleosynthesis. One reason for this is that after hydrogen burning, stellar evolution proceeds at conditions of an equal number of neutrons and protons or at a slight degree of neutron-richness. Proton-rich nucleosynthesis in stars tends to occur only when hydrogen-rich material that accretes onto a white dwarf or a neutron star explodes, or when neutrino interactions in the winds from a nascent proto-neutron star or collapsar disk drive the matter proton-rich prior to or during the nucleosynthesis. In this Letter we solve the NSE equations for a range of proton-rich thermodynamic conditions. We show that cold proton-rich NSE is qualitatively different from neutron-rich NSE. Instead of being dominated by the Fe-peak nuclei with the largest binding energy per nucleon that have a proton-to-nucleon ratio close to the prescribed electron fraction, NSE for proton-rich material near freezeout temperature is mainly composed of 56Ni and free protons. Previous results of nuclear reaction network calculations rely on this nonintuitive high-proton abundance, which this Letter explains. We show how the differences and especially the large fraction of free protons arises from the minimization of the free energy as a result of a delicate competition between the entropy and nuclear binding energy.

  7. Species richness and composition assessment of spiders in a Mediterranean scrubland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bondoso Cardoso, Pedro Miguel; Henriques, Sérgio S.; Gaspar, Clara

    2009-01-01

    Intensive fieldwork has been undertaken in Portugal in order to develop a standardized and optimized sampling protocol for Mediterranean spiders. The present study had the objectives of testing the use of semi-quantitative sampling for obtaining an exhaustive species richness assessment of spiders...

  8. Local richness along gradients in the Siskiyou herb flora: R.H. Whittaker revisited

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grace, James B.; Harrison, Susan; Damschen, Ellen Ingman

    2011-01-01

    In his classic study in the Siskiyou Mountains (Oregon, USA), one of the most botanically rich forested regions in North America, R. H. Whittaker (1960) foreshadowed many modern ideas on the multivariate control of local species richness along environmental gradients related to productivity. Using a structural equation model to analyze his data, which were never previously statistically analyzed, we demonstrate that Whittaker was remarkably accurate in concluding that local herb richness in these late-seral forests is explained to a large extent by three major abiotic gradients (soils, topography, and elevation), and in turn, by the effects of these gradients on tree densities and the numbers of individual herbs. However, while Whittaker also clearly appreciated the significance of large-scale evolutionary and biogeographic influences on community composition, he did not fully articulate the more recent concept that variation in the species richness of local communities could be explained in part by variation in the sizes of regional species pools. Our model of his data is among the first to use estimates of regional species pool size to explain variation in local community richness along productivity-related gradients. We find that regional pool size, combined with a modest number of other interacting abiotic and biotic factors, explains most of the variation in local herb richness in the Siskiyou biodiversity hotspot.

  9. Geography, topography, and history affect realized-to-potential tree species richness patterns in Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Svenning, J.-C.; Fitzpatrick, Matthew C.; Normand, Signe

    2010-01-01

    by assembly from regional species pools. Using the European tree flora as our study system, we implemented a novel approach to assess the relative importance of local and regional mechanisms that control local species richness. We first identified species pools that tolerate particular local environments....../P richness ratio estimates, but we found consistent support for a negative effect of regional geographic fragmentation and a positive topographic effect. We also identified fairly broad support for the predicted effect of accessibility. We conclude that local tree assemblages in Europe often fail to realize...

  10. Construction of silica aerogel radiator system for Belle II RICH Counter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adachi, I.; Dolenec, R.; Hataya, K.; Iori, S.; Iwata, S.; Kakuno, H.; Kataura, R.; Kawai, H.; Kindo, H.; Kobayashi, T.; Korpar, S.; Križan, P.; Kumita, T.; Mrvar, M.; Nishida, S.; Ogawa, K.; Ogawa, S.; Pestotnik, R.; Šantelj, L.; Sumiyoshi, T.; Tabata, M.; Yonenaga, M.; Yusa, Y.

    2017-12-01

    We have developed a RICH counter as a new forward particle identification device for the Belle II experiment. As a Cherenkov radiator in this counter, a dual aerogel layer combination consisting of two refractive indicies, n=1.045 and 1.055, is employed. Mass production of these aerogel tiles has been done during 2013-2014 with new method improved by Chiba group. Optical qualities for them have been examined. The refractive indices of the obtained tiles were found to be in good agreement with our expectations, and the transparencies were high enough to be used for the RICH radiator.

  11. Decoding tactile afferent activity to obtain an estimate of instantaneous force and torque applied to the fingerpad

    Science.gov (United States)

    Birznieks, Ingvars; Redmond, Stephen J.

    2015-01-01

    Dexterous manipulation is not possible without sensory information about object properties and manipulative forces. Fundamental neuroscience has been unable to demonstrate how information about multiple stimulus parameters may be continuously extracted, concurrently, from a population of tactile afferents. This is the first study to demonstrate this, using spike trains recorded from tactile afferents innervating the monkey fingerpad. A multiple-regression model, requiring no a priori knowledge of stimulus-onset times or stimulus combination, was developed to obtain continuous estimates of instantaneous force and torque. The stimuli consisted of a normal-force ramp (to a plateau of 1.8, 2.2, or 2.5 N), on top of which −3.5, −2.0, 0, +2.0, or +3.5 mNm torque was applied about the normal to the skin surface. The model inputs were sliding windows of binned spike counts recorded from each afferent. Models were trained and tested by 15-fold cross-validation to estimate instantaneous normal force and torque over the entire stimulation period. With the use of the spike trains from 58 slow-adapting type I and 25 fast-adapting type I afferents, the instantaneous normal force and torque could be estimated with small error. This study demonstrated that instantaneous force and torque parameters could be reliably extracted from a small number of tactile afferent responses in a real-time fashion with stimulus combinations that the model had not been exposed to during training. Analysis of the model weights may reveal how interactions between stimulus parameters could be disentangled for complex population responses and could be used to test neurophysiologically relevant hypotheses about encoding mechanisms. PMID:25948866

  12. Platelet-rich plasma in otolaryngology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stavrakas, M; Karkos, P D; Markou, K; Grigoriadis, N

    2016-12-01

    Platelet-rich plasma is a novel material that is being used more frequently in many surgical specialties. A literature review on the current and potential uses of platelet-rich plasma in otolaryngology was performed. There is limited evidence on the use of platelet-rich plasma in otolaryngology compared with other specialties: only 11 studies on various subspecialties (otology, rhinology and laryngology) were included in the final review. Based on the limited number of studies, we cannot draw safe conclusions about the value of platelet-rich plasma in otolaryngology. Nevertheless, the available literature suggests that platelet-rich plasma holds promise for future research and may have a number of clinical applications.

  13. The Effects of Organization Design on Media Richness in Multinational Enterprises.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitfield, J. Michael; And Others

    1996-01-01

    Examines effects of two organizational design parameters, divisionalization and centralization, on the media richness choices of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of multinational enterprises in obtaining information from foreign subsidiaries on strategic issues. Samples 86 US multinationals; finds formal divisional structure affects CEOs' use of…

  14. Fish species richness is associated with the availability of landscape components across seasons in the Amazonian floodplain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Edwar Carvalho Freitas

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Understanding environmental biodiversity drivers in freshwater systems continues to be a fundamental challenge in studies of their fish assemblages. The present study seeks to determine the degree to which landscape variables of Amazonian floodplain lakes influences fish assemblages in these environments. Fish species richness was estimated in 15 Amazonian floodplain lakes during the high and low-water phases and correlated with the areas of four inundated wetland classes: (i open water, (ii flooded herbaceous, (iii flooded shrubs and (iv flooded forest estimated in different radius circular areas around each sampling site. Data were analyzed using generalized linear models with fish species richness, total and guilds as the dependent variable and estimates of buffered landscape areas as explanatory variables. Our analysis identified the significance of landscape variables in determining the diversity of fish assemblages in Amazonian floodplain lakes. Spatial scale was also identified as a significant determinant of fish diversity as landscape effects were more evident at larger spatial scales. In particular, (1 total species richness was more sensitive to variations in the landscape areas than number of species within guilds and (2 the spatial extent of the wetland class of shrubs was consistently the more influential on fish species diversity.

  15. GALS – setup for production and study of heavy neutron rich nuclei

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zemlyanoy Sergey

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The present limits of the upper part of the nuclear map are very close to stability while the unexplored area of heavy neutron-rich nuclides along the neutron closed shell N = 126 below 208Pb is extremely important for nuclear astrophysics investigations and, in particular, for the understanding of the r-process of astrophysical nucleosynthesis. This area of the nuclear map can be reached neither in fusion–fission reactions nor in fragmentation processes widely used nowadays for the production of exotic nuclei. A new way was recently proposed for the production of these nuclei via low-energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions. The estimated yields of neutron-rich nuclei are found to be significantly high in such reactions and several tens of new nuclides can be produced, for example, in the near-barrier collision of 136Xe with 208Pb. A new setup is proposed to produce and study heavy neutron-rich nuclei located along the neutron closed shell N=126.

  16. GALS – setup for production and study of heavy neutron rich nuclei

    CERN Document Server

    Zemlyanoy, Sergey; Kozulin, Eduard; Kudryavtsev, Yury; Fedosseev, Valentin; Bark, Robert; Janas, Zenon; Othman, Hosam

    2015-01-01

    The present limits of the upper part of the nuclear map are very close to stability while the unexplored area of heavy neutron-rich nuclides along the neutron closed shell N = 126 below ^208Pb is extremely important for nuclear astrophysics investigations and, in particular, for the understanding of the r-process of astrophysical nucleosynthesis. This area of the nuclear map can be reached neither in fusion-fission reactions nor in fragmentation processes widely used nowadays for the production of exotic nuclei. A new way was recently proposed for the production of these nuclei via low-energy multi-nucleon transfer reactions. The estimated yields of neutron-rich nuclei are found to be significantly high in such reactions and several tens of new nuclides can be produced, for example, in the near-barrier collision of ^136Xe with ^208Pb. A new setup is proposed to produce and study heavy neutron-rich nuclei located along the neutron closed shell N=126.

  17. Contributions of Cu-rich clusters, dislocation loops and nanovoids to the irradiation-induced hardening of Cu-bearing low-Ni reactor pressure vessel steels

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bergner, F., E-mail: f.bergner@hzdr.de [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany); Gillemot, F. [Centre for Energy Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 29-33 Konkoly-Thege street, 1121 Budapest XII (Hungary); Hernández-Mayoral, M.; Serrano, M. [Division of Materials, CIEMAT, Avenida Complutense 22, 28040 Madrid (Spain); Török, G. [Wigner Research Center for Physics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 29-33 Konkoly-Thege street, 1121 Budapest XII (Hungary); Ulbricht, A.; Altstadt, E. [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Bautzner Landstr. 400, 01328 Dresden (Germany)

    2015-06-15

    Highlights: • TEM and SANS were applied to estimate mean size and number density of loops, nanovoids and Cu-rich clusters. • A three-feature dispersed-barrier hardening model was applied to estimate the yield stress increase. • The values and errors of the dimensionless obstacle strength were estimated in a consistent way. • Nanovoids are stronger obstacles for dislocation glide than dislocation loops, loops are stronger than Cu-rich clusters. • For reactor-relevant conditions, Cu-rich clusters contribute most to hardening due to their high number density. - Abstract: Dislocation loops, nanovoids and Cu-rich clusters (CRPs) are known to represent obstacles for dislocation glide in neutron-irradiated reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels, but a consistent experimental determination of the respective obstacle strengths is still missing. A set of Cu-bearing low-Ni RPV steels and model alloys was characterized by means of SANS and TEM in order to specify mean size and number density of loops, nanovoids and CRPs. The obstacle strengths of these families were estimated by solving an over-determined set of linear equations. We have found that nanovoids are stronger than loops and loops are stronger than CRPs. Nevertheless, CRPs contribute most to irradiation hardening because of their high number density. Nanovoids were only observed for neutron fluences beyond typical end-of-life conditions of RPVs. The estimates of the obstacle strength are critically compared with reported literature data.

  18. Speaker diarization system on the 2007 NIST rich transcription meeting recognition evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Hanwu; Nwe, Tin Lay; Koh, Eugene Chin Wei; Bin, Ma; Li, Haizhou

    2007-09-01

    This paper presents a speaker diarization system developed at the Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) for NIST Rich Transcription 2007 (RT-07) evaluation task. We describe in details our primary approaches for the speaker diarization on the Multiple Distant Microphones (MDM) conditions in conference room scenario. Our proposed system consists of six modules: 1). Least-mean squared (NLMS) adaptive filter for the speaker direction estimate via Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA), 2). An initial speaker clustering via two-stage TDOA histogram distribution quantization approach, 3). Multiple microphone speaker data alignment via GCC-PHAT Time Delay Estimate (TDE) among all the distant microphone channel signals, 4). A speaker clustering algorithm based on GMM modeling approach, 5). Non-speech removal via speech/non-speech verification mechanism and, 6). Silence removal via "Double-Layer Windowing"(DLW) method. We achieves error rate of 31.02% on the 2006 Spring (RT-06s) MDM evaluation task and a competitive overall error rate of 15.32% for the NIST Rich Transcription 2007 (RT-07) MDM evaluation task.

  19. First evidences of interaction between pyranoanthocyanins and salivary proline-rich proteins.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García-Estévez, Ignacio; Cruz, Luís; Oliveira, Joana; Mateus, Nuno; de Freitas, Victor; Soares, Susana

    2017-08-01

    The contribution of other classes of polyphenol compounds besides tannins to the overall perception of astringency is still poorly understood. So, this work aimed to study the interaction between a family of salivary proline-rich proteins (aPRPs) and representative pyranoanthocyanins in red wines [pyranomalvidin-3-glucoside (vitisin B), pyranomalvidin-3-glucoside-catechol, and pyranomalvidin-3-glucoside-epicatechin] using saturation transfer difference-NMR and MALDI-TOF. For vitisin B K D was of 1.74mM; for pyranomalvidin-3-glucoside-catechol was 1.17mM and for pyranomalvidin-3-glucoside-epicatechin it was 0.87mM. The presence of the flavanol structural unit in the pyranoanthocyanins led to an increase in their interaction with aPRPs. Further, it is also interesting that the values obtained were in the range of K D obtained previously reported for the interaction between the human saliva proline-rich peptides (IB7 14 and IB9 37 ) and procyanidins. Overall, the results obtained suggest that, along with tannins, other polyphenols present in red wine, namely pyranoanthocyanins, could actively contribute to red wine global astringency. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Systematic parameter estimation in data-rich environments for cell signalling dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nim, Tri Hieu; Luo, Le; Clément, Marie-Véronique; White, Jacob K.; Tucker-Kellogg, Lisa

    2013-01-01

    Motivation: Computational models of biological signalling networks, based on ordinary differential equations (ODEs), have generated many insights into cellular dynamics, but the model-building process typically requires estimating rate parameters based on experimentally observed concentrations. New proteomic methods can measure concentrations for all molecular species in a pathway; this creates a new opportunity to decompose the optimization of rate parameters. Results: In contrast with conventional parameter estimation methods that minimize the disagreement between simulated and observed concentrations, the SPEDRE method fits spline curves through observed concentration points, estimates derivatives and then matches the derivatives to the production and consumption of each species. This reformulation of the problem permits an extreme decomposition of the high-dimensional optimization into a product of low-dimensional factors, each factor enforcing the equality of one ODE at one time slice. Coarsely discretized solutions to the factors can be computed systematically. Then the discrete solutions are combined using loopy belief propagation, and refined using local optimization. SPEDRE has unique asymptotic behaviour with runtime polynomial in the number of molecules and timepoints, but exponential in the degree of the biochemical network. SPEDRE performance is comparatively evaluated on a novel model of Akt activation dynamics including redox-mediated inactivation of PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homologue). Availability and implementation: Web service, software and supplementary information are available at www.LtkLab.org/SPEDRE Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. Contact: LisaTK@nus.edu.sg PMID:23426255

  1. Climate patterns as predictors of amphibians species richness and indicators of potential stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battaglin, W.; Hay, L.; McCabe, G.; Nanjappa, P.; Gallant, Alisa L.

    2005-01-01

    Amphibians occupy a range of habitats throughout the world, but species richness is greatest in regions with moist, warm climates. We modeled the statistical relations of anuran and urodele species richness with mean annual climate for the conterminous United States, and compared the strength of these relations at national and regional levels. Model variables were calculated for county and subcounty mapping units, and included 40-year (1960-1999) annual mean and mean annual climate statistics, mapping unit average elevation, mapping unit land area, and estimates of anuran and urodele species richness. Climate data were derived from more than 7,500 first-order and cooperative meteorological stations and were interpolated to the mapping units using multiple linear regression models. Anuran and urodele species richness were calculated from the United States Geological Survey's Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) National Atlas for Amphibian Distributions. The national multivariate linear regression (MLR) model of anuran species richness had an adjusted coefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.64 and the national MLR model for urodele species richness had an R2 value of 0.45. Stratifying the United States by coarse-resolution ecological regions provided models for anUrans that ranged in R2 values from 0.15 to 0.78. Regional models for urodeles had R2 values. ranging from 0.27 to 0.74. In general, regional models for anurans were more strongly influenced by temperature variables, whereas precipitation variables had a larger influence on urodele models.

  2. Cherenkov angle and charge reconstruction with the RICH detector of the AMS experiment

    CERN Document Server

    Barão, F; Borges, J; Gonçalves, P; Pimenta, M; Pérez, I

    2003-01-01

    The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment to be installed on the International Space Station will be equipped with a proximity focusing Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detector, for measurements of particle electric charge and velocity. In this note, two possible methods for reconstructing the Cherenkov angle and the electric charge with the RICH are discussed. A Likelihood method for the Cherenkov angle reconstruction was applied leading to a velocity determination for protons with a resolution of around 0.1%. The existence of a large fraction of background photons which can vary from event to event implied a charge reconstruction method based on an overall efficiency estimation on an event-by-event basis.

  3. Level structures of neutron-rich Xe isotopes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahmad, I.; Lister, C.J.; Morss, L.R. [and others

    1995-08-01

    The level structures of neutron-rich Xe isotopes were determined by observing prompt gamma-ray coincidences in {sup 248}Cm fission fragments. A 5-mg {sup 248}Cm, in the form of {sup 248}Cm-KCl pellet, was placed inside Eurogam array which consisted of 45 Compton-suppressed Ge detectors and 5 Low-Energy Photon Spectrometers. Transitions in Xe isotopes were identified by the appearance of new peaks in the {gamma}-ray spectra obtained by gating on the gamma peaks of the complementary Mo fragments.

  4. Beta spectroscopy on neutron-rich nuclei of mass 93<=A<=100

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pahlmann, B.

    1982-01-01

    In the present thesis for the first time measurements of the Qsub(β) value of the neutron-rich fission products sup(99,100)Sr and 99 Rb were performed. Preliminary results could be obtained on the beta decays of the nuclides 100 Rb and 100 Y. (orig./HSI) [de

  5. Time-averaged molluscan death assemblages: Palimpsests of richness, snapshots of abundance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kidwell, Susan M.

    2002-09-01

    Field tests that compare living communities to associated dead remains are the primary means of estimating the reliability of biological information in the fossil record; such tests also provide insights into the dynamics of skeletal accumulation. Contrary to expectations, molluscan death assemblages capture a strong signal of living species' rank-order abundances. This finding, combined with independent evidence for exponential postmortem destruction of dead cohorts, argues that, although the species richness of a death assemblage may be a time-averaged palimpsest of the habitat (molluscan death assemblages contain, on average, ˜25% more species than any single census of the local live community, after sample-size standardization), species' relative-abundance data from the same assemblage probably constitute a much higher acuity record dominated by the most recent dead cohorts (e.g., from the past few hundred years or so, rather than the several thousand years recorded by the total assemblage and usually taken as the acuity of species-richness information). The pervasive excess species richness of molluscan death assemblages requires further analysis and modeling to discriminate among possible sources. However, time averaging alone cannot be responsible unless rare species (species with low rates of dead-shell production) are collectively more durable (have longer taphonomic half-lives) than abundant species. Species richness and abundance data thus appear to present fundamentally different taphonomic qualities for paleobiological analysis. Relative- abundance information is more snapshot-like and thus taphonomically more straightforward than expected, especially compared to the complex origins of dead-species richness.

  6. LHCB RICH gas system proposal

    CERN Document Server

    Bosteels, Michel; Haider, S

    2001-01-01

    Both LHCb RICH will be operated with fluorocarbon as gas radiator. RICH 1 will be filled with 4m^3 of C4F10 and RICH 2 with 100m^3 of CF4. The gas systems will run as a closed loop circulation and a gas recovery system within the closed loop is planned for RICH 1, where the recovery of the CF4 will only be realised during filling and emptying of the detector. Inline gas purification is foreseen for the gas systems in order to limit water and oxygen impurities.

  7. Lithium-rich very metal-poor stars discovered with LAMOST and Subaru

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aoki, Wako; Li, Haining; Matsuno, Tadafumi; Kumar, Yerra Bharat; Shi, Jianrong; Suda, Takuma; Zhao, Gang

    2018-04-01

    Lithium is a unique element that is produced in the Big Bang nucleosynthesis but is destroyed by nuclear reactions inside stars. As a result, almost constant lithium abundance is found in unevolved main-sequence metal-poor stars, although the value is systematically lower than that expected from the standard Big Bang nucleosynthesis models, whereas lithium abundances of red giants are more than one order of magnitudes lower than those of unevolved stars. There are, however, a small fraction of metal-poor stars that show extremely high lithium abundances, which is not explained by standard stellar evolution models. We have discovered 12 new very metal-poor stars that have enhancement of lithium by more than 10 times compared with typical metal-poor stars at similar evolutionary stages by the large-scale spectroscopic survey with LAMOST and the follow-up high-resolution spectroscopy with the Subaru Telescope. The sample shows a wide distribution of evolutionary stages from subgiants to red giants with the metallicity of -3.3 <[Fe/H]< -1.6. The chemical abundance ratios of other elements have been obtained by our spectroscopic study, and an estimate of the binary frequency by radial velocity monitoring is ongoing. The observational results provide new constraints on the scenarios to explain lithium-rich metal-poor stars, such as extra mixing during the evolution along the red giant branch, mass-transfer from a companion AGB star, and engulfment of planet-like objects. These explanations are very unlikely for at least some of lithium-rich objects in our sample, suggesting a new mechanism that enhances lithium during the low-mass star evolution.

  8. Technical and technological solution for vegetal bio-stimulants obtaining

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anghelache, D. G.; Diaconescu, I.; Pătraşcu, R.

    2017-08-01

    The paper presents a modern technology for bio fertilizers resulted from waste plant mass after harvesting crops Experimental products were obtained rich in nutrients, but unstable in terms of existing microorganisms. Therefore, they conducted further studies to obtaining bio fungicide herb, so in all investigations undertaken so far in the laboratory, were able to conclude that the introduction of medicinal plant extracts with fungicidal effect into the bio fertilizers obtained by degradation of plant material post-harvest can get various bio-stimulants with nourishing effect upon the plants. Following this technology the paper’s objective is to identify a flux scheme for experimental equipment which can produce as final outcome this type of bio-stimulant. Also, in this work, this equipment will be chosen and will be designed following and obeying to the request of every step of the above technology.

  9. Autologous blood preparations rich in platelets, fibrin and growth factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fioravanti, C; Frustaci, I; Armellin, E; Condò, R; Arcuri, C; Cerroni, L

    2015-01-01

    Bone regeneration is often needed prior to dental implant treatment due to the lack of adequate quantity and quality after infectious diseases. The greatest regenerative power was obtained with autologous tissue, primarily the bone alive, taken from the same site or adjacent sites, up to the use centrifugation of blood with the selection of the parts with the greatest potential regenerative. In fact, various techniques and technologies were chronologically successive to cope with an ever better preparation of these concentrates of blood. Our aim is to review these advances and discuss the ways in which platelet concentrates may provide such unexpected beneficial therapeutic effects. The research has been carried out in the MEDLINE and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials database by choosing keywords as "platelet rich plasma", "platelet rich fibrin", "platelet growth factors", and "bone regeneration" and "dentistry". Autologous platelet rich plasma is a safe and low cost procedure to deliver growth factors for bone and soft tissue healing. The great heterogeneity of clinical outcomes can be explained by the different PRP products with qualitative and quantitative difference among substance.

  10. The HADES-RICH upgrade using Hamamatsu H12700 MAPMTs with DiRICH FEE + Readout

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, V.; Traxler, M.

    2018-03-01

    The High Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer (HADES) is operational since the year 2000 and uses a hadron blind RICH detector for electron identification. The RICH photon detector is currently replaced by Hamamatsu H12700 MAPMTs with a readout system based on the DiRICH front-end module. The electronic readout chain is being developed as a joint effort of the HADES-, CBM- and PANDA collaborations and will also be used in the photon detectors for the upcoming Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) and PANDA experiments at FAIR . This article gives a brief overview on the photomultipliers and their quality assurance test measurements, as well as first measurements of the new DiRICH front-end module in final configurations.

  11. Spectroscopic Comparison of Metal-rich RRab Stars of the Galactic Field with their Metal-poor Counterparts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chadid, Merieme [Université Nice Sophia–Antipolis, Observatoire de la Côte dAzur, UMR 7293, Parc Valrose, F-06108, Nice Cedex 02 (France); Sneden, Christopher [Department of Astronomy and McDonald Observatory, The University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 (United States); Preston, George W., E-mail: chadid@unice.fr, E-mail: chris@verdi.as.utexas.edu, E-mail: gwp@obs.carnegiescience.edu [Carnegie Observatories, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States)

    2017-02-01

    We investigate atmospheric properties of 35 stable RRab stars that possess the full ranges of period, light amplitude, and metal abundance found in Galactic RR Lyrae stars. Our results are derived from several thousand echelle spectra obtained over several years with the du Pont telescope of Las Campanas Observatory. Radial velocities of metal lines and the H α line were used to construct curves of radial velocity versus pulsation phase. From these we estimated radial velocity amplitudes for metal lines (formed near the photosphere) and H α Doppler cores (formed at small optical depths). We also measured H α emission fluxes when they appear during primary light rises. Spectra shifted to rest wavelengths, binned into small phase intervals, and co-added were used to perform model atmospheric and abundance analyses. The derived metallicities and those of some previous spectroscopic surveys were combined to produce a new calibration of the Layden abundance scale. We then divided our RRab sample into metal-rich (disk) and metal-poor (halo) groups at [Fe/H] = −1.0; the atmospheres of RRab families, so defined, differ with respect to (a) peak strength of H α emission flux, (b) H α radial velocity amplitude, (c) dynamical gravity, (d) stellar radius variation, (e) secondary acceleration during the photometric bump that precedes minimum light, and (f) duration of H α line-doubling. We also detected H α line-doubling during the “bump” in the metal-poor family, but not in the metal-rich one. Although all RRab probably are core helium-burning horizontal branch stars, the metal-rich group appears to be a species sui generis.

  12. Plant species richness enhances nitrogen retention in green roof plots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Catherine; Schweinhart, Shelbye; Buffam, Ishi

    2016-10-01

    Vegetated (green) roofs have become common in many cities and are projected to continue to increase in coverage, but little is known about the ecological properties of these engineered ecosystems. In this study, we tested the biodiversity-ecosystem function hypothesis using commercially available green roof trays as replicated plots with varying levels of plant species richness (0, 1, 3, or 6 common green roof species per plot, using plants with different functional characteristics). We estimated accumulated plant biomass near the peak of the first full growing season (July 2013) and measured runoff volume after nearly every rain event from September 2012 to September 2013 (33 events) and runoff fluxes of inorganic nutrients ammonium, nitrate, and phosphate from a subset of 10 events. We found that (1) total plant biomass increased with increasing species richness, (2) green roof plots were effective at reducing storm runoff, with vegetation increasing water retention more than soil-like substrate alone, but there was no significant effect of plant species identity or richness on runoff volume, (3) green roof substrate was a significant source of phosphate, regardless of presence/absence of plants, and (4) dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN = nitrate + ammonium) runoff fluxes were different among plant species and decreased significantly with increasing plant species richness. The variation in N retention was positively related to variation in plant biomass. Notably, the increased biomass and N retention with species richness in this engineered ecosystem are similar to patterns observed in published studies from grasslands and other well-studied ecosystems. We suggest that more diverse plantings on vegetated roofs may enhance the retention capacity for reactive nitrogen. This is of importance for the sustained health of vegetated roof ecosystems, which over time often experience nitrogen limitation, and is also relevant for water quality in receiving waters

  13. How to efficiently obtain accurate estimates of flower visitation rates by pollinators

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fijen, Thijs P.M.; Kleijn, David

    2017-01-01

    Regional declines in insect pollinators have raised concerns about crop pollination. Many pollinator studies use visitation rate (pollinators/time) as a proxy for the quality of crop pollination. Visitation rate estimates are based on observation durations that vary significantly between studies.

  14. Continental scale patterns and predictors of fern richness and phylogenetic diversity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathalie eNagalingum

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Because ferns have a wide range of habitat preferences and are widely distributed, they are an ideal group for understanding how diversity is distributed. Here we examine fern diversity on a broad-scale using standard and corrected richness measures as well as phylogenetic indices; in addition we determine the environmental predictors of each diversity metric. Using the combined records of Australian herbaria, a dataset of over 60,000 records was obtained for 89 genera to infer richness. A phylogenetic tree of all the genera was constructed and combined with the herbarium records to obtain phylogenetic diversity patterns. A hotspot of both taxic and phylogenetic diversity occurs in the Wet Tropics of northeastern Australia. Although considerable diversity is distributed along the eastern coast, some important regions of diversity are identified only after sample-standardization of richness and through the phylogenetic metric. Of all of the metrics, annual precipitation was identified as the most explanatory variable, in part, in agreement with global and regional fern studies. Precipitation was combined with a different variable for each different metric. For corrected richness, precipitation is combined with temperature seasonality, while correlation of phylogenetic diversity to precipitation plus radiation indicates support for the species-energy hypothesis. Significantly high and significantly low phylogenetic diversity were found in geographically separate areas. These areas are correlated with different climatic conditions such as seasonality in precipitation. The use of phylogenetic metrics identifies additional areas of significant diversity, some of which have not been revealed using traditional taxonomic analyses, suggesting that different ecological and evolutionary processes have operated over the continent. Our study demonstrates that it is possible and vital to incorporate evolutionary metrics when inferring biodiversity hotspots

  15. A PUFA-rich diet improves fat oxidation following saturated fat-rich meal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stevenson, Jada L; Miller, Mary K; Skillman, Hannah E; Paton, Chad M; Cooper, Jamie A

    2017-08-01

    To determine substrate oxidation responses to saturated fatty acid (SFA)-rich meals before and after a 7-day polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)-rich diet versus control diet. Twenty-six, normal-weight, adults were randomly assigned to either PUFA or control diet. Following a 3-day lead-in diet, participants completed the pre-diet visit where anthropometrics and resting metabolic rate (RMR) were measured, and two SFA-rich HF meals (breakfast and lunch) were consumed. Indirect calorimetry was used to determine fat oxidation (Fox) and energy expenditure (EE) for 4 h after each meal. Participants then consumed a PUFA-rich diet (50 % carbohydrate, 15 % protein, 35 % fat, of which 21 % of total energy was PUFA) or control diet (50 % carbohydrate, 15 % protein, 35 % fat, of which 7 % of total energy was PUFA) for the next 7 days. Following the 7-day diet, participants completed the post-diet visit. From pre- to post-PUFA-rich diet, there was no change in RMR (16.3 ± 0.8 vs. 16.4 ± 0.8 kcal/20 min) or in incremental area under the curve for EE (118.9 ± 20.6-126.9 ± 14.1 kcal/8h, ns). Fasting respiratory exchange ratio increased from pre- to post-PUFA-rich diet only (0.83 ± 0.1-0.86 ± 0.1, p diet (0.03 ± 0.1-0.23 ± 0.1 g/15 min for cumulative Fox; p diet initiates greater fat oxidation after eating occasional high SFA meals compared to a control diet, an effect achieved in 7 days.

  16. Investigations of charge-changing processes for light proton-rich nuclei on carbon and solid-hydrogen targets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sawahata, K. [Institute of Physics, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571 (Japan); Ozawa, A., E-mail: ozawa@tac.tsukuba.ac.jp [Institute of Physics, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571 (Japan); Saito, Y.; Abe, Y.; Ichikawa, Y.; Inaba, N.; Ishibashi, Y. [Institute of Physics, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571 (Japan); Kitagawa, A. [National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Matsunaga, S. [Department of Physics, Saitama University, Saitama 338-8570 (Japan); Moriguchi, T.; Nagae, D.; Okada, S. [Institute of Physics, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571 (Japan); Sato, S. [National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Suzuki, S. [Institute of Physics, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571 (Japan); Suzuki, T.; Takeuchi, Y.; Yamaguchi, T. [Department of Physics, Saitama University, Saitama 338-8570 (Japan); Zenihiro, J. [RIKEN Nishina Center, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan)

    2017-05-15

    We investigated charge-changing processes (total charge-changing cross sections and partial charge-changing cross sections) for light proton-rich nuclei ({sup 34–36}Ar, {sup 33}Cl, {sup 25–28}Si) at around 300A MeV on carbon and solid-hydrogen targets. We estimated the nuclear proton point radii of {sup 33}Cl and {sup 25,26,27}Si from the observed total charge-changing cross sections by using Glauber-model calculations with a phenomenological correction factor. Furthermore, we estimated the proton skin thickness for {sup 33}Cl coupled with its previously observed matter radius. From investigations of the partial charge-changing cross sections, clear zigzag pattern was observed for all isotopes. The present studies suggest that the pattern may be common in the proton-rich side, and depends on the odd–even nature of the fragment charge.

  17. The challenge of accurately documenting bee species richness in agroecosystems: bee diversity in eastern apple orchards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo, Laura; Park, Mia; Gibbs, Jason; Danforth, Bryan

    2015-01-01

    Bees are important pollinators of agricultural crops, and bee diversity has been shown to be closely associated with pollination, a valuable ecosystem service. Higher functional diversity and species richness of bees have been shown to lead to higher crop yield. Bees simultaneously represent a mega-diverse taxon that is extremely challenging to sample thoroughly and an important group to understand because of pollination services. We sampled bees visiting apple blossoms in 28 orchards over 6 years. We used species rarefaction analyses to test for the completeness of sampling and the relationship between species richness and sampling effort, orchard size, and percent agriculture in the surrounding landscape. We performed more than 190 h of sampling, collecting 11,219 specimens representing 104 species. Despite the sampling intensity, we captured wild bees did not appear to be a factor, as we found no correlation between honeybee and wild bee abundance. Our study shows that the pollinator fauna of agroecosystems can be diverse and challenging to thoroughly sample. We demonstrate that there is high temporal variation in community composition and that sites vary widely in the sampling effort required to fully describe their diversity. In order to maximize pollination services provided by wild bee species, we must first accurately estimate species richness. For researchers interested in providing this estimate, we recommend multiyear studies and rarefaction analyses to quantify the gap between observed and expected species richness. PMID:26380684

  18. SPECIES RICHNESS AND UNIFORMITY CONTRIBUTIONS TO BIRD DIVERSITY IN SHADE COFFEE PLANTATIONS IN THE SOUTHEAST OF MEXICO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Antonio Altamirano González Ortega

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the contribution of the richness and uniformity in the diversity of birds, and their relationship with covariates of vegetation in a coffee landscape in southern Mexico. Species richness and abundance was recorded in 2010 and 2011 in evergreen forests and three different types of coffee production systems. Changes in the values of species richness and uniformity were detected by a SHE analysis (S = species richness, H = diversity and E = evenness. True diversity (the actual number of species actually represent the diversity of species in the samples was also estimated. The tree cover, shrub cover and tree height were covariates of vegetation that explained the variation in species richness and abundance. SHE analysis indicated that cumulative values of bird diversity increased in all plots with species richness, while the values of uniformity of species decreased. This condition changed with management activities of coffee and / or the arrival of migratory birds. The true diversity, when all species had a weight proportional to its abundance (q = 1, was higher in all plots when they were given greater weight to the dominant species (q = 2. Management practices of tree cover and shrubs and bird migration could explain changes in species richness and uniformity during the agricultural cycle.

  19. Species richness of vascular plants along the climatic range of the Spanish dehesas at two spatial scales

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jose M. Garcia del Barrio

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Aims of study: The goals of this paper are to summarize and to compare plant species richness and floristic similarity at two spatial scales; mesohabitat (normal, eutrophic, and oligotrophic dehesas and dehesa habitat; and to establish guidelines for conserving species diversity in dehesas.Area of study: We considered four dehesa sites in the western Peninsular Spain, located along a climatic and biogeographic gradient from north to south. Main results: Average alpha richness for mesohabitats was 75.6 species, and average alpha richness for dehesa sites was 146.3. Gamma richness assessed for the overall dehesa habitat was 340.0 species. The species richness figures of normal dehesa mesohabitat were significantly lesser than of the eutrophic mesohabitat and lesser than the oligotrophic mesohabitat too. No significant differences were found for species richness among dehesa sites. We have found more dissimilarity at local scale (mesohabitat than at regional scale (habitat. Finally, the results of the similarity assessment between dehesa sites reflected both climatic and biogeographic gradients.Research highlights: An effective conservation of dehesas must take into account local and regional conditions all along their distribution range for ensuring the conservation of the main vascular plant species assemblages as well as the associated fauna.Keywords: Agroforestry systems; mesohabitat; non-parametric estimators; alpha richness; gamma richness; floristic similarity; climatic and biogeographic range.

  20. RICHNESS AND FLORISTIC COMPOSITION OF THE FERN COMMUNITY IN RIPARIAN FOREST OF THE RIVER ‘CADEIA’, IN RIO GRANDE DO SUL STATE, BRAZIL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivanete Teresinha Mallmann

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/1980509813327The present study analyzed richness and specific composition of the fern community in fragments fromthe riparian forest of river ‘Cadeia’, under different levels of human impact, in Santa Maria do Herval, RioGrande do Sul state, Brazil. An amount of 120 sample units were delimited, equitably distributed in threefragments (FI, II and III in which all species were surveyed and the richness was recorded. The floristiccomposition among fragments was compared using Jaccard’s index and spatial distribution of units wasevaluated through multidimensional scaling. Richness data were presented in the form of rarefaction curvesbased on samples and non-parametric diversity estimators. A total of 40 species were found, belonging to13 families. The greater floristic similarity was between FI and FII. Sample units from FI formed the mostdefined grouping and they had more exclusive species than the others. The rarefaction curve for the totalsampling almost reached the asymptote and estimators indicated a maximum of 45 species, which meansthat the majority of species was surveyed at the study site. A decreasing gradient of mean richness per unitwas observed as the urbanization increased in the matrix habitat of the fragments. These results form a database to be used in management, conservation and reforestation measures in degraded riparian forests. Theycan be directly compared to results from other studies that used rarefaction and richness estimators, whichis not possible to do with many of the surveys accomplished in Brazil so far.

  1. Newspaper archives + text mining = rich sources of historical geo-spatial data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yzaguirre, A.; Smit, M.; Warren, R.

    2016-04-01

    Newspaper archives are rich sources of cultural, social, and historical information. These archives, even when digitized, are typically unstructured and organized by date rather than by subject or location, and require substantial manual effort to analyze. The effort of journalists to be accurate and precise means that there is often rich geo-spatial data embedded in the text, alongside text describing events that editors considered to be of sufficient importance to the region or the world to merit column inches. A regional newspaper can add over 100,000 articles to its database each year, and extracting information from this data for even a single country would pose a substantial Big Data challenge. In this paper, we describe a pilot study on the construction of a database of historical flood events (location(s), date, cause, magnitude) to be used in flood assessment projects, for example to calibrate models, estimate frequency, establish high water marks, or plan for future events in contexts ranging from urban planning to climate change adaptation. We then present a vision for extracting and using the rich geospatial data available in unstructured text archives, and suggest future avenues of research.

  2. An Algorithm for Obtaining the Distribution of 1-Meter Lightning Channel Segment Altitudes for Application in Lightning NOx Production Estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Harold; Koshak, William J.

    2009-01-01

    An algorithm has been developed to estimate the altitude distribution of one-meter lightning channel segments. The algorithm is required as part of a broader objective that involves improving the lightning NOx emission inventories of both regional air quality and global chemistry/climate models. The algorithm was tested and applied to VHF signals detected by the North Alabama Lightning Mapping Array (NALMA). The accuracy of the algorithm was characterized by comparing algorithm output to the plots of individual discharges whose lengths were computed by hand; VHF source amplitude thresholding and smoothing were applied to optimize results. Several thousands of lightning flashes within 120 km of the NALMA network centroid were gathered from all four seasons, and were analyzed by the algorithm. The mean, standard deviation, and median statistics were obtained for all the flashes, the ground flashes, and the cloud flashes. One-meter channel segment altitude distributions were also obtained for the different seasons.

  3. The infrared emission of carbonaceous particles around C-rich IRAS sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blanco, A.; Borghesi, A.; Fonti, S.; Orofino, V.; Strafella, F.

    1997-01-01

    The IRAS spectra of 23 carbon-rich sources have been fitted by means of an improved theoretical model based on the Leung-Spagna radiative transfer code and using extinction data obtained in their laboratory for different types of amorphous carbon and silicon carbide submicron particles. The agreement between observations and theoretical spectra is rather good. A comparison between the IRAS spectrum of the object 12447 + 0425 (RU Vir) and that recently obtained at UKIRT, for the same object but with higher resolution, seems to open new problems

  4. Shape evolution in neutron-rich A ~ 140 nuclei beyond the doubly-magic nucleus 132Sn

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odahara, Atsuko; Eurica Collaboration

    2014-09-01

    Study for the shape evolution enables us to disentangle competition between spherical (single-particle like) shape and deformed (collective-like) shape as a function of neutron number. Neutron-rich nuclei in the northeast region of the doubly-magic 132Sn locates in one of the best mass region where a variety of collective modes, not only prolate deformation but also octupole collectivity, are expected to appear. These neutron-rich A ~140 nuclei were produced by using in-flight fission reaction of the 345 MeV/u 238U86+ beam at RIKEN RI Beam Factory. This experiment was performed in the framework of the EURICA (EUroball RIken Cluster Array) project based on the highly-efficient β- and isomer-decay spectroscopy methods. Around 20 extremely neutron-rich nuclei with Z=51--55 have been studied in this work. New isomers with half lives of longer than hundreds ns were found in some nuclei, such as the neutron-rich Cs isotopes. Also, preliminary results for the β decay of neutron-rich I and Xe isotopes have been obtained. Systematic change of the shape evolution for these neutron-rich isotopes will be discussed.

  5. KIC 9821622: An interesting lithium-rich giant in the Kepler field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jofré, E.; Petrucci, R.; García, L.; Gómez, M.

    2015-12-01

    We report the discovery of a new exceptional young lithium-rich giant, KIC 9821622, in the Kepler field that exhibits an unusually large enhancement of α, Fe-peak, and r-process elements. From high-resolution spectra obtained with GRACES at Gemini North, we derived fundamental parameters and detailed chemical abundances of 23 elements from equivalent widths and synthesis analysis. By combining atmospheric stellar parameters with available asteroseismic data, we obtained the stellar mass, radius, and age. The data analysis reveals that KIC 9821622 is a Li-rich (A(Li)NLTE = 1.80 ± 0.2) intermediate-mass giant star (M = 1.64 M⊙) located at the red giant branch near the luminosity bump. We find unexpectedly elevated abundances of Fe-peak and r-process elements. In addition, as previously reported, we find that this is a young star (2.37 Gyr) with unusually high abundances of α-elements ([α/Fe] = 0.31). The evolutionary status of KIC 9821622 suggests that its Li-rich nature is the result of internal fresh Li that is synthesized through the Cameron-Fowler mechanism near the luminosity bump. However, its peculiar enhancement of α, Fe-peak, and r-process elements opens the possibility of external contamination by material enriched by a supernova explosion. Although it is less likely, planet accretion cannot be ruled out. Based on observations obtained at the Gemini Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under a cooperative agreement with the NSF on behalf of the Gemini partnership: the National Science Foundation (United States), the National Research Council (Canada), CONICYT (Chile), the Australian Research Council (Australia), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brazil) and Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva (Argentina).Appendix A is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org

  6. What explains high plant richness in East Asia? Time and diversification in the tribe Lysimachieae (Primulaceae).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Hai-Fei; Zhang, Cai-Yun; Anderberg, Arne A; Hao, Gang; Ge, Xue-Jun; Wiens, John J

    2018-04-17

    What causes the disparity in biodiversity among regions is a fundamental question in biogeography, ecology, and evolutionary biology. Evolutionary and biogeographic processes (speciation, extinction, dispersal) directly determine species richness patterns, and can be studied using integrative phylogenetic approaches. However, the strikingly high richness of East Asia relative to other Northern Hemisphere regions remains poorly understood from this perspective. Here, for the first time, we test two general hypotheses (older colonization time, faster diversification rate) to explain this pattern, using the plant tribe Lysimachieae (Primulaceae) as a model system. We generated a new time-calibrated phylogeny for Lysimachieae (13 genes, 126 species), to estimate colonization times and diversification rates for each region and to test the relative importance of these two factors for explaining regional richness patterns. We find that neither time nor diversification rates alone explain richness patterns among regions in Lysimachieae. Instead, a new index that combines both factors explains global richness patterns in the group and their high East Asian biodiversity. Based on our results from Lysimachieae, we suggest that the high richness of plants in East Asia may be explained by a combination of older colonization times and faster diversification rates in this region. © 2018 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

  7. A Solution to Modeling Multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis with Data Obtained from Complex Survey Sampling to Avoid Conflated Parameter Estimates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiun-Yu Wu

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The issue of equality in the between-and within-level structures in Multilevel Confirmatory Factor Analysis (MCFA models has been influential for obtaining unbiased parameter estimates and statistical inferences. A commonly seen condition is the inequality of factor loadings under equal level-varying structures. With mathematical investigation and Monte Carlo simulation, this study compared the robustness of five statistical models including two model-based (a true and a mis-specified models, one design-based, and two maximum models (two models where the full rank of variance-covariance matrix is estimated in between level and within level, respectively in analyzing complex survey measurement data with level-varying factor loadings. The empirical data of 120 3rd graders' (from 40 classrooms perceived Harter competence scale were modeled using MCFA and the parameter estimates were used as true parameters to perform the Monte Carlo simulation study. Results showed maximum models was robust to unequal factor loadings while the design-based and the miss-specified model-based approaches produced conflated results and spurious statistical inferences. We recommend the use of maximum models if researchers have limited information about the pattern of factor loadings and measurement structures. Measurement models are key components of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM; therefore, the findings can be generalized to multilevel SEM and CFA models. Mplus codes are provided for maximum models and other analytical models.

  8. Kings Today, Rich Tomorrow

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fattoum, Asma

    2013-01-01

    This study investigates the King vs. Rich dilemma that founder-CEOs face at IPO. When undertaking IPO, founders face two options. They can either get rich, but then run the risk of losing the control over their firms; or they can remain kings by introducing defensive mechanisms, but this is likel...

  9. Constraints on the Richness-Mass Relation and the Optical-SZE Positional Offset Distribution for SZE-Selected Clusters

    CERN Document Server

    Saro, A; Rozo, E; Benson, B A; Mohr, J; Rykoff, E S; Soares-Santos, M; Bleem, L; Dodelson, S; Melchior, P; Sobreira, F; Upadhyay, V; Weller, J; Abbott, T; Abdalla, F B; Allam, S; Armstrong, R; Banerji, M; Bauer, A H; Bayliss, M; Benoit-Lévy, A; Bernstein, G M; Bertin, E; Brodwin, M; Brooks, D; Buckley-Geer, E; Burke, D L; Carlstrom, J E; Capasso, R; Capozzi, D; Carnero Rosell, A; Carrasco Kind, M; Chiu, I; Covarrubias, R; Crawford, T M; Crocce, M; D'Andrea, C B; da Costa, L N; DePoy, D L; Desai, S; de Haan, T; Diehl, H T; Dietrich, J P; Doel, P; Cunha, C E; Eifler, T F; Evrard, A E; Fausti Neto, A; Fernandez, E; Flaugher, B; Fosalba, P; Frieman, J; Gangkofner, C; Gaztanaga, E; Gerdes, D; Gruen, D; Gruendl, R A; Gupta, N; Hennig, C; Holzapfel, W L; Honscheid, K; Jain, B; James, D; Kuehn, K; Kuropatkin, N; Lahav, O; Li, T S; Lin, H; Maia, M A G; March, M; Marshall, J L; Martini, Paul; McDonald, M; Miller, C J; Miquel, R; Nord, B; Ogando, R; Plazas, A A; Reichardt, C L; Romer, A K; Roodman, A; Sako, M; Sanchez, E; Schubnell, M; Sevilla, I; Smith, R C; Stalder, B; Stark, A A; Strazzullo, V; Suchyta, E; Swanson, M E C; Tarle, G; Thaler, J; Thomas, D; Tucker, D; Vikram, V; von der Linden, A; Walker, A R; Wechsler, R H; Wester, W; Zenteno, A; Ziegler, K E

    2015-01-01

    We cross-match galaxy cluster candidates selected via their Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE) signatures in 129.1 deg$^2$ of the South Pole Telescope 2500d SPT-SZ survey with optically identified clusters selected from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) science verification data. We identify 25 clusters between $0.1\\lesssim z\\lesssim 0.8$ in the union of the SPT-SZ and redMaPPer (RM) samples. RM is an optical cluster finding algorithm that also returns a richness estimate for each cluster. We model the richness $\\lambda$-mass relation with the following function $\\langle\\ln\\lambda|M_{500}\\rangle\\propto B_\\lambda\\ln M_{500}+C_\\lambda\\ln E(z)$ and use SPT-SZ cluster masses and RM richnesses $\\lambda$ to constrain the parameters. We find $B_\\lambda= 1.14^{+0.21}_{-0.18}$ and $C_\\lambda=0.73^{+0.77}_{-0.75}$. The associated scatter in mass at fixed richness is $\\sigma_{\\ln M|\\lambda} = 0.18^{+0.08}_{-0.05}$ at a characteristic richness $\\lambda=70$. We demonstrate that our model provides an adequate description of the ma...

  10. Developments on RICH detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Besson, P.; Bourgeois, P.

    1996-01-01

    The RICH (ring imaging Cherenkov) detector which is dedicated to Cherenkov radiation detection is described. An improvement made by replacing photo sensible vapor with solid photocathode is studied. A RICH detector prototype with a CsI photocathode has been built in Saclay and used with Saturne. The first results are presented. (A.C.)

  11. Process optimization for obtaining nano cellulose from curaua fiber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lunz, Juliana do N.; Cordeiro, Suellem B.; Mota, Jose Carlos F.; Marques, Maria de Fatima V.

    2011-01-01

    This study focuses on the methodology for optimization to obtain nanocellulose from vegetal fibers. An experimental planning was carried out for the treatment of curaua fibers and parameters were estimated, having the concentration of H 2 SO 4 , hydrolysis time, reaction temperature and time of sonication applied as independent variables for further statistical analysis. According to the estimated parameters, the statistically significant effects were determined for the process of obtaining nanocellulose. According to the results obtained from the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) it was observed that certain conditions led to cellulose with degradation temperatures near or even above that of untreated cellulose fibers. The crystallinity index (IC) obtained after fiber treatment (X-ray diffraction) were higher than that of the pure fiber. Treatments with high acid concentrations led to higher IC. (author)

  12. RICH High Voltages & PDF Analysis @ LHCb

    CERN Multimedia

    Fanchini, E

    2009-01-01

    In the LHCb experiment an important issue is the identification of the hadrons of the final states of the B mesons decays. Two RICH subdetectors are devoted to this task, and the Hybrid Photon Detectors (HPDs) are the photodetectors used to detect Cherenkov light. In this poster there is a description of how the very high voltage (-18 KV) supply stability used to power the HPDs is monitored. It is also presented the basics of a study which can be done with the first collision data: the analysis of the dimuons from the Drell-Yan process. This process is well known and the acceptance of the LHCb detector in terms of pseudorapidity will be very useful to improve the knowledge of the proton structure functions or, alternatively, try to estimate the luminosity from it.

  13. Primary controls on species richness in higher taxa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabosky, Daniel L

    2010-12-01

    The disparity in species richness across the tree of life is one of the most striking and pervasive features of biological diversity. Some groups are exceptionally diverse, whereas many other groups are species poor. Differences in diversity among groups are frequently assumed to result from primary control by differential rates of net diversification. However, a major alternative explanation is that ecological and other factors exert primary control on clade diversity, such that apparent variation in net diversification rates is a secondary consequence of ecological limits on clade growth. Here, I consider a likelihood framework for distinguishing between these competing hypotheses. I incorporate hierarchical modeling to explicitly relax assumptions about the constancy of diversification rates across clades, and I propose several statistics for a posteriori evaluation of model adequacy. I apply the framework to a recent dated phylogeny of ants. My results reject the hypothesis that net diversification rates exert primary control on species richness in this group and demonstrate that clade diversity is better explained by total time-integrated speciation. These results further suggest that it may not possible to estimate meaningful speciation and extinction rates from higher-level phylogenies of extant taxa only.

  14. [Ants’ higher taxa as surrogates of species richness in a chronosequence of fallows, old-grown forests and agroforestry systems in the Eastern Amazon, Brazil].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muñoz Gutiérrez, Jhonatan Andrés; Roussea, Guillaume Xavier; Andrade-Silva, Joudellys; Delabie, Jacques Hubert Charles

    2017-03-01

    Deforestation in Amazon forests is one of the main causes for biodiversity loss worldwide. Ants are key into the ecosystem because act like engineers; hence, the loss of ants’ biodiversity may be a guide to measure the loss of essential functions into the ecosystems. The aim of this study was to evaluate soil ant’s richness and to estimate whether higher taxa levels (Subfamily and Genus) can be used as surrogates of species richness in different vegetation types (fallows, old-growth forests and agroforestry systems) in Eastern Amazon. The samples were taken in 65 areas in the Maranhão and Pará States in the period 2011-2014. The sampling scheme followed the procedure of Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF). Initially, the vegetation types were characterized according to their age and estimated species richness. Linear and exponential functions were applied to evaluate if higher taxa can be used as surrogates and correlated with the Pearson coefficient. In total, 180 species distributed in 60 genera were identified. The results showed that ant species richness was higher in intermediate fallows (88) and old secondary forest (76), and was lower in agroforestry systems (38) and mature riparian forest (35). The genus level was the best surrogate to estimate the ant’s species richness across the different vegetation types, and explained 72-97 % (P agroforestry systems may contribute in the conservation of Eastern Amazon ant community.

  15. Conservation and Biodiversity of Rich Fens

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Dagmar Kappel

    2014-01-01

    Rich fen is a habitat type dependent on a constant supply of nutrient poor, calcium rich groundwater. A high, stable groundwater table, relatively high pH combined with nutrient poor conditions support a special and very species rich vegetation including many rare and threatened plant species. In...

  16. Black manganese-rich crusts on a Gothic cathedral

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macholdt, Dorothea S.; Herrmann, Siegfried; Jochum, Klaus Peter; Kilcoyne, A. L. David; Laubscher, Thomas; Pfisterer, Jonas H. K.; Pöhlker, Christopher; Schwager, Beate; Weber, Bettina; Weigand, Markus; Domke, Katrin F.; Andreae, Meinrat O.

    2017-12-01

    Black manganese-rich crusts are found worldwide on the façades of historical buildings. In this study, they were studied exemplarily on the façade of the Freiburger Münster (Freiburg Minster), Germany, and measured in-situ by portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF). The XRF was calibrated to allow the conversion from apparent mass fractions to Mn surface density (Mn mass per area), to compensate for the fact that portable XRF mass fraction measurements from thin layers violate the assumption of a homogeneous measurement volume. Additionally, 200-nm femtosecond laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (fs LA-ICP-MS) measurements, scanning transmission X-ray microscopy-near edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (STXM-NEXAFS), Raman spectroscopy, and imaging by light microscopy were conducted to obtain further insight into the crust material, such as potential biogenic contributions, element distributions, trace element compositions, and organic functional groups. While black crusts of various types are present at many places on the minster's facade, crusts rich in Mn (with a Mn surface density >150 μg cm-2) are restricted to a maximum height of about 7 m. The only exceptions are those developed on the Renaissance-Vorhalle (Renaissance Portico) at a height of about 8 m. This part of the façade had been cleaned and treated with a silicon resin as recently as 2003. These crusts thus accumulated over a period of only 12 years. Yet, they are exceptionally Mn-rich with a surface density of 1200 μg cm-2, and therefore require an accumulation rate of about 100 μg cm-2 Mn per year. Trace element analyses support the theory that vehicle emissions are responsible for most of the Mn supply. Lead, barium, and zinc correlate with manganese, indicating that tire material, brake pads, and resuspended road dust are likely to be the element sources. Microscopic investigations show no organisms on or in the Mn-rich crusts. In contrast, Mn-free black

  17. Comparison of Sun-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence Estimates Obtained from Four Portable Field Spectroradiometers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Julitta, Tommaso; Corp, Lawrence A.; Rossini, Micol; Burkart, Andreas; Cogliati, Sergio; Davies, Neville; Hom, Milton; Mac Arthur, Alasdair; Middleton, Elizabeth M.; Rascher, Uwe; hide

    2016-01-01

    Remote Sensing of Sun-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF) is a research field of growing interest because it offers the potential to quantify actual photosynthesis and to monitor plant status. New satellite missions from the European Space Agency, such as the Earth Explorer 8 FLuorescence EXplorer (FLEX) mission-scheduled to launch in 2022 and aiming at SIF mapping-and from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) such as the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) sampling mission launched in July 2014, provide the capability to estimate SIF from space. The detection of the SIF signal from airborne and satellite platform is difficult and reliable ground level data are needed for calibration/validation. Several commercially available spectroradiometers are currently used to retrieve SIF in the field. This study presents a comparison exercise for evaluating the capability of four spectroradiometers to retrieve SIF. The results show that an accurate far-red SIF estimation can be achieved using spectroradiometers with an ultrafine resolution (less than 1 nm), while the red SIF estimation requires even higher spectral resolution (less than 0.5 nm). Moreover, it is shown that the Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) plays a significant role in the precision of the far-red SIF measurements.

  18. Method Development to Increase Protein Enrichment During Dry Fractionation of Starch-Rich Legumes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Pelgrom, P.J.M.; Boom, R.M.; Schutyser, M.A.I.

    2015-01-01

    A facile method was developed to establish milling settings that optimally separate starch granules from protein bodies and cell wall fibres for starch-rich legumes. Optimal separation was obtained for pea, bean, lentil and chickpea when the particle size distribution curve of flour and isolated

  19. Emotion regulation, emotional eating and the energy-rich dietary pattern. A population-based study in Chinese adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Qingyun; Tao, Fangbiao; Hou, Fangli; Zhang, Zhaocheng; Ren, Ling-Ling

    2016-04-01

    Research investigating the influence of emotion regulation (ER) strategies on emotional eating and diet among Chinese adolescents is scarce. The aim of this study was to test associations between two ER strategies (suppression/cognitive reappraisal), emotional eating, and an energy-rich dietary pattern. A total of 4316 adolescents from 10 high schools were surveyed. Dietary patterns were derived using factor analysis. Bivariate correlations were analyzed to examine associations between ER strategies, emotional eating behavior and an energy-rich dietary pattern, by gender. The mediating effect of emotional eating in the relationship between ER and energy-rich food consumption by gender was estimated using structural equation modeling. A higher level of suppression, but no lack of cognitive reappraisal, was associated with emotional eating in boys and girls. A higher level of suppression and lack of cognitive reappraisal were associated with a greater intake of energy-rich foods in girls only. Emotional eating mediated the relationship between a higher level of suppression and a greater intake of energy-rich food in girls. This study revealed significant associations between two ER strategies and an energy-rich dietary pattern in girls, and provided evidence that higher levels of suppression may put girls at risk for emotional eating, potentially affecting the energy-rich dietary pattern. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Is torrefaction of polysaccharides-rich biomass equivalent to carbonization of lignin-rich biomass?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilgic, E; Yaman, S; Haykiri-Acma, H; Kucukbayrak, S

    2016-01-01

    Waste biomass species such as lignin-rich hazelnut shell (HS) and polysaccharides-rich sunflower seed shell (SSS) were subjected to torrefaction at 300°C and carbonization at 600°C under nitrogen. The structural variations in torrefied and carbonized biomasses were compared. Also, the burning characteristics under dry air and pure oxygen (oxy-combustion) conditions were investigated. It was concluded that the effects of carbonization on HS are almost comparable with the effects of torrefaction on SSS in terms of devolatilization and deoxygenation potentials and the increases in carbon content and the heating value. Consequently, it can be proposed that torrefaction does not provide efficient devolatilization from the lignin-rich biomass while it is relatively more efficient for polysaccharides-rich biomass. Heat-induced variations in biomass led to significant changes in the burning characteristics under both burning conditions. That is, low temperature reactivity of biomass reduced considerably and the burning shifted to higher temperatures with very high burning rates. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Development of a restricted state space stochastic differential equation model for bacterial growth in rich media

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Møller, Jan Kloppenborg; Philipsen, Kirsten Riber; Christiansen, Lasse Engbo

    2012-01-01

    In the present study, bacterial growth in a rich media is analysed in a Stochastic Differential Equation (SDE) framework. It is demonstrated that the SDE formulation and smoothened state estimates provide a systematic framework for data driven model improvements, using random walk hidden states...

  2. Noninvasive Vascular Displacement Estimation for Relative Elastic Modulus Reconstruction in Transversal Imaging Planes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris L. de Korte

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Atherosclerotic plaque rupture can initiate stroke or myocardial infarction. Lipid-rich plaques with thin fibrous caps have a higher risk to rupture than fibrotic plaques. Elastic moduli differ for lipid-rich and fibrous tissue and can be reconstructed using tissue displacements estimated from intravascular ultrasound radiofrequency (RF data acquisitions. This study investigated if modulus reconstruction is possible for noninvasive RF acquisitions of vessels in transverse imaging planes using an iterative 2D cross-correlation based displacement estimation algorithm. Furthermore, since it is known that displacements can be improved by compounding of displacements estimated at various beam steering angles, we compared the performance of the modulus reconstruction with and without compounding. For the comparison, simulated and experimental RF data were generated of various vessel-mimicking phantoms. Reconstruction errors were less than 10%, which seems adequate for distinguishing lipid-rich from fibrous tissue. Compounding outperformed single-angle reconstruction: the interquartile range of the reconstructed moduli for the various homogeneous phantom layers was approximately two times smaller. Additionally, the estimated lateral displacements were a factor of 2–3 better matched to the displacements corresponding to the reconstructed modulus distribution. Thus, noninvasive elastic modulus reconstruction is possible for transverse vessel cross sections using this cross-correlation method and is more accurate with compounding.

  3. Adaptive Reactive Rich Internet Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Kay-Uwe; Stühmer, Roland; Dörflinger, Jörg; Rahmani, Tirdad; Thomas, Susan; Stojanovic, Ljiljana

    Rich Internet Applications significantly raise the user experience compared with legacy page-based Web applications because of their highly responsive user interfaces. Although this is a tremendous advance, it does not solve the problem of the one-size-fits-all approach1 of current Web applications. So although Rich Internet Applications put the user in a position to interact seamlessly with the Web application, they do not adapt to the context in which the user is currently working. In this paper we address the on-the-fly personalization of Rich Internet Applications. We introduce the concept of ARRIAs: Adaptive Reactive Rich Internet Applications and elaborate on how they are able to adapt to the current working context the user is engaged in. An architecture for the ad hoc adaptation of Rich Internet Applications is presented as well as a holistic framework and tools for the realization of our on-the-fly personalization approach. We divided both the architecture and the framework into two levels: offline/design-time and online/run-time. For design-time we explain how to use ontologies in order to annotate Rich Internet Applications and how to use these annotations for conceptual Web usage mining. Furthermore, we describe how to create client-side executable rules from the semantic data mining results. We present our declarative lightweight rule language tailored to the needs of being executed directly on the client. Because of the event-driven nature of the user interfaces of Rich Internet Applications, we designed a lightweight rule language based on the event-condition-action paradigm.2 At run-time the interactions of a user are tracked directly on the client and in real-time a user model is built up. The user model then acts as input to and is evaluated by our client-side complex event processing and rule engine.

  4. Wind dependence of ambient noise in a biologically rich coastal area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathias, Delphine; Gervaise, Cédric; Di Iorio, Lucia

    2016-02-01

    The wind dependence of acoustic spectrum between 100 Hz and 16 kHz is investigated for coastal biologically rich areas. The analysis of 5 months of continuous measurements run in a 10 m deep shallow water environment off Brittany (France) showed that wind dependence of spectral levels is subject to masking by biological sounds. When dealing with raw data, the wind dependence of spectral levels was not significant for frequencies where biological sounds were present (2 to 10 kHz). An algorithm developed by Kinda, Simard, Gervaise, Mars, and Fortier [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 134(1), 77-87 (2013)] was used to automatically filter out the loud distinctive biological contribution and estimated the ambient noise spectrum. The wind dependence of ambient noise spectrum was always significant after application of this filter. A mixture model for ambient noise spectrum which accounts for the richness of the soundscape is proposed. This model revealed that wind dependence holds once the wind speed was strong enough to produce sounds higher in amplitude than the biological chorus (9 kn at 3 kHz, 11 kn at 8 kHz). For these higher wind speeds, a logarithmic affine law was adequate and its estimated parameters were compatible with previous studies (average slope 27.1 dB per decade of wind speed increase).

  5. In vivo evaluation of analgesic and antipyretic activities of piceatannol-rich extract from Senna garrettiana heartwood

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suparada Surapanthanakorn

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available A methanolic extract from Senna garrettiana (S. garrettiana heartwood was prepared and then a fractionation process was performed to obtain hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, and aqueous fractions. An antinociceptive screening of each fraction was carried out using the acetic acid-induced writhing in mice. Among all the fractions, the ethyl acetate fraction showed the highest activity on the writhing test. The ethyl acetate fraction was separated to obtain a piceatannol-rich extract. The S. garrettiana extract contains 11.70 % w/w and 39.16 % w/w piceatannol in the ethyl acetate fraction and the piceatannol-rich extract, respectively. The analgesic activities of the ethyl acetate fraction (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg and the piceatannol-rich extract (10, 20 and 40 mg/kg were evaluated by the acetic acid-induced writhing test, hot-plate test and formalin test. The antipyretic activity of these extracts was assessed on yeast’s-induced pyrexia in rats. The acute toxicity was also investigated. In the acute toxicity study, no lethality was observed after the oral administration of methanolic extract of S. garrettiana heartwood even at a high dose of 5 g/kg in mice. The oral administration of the ethyl acetate fraction decreased the number of writhings in a dose dependent manner with 54.9 %, 68.5 %, and 71.0 % inhibition, respectively. A similar result was also observed after the oral administration of the piceatannol-rich extract with 53.1%, 69.2% and 80.3% inhibition, respectively. In the formalin test, either the ethyl acetate fraction or the piceatannol-rich extract significantly diminished the licking time in both the early and late phases. Neither the ethyl acetate nor the piceatannol-rich extract had any effect on heat-induced pain. The ethyl acetate fraction at the same dosage range significantly decreased the rat rectal temperature at 2, 3 and 4 hrs. The piceatannol-rich extract at a dose of 20 and 40 mg/kg suppressed the rectal temperature

  6. Bayesian phylogenetic estimation of fossil ages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drummond, Alexei J; Stadler, Tanja

    2016-07-19

    Recent advances have allowed for both morphological fossil evidence and molecular sequences to be integrated into a single combined inference of divergence dates under the rule of Bayesian probability. In particular, the fossilized birth-death tree prior and the Lewis-Mk model of discrete morphological evolution allow for the estimation of both divergence times and phylogenetic relationships between fossil and extant taxa. We exploit this statistical framework to investigate the internal consistency of these models by producing phylogenetic estimates of the age of each fossil in turn, within two rich and well-characterized datasets of fossil and extant species (penguins and canids). We find that the estimation accuracy of fossil ages is generally high with credible intervals seldom excluding the true age and median relative error in the two datasets of 5.7% and 13.2%, respectively. The median relative standard error (RSD) was 9.2% and 7.2%, respectively, suggesting good precision, although with some outliers. In fact, in the two datasets we analyse, the phylogenetic estimate of fossil age is on average less than 2 Myr from the mid-point age of the geological strata from which it was excavated. The high level of internal consistency found in our analyses suggests that the Bayesian statistical model employed is an adequate fit for both the geological and morphological data, and provides evidence from real data that the framework used can accurately model the evolution of discrete morphological traits coded from fossil and extant taxa. We anticipate that this approach will have diverse applications beyond divergence time dating, including dating fossils that are temporally unconstrained, testing of the 'morphological clock', and for uncovering potential model misspecification and/or data errors when controversial phylogenetic hypotheses are obtained based on combined divergence dating analyses.This article is part of the themed issue 'Dating species divergences using

  7. Research: Rags to Rags? Riches to Riches?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bracey, Gerald W.

    2004-01-01

    Everyone has read about what might be called the "gold gap"--how the rich in this country are getting richer and controlling an ever-larger share of the nation's wealth. The Century Foundation has started publishing "Reality Check", a series of guides to campaign issues that sometimes finds gaps in these types of cherished delusions. The guides…

  8. Tailoring of magnetoimpedance effect and magnetic softness of Fe-rich glass-coated microwires by stress- annealing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhukova, V; Blanco, J M; Ipatov, M; Churyukanova, M; Taskaev, S; Zhukov, A

    2018-02-16

    There is a pressing need for improving of the high-frequency magneto-impedance effect of cost-effective soft magnetic materials for use in high-performance sensing devices. The impact of the stress-annealing on magnetic properties and high frequency impedance of Fe-rich glass-coated microwires was studied. Hysteresis loops of Fe-rich microwires have been considerably affected by stress- annealing. In stress-annealed Fe- rich microwire we obtained drastic decreasing of coercivity and change of character of hysteresis loop from rectangular to linear. By controlling stress-annealing conditions (temperature and time) we achieved drastic increasing (by order of magnitude) of giant magnetoimpedance ratio. Coercivity, remanent magnetization, diagonal and of-diagonal magnetoimpedance effect of Fe-rich microwires can be tuned by stress-annealing conditions: annealing temperature and time. Observed experimental results are discussed considering relaxation of internal stresses, compressive "back-stresses" arising after stress annealing and topological short range ordering.

  9. Macroinvertebrate Richness Importance in Coastal Tropical Streams of Esmeraldas (Ecuador and Its Use and Implications in Environmental Management Procedures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Martínez-Sanz

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This study was aimed at determining the performance of some indices and community attributes frequently used to assess river quality and test the role of macroinvertebrate taxa richness as element of bioindication in several coastal tropical streams of western Esmeraldas (Ecuador. In addition, a macroinvertebrate taxon list of this region was provided for the first time. Thirteen sampled points distributed across nine streams were selected for this study and nineteen parameters and attributes of bioindication were tested. The differences between nonimpact and impact places were evaluated mainly using one-way analysis of variance. Jackknife 2 and Clench were used to estimate the regional richness and the quality of the inventory, respectively. Seventy taxa (principally genus and family of the main groups of macroinvertebrates were collected. Measured richness and family richness were the best metric followed by Biological Monitoring Working Party/Colombia (BMWP/Col, Odonata richness, Shannon-Weiner, and EPT richness (Ephemeroptera + Plecoptera + Trichoptera indices. Only a slight right trend (Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera, and Chironomidae attributes or incorrect performances (Average Score Per Taxon (ASPT and % EPT were showed by frequently used metrics. Finally, several recommendations were made about taxonomic level used, the ranks of quality of taxa richness, and the effort-results relationship in the field of bioindication.

  10. Fat, Stem Cells, and Platelet-Rich Plasma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, Isaac B; Coleman, Sydney R; Rubin, J Peter

    2016-07-01

    The ideal filler for aesthetic surgery is inexpensive and easy to obtain, natural in appearance and texture, immunologically compatible, and long lasting without risk of infection. By most metrics, autologous fat grafts meet these criteria perfectly. Although facial fat grafting is now a commonly accepted surgical procedure, there has been a wave of activity applying stem cells and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapies to aesthetic practice. This article addresses technical considerations in the use of autologous fat transfer for facial rejuvenation, and also explores the current evidence for these stem cell and PRP therapies in aesthetic practice. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Visual search for tropical web spiders: the influence of plot length, sampling effort, and phase of the day on species richness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinto-Leite, C M; Rocha, P L B

    2012-12-01

    Empirical studies using visual search methods to investigate spider communities were conducted with different sampling protocols, including a variety of plot sizes, sampling efforts, and diurnal periods for sampling. We sampled 11 plots ranging in size from 5 by 10 m to 5 by 60 m. In each plot, we computed the total number of species detected every 10 min during 1 hr during the daytime and during the nighttime (0630 hours to 1100 hours, both a.m. and p.m.). We measured the influence of time effort on the measurement of species richness by comparing the curves produced by sample-based rarefaction and species richness estimation (first-order jackknife). We used a general linear model with repeated measures to assess whether the phase of the day during which sampling occurred and the differences in the plot lengths influenced the number of species observed and the number of species estimated. To measure the differences in species composition between the phases of the day, we used a multiresponse permutation procedure and a graphical representation based on nonmetric multidimensional scaling. After 50 min of sampling, we noted a decreased rate of species accumulation and a tendency of the estimated richness curves to reach an asymptote. We did not detect an effect of plot size on the number of species sampled. However, differences in observed species richness and species composition were found between phases of the day. Based on these results, we propose guidelines for visual search for tropical web spiders.

  12. ISO far-infrared observations of rich galaxy clusters II. Sersic 159-03

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Lene; Jørgensen, H.E.; Nørgaard-Nielsen, Hans Ulrik

    2000-01-01

    In a series of papers we investigate far-infrared emission from rich galaxy clusters. Maps have been obtained by ISO at 60 mu m, 100 mu m, 135 mu m, and 200 mu m using the PHT-C camera. Ground based imaging and spectroscopy were also acquired. Here we present the results for the cooling flow...

  13. Removal of cadmium (II) from aqueous solution: A comparative study of raw attapulgite clay and a reusable waste–struvite/attapulgite obtained from nutrient-rich wastewater

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Hao [State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092 (China); Wang, Xuejiang, E-mail: wangxj@tongji.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092 (China); Ma, Jinxing, E-mail: jinxing.ma@unsw.edu.au [School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052 (Australia); Xia, Peng; Zhao, Jianfu [State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092 (China)

    2017-05-05

    Highlights: • Both nutrient recovery and Cd(II) removal were achieved by MAP/APT. • The nutrient recovery process was used as a novel method of modification. • Compared with raw APT, MAP/APT enhanced Cd(II) adsorption capacity. • Cd(II) adsorption mechanisms from aqueous solution were extensively investigated. - Abstract: In this study, raw attapulgite (APT) and a novel adsorbent, struvite/attapulgite (MAP/APT) obtained from nutrient-rich wastewater treated by MgO modified APT, were applied as the absorbent for Cd(II) ion removal from aqueous solution. The two adsorbents were characterized by BET, SEM-EDS, XRD, FT-IR. Raw APT and MAP/APT separately presented the maximum Cd(II) adsorption capacities of 10.38 mg/g and 121.14 mg/g at pH of 5.45. The Cd(II) adsorption on raw APT and MAP/APT could be well fitted by Freundlich isotherm and Langmuir isotherm, respectively. Pseudo-second order equation was able to properly describe the kinetics of Cd(II) adsorption by raw APT and MAP/APT. The calculated thermodynamic parameters indicated that Cd(II) adsorption onto raw APT and MAP/APT were spontaneous and endothermic. An economic evaluation revealed that the treatment costs of the adsorption process by raw APT and MPA/APT were 0.013 $ per 1000 mg Cd and 0.004 $ per 1000 mg Cd, respectively.

  14. Influence of the Se environment on Cu-rich CIS devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deprédurand, Valérie; Bertram, Tobias; Siebentritt, Susanne

    2014-01-01

    Besides their better electronic properties, Cu-rich CuInSe 2 solar cells performed worse than the Cu-poor ones. Dominated by interface recombination which lowers their open circuit voltage, they also exhibit lower current. They are indeed limited by a high native doping which leads to tunneling enhanced recombination. In order to decrease this doping, we investigate the effect of the selenium environment during the absorber growth. We demonstrate that the chemical activity of the Se during the growth strongly influences both the film microstructure and the solar cell performance via various structural and opto-electronic characterization on both the absorber and the resulting solar cells: scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, X-ray diffraction in addition to classical current–voltage and quantum efficiency measurements on the solar cell devices. We show that low Se environment is beneficial to obtain better Cu-rich solar cells.

  15. Mixed Media Richness and Computer-Mediated Communications

    OpenAIRE

    Atkins, Anthony B.

    2006-01-01

    Mixed richness communications occur when a participant in a conversation receives a different media or combination of media than they transmit. Mixed richness communications occur in the workplace when technical, physiological or practical limitations prevent the use of the same media on both ends of a conversation. Prior research in CMC has focused on same-richness communications, and the design guidelines that are available for same-richness communications may not be applicable to mixed-r...

  16. Mobility enhancement in crystalline In-Ga-Zn-oxide with In-rich compositions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tsutsui, Kazuhiro; Matsubayashi, Daisuke; Ishihara, Noritaka; Takasu, Takako; Matsuda, Shinpei; Yamazaki, Shunpei [Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd., 398 Hase, Atsugi-shi 243-0036, Kanagawa (Japan)

    2015-12-28

    The electron mobility of In-Ga-Zn-oxide (IGZO) is known to be enhanced by higher In content. We theoretically investigated the mobility-enhancement mechanism by proposing an In-Ga-Zn-disorder scattering model for an In-rich crystalline IGZO (In{sub 1+x}Ga{sub 1−x}O{sub 3}(ZnO){sub m} (0 < x < 1, m > 0)) thin film. The obtained theoretical mobility was found to be in agreement with experimental Hall mobility for a crystalline In{sub 1.5}Ga{sub 0.5}O{sub 3}(ZnO) (or In{sub 3}GaZn{sub 2}O{sub 8}) thin film. The mechanism specific to In-rich crystalline IGZO thin films is based on three types of Coulomb scattering potentials that originate from effective valence differences. In this study, the In-Ga-Zn-disorder scattering model indicates that the effective valence of the In{sup 3+} ions in In-rich crystalline IGZO thin films significantly affects their electron mobility.

  17. Species richness, area and climate correlates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nogues, David Bravo; Bastos Araujo, Miguel

    2006-01-01

    affects: (1) the selection of climate variables entering a species richness model; and (2) the accuracy of models in predicting species richness in unsampled grid cells. Location Western Europe. Methods Models are developed for European plant, breeding bird, mammal and herptile species richness using...... seven climate variables. Generalized additive models are used to relate species richness, climate and area. Results We found that variation in the grid cell area was large (50 × 50 km: 8-3311 km2; 220 × 220: 193-55,100 km2), but this did not affect the selection of variables in the models. Similarly...... support the assumption that variation in near-equal area cells may be of second-order importance for models explaining or predicting species richness in relation to climate, although there is a possibility that drops in accuracy might increase with grid cell size. The results are, however, contingent...

  18. The Effect of Platelet-Rich Fibrin, Calcium Sulfate Hemihydrate, Platelet-Rich Plasma and Resorbable Collagen on Soft Tissue Closure of Extraction Sites

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa M. Yerke

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Rapid and complete soft tissue healing after tooth extraction minimizes surgical complications and facilitates subsequent implant placement. We used four treatment methods and assessed changes in soft tissue socket closure following tooth extraction in humans. The effects of platelet-rich fibrin-calcium sulfate hemihydrate (PRF-CSH, platelet-rich plasma-calcium sulfate hemihydrate (PRP-CSH, a resorbable collagen dressing (RCD, and no grafting material were compared in a randomized, controlled pilot study with a blinded parallel design (N = 23. Patients with a hopeless tooth scheduled for extraction were randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups. Socket measurements were obtained immediately after extraction and treatment, as well as after 21 days. There was a significant decrease in the total epithelialized external surface area of the extraction sockets in each group at all time points. However, there were no significant differences in soft tissue closure (p > 0.05 at any time point and PRF-CSH or PRP-CSH did not provide any additional benefit to enhance the soft tissue closure of extraction sockets compared with either RCD or sites without graft.

  19. Producing diversity: Agroforests Sustain Avian Richness and Abundance in India's Western Ghats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krithi K Karanth

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Globally, protected areas have long been the corner stone of biodiversity conservation efforts. In India’s Western Ghats, small and isolated protected areas are embedded in a matrix of multiple land-uses, most of which include agroforests. These agroforests are being increasingly recognized for their supplementary role in conserving wildlife. We examined bird species richness and densities in areca (Areca catechu, coffee (Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora and rubber (Hevea brasiliensis agroforests in the Western Ghats. We developed a priori hypotheses, predicting that bird species richness and guild density would be highest in coffee, followed by areca and rubber agroforests. We carried out 551 point-count surveys involving 386 hours of sampling in 187 agroforests across a 29,634 km2 area of the Ghats. We observed 204 bird species, of which 170 were residents. The average estimated richness per agroforest was higher in coffee (60.5 compared to rubber (45.4 and areca (34.1. We modeled species richness as a function of relevant biogeographic and environmental covariates. The most influential factors were tree cover, tree density and rainfall in all agroforests, but the strength of these effects varied. Coffee supported higher densities in all four habitat and three feeding guilds compared to areca and rubber. We integrated extensive field sampling with modeling that accounted for imperfect detection, while assessing bird richness and densities across multiple agroforest types. We establish that coffee agroforests are substantially richer in birds than rubber and areca, but all three agroforests play an important role in providing subsidiary habitats for birds in the Ghats. Policy decisions and markets must incorporate such biodiversity values and services provided by these agroforests to sustain and facilitate long-term biodiversity conservation.

  20. Properties of flames propagating in rich propane-air mixtures at microgravity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, S. F.; Pu, Y. K.; Jia, F.; Jarosinski, J.

    Under normal gravity conditions it was found that the rich flammability limits for propane-air mixture are 9 2 C 3 H 8 equivalence ratio phi 2 42 for upward and 6 3 C 3 H 8 phi 1 60 for downward propagating flames An extremely large concentration gap exists between these two limits which is attributed to the influence of buoyancy and preferential diffusion in the mixture The present study enables a better understanding of flame behaviors in rich propane-air mixtures through microgravity experiments in which flame propagation can be examined in the absence of buoyancy The experiments were carried out in a cubic closed vessel of 80 mm inner length made of quartz glass A high-speed camera recorded flame propagation in the combustion vessel while the pressure history was measured by a transducer to indicate corresponding changes in heat release rate and the temperature development was measured by a thermocouple During the microgravity experiments the vessel was located inside a drop tower assembly The experimental data were compared with similar experiments conducted under normal gravity The flame characteristics were investigated for mixture concentrations between 6 5 C 3 H 8 and 9 2 C 3 H 8 Reliable data related to laminar burning velocity and flame thickness were obtained Some new details of the flame propagation near rich flammability limits were deduced Comparative experiments revealed the influence of gravity on combustion processes of rich propane-air

  1. Front-end readout system for PHENIX RICH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaka, Y.; Hara, H.; Ebisu, K.; Hibino, M.; Kametani, S.; Kikuchi, J.; Wintenberg, A.L.; Walker, J.W.; Franck, S.; Moscone, C.; Jones, J.P.; Young, G.R.; Matsumoto, T.; Sakaguchi, T.; Oyama, K.; Hamagaki, H.

    2000-01-01

    A front-end readout system with a custom backplane and custom circuit modules has been developed for the RICH subsystem of the PHENIX experiment. The design specifications and test results of the backplane and the modules are presented in this paper. In the module design, flexibility for modification is maximized through the use of Complex Programmable Logic Devices. In the backplane design, a source-synchronous bus architecture is adopted for the data and control bus. The transfer speed of the backplane has reached 640 Mbyte/s with a 128-bit data bus. Total transaction time is estimated to be less than 30 μs per event when this system is used in the experiment. This result indicates that the performance satisfies the data-rate requirement of the PHENIX experiment

  2. Species richness, habitable volume, and species densities in freshwater, the sea, and on land

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael N Dawson

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Approximately 0.5–2.0 million eukaryotic species inhabit the seas, whereas 2.0–10.0 million inhabit freshwater or the land. Much has been made of this several-fold difference in species richness but there is little consensus about the causes. Here, I ask a related question: what is the relative density of species in marine and non-marine realms? I use recent estimates of global eukaryotic species richness and published estimates of the areal coverage and depth of habitat for freshwater, marine, and terrestrial biomes. I find that the marine realm harbors ~99.83% of the habitable volume on this planet. Eukaryotic species density of the marine realm is ~3600-fold (i.e., 3-4 orders of magnitude less than that of non-marine environments. Species–volume relationships (SVRs help reconcile actinopterygian fish diversity with global primary productivity and emphasize the interacting roles of abiotic and biotic complexity in shaping patterns of biodiversity in freshwater, the sea, and on land. Comparing SVRs of habitats within and across realms may help resolve the factors and interactions that influence species density.

  3. Performance of Front-End Readout System for PHENIX RICH

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oyama, K.; Hamagaki, H.; Nishimura, S.; Shigaki, K.; Hayano, R.S.; Hibino, M.; Kametani, S.; Kikuchi, J.; Matsumoto, T.; Sakaguchi, T.; Ebisu, K.; Hara, H.; Tanaka, Y.; Ushiroda, T.; Moscone, C.G.; Wintenberg, A.L.; Young, G.R.

    1999-01-01

    A front-end electronics system has been developed for the Ring Imaging Cerenkov (RICH) detector of the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). A high speed custom back-plane with source synchronous bus architecture, a full custom analog ASIC, and board modules with FPGA's and CPLD's were developed for high performance real time data acquisition. The transfer rate of the back-lane has reached 640 MB/s with 128 bits data bus. Total transaction time is estimated to be less than 30 micros per event. The design specifications and test results of the system are presented in this paper

  4. Experimental Evaluation of SI Engine Operation Supplemented by Hydrogen Rich Gas from a Compact Plasma Boosted Reformer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    J. B. Green, Jr.; N. Domingo; J. M. E. Storey; R.M. Wagner; J.S. Armfield; L. Bromberg; D. R. Cohn; A. Rabinovich; N. Alexeev

    2000-01-01

    It is well known that hydrogen addition to spark-ignited (SI) engines can reduce exhaust emissions and increase efficiency. Micro plasmatron fuel converters can be used for onboard generation of hydrogen-rich gas by partial oxidation of a wide range of fuels. These plasma-boosted microreformers are compact, rugged, and provide rapid response. With hydrogen supplement to the main fuel, SI engines can run very lean resulting in a large reduction in nitrogen oxides (NO x ) emissions relative to stoichiometric combustion without a catalytic converter. This paper presents experimental results from a microplasmatron fuel converter operating under variable oxygen to carbon ratios. Tests have also been carried out to evaluate the effect of the addition of a microplasmatron fuel converter generated gas in a 1995 2.3-L four-cylinder SI production engine. The tests were performed with and without hydrogen-rich gas produced by the plasma boosted fuel converter with gasoline. A one hundred fold reduction in NO x due to very lean operation was obtained under certain conditions. An advantage of onboard plasma-boosted generation of hydrogen-rich gas is that it is used only when required and can be readily turned on and off. Substantial NO x reduction should also be obtainable by heavy exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) facilitated by use of hydrogen-rich gas with stoichiometric operation

  5. Species richness and abundance of bats in fragments of the stational semidecidual forest, Upper Paraná River, southern Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Ortêncio-Filho

    Full Text Available The Upper Paraná River floodplain is inserted in a region of the Mata Atlântica biome, which is a critical area to preserve. Due to the scarcity of researches about the chiropterofauna in this region, the present study investigated species richness and abundance of bats in remnants from the stational semidecidual forest of the Upper Paraná River, southern Brazil. Samplings were taken every month, from January to December 2006, using 32 mist nets with 8.0 x 2.5 m, resulting in 640 m²/h and totaling a capture effort of 87,040 m²/h. In order to estimate the species richness, the following estimators were employed Chao1 and Jack2. During the study, a total of 563 individuals belonging to 17 species (Artibeus planirostris, Artibeus lituratus, Carollia perspicillata, Platyrrhinus lineatus, Sturnira lilium, Artibeus fimbriatus, Myotis nigricans, Desmodus rotundus, Artibeus obscurus, Noctilio albiventris, Phylostomus discolor, Phylostomus hastatus, Chrotopterus auritus, Lasiurus ega, Chiroderma villosum, Pygoderma bilabiatum and Lasiurus blossevillii were captured. The estimated richness curves tended to stabilize, indicating that most of the species were sampled. Captured species represented 10% of the taxa recorded in Brazil and 28% in Paraná State, revealing the importance of this area for the diversity of bats. These findings indicate the need to determine actions aiming to restrict human activities in these forest fragments, in order to minimize anthropogenic impacts on the chiropterofauna.

  6. Domain walls collision in Fe-rich and Co-rich glass covered microwires

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gonzalez J.

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available We report the results of the investigation of domain walls propagation in Fe-rich and Co-rich microwires performed using Sixtus-Tonks and magneto-optical Kerr effect techniques. It was found that under certain experimental conditions we are able to create the regime of the motion of two domain walls moving to opposite directions which terminates by the collision of the domain walls. Also the domain walls collision was visualized using magneto-optical Kerr effect microscope when the surface giant Barkhausen jump induced by circular magnetic field has been observed.

  7. Soft tissue regeneration using leukocyte-platelet rich fibrin after exeresis of hyperplastic gingival lesions: two case reports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    di Lauro, A E; Abbate, D; Dell'Angelo, B; Iannaccone, G A; Scotto, F; Sammartino, G

    2015-11-02

    Leukocyte-platelet rich fibrin belongs to a second generation of platelet concentrates that does not need biochemical blood manipulation. It is used for tissue healing and regeneration in periodontal and oral-maxillofacial surgery. We report two cases of hyperplastic gingival lesions treated by exeresis and application of leukocyte-platelet rich fibrin membranes in order to improve and accelerate tissue healing. Two patients (a 78-year-old Caucasian woman and a 30-year-old Caucasian man) were treated for hyperplastic gingival lesions. They underwent to exeresis of lesions and application of leukocyte-platelet rich fibrin membranes. Tissue healing was clinically evaluated after 1, 3, 7, 14 and 30 postoperative days. No recurrences were observed after 2 years of semi-annual follow up. We obtained rapid and good healing of soft tissues probably due to the elevated content of leukocytes, platelets and growth factors in the leukocyte-platelet rich fibrin. Based on our results we suggest the use of leukocyte-platelet rich fibrin to cover wounds after exeresis of oral neoformations such as hyperplastic gingival lesions.

  8. Butterfly species richness and diversity in the Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary in South Asia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Majumder, Joydeb; Lodh, Rahul; Agarwala, B K

    2013-01-01

    Several wildlife sanctuaries in the world are home to the surviving populations of many endemic species. Trishna wildlife sanctuary in northeast India is protected by law, and is home to the last surviving populations of Asian bison (Bos gorus Smith), spectacle monkey (Trachypithecus phayrie Blyth), capped langur (Trachypithecus pileatus Blyth), slow loris (Nycticebus coucang Boddaert), wild cat (Felis chaus Schreber), and wild boars (Sus scrofa L.), among many other animals and plants. The sanctuary was explored for species richness and diversity of butterflies. A six-month-long study revealed the occurrence of 59 butterfly species that included 21 unique species and 9 species listed in the threatened category. The mixed moist deciduous mature forest of the sanctuary harbored greater species richness and species diversity (39 species under 31 genera) than other parts of the sanctuary, which is comprised of regenerated secondary mixed deciduous forest (37 species under 32 genera), degraded forests (32 species under 28 genera), and open grassland with patches of plantations and artificial lakes (24 species under 17 genera). The majority of these species showed a distribution range throughout the Indo-Malayan region and Australasia tropics, and eight species were distributed in the eastern parts of South Asia, including one species, Labadea martha (F.), which is distributed in the eastern Himalayas alone. Estimator Chao 2 provided the best-predicted value of species richness. The steep slope of the species accumulation curve suggested the occurrence of a large number of rare species, and a prolonged gentle slope suggested a higher species richness at a higher sample abundance. The species composition of vegetation-rich habitats showed high similarity in comparison to vegetation-poor habitats.

  9. The relationship between species richness and aboveground biomass in a primary Pinus kesiya forest of Yunnan, southwestern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shuaifeng; Lang, Xuedong; Liu, Wande; Ou, Guanglong; Xu, Hui; Su, Jianrong

    2018-01-01

    The relationship between biodiversity and biomass is an essential element of the natural ecosystem functioning. Our research aims at assessing the effects of species richness on the aboveground biomass and the ecological driver of this relationship in a primary Pinus kesiya forest. We sampled 112 plots of the primary P. kesiya forests in Yunnan Province. The general linear model and the structural equation model were used to estimate relative effects of multivariate factors among aboveground biomass, species richness and the other explanatory variables, including climate moisture index, soil nutrient regime and stand age. We found a positive linear regression relationship between the species richness and aboveground biomass using ordinary least squares regressions. The species richness and soil nutrient regime had no direct significant effect on aboveground biomass. However, the climate moisture index and stand age had direct effects on aboveground biomass. The climate moisture index could be a better link to mediate the relationship between species richness and aboveground biomass. The species richness affected aboveground biomass which was mediated by the climate moisture index. Stand age had direct and indirect effects on aboveground biomass through the climate moisture index. Our results revealed that climate moisture index had a positive feedback in the relationship between species richness and aboveground biomass, which played an important role in a link between biodiversity maintenance and ecosystem functioning. Meanwhile, climate moisture index not only affected positively on aboveground biomass, but also indirectly through species richness. The information would be helpful in understanding the biodiversity-aboveground biomass relationship of a primary P. kesiya forest and for forest management.

  10. Human reliability analysis data obtainment through fuzzy logic in nuclear plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nascimento, C.S. do; Mesquita, R.N. de

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► Human Error Probability estimates from operator's reactions to emergency situations. ► Human Reliability Analysis input data obtainment through fuzzy logic inference. ► Performance Shaping Factors evaluation influence level onto the operator's actions. - Abstract: Human error has been recognized as an important factor for many industrial and nuclear accidents occurrence. Human error data is scarcely available for different reasons among which, lapses in historical database registry methodology is an important one. Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) is an usual tool employed to estimate the probability that an operator will reasonably perform a system required task in required time without degrading the system. This meta-analysis requires specific Human Error Probability estimates for most of its procedure. This work obtains Human Error Probability (HEP) estimates from operator's actions in response to emergency situations hypothesis on Research Reactor IEA-R1 from IPEN, Brazil. Through this proposed methodology HRA should be able to be performed even with shortage of related human error statistical data. A Performance Shaping Factors (PSF's) evaluation in order to classify and estimate their influence level onto the operator's actions and to determine their actual state over the plant was also done. Both HEP estimation and PSF evaluation were done based on expert judgment using interviews and questionnaires. Expert group was established based on selected IEA-R1 operators, and their evaluation were put into a knowledge representation system which used linguistic variables and group evaluation values that were obtained through Fuzzy Logic and Fuzzy Set theory. HEP obtained values show good agreement with literature published data corroborating the proposed methodology as a good alternative to be used on HRA.

  11. Anti-Atherosclerotic Effects of a Phytoestrogen-Rich Herbal Preparation in Postmenopausal Women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veronika A. Myasoedova

    2016-08-01

    7.1% in placebo recipients (NS. The differences between lipid changes in the isoflavonoid-rich herbal preparation and placebo recipients did not reach statistical significance (p > 0.05. Nevertheless, the mean cIMT progression was significantly lower in isoflavonoid-rich herbal preparation recipients as compared to the placebo group (6 μm, or <1%, versus 100 μm, or 13%; p < 0.001 for the difference. The growth of existing atherosclerotic plaques in isoflavonoid-rich herbal preparation recipients was inhibited by 1.5-fold (27% versus 41% in the placebo group. The obtained results demonstrate that the use of isoflavonoid-rich herbal preparation in postmenopausal women may suppress the formation of new atherosclerotic lesions and reduce the progression of existing ones, thus promising new drug for anti-atherosclerotic therapy. Nevertheless, further studies are required to confirm these findings.

  12. Ternary diffusion in Cu-rich fcc Cu–Al–Si alloys at 1073 K

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Dandan [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410083 (China); State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410083 (China); Zhang, Lijun [State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410083 (China); Du, Yong, E-mail: yongducalphad@gmail.com [State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410083 (China); Xu, Honghui [State Key Laboratory of Powder Metallurgy, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410083 (China); Jin, Zhanpeng [School of Materials Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410083 (China)

    2013-07-25

    Highlights: •Interdiffusivities in Cu-rich fcc Cu–Al–Si alloys at 1073 K were determined. •The present results were compared with experimental data in boundary binary systems. •The present results were validated by thermodynamic constraints and Fick’s law. •The sign of ternary cross diffusivities was predicted in terms of thermodynamics. -- Abstract: Utilizing six groups of bulk diffusion couples and with electron probe microanalysis technique, the composition dependence of ternary interdiffusion coefficients in Cu-rich fcc Cu–Al–Si alloys at 1073 K were determined by the Matano-Kirkaldy method. Using a three-dimensional representation, the obtained main ternary diffusion coefficients were found to be consistent with the experimental data in boundary binaries available in the literature. The reliability of the obtained interdiffusivities was further validated by thermodynamic constraints as well as by Fick’s second law applied to numerical simulation. The sign of the ternary cross diffusivities in fcc Cu–Al–Si alloys, which shows a noticeable effect on microstructure, was also successfully predicted in terms of thermodynamics.

  13. Ternary diffusion in Cu-rich fcc Cu–Al–Si alloys at 1073 K

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Dandan; Zhang, Lijun; Du, Yong; Xu, Honghui; Jin, Zhanpeng

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: •Interdiffusivities in Cu-rich fcc Cu–Al–Si alloys at 1073 K were determined. •The present results were compared with experimental data in boundary binary systems. •The present results were validated by thermodynamic constraints and Fick’s law. •The sign of ternary cross diffusivities was predicted in terms of thermodynamics. -- Abstract: Utilizing six groups of bulk diffusion couples and with electron probe microanalysis technique, the composition dependence of ternary interdiffusion coefficients in Cu-rich fcc Cu–Al–Si alloys at 1073 K were determined by the Matano-Kirkaldy method. Using a three-dimensional representation, the obtained main ternary diffusion coefficients were found to be consistent with the experimental data in boundary binaries available in the literature. The reliability of the obtained interdiffusivities was further validated by thermodynamic constraints as well as by Fick’s second law applied to numerical simulation. The sign of the ternary cross diffusivities in fcc Cu–Al–Si alloys, which shows a noticeable effect on microstructure, was also successfully predicted in terms of thermodynamics

  14. The influence of random element displacement on DOA estimates obtained with (Khatri-Rao-)root-MUSIC.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inghelbrecht, Veronique; Verhaevert, Jo; van Hecke, Tanja; Rogier, Hendrik

    2014-11-11

    Although a wide range of direction of arrival (DOA) estimation algorithms has been described for a diverse range of array configurations, no specific stochastic analysis framework has been established to assess the probability density function of the error on DOA estimates due to random errors in the array geometry. Therefore, we propose a stochastic collocation method that relies on a generalized polynomial chaos expansion to connect the statistical distribution of random position errors to the resulting distribution of the DOA estimates. We apply this technique to the conventional root-MUSIC and the Khatri-Rao-root-MUSIC methods. According to Monte-Carlo simulations, this novel approach yields a speedup by a factor of more than 100 in terms of CPU-time for a one-dimensional case and by a factor of 56 for a two-dimensional case.

  15. Structural elucidation, molecular representation and solvent interactions of vitrinite-rich and inertinite-rich South African coals

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Niekerk, Daniel

    The structural differences and similarities of two Permian-aged South African coals, vitrinite-rich Waterberg and inertinite-rich Highveld coals (similar rank, carbon content and Permian age), were evaluated. With South African coals the opportunity presented itself to study not only Permian-aged Gondwana vitrinite but also inertinite. It was expected that these coals would differ from Northern hemisphere Carboniferous coals. It was concluded from various structural data that both coals, although different in maceral composition and depositional basins, are similar in their base structural composition. The main differences were that the inertinite-rich Highveld coal was more ordered, more aromatic, and had less hydrogen than the vitrinite-rich Waterberg coal. Analytical data were used to construct large-scale advanced molecular representations for vitrinite-rich Waterberg and inertinite-rich Highveld coals. The three-dimensional models were structurally diverse with a molecular weight range of 78 to 1900 amu. The vitrinite-rich coal model consisted of 18,572 atoms and 191 individual molecules and the inertinite-rich coal model consisted of 14,242 atoms and 158 individual molecules. This largescale modeling effort was enabled by the development of various PERL scripts to automate various visualization and analytical aspects. Coal swelling studies were conducted using the traditional pack-bed swelling method and a new novel single-particle stop-motion videography swelling method with NMP and CS2/NMP solvents. The pack-bed swelling showed that vitrinite-rich coal had a greater swelling extent and that swelling extent for both coals was greater in CS2/NMP binary solvent than for NMP. Single-particle swelling experiments showed that both coals, for both solvents, exhibit overshoot-type and climbing-type swelling behaviors. Inertinite-coal had a faster swelling rate, in both solvents, than the vitrinite-rich coal. The single-particle swelling data was used to calculate

  16. Parameter Estimation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sales-Cruz, Mauricio; Heitzig, Martina; Cameron, Ian

    2011-01-01

    of optimisation techniques coupled with dynamic solution of the underlying model. Linear and nonlinear approaches to parameter estimation are investigated. There is also the application of maximum likelihood principles in the estimation of parameters, as well as the use of orthogonal collocation to generate a set......In this chapter the importance of parameter estimation in model development is illustrated through various applications related to reaction systems. In particular, rate constants in a reaction system are obtained through parameter estimation methods. These approaches often require the application...... of algebraic equations as the basis for parameter estimation.These approaches are illustrated using estimations of kinetic constants from reaction system models....

  17. Magnetic moment of extremely proton-rich nucleus 23Al

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagatomo, T; Matsuta, K; Ozawa, A; Nakashima, Y; Matsumiya, R; Mihara, M; Yasuno, T; Chiba, A; Yamada, K; Momota; Ohtsubo, T; Ohta, M; Shinojima, D; Izumikawa, T; Tanaka, H; Yamaguchi, T; Nakajima, S; Maemura, H; Muranaka, K; Kumashiro, S; Fujiwara, H; Yoshida, K; Sumikama, T; Tanaka, K; Ogura, M; Minamisono, K; Fukuda, M; Minamisono, T; Nojiri, Y; Suzuki, T; Tanihata, I; Alonso, J R; Krebs, G F; Symons, T J M

    2005-01-01

    The g-factor of the extremely proton-rich nucleus 23 Al (T 1/2 = 0.47 s) has been measured by means of the β-NMR method for the first time. The g-factor were determined as |g| = 1.557(88) from the obtained NMR spectra. From the comparison between the experimental value and the shell model calculation, the spin parity of the ground state of 23 Al was determined as I π = 5/2 + . Thus, the magnetic moment of 23 Al was determined as vertical bar μvertical bar = 3.89(22)μ N

  18. Artificial maturation of an immature sulfur- and organic matter-rich limestone from the Ghareb Formation, Jordan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koopmans, M.P.; Rijpstra, W.I.C.; De Leeuw, J. W.; Lewan, M.D.; Damste, J.S.S.

    1998-01-01

    An immature (Ro=0.39%), S-rich (S(org)/C = 0.07), organic matter-rich (19.6 wt. % TOC) limestone from the Ghareb Formation (Upper Cretaceous) in Jordan was artificially matured by hydrous pyrolysis (200, 220 ..., 300??C; 72 h) to study the effect of progressive diagenesis and early catagenesis on the amounts and distributions of hydrocarbons, organic sulfur compounds and S-rich geomacromolecules. The use of internal standards allowed the determination of absolute amounts. With increasing thermal maturation, large amounts of alkanes and alkylthiophenes with predominantly linear carbon skeletons are generated from the kerogen. The alkylthiophene isomer distributions do not change significantly with increasing thermal maturation, indicating the applicability of alkylthiophenes as biomarkers at relatively high levels of thermal maturity. For a given carbon skeleton, the saturated hydrocarbon, alkylthiophenes and alkylbenzo[b]thiophenes are stable forms at relatively high temperatures, whereas the alkylsulfides are not stable. The large amount of alkylthiophenes produced relative to the alkanes may be explained by the large number of monosulfide links per carbon skeleton. These results are in good agreement with those obtained previously for an artificial maturation series of an immature S-rich sample from the Gessoso-solfifera Formation.An immature (Ro = 0.39%), S-rich (Sorg/C = 0.07), organic matter-rich (19.6 wt.% TOC) limestone from the Ghareb Formation (Upper Cretaceous) in Jordan was artificially matured by hydrous pyrolysis (200, 220, ..., 300??C; 72 h) to study the effect of progressive diagenesis and early catagenesis on the amounts and distributions of hydrocarbons, organic sulfur compounds and S-rich geomacromolecules. The use of internal standards allowed the determination of absolute amounts. With increasing thermal maturation, large amounts of alkanes and alkylthiophenes with predominantly linear carbon skeletons are generated from the kerogen. The

  19. Intakes of culinary herbs and spices from a food frequency questionnaire evaluated against 28-days estimated records.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carlsen, Monica H; Blomhoff, Rune; Andersen, Lene F

    2011-05-16

    Worldwide, herbs and spices are much used food flavourings. However, little data exist regarding actual dietary intake of culinary herbs and spices. We developed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for the assessment of habitual diet the preceding year, with focus on phytochemical rich food, including herbs and spices. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the intakes of herbs and spices from the FFQ with estimates of intake from another dietary assessment method. Thus we compared the intake estimates from the FFQ with 28 days of estimated records of herb and spice consumption as a reference method. The evaluation study was conducted among 146 free living adults, who filled in the FFQ and 2-4 weeks later carried out 28 days recording of herb and spice consumption. The FFQ included a section with questions about 27 individual culinary herbs and spices, while the records were open ended records for recording of herbs and spice consumption exclusively. Our study showed that the FFQ obtained slightly higher estimates of total intake of herbs and spices than the total intake assessed by the Herbs and Spice Records (HSR). The correlation between the two assessment methods with regard to total intake was good (r = 0.5), and the cross-classification suggests that the FFQ may be used to classify subjects according to total herb and spice intake. For the 8 most frequently consumed individual herbs and spices, the FFQ obtained good estimates of median frequency of intake for 2 herbs/spices, while good estimates of portion sizes were obtained for 4 out of 8 herbs/spices. Our results suggested that the FFQ was able to give good estimates of frequency of intake and portion sizes on group level for several of the most frequently used herbs and spices. The FFQ was only able to fairly rank subjects according to frequency of intake of the 8 most frequently consumed herbs and spices. Other studies are warranted to further explore the intakes of culinary spices and herbs.

  20. Intakes of culinary herbs and spices from a food frequency questionnaire evaluated against 28-days estimated records

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Blomhoff Rune

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Worldwide, herbs and spices are much used food flavourings. However, little data exist regarding actual dietary intake of culinary herbs and spices. We developed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ for the assessment of habitual diet the preceding year, with focus on phytochemical rich food, including herbs and spices. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the intakes of herbs and spices from the FFQ with estimates of intake from another dietary assessment method. Thus we compared the intake estimates from the FFQ with 28 days of estimated records of herb and spice consumption as a reference method. Methods The evaluation study was conducted among 146 free living adults, who filled in the FFQ and 2-4 weeks later carried out 28 days recording of herb and spice consumption. The FFQ included a section with questions about 27 individual culinary herbs and spices, while the records were open ended records for recording of herbs and spice consumption exclusively. Results Our study showed that the FFQ obtained slightly higher estimates of total intake of herbs and spices than the total intake assessed by the Herbs and Spice Records (HSR. The correlation between the two assessment methods with regard to total intake was good (r = 0.5, and the cross-classification suggests that the FFQ may be used to classify subjects according to total herb and spice intake. For the 8 most frequently consumed individual herbs and spices, the FFQ obtained good estimates of median frequency of intake for 2 herbs/spices, while good estimates of portion sizes were obtained for 4 out of 8 herbs/spices. Conclusions Our results suggested that the FFQ was able to give good estimates of frequency of intake and portion sizes on group level for several of the most frequently used herbs and spices. The FFQ was only able to fairly rank subjects according to frequency of intake of the 8 most frequently consumed herbs and spices. Other studies are warranted

  1. Patterns and multi-scale drivers of phytoplankton species richness in temperate peri-urban lakes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Catherine, Arnaud; Selma, Maloufi; Mouillot, David; Troussellier, Marc; Bernard, Cécile

    2016-01-01

    Local species richness (SR) is a key characteristic affecting ecosystem functioning. Yet, the mechanisms regulating phytoplankton diversity in freshwater ecosystems are not fully understood, especially in peri-urban environments where anthropogenic pressures strongly impact the quality of aquatic ecosystems. To address this issue, we sampled the phytoplankton communities of 50 lakes in the Paris area (France) characterized by a large gradient of physico-chemical and catchment-scale characteristics. We used large phytoplankton datasets to describe phytoplankton diversity patterns and applied a machine-learning algorithm to test the degree to which species richness patterns are potentially controlled by environmental factors. Selected environmental factors were studied at two scales: the lake-scale (e.g. nutrients concentrations, water temperature, lake depth) and the catchment-scale (e.g. catchment, landscape and climate variables). Then, we used a variance partitioning approach to evaluate the interaction between lake-scale and catchment-scale variables in explaining local species richness. Finally, we analysed the residuals of predictive models to identify potential vectors of improvement of phytoplankton species richness predictive models. Lake-scale and catchment-scale drivers provided similar predictive accuracy of local species richness (R"2 = 0.458 and 0.424, respectively). Both models suggested that seasonal temperature variations and nutrient supply strongly modulate local species richness. Integrating lake- and catchment-scale predictors in a single predictive model did not provide increased predictive accuracy; therefore suggesting that the catchment-scale model probably explains observed species richness variations through the impact of catchment-scale variables on in-lake water quality characteristics. Models based on catchment characteristics, which include simple and easy to obtain variables, provide a meaningful way of predicting phytoplankton

  2. Patterns and multi-scale drivers of phytoplankton species richness in temperate peri-urban lakes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Catherine, Arnaud, E-mail: arnocat@mnhn.fr [UMR7245 MCAM MNHN-CNRS, Muséum National d' Histoire Naturelle, CC 39, 12 rue Buffon, F-75231 Paris, Cedex 05 (France); Selma, Maloufi, E-mail: maloufi@mnhn.fr [UMR7245 MCAM MNHN-CNRS, Muséum National d' Histoire Naturelle, CC 39, 12 rue Buffon, F-75231 Paris, Cedex 05 (France); Mouillot, David, E-mail: david.mouillot@univ-montp2.fr [UMR 9190 MARBEC UM2-CNRS-IRD-UM1-IFREMER, CC 93, Place Eugène Bataillon, Université de Montpellier 2, F-34095 Montpellier (France); Troussellier, Marc, E-mail: troussel@univ-montp2.fr [UMR 9190 MARBEC UM2-CNRS-IRD-UM1-IFREMER, CC 93, Place Eugène Bataillon, Université de Montpellier 2, F-34095 Montpellier (France); Bernard, Cécile, E-mail: cbernard@mnhn.fr [UMR7245 MCAM MNHN-CNRS, Muséum National d' Histoire Naturelle, CC 39, 12 rue Buffon, F-75231 Paris, Cedex 05 (France)

    2016-07-15

    Local species richness (SR) is a key characteristic affecting ecosystem functioning. Yet, the mechanisms regulating phytoplankton diversity in freshwater ecosystems are not fully understood, especially in peri-urban environments where anthropogenic pressures strongly impact the quality of aquatic ecosystems. To address this issue, we sampled the phytoplankton communities of 50 lakes in the Paris area (France) characterized by a large gradient of physico-chemical and catchment-scale characteristics. We used large phytoplankton datasets to describe phytoplankton diversity patterns and applied a machine-learning algorithm to test the degree to which species richness patterns are potentially controlled by environmental factors. Selected environmental factors were studied at two scales: the lake-scale (e.g. nutrients concentrations, water temperature, lake depth) and the catchment-scale (e.g. catchment, landscape and climate variables). Then, we used a variance partitioning approach to evaluate the interaction between lake-scale and catchment-scale variables in explaining local species richness. Finally, we analysed the residuals of predictive models to identify potential vectors of improvement of phytoplankton species richness predictive models. Lake-scale and catchment-scale drivers provided similar predictive accuracy of local species richness (R{sup 2} = 0.458 and 0.424, respectively). Both models suggested that seasonal temperature variations and nutrient supply strongly modulate local species richness. Integrating lake- and catchment-scale predictors in a single predictive model did not provide increased predictive accuracy; therefore suggesting that the catchment-scale model probably explains observed species richness variations through the impact of catchment-scale variables on in-lake water quality characteristics. Models based on catchment characteristics, which include simple and easy to obtain variables, provide a meaningful way of predicting phytoplankton

  3. Online Health Monitoring using Facebook Advertisement Audience Estimates in the United States: Evaluation Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Ingmar; Fernandez-Luque, Luis

    2018-01-01

    Background Facebook, the most popular social network with over one billion daily users, provides rich opportunities for its use in the health domain. Though much of Facebook’s data are not available to outsiders, the company provides a tool for estimating the audience of Facebook advertisements, which includes aggregated information on the demographics and interests, such as weight loss or dieting, of Facebook users. This paper explores the potential uses of Facebook ad audience estimates for eHealth by studying the following: (1) for what type of health conditions prevalence estimates can be obtained via social media and (2) what type of marker interests are useful in obtaining such estimates, which can then be used for recruitment within online health interventions. Objective The objective of this study was to understand the limitations and capabilities of using Facebook ad audience estimates for public health monitoring and as a recruitment tool for eHealth interventions. Methods We use the Facebook Marketing application programming interface to correlate estimated sizes of audiences having health-related interests with public health data. Using several study cases, we identify both potential benefits and challenges in using this tool. Results We find several limitations in using Facebook ad audience estimates, for example, using placebo interest estimates to control for background level of user activity on the platform. Some Facebook interests such as plus-size clothing show encouraging levels of correlation (r=.74) across the 50 US states; however, we also sometimes find substantial correlations with the placebo interests such as r=.68 between interest in Technology and Obesity prevalence. Furthermore, we find demographic-specific peculiarities in the interests on health-related topics. Conclusions Facebook’s advertising platform provides aggregate data for more than 190 million US adults. We show how disease-specific marker interests can be used to model

  4. CBM RICH geometry optimization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mahmoud, Tariq; Hoehne, Claudia [II. Physikalisches Institut, Giessen Univ. (Germany); Collaboration: CBM-Collaboration

    2016-07-01

    The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at the future FAIR complex will investigate the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter at high baryon density and moderate temperatures in A+A collisions from 2-11 AGeV (SIS100) beam energy. The main electron identification detector in the CBM experiment will be a RICH detector with a CO{sub 2} gaseous-radiator, focusing spherical glass mirrors, and MAPMT photo-detectors being placed on a PMT-plane. The RICH detector is located directly behind the CBM dipole magnet. As the final magnet geometry is now available, some changes in the RICH geometry become necessary. In order to guarantee a magnetic field of 1 mT at maximum in the PMT plane for effective operation of the MAPMTs, two measures have to be taken: The PMT plane is moved outwards of the stray field by tilting the mirrors by 10 degrees and shielding boxes have been designed. In this contribution the results of the geometry optimization procedure are presented.

  5. Comparison of different methods in estimating potential evapotranspiration at Muda Irrigation Scheme of Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sobri Harun

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Evapotranspiration (ET is a complex process in the hydrological cycle that influences the quantity of runoff and thus the irrigation water requirements. Numerous methods have been developed to estimate potential evapotranspiration (PET. Unfortunately, most of the reliable PET methods are parameter rich models and therefore, not feasible for application in data scarce regions. On the other hand, accuracy and reliability of simple PET models vary widely according to regional climate conditions. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the performance of three temperature-based and three radiation-based simple ET methods in estimating historical ET and projecting future ET at Muda Irrigation Scheme at Kedah, Malaysia. The performance was measured by comparing those methods with the parameter intensive Penman-Monteith Method. It was found that radiation based methods gave better performance compared to temperature-based methods in estimation of ET in the study area. Future ET simulated from projected climate data obtained through statistical downscaling technique also showed that radiation-based methods can project closer ET values to that projected by Penman-Monteith Method. It is expected that the study will guide in selecting suitable methods for estimating and projecting ET in accordance to availability of meteorological data.

  6. LITHIUM-RICH GIANTS IN GLOBULAR CLUSTERS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kirby, Evan N.; Cohen, Judith G. [California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Boulevard, MC 249-17, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Guhathakurta, Puragra [UCO/Lick Observatory and Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Zhang, Andrew J. [The Harker School, 500 Saratoga Avenue, San Jose, CA 95129 (United States); Hong, Jerry [Palo Alto High School, 50 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94301 (United States); Guo, Michelle [Stanford University, 450 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States); Guo, Rachel [Irvington High School, 41800 Blacow Road, Fremont, CA 94538 (United States); Cunha, Katia [Observatório Nacional, São Cristóvão Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

    2016-03-10

    Although red giants deplete lithium on their surfaces, some giants are Li-rich. Intermediate-mass asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars can generate Li through the Cameron–Fowler conveyor, but the existence of Li-rich, low-mass red giant branch (RGB) stars is puzzling. Globular clusters are the best sites to examine this phenomenon because it is straightforward to determine membership in the cluster and to identify the evolutionary state of each star. In 72 hours of Keck/DEIMOS exposures in 25 clusters, we found four Li-rich RGB and two Li-rich AGB stars. There were 1696 RGB and 125 AGB stars with measurements or upper limits consistent with normal abundances of Li. Hence, the frequency of Li-richness in globular clusters is (0.2 ± 0.1)% for the RGB, (1.6 ± 1.1)% for the AGB, and (0.3 ± 0.1)% for all giants. Because the Li-rich RGB stars are on the lower RGB, Li self-generation mechanisms proposed to occur at the luminosity function bump or He core flash cannot explain these four lower RGB stars. We propose the following origin for Li enrichment: (1) All luminous giants experience a brief phase of Li enrichment at the He core flash. (2) All post-RGB stars with binary companions on the lower RGB will engage in mass transfer. This scenario predicts that 0.1% of lower RGB stars will appear Li-rich due to mass transfer from a recently Li-enhanced companion. This frequency is at the lower end of our confidence interval.

  7. CONSTRAINING THE SCATTER IN THE MASS-RICHNESS RELATION OF maxBCG CLUSTERS WITH WEAK LENSING AND X-RAY DATA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rozo, Eduardo; Rykoff, Eli S.; Evrard, August; McKay, Timothy; Hao Jiangang; Becker, Matthew; Wechsler, Risa H.; Koester, Benjamin P.; Hansen, Sarah; Frieman, Joshua; Sheldon, Erin; Johnston, David; Annis, James

    2009-01-01

    We measure the logarithmic scatter in mass at fixed richness for clusters in the maxBCG cluster catalog, an optically selected cluster sample drawn from Sloan Digital Sky Survey imaging data. Our measurement is achieved by demanding consistency between available weak-lensing and X-ray measurements of the maxBCG clusters, and the X-ray luminosity-mass relation inferred from the 400 days X-ray cluster survey, a flux-limited X-ray cluster survey. We find σ lnM|N 200 =0.45 -0.18 +0.20 (95% CL) at N 200 ∼ 40, where N 200 is the number of red sequence galaxies in a cluster. As a byproduct of our analysis, we also obtain a constraint on the correlation coefficient between ln L X and ln M at fixed richness, which is best expressed as a lower limit, r L,M|N ≥ 0.85(95% CL). This is the first observational constraint placed on a correlation coefficient involving two different cluster mass tracers. We use our results to produce a state-of-the-art estimate of the halo mass function at z = 0.23-the median redshift of the maxBCG cluster sample-and find that it is consistent with the WMAP5 cosmology. Both the mass function data and its covariance matrix are presented.

  8. Constraining the Scatter in the Mass-Richness Relation of maxBCG Clusters With Weak Lensing and X-ray Data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rozo, Eduardo; /Ohio State U.; Rykoff, Eli S.; /UC, Santa Barbara; Evrard, August; /Michigan U.; Becker, Matthew R.; /Chicago U.; McKay, Timothy; /Michigan U.; Wechsler, Risa H.; /SLAC; Koester, Benjamin P.; /Chicago U. /KICP, Chicago; Hao, Jiangang; /Michigan U.; Hansen, Sarah; /Chicago U. /KICP, Chicago; Sheldon, Erin; /New York U.; Johnston, David; /Houston U.; Annis, James T.; /Fermilab; Frieman, Joshua A.; /Chicago U. /KICP, Chicago /Fermilab

    2009-08-03

    We measure the logarithmic scatter in mass at fixed richness for clusters in the maxBCG cluster catalog, an optically selected cluster sample drawn from SDSS imaging data. Our measurement is achieved by demanding consistency between available weak lensing and X-ray measurements of the maxBCG clusters, and the X-ray luminosity-mass relation inferred from the 400d X-ray cluster survey, a flux limited X-ray cluster survey. We find {sigma}{sub lnM|N{sub 200}} = 0.45{sub -0.18}{sup +0.20} (95%CL) at N{sub 200} {approx} 40, where N{sub 200} is the number of red sequence galaxies in a cluster. As a byproduct of our analysis, we also obtain a constraint on the correlation coefficient between lnL{sub X} and lnM at fixed richness, which is best expressed as a lower limit, r{sub L,M|N} {ge} 0.85 (95% CL). This is the first observational constraint placed on a correlation coefficient involving two different cluster mass tracers. We use our results to produce a state of the art estimate of the halo mass function at z = 0.23 - the median redshift of the maxBCG cluster sample - and find that it is consistent with the WMAP5 cosmology. Both the mass function data and its covariance matrix are presented.

  9. TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION AS PREDICTORS OF SPECIES RICHNESS IN NORTHERN ANDEAN AMPHIBIANS FROM COLOMBIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ortiz-Yusty Carlos Eduardo

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Our objective was to explore the spatial distribution patterns of amphibian speciesrichness in Antioquia, as model for the tropical Andes, and determine how annualmean temperature, annual precipitation, and elevation range influence it. We alsobriefly compare local and global regression models for estimating the relationbetween environmental variables and species richness. Distribution maps for 223amphibian species and environmental variables were generalized onto grid mapsof 752 blocks each covering the entire Department of Antioquia. We explored therelationship between species richness and environment using two global regressionmodels (the Ordinary Least Squares “OLS” and Generalized Linear Squares“GLS” models and one local model (the Geographically Weighted Regression“GWR” model. We found a significant relationship between species richness andenvironmental variables (GLS r2: 0.869; GRW r2: 0.929. The GLS model efficientlyincorporated the spatial autocorrelation effect and handled spatial dependencein the regression error terms while the GWR model showed the best fit (r2 andbalance between number of parameters and fit (AICc. GWR parameters show widevariation within the study area, indicating that relationship between species richnessand climate is spatially complex. Temperature was the most important variablein the GLS and GWR models, and altitude range the least significant. The strongrelationship between environment and amphibian richness is possibly due to lifehistory traits of amphibians, such as ectothermy and water dependency to completethe life cycle

  10. Experimental methodology for obtaining sound absorption coefficients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos A. Macía M

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Objective: the authors propose a new methodology for estimating sound absorption coefficients using genetic algorithms. Methodology: sound waves are generated and conducted along a rectangular silencer. The waves are then attenuated by the absorbing material covering the silencer’s walls. The attenuated sound pressure level is used in a genetic algorithm-based search to find the parameters of the proposed attenuation expressions that include geometric factors, the wavelength and the absorption coefficient. Results: a variety of adjusted mathematical models were found that make it possible to estimate the absorption coefficients based on the characteristics of a rectangular silencer used for measuring the attenuation of the noise that passes through it. Conclusions: this methodology makes it possible to obtain the absorption coefficients of new materials in a cheap and simple manner. Although these coefficients might be slightly different from those obtained through other methodologies, they provide solutions within the engineering accuracy ranges that are used for designing noise control systems.

  11. Molecular Species of the Enzymatically Synthesized Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Rich Triglyceride

    OpenAIRE

    長田, 恭一; 高橋, 是太郎; 羽田野, 六男; 細川, 雅史

    1991-01-01

    Enzymatic glyceride synthesis and acid interchange using icosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), γ-linolenic acid (GLA), and EPA and DHA concentrated saponified fatty acid mixture obtained from sardine oil were carried out through the use of four kinds of microbial lipases. Lipase TOYO (Chromobacterium viscosum) was the most effective enzyme for glyceride synthesis as well as acid interchange of triglyceride (TG) rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids. There was a general tendenc...

  12. Ridge regression estimator: combining unbiased and ordinary ridge regression methods of estimation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sharad Damodar Gore

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Statistical literature has several methods for coping with multicollinearity. This paper introduces a new shrinkage estimator, called modified unbiased ridge (MUR. This estimator is obtained from unbiased ridge regression (URR in the same way that ordinary ridge regression (ORR is obtained from ordinary least squares (OLS. Properties of MUR are derived. Results on its matrix mean squared error (MMSE are obtained. MUR is compared with ORR and URR in terms of MMSE. These results are illustrated with an example based on data generated by Hoerl and Kennard (1975.

  13. Human reliability analysis data obtainment through fuzzy logic in nuclear plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nascimento, C.S. do, E-mail: claudio.souza@ctmsp.mar.mil.br [Centro Tecnologico da Marinha em Sao Paulo (CTMSP), Av. Professor Lineu Prestes 2468, 05508-000 Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Mesquita, R.N. de, E-mail: rnavarro@ipen.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN - SP), Av. Professor Lineu Prestes 2242, 05508-000 Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    2012-09-15

    Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Human Error Probability estimates from operator's reactions to emergency situations. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Human Reliability Analysis input data obtainment through fuzzy logic inference. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Performance Shaping Factors evaluation influence level onto the operator's actions. - Abstract: Human error has been recognized as an important factor for many industrial and nuclear accidents occurrence. Human error data is scarcely available for different reasons among which, lapses in historical database registry methodology is an important one. Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) is an usual tool employed to estimate the probability that an operator will reasonably perform a system required task in required time without degrading the system. This meta-analysis requires specific Human Error Probability estimates for most of its procedure. This work obtains Human Error Probability (HEP) estimates from operator's actions in response to emergency situations hypothesis on Research Reactor IEA-R1 from IPEN, Brazil. Through this proposed methodology HRA should be able to be performed even with shortage of related human error statistical data. A Performance Shaping Factors (PSF's) evaluation in order to classify and estimate their influence level onto the operator's actions and to determine their actual state over the plant was also done. Both HEP estimation and PSF evaluation were done based on expert judgment using interviews and questionnaires. Expert group was established based on selected IEA-R1 operators, and their evaluation were put into a knowledge representation system which used linguistic variables and group evaluation values that were obtained through Fuzzy Logic and Fuzzy Set theory. HEP obtained values show good agreement with literature published data corroborating the proposed methodology as a good alternative to be used on HRA.

  14. A facile cathode design combining Ni-rich layered oxides with Li-rich layered oxides for lithium-ion batteries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Song, Bohang; Li, Wangda; Yan, Pengfei; Oh, Seung-Min; Wang, Chong-Min; Manthiram, Arumugam

    2016-09-01

    A facile synthesis method was developed to prepare xLi2MnO3·(1-x)LiNi0.7Co0.15Mn0.15O2 (x = 0, 0.03, 0.07, 0.10, 0.20, and 0.30 as molar ratio) cathode materials, combining the advantages of high specific capacity from Ni-rich layered phase and surface chemical stability from Li-rich layered phase. X-ray diffraction (XRD), high resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) and electrochemical charge/discharge performance confirm the formation of a Li-rich layered phase with C2/m symmetry. Most importantly, high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) reveals a spatial relationship that Li-rich nano-domain islands are integrated into a conventional Ni-rich layered matrix (R$\\bar{3}$m). This is the first time that Li-rich phase has been directly observed inside a particle at the nano-scale, when the overall composition of layered compounds (Li1+δNixMnyM1-x-y-δO2, M refers to transition metal elements) is Ni-rich (x > 0.5) rather than Mn-rich (y > 0.5). Remarkably, xLi2MnO3·(1-x)LiNi0.7Co0.15Mn0.15O2 cathode with optimized x value shows superior electrochemical performance at C/3, i.e., 170 mA h g-1 with 90.3 % of capacity retention after 400 cycles at 25 °C and 164 mA h g-1 with 81.3 % capacity retention after 200 cycles at 55 °C.

  15. Dietary safety assessment of genetically modified rice EH rich in β-carotene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yangyang; Xu, Yan; Du, Yanan; Zhao, Xiao; Hu, Ruili; Fan, Xiaorui; Ren, Fangfang; Yao, Quanhong; Peng, Rihe; Tang, Xueming; Zhao, Kai

    2017-08-01

    This 90-day study aimed to assess the dietary safety of transgenic rice EH which is rich in β-carotene. Two experimental groups of Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing 45% rice flour of Zhonghua 11 rice and transgenic rice EH rich in β-carotene, respectively. The reference group was fed a diet containing standard feed nutrition. During the trial period, each rat was weighed and the food intake was recorded twice a week. Their behaviors were observed daily. In the end, blood samples were obtained from all anesthetized rats to measure the hematologic and serum chemistry indicators. Growth performance, anatomy and pathology of all organs in each group were analyzed. Although a few parameters were found to be statistically significantly different across groups, they were within the normal reference range for this breed and age of rats. Therefore, the changes were not considered to be diet related. The results revealed that the transgenic rice EH rich in β-carotene was as nutritious as Zhonghua 11 rice and showed a lack of biologically meaningful unintended effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Robust DOA Estimation of Harmonic Signals Using Constrained Filters on Phase Estimates

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karimian-Azari, Sam; Jensen, Jesper Rindom; Christensen, Mads Græsbøll

    2014-01-01

    In array signal processing, distances between receivers, e.g., microphones, cause time delays depending on the direction of arrival (DOA) of a signal source. We can then estimate the DOA from the time-difference of arrival (TDOA) estimates. However, many conventional DOA estimators based on TDOA...... estimates are not optimal in colored noise. In this paper, we estimate the DOA of a harmonic signal source from multi-channel phase estimates, which relate to narrowband TDOA estimates. More specifically, we design filters to apply on phase estimates to obtain a DOA estimate with minimum variance. Using...

  17. Platelet-rich fibrin: the benefits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Yuvika Raj; Mohanty, Sujata; Verma, Mahesh; Kaur, Raunaq Reet; Bhatia, Priyanka; Kumar, Varun Raj; Chaudhary, Zainab

    2016-01-01

    Current published data presents confusing results about the effects of platelet-rich fibrin on bone, and there is a need for studies that throw light on its effect. Our main objective therefore was to evaluate (by fractal analysis) osseous regeneration in extraction sockets with and without platelet-rich fibrin in a study with a substantial sample and a reliable technique to calibrate its effects on bone cells. We also assessed the soft tissue response. Thirty-four patients had their bilaterally impacted third molars (68 surgical sites) extracted in this split-mouth study, following which platelet-rich fibrin was placed in one of the sockets. Patients were followed up clinically and radiographically, and a pain score and fractal analysis were used to evaluate healing of soft tissue and bone, respectively. We conclude that platelet-rich fibrin improves healing of both soft and hard tissues. Although osseous healing did not differ significantly between the groups, healing of soft tissue as judged by the pain score was significantly better in the experimental group. Copyright © 2015 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. Fluid inclusion from drill hole DW-5, Hohi geothermal area, Japan: Evidence of boiling and procedure for estimating CO2 content

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sasada, M.; Roedder, E.; Belkin, H.E.

    1986-01-01

    Fluid inclusion studies have been used to derive a model for fluid evolution in the Hohi geothermal area, Japan. Six types of fluid inclusions are found in quartz obtained from the drill core of DW-5 hole. They are: (I) primary liquid-rich with evidence of boiling; (II) primary liquid-rich without evidence of boiling; (III) primary vapor-rich (assumed to have been formed by boiling); (IV) secondary liquid-rich with evidence of boiling; (V) secondary liquid-rich without evidence of boiling; (VI) secondary vapor-rich (assumed to have been formed by boiling). Homogenization temperatures (Th) range between 196 and 347??C and the final melting point of ice (Tm) between -0.2 and -4.3??C. The CO2 content was estimated semiquantitatively to be between 0 and 0.39 wt. % based on the bubble behavior on crushing. NaCl equivalent solid solute salinity of fluid inclusions was determined as being between 0 and 6.8 wt. % after minor correction for CO2 content. Fluid inclusions in quartz provide a record of geothermal activity of early boiling and later cooling. The CO2 contents and homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions with evidence of boiling generally increase with depth; these changes, and NaCl equivalent solid solute salinity of the fluid can be explained by an adiabatic boiling model for a CO2-bearing low-salinity fluid. Some high-salinity inclusions without CO2 are presumed to have formed by a local boiling process due to a temperature increase or a pressure decrease. The liquid-rich primary and secondary inclusions without evidence of boiling formed during the cooling process. The salinity and CO2 content of these inclusions are lower than those in the boiling fluid at the early stage, probably as a result of admixture with groundwater. ?? 1986.

  19. CARBON-RICH GIANT PLANETS: ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY, THERMAL INVERSIONS, SPECTRA, AND FORMATION CONDITIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Madhusudhan, Nikku [Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Mousis, Olivier [Institut UTINAM, CNRS-UMR 6213, Observatoire de Besancon, BP 1615, F-25010 Besancon Cedex (France); Johnson, Torrence V. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109 (United States); Lunine, Jonathan I., E-mail: nmadhu@astro.princeton.edu [Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States)

    2011-12-20

    The recent inference of a carbon-rich atmosphere, with C/O {>=} 1, in the hot Jupiter WASP-12b motivates the exotic new class of carbon-rich planets (CRPs). We report a detailed study of the atmospheric chemistry and spectroscopic signatures of carbon-rich giant (CRG) planets, the possibility of thermal inversions in their atmospheres, the compositions of icy planetesimals required for their formation via core accretion, and the apportionment of ices, rock, and volatiles in their envelopes. Our results show that CRG atmospheres probe a unique region in composition space, especially at high temperature (T). For atmospheres with C/O {>=} 1, and T {approx}> 1400 K in the observable atmosphere, most of the oxygen is bound up in CO, while H{sub 2}O is depleted and CH{sub 4} is enhanced by up to two or three orders of magnitude each, compared to equilibrium compositions with solar abundances (C/O = 0.54). These differences in the spectroscopically dominant species for the different C/O ratios cause equally distinct observable signatures in the spectra. As such, highly irradiated transiting giant exoplanets form ideal candidates to estimate atmospheric C/O ratios and to search for CRPs. We also find that the C/O ratio strongly affects the abundances of TiO and VO, which have been suggested to cause thermal inversions in highly irradiated hot Jupiter atmospheres. A C/O = 1 yields TiO and VO abundances of {approx}100 times lower than those obtained with equilibrium chemistry assuming solar abundances, at P {approx} 1 bar. Such a depletion is adequate to rule out thermal inversions due to TiO/VO even in the most highly irradiated hot Jupiters, such as WASP-12b. We estimate the compositions of the protoplanetary disk, the planetesimals, and the envelope of WASP-12b, and the mass of ices dissolved in the envelope, based on the observed atmospheric abundances. Adopting stellar abundances (C/O = 0.44) for the primordial disk composition and low-temperature formation conditions

  20. Can galaxy growth be sustained through HI-rich minor mergers?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehnert, M. D.; van Driel, W.; Minchin, R.

    2016-05-01

    Local galaxies with specific star-formation rates (star-formation rate per unit mass; sSFR ~ 0.2-10 Gyr-1) that are as high as distant galaxies (z ≈ 1-3), are very rich in Hi. Those with low stellar masses, M⋆ = 108-9 M⊙, for example, have MHI/M⋆ ≈ 5-30. Using continuity arguments, whereby the specific merger rate is hypothesized to be proportional to the specific star-formation rate, along with Hi gas mass measurements for local galaxies with high sSFR, we estimate that moderate-mass galaxies, M⋆ = 109-10.5 M⊙, can acquire enough gas through minor mergers (stellar mass ratios ~4-100) to sustain their star formation rates at z ~ 2. The relative fraction of the gas accreted through minor mergers declines with increasing stellar mass, and for the most massive galaxies considered, M⋆ = 1010.5-11 M⊙, this accretion rate is insufficient to sustain their star formation. We checked our minor merger hypothesis at z = 0 using the same methodology, but now with relations for local normal galaxies, and find that minor mergers cannot account for their specific growth rates, in agreement with observations of Hi-rich satellites around nearby spirals. We discuss a number of attractive features, such as a natural downsizing effect, in using minor mergers with extended Hi disks to support star formation at high redshift. The answer to the question posed by the title, "Can galaxy growth be sustained through Hi-rich minor mergers?", is "maybe", but only for relatively low-mass galaxies and at high redshift.

  1. A new estimator for vector velocity estimation [medical ultrasonics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jørgen Arendt

    2001-01-01

    A new estimator for determining the two-dimensional velocity vector using a pulsed ultrasound field is derived. The estimator uses a transversely modulated ultrasound field for probing the moving medium under investigation. A modified autocorrelation approach is used in the velocity estimation...... be introduced, and the velocity estimation is done at a fixed depth in tissue to reduce the influence of a spatial velocity spread. Examples for different velocity vectors and field conditions are shown using both simple and more complex field simulations. A relative accuracy of 10.1% is obtained...

  2. Dissociative diffusion mechanism in vacancy-rich materials according to mass action kinetics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. J. Biderman

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Two sets of diffusion-reaction numerical simulations using a finite difference method (FDM were conducted to investigate fast impurity diffusion via interstitial sites in vacancy-rich materials such as Cu(In,GaSe2 (CIGS and Cu2ZnSn(S, Se4 (CZTSSe or CZTS via the dissociative diffusion mechanism where the interstitial diffuser ultimately reacts with a vacancy to produce a substitutional. The first set of simulations extends the standard interstitial-limited dissociative diffusion theory to vacancy-rich material conditions where vacancies are annihilated in large amounts, introducing non-equilibrium vacancy concentration profiles. The second simulation set explores the vacancy-limited dissociative diffusion where impurity incorporation increases the equilibrium vacancy concentration. In addition to diffusion profiles of varying concentrations and shapes that were obtained in all simulations, some of the profiles can be fitted with the constant- and limited-source solutions of Fick’s second law despite the non-equilibrium condition induced by the interstitial-vacancy reaction. The first set of simulations reveals that the dissociative diffusion coefficient in vacancy-rich materials is inversely proportional to the initial vacancy concentration. In the second set of numerical simulations, impurity-induced changes in the vacancy concentration lead to distinctive diffusion profile shapes. The simulation results are also compared with published data of impurity diffusion in CIGS. According to the characteristic properties of diffusion profiles from the two set of simulations, experimental detection of the dissociative diffusion mechanism in vacancy-rich materials may be possible.

  3. An investigation of the electrochemical action of the epoxy zinc-rich coatings containing surface modified aluminum nanoparticle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jalili, M. [Nanomaterials and Nanocoatings Department, Institute for Color Science and Technology (ICST), PO 16765-654, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Surface Coatings and Corrosion Department, Institute for Color Science and Technology (ICST), PO 16765-654, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rostami, M. [Nanomaterials and Nanocoatings Department, Institute for Color Science and Technology (ICST), PO 16765-654, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ramezanzadeh, B., E-mail: ramezanzadeh-bh@icrc.ac.ir [Surface Coatings and Corrosion Department, Institute for Color Science and Technology (ICST), PO 16765-654, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2015-02-15

    Highlights: • Aluminum nanoparticle was modified with amino trimethylene phosphonic acid. • 2 wt% of zinc dust in zinc-rich paint was substituted by aluminum nanoparticles. • Surface modified aluminum nanoparticle improved the cathodic period of protection. • Aluminum nanoparticles enhanced the corrosion protection of the zinc-rich coating. - Abstract: Aluminum nanoparticle was modified with amino trimethylene phosphonic acid (ATMP). The surface characterization of the nanoparticles was done by X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermal gravimetric analysis. The influence of the replacement of 2 wt% of zinc dust in the standard zinc-rich epoxy coating by nanoparticles on the electrochemical action of the coating was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and salt spray tests. The morphology and phase composition of the zinc rich paints were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and filed-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Results showed that the ATMP molecules successfully adsorbed on the surface of Al nanoparticles. Results obtained from salt spray and electrochemical measurements revealed that the addition of surface modified nanoparticles to the zinc rich coating enhanced its galvanic action and corrosion protection properties.

  4. An investigation of the electrochemical action of the epoxy zinc-rich coatings containing surface modified aluminum nanoparticle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jalili, M.; Rostami, M.; Ramezanzadeh, B.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Aluminum nanoparticle was modified with amino trimethylene phosphonic acid. • 2 wt% of zinc dust in zinc-rich paint was substituted by aluminum nanoparticles. • Surface modified aluminum nanoparticle improved the cathodic period of protection. • Aluminum nanoparticles enhanced the corrosion protection of the zinc-rich coating. - Abstract: Aluminum nanoparticle was modified with amino trimethylene phosphonic acid (ATMP). The surface characterization of the nanoparticles was done by X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermal gravimetric analysis. The influence of the replacement of 2 wt% of zinc dust in the standard zinc-rich epoxy coating by nanoparticles on the electrochemical action of the coating was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and salt spray tests. The morphology and phase composition of the zinc rich paints were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and filed-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Results showed that the ATMP molecules successfully adsorbed on the surface of Al nanoparticles. Results obtained from salt spray and electrochemical measurements revealed that the addition of surface modified nanoparticles to the zinc rich coating enhanced its galvanic action and corrosion protection properties

  5. Comets, volcanism, the salt-rich regolith, and cycling of volatiles on Mars

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clark, B.C.

    1987-01-01

    The composition of the Martian surface and its evolution are examined, reviewing the results of recent theoretical models and composition estimates based on Viking-lander analyses. The data are compiled in tables and characterized in detail, and a high degree of variation among the predictions is noted. The discussion centers on the possible roles of comets (as sources of volatiles), the salt-rich regolith (as an important water sink), and volcanic activity (interfering with volatile-recycling processes and eventually producing a volatile-depleted surface layer). 45 references

  6. 2.4-197 mu m spectroscopy of OH/IR stars : the IR characteristics of circumstellar dust in O-rich environments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sylvester, RJ; Kemper, F; Barlow, MJ; de Jong, T; Waters, LBFM; Tielens, AGGM; Omont, A

    1999-01-01

    Infrared spectra of a number of evolved O-rich stars have been obtained with the Short- and Long-Wavelength spectrometers on board the Infrared Space Observatory. The very broad wavelength coverage (2.4-197 mu m) obtained by combining observations made with the two spectrometers includes practically

  7. Platelet-Rich Plasma Increases Pigmentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uysal, Cagri A; Ertas, Nilgun Markal

    2017-11-01

    Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is an autologous solution of plasma containing 4 to 7 times the baseline concentration of human platelets. Platelet-rich plasma has been widely popular in facial rejuvenation to attenuate wrinkles and has been practically used. The authors have been encountering various patients of increased hiperpigmentation following PRP applications that were performed to attenuate the postinflammatory hiperpigmentation especially after laser treatment. The authors have been using PRP for facial rejuvenation in selected patients and in 1 patient the authors have encountered increased pigmentation over the pigmented skin lesions that were present before the application. The authors recommend that the PRP might increase pigmentation especially in the face region and precautions might be taken before and after the application. Platelet-rich plasma should not be used for the treatment of post inflammatory hiperpigmentation.

  8. Nonparametric Collective Spectral Density Estimation and Clustering

    KAUST Repository

    Maadooliat, Mehdi; Sun, Ying; Chen, Tianbo

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we develop a method for the simultaneous estimation of spectral density functions (SDFs) for a collection of stationary time series that share some common features. Due to the similarities among the SDFs, the log-SDF can be represented using a common set of basis functions. The basis shared by the collection of the log-SDFs is estimated as a low-dimensional manifold of a large space spanned by a pre-specified rich basis. A collective estimation approach pools information and borrows strength across the SDFs to achieve better estimation efficiency. Also, each estimated spectral density has a concise representation using the coefficients of the basis expansion, and these coefficients can be used for visualization, clustering, and classification purposes. The Whittle pseudo-maximum likelihood approach is used to fit the model and an alternating blockwise Newton-type algorithm is developed for the computation. A web-based shiny App found at

  9. Nonparametric Collective Spectral Density Estimation and Clustering

    KAUST Repository

    Maadooliat, Mehdi

    2017-04-12

    In this paper, we develop a method for the simultaneous estimation of spectral density functions (SDFs) for a collection of stationary time series that share some common features. Due to the similarities among the SDFs, the log-SDF can be represented using a common set of basis functions. The basis shared by the collection of the log-SDFs is estimated as a low-dimensional manifold of a large space spanned by a pre-specified rich basis. A collective estimation approach pools information and borrows strength across the SDFs to achieve better estimation efficiency. Also, each estimated spectral density has a concise representation using the coefficients of the basis expansion, and these coefficients can be used for visualization, clustering, and classification purposes. The Whittle pseudo-maximum likelihood approach is used to fit the model and an alternating blockwise Newton-type algorithm is developed for the computation. A web-based shiny App found at

  10. Goodness of isospin in neutron rich systems from the fission fragment distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garg, Swati; Jain, Ashok Kumar

    2017-09-01

    We present the results of our calculations for the relative yields of neutron-rich fission fragments emitted in 208Pb (18O, fission) reaction by using the concept of the conservation of isospin and compare with the experimental data. We take into account a range of isospin values allowed by the isospin algebra and assume that the fission fragments are formed in isobaric analog states. We also take into account the neutron multiplicity data for various neutron-emission channels in each partition, and use them to obtain the weight factors in calculating the yields. We then calculate the relative yields of the fission fragments. Our calculated results are able to reproduce the experimental trends reasonably well. This is the first direct evidence of the isospin conservation in neutron-rich systems and may prove a very useful tool in their studies.

  11. Very low sound velocities in iron-rich (Mg,Fe)O: Implications for the core-mantle boundary region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wicks, J.K.; Jackson, J.M.; Sturhahn, W.

    2010-01-01

    The sound velocities of (Mg .16 Fe .84 )O have been measured to 121 GPa at ambient temperature using nuclear resonant inelastic x-ray scattering. The effect of electronic environment of the iron sites on the sound velocities were tracked in situ using synchrotron Moessbauer spectroscopy. We found the sound velocities of (Mg .16 Fe .84 )O to be much lower than those in other presumed mantle phases at similar conditions, most notably at very high pressures. Conservative estimates of the effect of temperature and dilution on aggregate sound velocities show that only a small amount of iron-rich (Mg,Fe)O can greatly reduce the average sound velocity of an assemblage. We propose that iron-rich (Mg,Fe)O be a source of ultra-low velocity zones. Other properties of this phase, such as enhanced density and dynamic stability, strongly support the presence of iron-rich (Mg,Fe)O in localized patches above the core-mantle boundary.

  12. Coulomb excitation of neutron-rich $^{134-136}$Sn isotopes

    CERN Multimedia

    We propose to study excited states in the isotopes $^{134,136}$Sn by $\\gamma$-ray spectroscopy following "safe" Coulomb excitation. The experiment aims to investigate the evolution of quadrupole collectivity beyond the magic shell closure at N = 82 by the determination of B(E2) values and electric quadrupole moments $\\mathcal{Q}_2$. Recent shell-model calculations using realistic interactions predict possible enhanced collectivity in neutron-rich regions. Evidence for this could be obtained by this experiment. Furthermore, the currently unknown excitation energies of the 2$^+_{1}$ and 4$^+_{1}$ states in $^{136}$Sn will be measured for the first time.

  13. Structure and thermal properties of nanospheres obtained by ethoxy silanes copolymerization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pedroso, Marcos A.S.; Mothe, Cheila G.; Dias, Marcos L.

    2001-01-01

    Thermal and structural characterization of organophylic nano spherical copolymers of tetra ethoxysilane (TEOS) and methyltriethoxysilane (MTEOS) or dimethyldiethoxysilane (DMDEOS) obtained by sol-gel reaction terminated by trimethylchlorosilane are described. 29 Si NMR, wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) and thermal analysis (TG/DTG and DTA) were employed. Due to the high reactivity of TEOS, the copolymers are silica-silicon hybrids showing bilayer structure where silica constitutes a core and a alkyl-rich chemical structure constitutes the external layer. The copolymers present higher mass lost at high temperatures than TEOS homopolymer. (author)

  14. Event reconstruction for the RICH prototype beamtest data 2012 and 2014

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lebedev, Semen [II. Physikalisches Institut, JLU Giessen (Germany); Collaboration: CBM-Collaboration

    2016-07-01

    The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at the future FAIR facility will investigate the QCD phase diagram at high net baryon densities and moderate temperatures in A+A collisions from 2-11 AGeV (SIS100). Electron identification in CBM will be performed by a Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detector and Transition Radiation Detectors (TRD). A real size prototype of the RICH detector was tested together with other CBM prototypes (TRD, TOF) at the CERN PS/T9 beam line in 2012 and 2014. In 2014 for the first time the data format used the FLESnet protocol from CBM delivering free streaming data. The analysis was fully performed within the CBMROOT framework. In this contribution the event reconstruction methods which were used for obtained data are discussed. Rings were reconstructed using an algorithm based on the Hough Transform method and their parameters were derived with high accuracy by circle and ellipse fitting procedures. Results of the application of the presented algorithms are also presented.

  15. Chemical study of the metal-rich globular cluster NGC 5927

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mura-Guzmán, A.; Villanova, S.; Muñoz, C.; Tang, B.

    2018-03-01

    Globular clusters (GCs) are natural laboratories where stellar and chemical evolution can be studied in detail. In addition, their chemical patterns and kinematics can tell us to which Galactic structure (disc, bulge, halo or extragalactic) the cluster belongs to. NGC 5927 is one of most metal-rich GCs in the Galaxy and its kinematics links it to the thick disc. We present abundance analysis based on high-resolution spectra of seven giant stars. The data were obtained using Fibre Large Array Multi Element Spectrograph/Ultraviolet Echelle Spectrograph (UVES) spectrograph mounted on UT2 telescope of the European Southern Observatory. The principal objective of this work is to perform a wide and detailed chemical abundance analysis of the cluster and look for possible Multiple Populations (MPs). We determined stellar parameters and measured 22 elements corresponding to light (Na, Al), alpha (O, Mg, Si, Ca, Ti), iron-peak (Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn), and heavy elements (Y, Zr, Ba, Ce, Nd, Eu). We found a mean iron content of [Fe/H] = -0.47 ± 0.02 (error on the mean). We confirm the existence of MPs in this GC with an O-Na anti-correlation, and moderate spread in Al abundances. We estimate a mean [α/Fe] = 0.25 ± 0.08. Iron-peak elements show no significant spread. The [Ba/Eu] ratios indicate a predominant contribution from SNeII for the formation of the cluster.

  16. Synthesis and study of neutron-rich nuclides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo Yixiao

    1995-01-01

    During the past few years our understanding of the decay properties and nuclear structure has been extended in a systematic fashion for the neutron-rich nuclei. This review will first sketch the production and identification of the neutron-rich nuclei throughout the whole mass region, and will then discuss the impressive progress in the studies of the exotic decay properties and nuclear structure of neutron-rich nuclei. Their astrophysical implications will also be outlined

  17. High-Temperature Nucleosynthesis Processes on the Proton-Rich Side of Stability: the Alpha-Rich Freezeout and the rp^2-Process

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, Bradley S.

    2001-10-01

    Nucleosynthesis on the proton-rich side of stability has at least two intriguing aspects. First, the most abundant of the stable iron-group isotopes, such as ^48Ti, ^52Cr, and ^56,57Fe, are synthesized as proton-rich, radioactive parents in alpha-rich freezeouts from equilibrium. The production of these radioactive progenitors depends in large measure on reactions on the proton-rich side of stability. The second intriguing aspect is that explosive nucleosynthesis in a hydrogen-rich environment (namely, the rp-process) may be associated with exotic astrophysical settings, such as x-ray bursts, and may be responsible for production of some of the light p-process nuclei (for example, ^92,94Mo and ^96,98Ru). We have developed web-based tools to help nuclear physicists determine which nuclear reactions on the proton-rich side of stability govern the nucleosynthesis in these processes. For the alpha-rich freezeout, one may determine the effect of any one of 2,140 reactions on the yield of any isotope in the nuclear reaction network with the web calculator. As a relevant example, I will discuss the governing role of ^57Ni (n,p)^57Co in the synthesis of the important astronomical observable ^57Co. As for explosive, proton-rich burning, I will discuss the synthesis of p-process nuclei in the repetitive rp-process (the rp^2-process). movies/rp.html>Movies of the rp^2-process illustrate its important features and give some indications of the important nuclear reactions.

  18. Impact of new ingredients obtained from brewer's spent yeast on bread characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martins, Z E; Pinho, O; Ferreira, I M P L V O

    2018-05-01

    The impact of bread fortification with β-glucans and with proteins/proteolytic enzymes from brewers' spent yeast on physical characteristics was evaluated. β-Glucans extraction from spent yeast cell wall was optimized and the extract was incorporated on bread to obtain 2.02 g β-glucans/100 g flour, in order to comply with the European Food Safety Authority guidelines. Protein/proteolytic enzymes extract from spent yeast was added to bread at 60 U proteolytic activity/100 g flour. Both β-glucans rich and proteins/proteolytic enzymes extracts favoured browning of bread crust. However, breads with proteins/proteolytic enzymes addition presented lower specific volume, whereas the incorporation of β-glucans in bread lead to uniform pores that was also noticeble in terms of higher specific volume. Overall, the improvement of nutritional/health promoting properties is highlighted with β-glucan rich extract, not only due to bread β-glucan content but also for total dietary fibre content (39% increase). The improvement was less noticeable for proteins/proteolytic enzymes extract. Only a 6% increase in bread protein content was noted with the addition of this extract and higher protein content would most likely accentuate the negative impact on bread specific volume that in turn could impair consumer acceptance. Therefore, only β-glucan rich extract is a promising bread ingredient.

  19. Spontaneous core-shell elemental distribution in In-rich InxGa1-xN nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Gómez, M.; Garro, N.; Segura-Ruiz, J.; Martinez-Criado, G.; Cantarero, A.; Mengistu, H. T.; García-Cristóbal, A.; Murcia-Mascarós, S.; Denker, C.; Malindretos, J.; Rizzi, A.

    2014-02-01

    The elemental distribution of self-organized In-rich InxGa1-xN nanowires grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy has been investigated using three different techniques with spatial resolution on the nanoscale. Two-dimensional images and elemental profiles of single nanowires obtained by x-ray fluorescence and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, respectively, have revealed a radial gradient in the alloy composition of each individual nanowire. The spectral selectivity of resonant Raman scattering has been used to enhance the signal from very small volumes with different elemental composition within single nanowires. The combination of the three techniques has provided sufficient sensitivity and spatial resolution to prove the spontaneous formation of a core-shell nanowire and to quantify the thicknesses and alloy compositions of the core and shell regions. A theoretical model based on continuum elastic theory has been used to estimate the strain fields present in such inhomogeneous nanowires. These results suggest new strategies for achieving high quality non-polar heterostructures.

  20. Neutron rich nuclei around 132Sn

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhattacharya, Sarmishtha

    2016-01-01

    The neutron rich nuclei with few particles or holes in 132 Sn have various experimental and theoretical interest to understand the evolution of nuclear structure around the doubly magic shell closure Z=50 and N=82. Some of the exotic neutron rich nuclei in this mass region are situated near waiting points in the r-process path and are of special astrophysical interest. Neutron rich nuclei near 132 Sn have been studied using fission fragment spectroscopy. The lifetime of low lying isomeric states have been precisely measured and the beta decay from the ground and isomeric states have been characterized using gamma-ray spectroscopy

  1. Impaired rich club and increased local connectivity in children with traumatic brain injury: Local support for the rich?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verhelst, Helena; Vander Linden, Catharine; De Pauw, Toon; Vingerhoets, Guy; Caeyenberghs, Karen

    2018-03-12

    Recent evidence has shown the presence of a "rich club" in the brain, which constitutes a core network of highly interconnected and spatially distributed brain regions, important for high-order cognitive processes. This study aimed to map the rich club organization in 17 young patients with moderate to severe TBI (15.71 ± 1.75 years) in the chronic stage of recovery and 17 age- and gender-matched controls. Probabilistic tractography was performed on diffusion weighted imaging data to construct the edges of the structural connectomes using number of streamlines as edge weight. In addition, the whole-brain network was divided into a rich club network, a local network and a feeder network connecting the latter two. Functional outcome was measured with a parent questionnaire for executive functioning. Our results revealed a significantly decreased rich club organization (p values < .05) and impaired executive functioning (p < .001) in young patients with TBI compared with controls. Specifically, we observed reduced density values in all three subnetworks (p values < .005) and a reduced mean strength in the rich club network (p = .013) together with an increased mean strength in the local network (p = .002) in patients with TBI. This study provides new insights into the nature of TBI-induced brain network alterations and supports the hypothesis that the local subnetwork tries to compensate for the biologically costly subnetwork of rich club nodes after TBI. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. The source rock characters of U-rich granite

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mingyue, Feng; Debao, He [CNNC Key Laboratory of Uranium Resources Exploration and Evaluation Technology, Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology (China)

    2012-03-15

    This paper discusses the stratum composition, lithological association, uranium content of crust and the activation, migration, concentration of uranium at each tectonic cycle in South China. The authors point out that the source rock of U-rich granite is U-rich continental crust which is rich in Si, Al and K. The lithological association is mainly composed of terrestrial clastic rocks formation of mudstone and sandstone, mingled with intermediate-acidic, mafic pyroclastic rocks and carbonate rocks formation. During tectonic movements, the rocks had undergone regional metamorphism, migmatitization, granitization, and formed U-rich granites finally. (authors)

  3. The source rock characters of U-rich granite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feng Mingyue; He Debao

    2012-01-01

    This paper discusses the stratum composition, lithological association, uranium content of crust and the activation, migration, concentration of uranium at each tectonic cycle in South China. The authors point out that the source rock of U-rich granite is U-rich continental crust which is rich in Si, Al and K. The lithological association is mainly composed of terrestrial clastic rocks formation of mudstone and sandstone, mingled with intermediate-acidic, mafic pyroclastic rocks and carbonate rocks formation. During tectonic movements, the rocks had undergone regional metamorphism, migmatitization, granitization, and formed U-rich granites finally. (authors)

  4. Assessing the impact of preload on pyrite-rich sediment and groundwater quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karikari-Yeboah, Ohene; Addai-Mensah, Jonas

    2017-02-01

    Pyrite-rich sediments would, invariably, undergo redox reactions which would lead to acidic aqueous environment containing solubilized toxic metal species. When such sediments are subjected to preload, a technique employed by geotechnical engineers to improve the load-bearing capacity of highly compressible formation, transient flow of pore water, accompanied by acidity transfer, would occur as a response. Despite the concomitant environmental and socio-economic significance, to date, there has been limited interdisciplinary research on the underpinning geotechnical engineering and geo-environmental science issues for pyrite-rich sediments under preload. In this study, we investigate the effect of pyrite-rich sediment pore water transfer under preload surcharge on the receiving environment and the impact on the groundwater speciation and quality. Sediment samples were obtained at close depth intervals from boreholes established within pristine areas and those subjected to the preload application. Soil and pore water samples were subjected to solid/solution speciation, moisture contents, soil pH and the Atterberg Limits' analyses using standard analytical techniques and methods. Standpipes were also installed in the boreholes for groundwater sampling and in situ monitoring of water quality parameters. It is shown that the imposition of preload surcharge over pyritic sediment created a reducing environment rich in SO 4 2- , iron oxide minerals and organic matter. This reducing environment fostered organic carbon catabolism to generate excess pyrite and bicarbonate alkalinity, which would invariably impact adversely on soil quality and plant growth. These were accompanied by increase in pH, dissolved Al, Ca, Mg and K species beneath the surcharge.

  5. Estimation of mean tree stand volume using high-resolution aerial RGB imagery and digital surface model, obtained from sUAV and Trestima mobile application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. K. Rybakov

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This study considers a remote sensing technique for mean volume estimation based on a very high-resolution (VHR aerial RGB imagery obtained using a small-sized unmanned aerial vehicle (sUAV and a high-resolution photogrammetric digital surface model (DSM as well as an innovative technology for field measurements (Trestima. The study area covers approx. 220 ha of forestland in Finland. The work concerns the entire process from remote sensing and field data acquisition to statistical analysis and forest volume wall-to-wall mapping. The study showed that the VHR aerial imagery and the high-resolution DSM produced based on the application of the sUAV have good prospects for forest inventory. For the sUAV based estimation of forest variables such as Height, Basal Area and mean Volume, Root Mean Square Error constituted 6.6 %, 22.6 % and 26.7 %, respectively. Application of Trestima for estimation of the mean volume of the standing forest showed minor difference over the existing Forest Management Plan at all the selected forest compartments. Simultaneously, the results of the study confirmed that the technologies and the tools applied at this work could be a reliable and potentially cost-effective means of forest data acquisition with high potential of operational use.

  6. An investigation of the electrochemical action of the epoxy zinc-rich coatings containing surface modified aluminum nanoparticle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jalili, M.; Rostami, M.; Ramezanzadeh, B.

    2015-02-01

    Aluminum nanoparticle was modified with amino trimethylene phosphonic acid (ATMP). The surface characterization of the nanoparticles was done by X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermal gravimetric analysis. The influence of the replacement of 2 wt% of zinc dust in the standard zinc-rich epoxy coating by nanoparticles on the electrochemical action of the coating was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and salt spray tests. The morphology and phase composition of the zinc rich paints were evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and filed-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Results showed that the ATMP molecules successfully adsorbed on the surface of Al nanoparticles. Results obtained from salt spray and electrochemical measurements revealed that the addition of surface modified nanoparticles to the zinc rich coating enhanced its galvanic action and corrosion protection properties.

  7. Kernel and wavelet density estimators on manifolds and more general metric spaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cleanthous, G.; Georgiadis, Athanasios; Kerkyacharian, G.

    We consider the problem of estimating the density of observations taking values in classical or nonclassical spaces such as manifolds and more general metric spaces. Our setting is quite general but also sufficiently rich in allowing the development of smooth functional calculus with well localized...... spectral kernels, Besov regularity spaces, and wavelet type systems. Kernel and both linear and nonlinear wavelet density estimators are introduced and studied. Convergence rates for these estimators are established, which are analogous to the existing results in the classical setting of real...

  8. Atomic-scale understanding of non-stoichiometry effects on the electrochemical performance of Ni-rich cathode materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Fantai; Liang, Chaoping; Longo, Roberto C.; Zheng, Yongping; Cho, Kyeongjae

    2018-02-01

    As the next-generation high energy capacity cathode materials for Li-ion batteries, Ni-rich oxides face the problem of obtaining near-stoichiometric phases due to excessive Ni occupying Li sites. These extra-Ni-defects drastically affect the electrochemical performance. Despite of its importance, the fundamental correlation between such defects and the key electrochemical properties is still poorly understood. In this work, using density-functional-theory, we report a comprehensive study on the effects of non-stoichiometric phases on properties of Ni-rich layered oxides. For instance, extra-Ni-defects trigger charge disproportionation reaction within the system, alleviating the Jahn-Teller distortion of Ni3+ ions, which constitutes an important reason for their low formation energies. Kinetic studies of these defects reveal their immobile nature, creating a "pillar effect" that increases the structural stability. Ab initio molecular dynamics revealed Li depletion regions surrounding extra-Ni-defects, which are ultimate responsible for the arduous Li diffusion and re-intercalation, resulting in poor rate performance and initial capacity loss. Finally, the method with combination of high valence cation doping and ion-exchange synthesis is regarded as the most promising way to obtain stoichiometric oxides. Overall, this work not only deepens our understanding of non-stoichiometric Ni-rich layered oxides, but also enables further optimizations of high energy density cathode materials.

  9. Preparation and characterization of polymer-derived amorphous silicon carbide with silicon-rich stoichiometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Masuda, Takashi, E-mail: mtakashi@jaist.ac.jp [School of Material and Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan); Iwasaka, Akira [School of Material and Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan); Takagishi, Hideyuki [Faculty of Symbiotic System Science, Fukushima University, 1 Kanayagawa, Fukushima-shi, Fukushima 960-1296 (Japan); Shimoda, Tatsuya [School of Material and Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan)

    2016-08-01

    Polydihydrosilane with pendant hexyl groups was synthesized to obtain silicon-rich amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC) films via the solution route. Unlike conventional polymeric precursors, this polymer requires neither catalysts nor oxidation for its synthesis and cross-linkage. Therefore, the polymer provides sufficient purity for the fabrication of semiconducting a-SiC. Here, we investigated the correlation of Si/C stoichiometry between the polymer and the resultant a-SiC film. The structural, optical, and electrical properties of the films with various carbon contents were also explored. Experimental results suggested that the excess carbon that did not participate in Si−C configurations was decomposed and was evaporated during polymer-to-SiC conversion. Consequently, the upper limit of the carbon in resultant a-SiC film was < 50 at.%; namely, the polymer provided silicon-rich a-SiC, whereas the conventionally used polycarbosilane inevitably provides carbon-rich one. These features of this unusual polymer open up a frontier of polymer-derived SiC and solution-processed SiC electronics. - Highlights: • Polymeric precursor solution for silicon carbide (SiC) is synthesized. • Semiconducting amorphous SiC is prepared via solution route. • The excess carbon is decomposed during cross-linking resulting in Si-rich SiC films. • The grown SiC films contain substantial amount of hydrogen atoms as SiH{sub n}/CH{sub n} entities. • Presence of CH{sub n} entities induces dangling bonds, causing poor electrical properties.

  10. Associations between reported intakes of carotenoid-rich foods and concentrations of carotenoids in plasma: a validation study of a web-based food recall for children and adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medin, Anine Christine; Carlsen, Monica Hauger; Andersen, Lene Frost

    2016-12-01

    To validate estimated intakes of carotenoid-rich foods from a web-based food recall (WebFR) using carotenoids in blood as an objective reference method. Cross-sectional validation study using carotenoids in plasma to evaluate estimated intakes of selected carotenoid-rich foods. Participants recorded their food intake in the WebFR and plasma concentrations of β-carotene, α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin were measured. Schools and homes of families in a suburb of the capital of Norway. A total of 261 participants in the age groups 8-9 and 12-14 years. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients ranged from 0·30 to 0·44, and cross-classification showed that 71·6-76·6 % of the participants were correctly classified, when comparing the reported intakes of carotenoid-rich foods and concentrations of the corresponding carotenoids in plasma, not including lutein and zeaxanthin. Correlations were acceptable and cross-classification analyses demonstrated that the WebFR was able to rank participants according to their reported intake of foods rich in α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin and lycopene. The WebFR is a promising tool for dietary assessment among children and adolescents.

  11. SOLAR SOURCES OF 3He-RICH SOLAR ENERGETIC PARTICLE EVENTS IN SOLAR CYCLE 24

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nitta, Nariaki V.; Mason, Glenn M.; Wang, Linghua; Cohen, Christina M. S.; Wiedenbeck, Mark E.

    2015-01-01

    Using high-cadence EUV images obtained by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory, we investigate the solar sources of 26 3 He-rich solar energetic particle events at ≲1 MeV nucleon −1 that were well-observed by the Advanced Composition Explorer during solar cycle 24. Identification of the solar sources is based on the association of 3 He-rich events with type III radio bursts and electron events as observed by Wind. The source locations are further verified in EUV images from the Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory, which provides information on solar activities in the regions not visible from the Earth. Based on AIA observations, 3 He-rich events are not only associated with coronal jets as emphasized in solar cycle 23 studies, but also with more spatially extended eruptions. The properties of the 3 He-rich events do not appear to be strongly correlated with those of the source regions. As in the previous studies, the magnetic connection between the source region and the observer is not always reproduced adequately by the simple potential field source surface model combined with the Parker spiral. Instead, we find a broad longitudinal distribution of the source regions extending well beyond the west limb, with the longitude deviating significantly from that expected from the observed solar wind speed

  12. Effect of calcination temperature on microstructure and electrochemical performance of lithium-rich layered oxide cathode materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ma, Quanxin; Peng, Fangwei; Li, Ruhong; Yin, Shibo; Dai, Changsong

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A series of Li-rich layered oxide cathode materials (Li_1_._2Mn_0_._5_6Ni_0_._1_6Co_0_._0_8O_2) were successfully synthesized via a two-step synthesis method. • The effects of calcination temperature on the cathode materials were researched in detail. • A well-crystallized layered structure was obtained as the calcination temperature increased. • The samples calcined in a range of 850–900 °C exhibited excellent electrochemical performance. - Abstract: Lithium-rich layered oxide cathode materials (Li_1_._2Mn_0_._5_6Ni_0_._1_6Co_0_._0_8O_2 (LLMO)) were synthesized via a two-step synthesis method involving co-precipitation and high-temperature calcination. The effects of calcination temperature on the cathode materials were studied in detail. Structural and morphological characterizations revealed that a well-crystallized layered structure was obtained at a higher calcination temperature. Electrochemical performance evaluation revealed that a cathode material obtained at a calcination temperature of 850 °C delivered a high initial discharge capacity of 266.8 mAh g"−"1 at a 0.1 C rate and a capacity retention rate of 95.8% after 100 cycles as well as excellent rate capability. Another sample calcinated at 900 °C exhibited good cycling stability. It is concluded that the structural stability and electrochemical performance of Li-rich layered oxide cathode materials were strongly dependent on calcination temperatures. The results suggest that a calcination temperature in a range of 850–900 °C could promote electrochemical performance of this type of cathode materials.

  13. Effect of calcination temperature on microstructure and electrochemical performance of lithium-rich layered oxide cathode materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ma, Quanxin; Peng, Fangwei; Li, Ruhong; Yin, Shibo; Dai, Changsong, E-mail: changsd@hit.edu.cn

    2016-11-15

    Highlights: • A series of Li-rich layered oxide cathode materials (Li{sub 1.2}Mn{sub 0.56}Ni{sub 0.16}Co{sub 0.08}O{sub 2}) were successfully synthesized via a two-step synthesis method. • The effects of calcination temperature on the cathode materials were researched in detail. • A well-crystallized layered structure was obtained as the calcination temperature increased. • The samples calcined in a range of 850–900 °C exhibited excellent electrochemical performance. - Abstract: Lithium-rich layered oxide cathode materials (Li{sub 1.2}Mn{sub 0.56}Ni{sub 0.16}Co{sub 0.08}O{sub 2} (LLMO)) were synthesized via a two-step synthesis method involving co-precipitation and high-temperature calcination. The effects of calcination temperature on the cathode materials were studied in detail. Structural and morphological characterizations revealed that a well-crystallized layered structure was obtained at a higher calcination temperature. Electrochemical performance evaluation revealed that a cathode material obtained at a calcination temperature of 850 °C delivered a high initial discharge capacity of 266.8 mAh g{sup −1} at a 0.1 C rate and a capacity retention rate of 95.8% after 100 cycles as well as excellent rate capability. Another sample calcinated at 900 °C exhibited good cycling stability. It is concluded that the structural stability and electrochemical performance of Li-rich layered oxide cathode materials were strongly dependent on calcination temperatures. The results suggest that a calcination temperature in a range of 850–900 °C could promote electrochemical performance of this type of cathode materials.

  14. Online Health Monitoring using Facebook Advertisement Audience Estimates in the United States: Evaluation Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mejova, Yelena; Weber, Ingmar; Fernandez-Luque, Luis

    2018-03-28

    Facebook, the most popular social network with over one billion daily users, provides rich opportunities for its use in the health domain. Though much of Facebook's data are not available to outsiders, the company provides a tool for estimating the audience of Facebook advertisements, which includes aggregated information on the demographics and interests, such as weight loss or dieting, of Facebook users. This paper explores the potential uses of Facebook ad audience estimates for eHealth by studying the following: (1) for what type of health conditions prevalence estimates can be obtained via social media and (2) what type of marker interests are useful in obtaining such estimates, which can then be used for recruitment within online health interventions. The objective of this study was to understand the limitations and capabilities of using Facebook ad audience estimates for public health monitoring and as a recruitment tool for eHealth interventions. We use the Facebook Marketing application programming interface to correlate estimated sizes of audiences having health-related interests with public health data. Using several study cases, we identify both potential benefits and challenges in using this tool. We find several limitations in using Facebook ad audience estimates, for example, using placebo interest estimates to control for background level of user activity on the platform. Some Facebook interests such as plus-size clothing show encouraging levels of correlation (r=.74) across the 50 US states; however, we also sometimes find substantial correlations with the placebo interests such as r=.68 between interest in Technology and Obesity prevalence. Furthermore, we find demographic-specific peculiarities in the interests on health-related topics. Facebook's advertising platform provides aggregate data for more than 190 million US adults. We show how disease-specific marker interests can be used to model prevalence rates in a simple and intuitive manner

  15. Polysaccharide rich fractions from barks of Ximenia americana inhibit peripheral inflammatory nociception in mice Antinociceptive effect of Ximenia americana polysaccharide rich fractions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaira E.S. da Silva-Leite

    Full Text Available Abstract Ximenia americana L., Olacaceae, barks are utilized in folk medicine as analgesic and anti-inflammatory. The objective was to evaluate the toxicity and antinociceptive effect of polysaccharides rich fractions from X. americana barks. The fractions were obtained by extraction with NaOH, followed by precipitation with ethanol and fractionation by ion exchange chromatography. They were administered i.v. or p.o. before nociception tests (writhing, formalin, carragenan-induced hypernociception, hot plate, or during 14 days for toxicity assay. The total polysaccharides fraction (TPL-Xa: 8.1% yield presented 43% carbohydrate (21% uronic acid and resulted in two main fractions after chromatography (FI: 12%, FII: 22% yield. FII showed better homogeneity/purity, content of 44% carbohydrate, including 39% uronic acid, arabinose and galactose as major monosaccharides, and infrared spectra with peaks in carbohydrate range for COO- groups of uronic acid. TPL-Xa (10 mg/kg and FII (0.1 and 1 mg/kg presented inhibitory effect in behavior tests that evaluate nociception induced by chemical and mechanical, but not thermal stimuli. TPL-Xa did not alter parameters of systemic toxicity. In conclusion, polysaccharides rich fractions of X. americana barks inhibit peripheral inflammatory nociception, being well tolerated by animals.

  16. Mathematical modelling of anisotropy of illite-rich shale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chesnokov, E.M.; Tiwary, D.K.; Bayuk, I.O.; Sparkman, M.A.; Brown, R.L.

    2009-01-01

    The estimation of illite-rich shale anisotropy to account for the alignment of clays and gas- or brine-filled cracks is presented via mathematical modelling. Such estimation requires analysis to interpret the dominance of one effect over another. This knowledge can help to evaluate the permeability in the unconventional reservoir, stress orientation, and the seal capacity for the conventional reservoir. Effective media modelling is used to predict the elastic properties of the illite-rich shale and to identify the dominant contributions to the shale anisotropy. We consider two principal reasons of the shale anisotropy: orientation of clay platelets and orientation of fluid-filled cracks. In reality, both of these two factors affect the shale anisotropy. The goal of this study is, first, to separately analyse the effect of these two factors to reveal the specific features in P- and S-wave velocity behaviour typical of each of the factors, and, then, consider a combined effect of the factors when the cracks are horizontally or vertically aligned. To do this, we construct four models of shale. The behaviour of P- and S-wave velocities is analysed when gas- and water-filled cracks embedded in a host matrix are randomly oriented, or horizontally or vertically aligned. The host matrix can be either isotropic or anisotropic (of VTI symmetry). In such a modelling, we use published data on mineralogy and clay platelet alignment along with other micromechanical measurements. In the model, where the host matrix is isotropic, the presence of a singularity point (when the difference VS1 - VS2 changes its sign) in shear wave velocities is an indicator of brine-filled aligned cracks. In the model with the VTI host matrix and horizontally aligned cracks filled with gas, an increase in their volume concentration leads to that the azimuth at which the singularity is observed moves toward the symmetry axis. In this case, if the clay content is small (around 20 per cent), the

  17. High sulfur content polymer nanoparticles obtained from interfacial polymerization of sodium polysulfide and 1,2,3-trichloropropane in water.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Jeewoo; Jung, Unho; Joe, Won Tae; Kim, Eui Tae; Pyun, Jeffrey; Char, Kookheon

    2015-06-01

    Sulfur-rich materials have recently attracted keen interest for their potentials in optical, electrochemical, and pesticidal applications as well as their utility in dynamic covalent bond chemistry. Many sulfur-rich polymers, however, are insoluble and processing methods are therefore very limited. The synthesis and characterization of water-dispersible polymer nanoparticles (NPs) with the sulfur content exceeding 75% by weight, obtained from the interfacial polymerization between 1,2,3-trichloropropane and sodium polysulfide in water is reported here. The interfacial polymerization yields well-defined sulfur-rich NPs in the presence of surfactants, which are capable of serving a dual role as a phase transfer catalyst on top of emulsifiers. Such dual role allows for the control of the product NP size by varying its concentration. The surfactants can be easily removed by centrifugation and redispersion in water is also reported here. The resulting sulfur-rich NPs are characterized through elemental analysis, dynamic light scattering, ζ-potential measurements, and scanning electron microscopy. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  18. Bioaugmentation as a solution to increase methane production from an ammonia-rich substrate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fotidis, Ioannis A; Wang, Han; Fiedel, Nicolai R; Luo, Gang; Karakashev, Dimitar B; Angelidaki, Irini

    2014-07-01

    Ammonia-rich substrates inhibit the anaerobic digestion (AD) process and constitute the main reason for low energy recovery in full-scale reactors. It is estimated that many full-scale AD reactors are operating in ammonia induced "inhibited steady-state" with significant losses of the potential biogas production yield. To date there are not any reliable methods to alleviate the ammonia toxicity effect or to efficiently digest ammonia-rich waste. In the current study, bioaugmentation as a possible method to alleviate ammonia toxicity effect in a mesophilic continuously stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) operating under "inhibited steady state" was tested. A fast growing hydrogenotrophic methanogen (i.e., Methanoculleus bourgensis MS2(T)) was bioaugmented in the CSTR reactor at high ammonia levels (5 g NH4(+)-N L(-1)). A second CSTR reactor was used as control with no bioaugmentation. The results derived from this study clearly demonstrated a 31.3% increase in methane production yield in the CSTR reactor, at steady-state, after bioaugmentation. Additionally, high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis showed a 5-fold increase in relative abundance of Methanoculleus spp. after bioaugmentation. On the contrary to all methods used today to alleviate ammonia toxicity effect, the tested bioaugmentation process performed without interrupting the continuous operation of the reactor and without replacing the ammonia-rich feedstock.

  19. A Point-of-Purchase Intervention Using Grocery Store Tour Podcasts About Omega-3s Increases Long-Term Purchases of Omega-3-Rich Food Items.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bangia, Deepika; Shaffner, Donald W; Palmer-Keenan, Debra M

    2017-06-01

    To assess the impacts associated with a grocery store tour point-of-purchase intervention using podcasts about omega-3 fatty acid (n-3)-rich food items. A repeated-measures secondary data analysis of food purchase records obtained from a convenience sample of shoppers' loyalty cards. Shoppers (n = 251) who had listened to podcasts regarding n-3-rich foods while shopping. The number of omega-3-rich food purchases made according to food or food category by participants determined via spreadsheets obtained from grocery store chain. Descriptive statistics were performed on demographic characteristics. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to assess whether food purchases increased from 6 months before to 6 months after intervention. Correlations assessed the relationship between intentions to purchase n-3-rich foods expressed on the intervention day with actual long-term n-3-rich food purchases. Nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis ANOVAs and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to analyze differences between changes made and demographic variables (ie, participants' gender, race, and education levels). Most shoppers (59%) increased n-3-rich food purchases, with significant mean purchase changes (t[172] = -6.9; P < .001; pre = 0.2 ± 0.7; post = 3.6 ± 5.1). Podcasts are promising nutrition education tools. Longer studies could assess whether lasting change results from podcast use. Copyright © 2017 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Spontaneous core–shell elemental distribution in In-rich InxGa1−xN nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gómez-Gómez, M; Garro, N; Cantarero, A; Mengistu, H T; García-Cristóbal, A; Murcia-Mascarós, S; Segura-Ruiz, J; Martinez-Criado, G; Denker, C; Malindretos, J; Rizzi, A

    2014-01-01

    The elemental distribution of self-organized In-rich In x Ga 1−x N nanowires grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy has been investigated using three different techniques with spatial resolution on the nanoscale. Two-dimensional images and elemental profiles of single nanowires obtained by x-ray fluorescence and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, respectively, have revealed a radial gradient in the alloy composition of each individual nanowire. The spectral selectivity of resonant Raman scattering has been used to enhance the signal from very small volumes with different elemental composition within single nanowires. The combination of the three techniques has provided sufficient sensitivity and spatial resolution to prove the spontaneous formation of a core–shell nanowire and to quantify the thicknesses and alloy compositions of the core and shell regions. A theoretical model based on continuum elastic theory has been used to estimate the strain fields present in such inhomogeneous nanowires. These results suggest new strategies for achieving high quality non-polar heterostructures. (paper)

  1. Spontaneous core–shell elemental distribution in In-rich In(x)Ga1-xN nanowires grown by molecular beam epitaxy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez-Gómez, M; Garro, N; Segura-Ruiz, J; Martinez-Criado, G; Cantarero, A; Mengistu, H T; García-Cristóbal, A; Murcia-Mascarós, S; Denker, C; Malindretos, J; Rizzi, A

    2014-02-21

    The elemental distribution of self-organized In-rich In(x)Ga1-xN nanowires grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy has been investigated using three different techniques with spatial resolution on the nanoscale. Two-dimensional images and elemental profiles of single nanowires obtained by x-ray fluorescence and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, respectively, have revealed a radial gradient in the alloy composition of each individual nanowire. The spectral selectivity of resonant Raman scattering has been used to enhance the signal from very small volumes with different elemental composition within single nanowires. The combination of the three techniques has provided sufficient sensitivity and spatial resolution to prove the spontaneous formation of a core–shell nanowire and to quantify the thicknesses and alloy compositions of the core and shell regions. A theoretical model based on continuum elastic theory has been used to estimate the strain fields present in such inhomogeneous nanowires. These results suggest new strategies for achieving high quality nonpolar heterostructures.

  2. Richness and composition of gall-inducing arthropods at Coiba National Park, Panama

    OpenAIRE

    Nieves-Aldrey, José Luis; Enrique Medianero, Alicia Ibáñez

    2008-01-01

    Interest in studying galls and their arthropods inducers has been growing rapidly in the last two decades. However, the Neotropical region is probably the least studied region for gall-inducing arthropods. A study of the richness and composition of gall-inducing arthropods was carried out at Coiba National Park in the Republic of Panama. Field data come from samples obtained between August 1997 and September 1999, with three (two-week long) more intensive samplings. Seventeen sites, represent...

  3. Two-proton knockout on neutron-rich nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bazin, D.; Brown, B.A.; Campbell, C.M.; Church, J.A.; Dinca, D.C.; Enders, J.; Gade, A.; Glasmacher, T.; Hansen, P.G.; Mueller, W.F.; Olliver, H.; Perry, B.C.; Sherrill, B.M.; Terry, J.R.; Tostevin, J.A.

    2004-01-01

    Two-proton knockout reactions on neutron-rich nuclei [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91 (2003) 012501] have been studied in inverse kinematics at intermediate energy. Strong evidence that the two-proton removal from a neutron-rich system proceeds as a direct reaction is presented, together with a preliminary theoretical discussion of the partial cross sections based on eikonal reaction theory and the many-body shell model. They show that this reaction can be used to characterize the wave functions of the projectiles and holds great promise for the study of neutron-rich nuclei

  4. Phase transformations in Au(Fe) nano- and microparticles obtained by solid state dewetting of thin Au–Fe bilayer films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amram, D.; Klinger, L.; Rabkin, E.

    2013-01-01

    Sub-micrometer-sized particles of Au–Fe alloys were obtained by solid-state dewetting of single-crystalline Au–Fe bilayer films, deposited on c-plane sapphire (α-Al 2 O 3 ) substrates. Depending on the annealing parameters, precipitation of an Fe-rich phase occurred on the side facets of the particles in an interface-limited reaction. Based on the literature values of surface and interface energies in the system, the precipitates were expected to grow inside the Au(Fe) particles, resulting in an (Fe) core–(Au) shell morphology. However, more complex, time-dependent precipitate morphologies were observed, with faceted Fe-rich precipitates attached to the parent faceted Au-rich particles of the same height being dominant at the last stages of the transformation. Our high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations revealed a nanometric segregation layer of Au on the surface of Fe-rich particles and at their interface with sapphire. This segregation layer modified the surface and interface energies of the Fe-rich particles. A thermodynamic transformation model based on the concept of weighted mean curvature was developed, describing the kinetics of precipitations and morphology evolution of the particles during the dewetting process. Employing the values of surface and interface energies modified by segregation resulted in a good qualitative agreement between theory and experiment

  5. Habitability constraints on water-rich exoplanets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noack, Lena; Höning, Dennis; Rivoldini, Attilio; Heistracher, Clemens; Zimov, Nastasia; Journaux, Baptiste; Lammer, Helmut; Van Hoolst, Tim; Hendrik Bredehöft, Jan

    2016-04-01

    This research addresses the characterization, modelling, thermal evolution and possible habitability of water-rich exoplanets. Water is necessary for the origin and survival of life as we know it. In the search for habitable worlds, water-rich planets therefore seem obvious candidates. The water layer on such planets could be hundreds of kilometers deep. Depending on the temperature profile and the pressure gradient, it is likely that at great depths a significant part of the water layer is solid high pressure ice. Whether the solid ice layer extends to the bottom of the water layer, or if a shallow lower ocean forms above the silicate mantle, depends amongst others on the thermal state of the planet. We therefore model the thermal evolution of water-rich planets with a 1D parameterized model. Depth-dependent profiles for thermodynamic properties as well as pressure and gravity are obtained by solving the Poisson equation for the gravity and the hydrostatic pressure equation for pre-defined mass and composition (in terms of iron, silicates and water) [1]. For density, equations of state are applied. For the simulation of the thermal evolution of water-rich planets, several parameters (as initial temperatures or layer thicknesses) are unknown. We therefore employ a quantitatve study with more than 20'000 simulations, where we investigated which parameters have the largest influence on the appearance of a lower ocean, i.e. the possible melting of high-pressure ice by heat flowing out of the silicate mantle [2]. We find that the surface temperature has the largest influence on the thickness of water layers, for which a lower ocean can still form between the high-pressure ice layer and the silicate mantle. For higher surface temperatures, not only entirely liquid oceans are possible for deeper water shells, also a liquid ocean can form under high-pressure ice layers of hundreds of kilometer thickness (for a 1 Earth-mass planet). Deeper down, the lower ocean can still

  6. Island Species Richness Increases with Habitat Diversity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hortal, J.; Triantis, K.A.; Meiri, S.; Thebault, E.M.C.; Sfenthourakis, S.

    2009-01-01

    Species richness is commonly thought to increase with habitat diversity. However, a recent theoretical model aiming to unify niche and island biogeography theories predicted a hump-shaped relationship between richness and habitat diversity. Given the contradiction between model results and previous

  7. Metal-rich RRc Stars in the Carnegie RR Lyrae Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sneden, Christopher; Preston, George W.; Kollmeier, Juna A.; Crane, Jeffrey D.; Morrell, Nidia; Prieto, José L.; Shectman, Stephen A.; Skowron, Dorota M.; Thompson, Ian B.

    2018-01-01

    We describe and employ a stacking procedure to investigate abundances derived from the low signal-to-noise ratio spectra obtained in the Carnegie RR Lyrae Survey (CARRS). We find iron metallicities that extend from [Fe/H] ∼ ‑2.5 to values at least as large as [Fe/H] ∼ ‑0.5 in the 274-spectrum CARRS RRc data set. We consider RRc sample contamination by high amplitude solar metallicity δ Scuti stars (HADS) at periods less than 0.3 days, where photometric discrimination between RRc and δ Scuti stars has proven to be problematic. We offer a spectroscopic discriminant, the well-marked overabundance of heavy elements, principally [Ba/H], that is a common, if not universal, characteristic of HADS of all periods and axial rotations. No bona fide RRc stars known to us have verified heavy-element overabundances. Three out of 34 stars in our sample with [Fe/H] > ‑0.7 exhibit anomalously strong features of Sr, Y, Zr, Ba, and many rare earths. However, carbon is not enhanced in these three stars, and we conclude that their elevated n-capture abundances have not been generated in interior neutron-capture nucleosynthesis. Contamination by HADS appears to be unimportant, and metal-rich RRc stars occur in approximately the same proportion in the Galactic field as do metal-rich RRab stars. An apparent dearth of metal-rich RRc is probably a statistical fluke. Finally, we show that RRc stars have a similar inverse period–metallicity relationship as has been found for RRab stars.

  8. Adaptive distributed parameter and input estimation in linear parabolic PDEs

    KAUST Repository

    Mechhoud, Sarra

    2016-01-01

    First, new sufficient identifiability conditions of the input and the parameter simultaneous estimation are stated. Then, by means of Lyapunov-based design, an adaptive estimator is derived in the infinite-dimensional framework. It consists of a state observer and gradient-based parameter and input adaptation laws. The parameter convergence depends on the plant signal richness assumption, whereas the state convergence is established using a Lyapunov approach. The results of the paper are illustrated by simulation on tokamak plasma heat transport model using simulated data.

  9. Release kinetics of platelet-derived and plasma-derived growth factors from autologous plasma rich in growth factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anitua, Eduardo; Zalduendo, Mari Mar; Alkhraisat, Mohammad Hamdan; Orive, Gorka

    2013-10-01

    Many studies have evaluated the biological effects of platelet rich plasma reporting the final outcomes on cell and tissues. However, few studies have dealt with the kinetics of growth factor delivery by plasma rich in growth factors. Venous blood was obtained from three healthy volunteers and processed with PRGF-Endoret technology to prepare autologous plasma rich in growth factors. The gel-like fibrin scaffolds were then incubated in triplicate, in a cell culture medium to monitor the release of PDGF-AB, VEGF, HGF and IGF-I during 8 days of incubation. A leukocyte-platelet rich plasma was prepared employing the same technology and the concentrations of growth factors and interleukin-1β were determined after 24h of incubation. After each period, the medium was collected, fibrin clot was destroyed and the supernatants were stored at -80°C until analysis. The growth factor delivery is diffusion controlled with a rapid initial release by 30% of the bioactive content after 1h of incubation and a steady state release when almost 70% of the growth factor content has been delivered. Autologous fibrin matrix retained almost 30% of the amount of the growth factors after 8 days of incubation. The addition of leukocytes to the formula of platelet rich plasma did not increase the concentration of the growth factors, while it drastically increased the presence of pro-inflammatory IL-1β. Further studies employing an in vitro inflammatory model would be interesting to study the difference in growth factors and pro-inflammatory cytokines between leukocyte-free and leukocyte-rich platelet rich plasma. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

  10. Supplementation with an insoluble fiber obtained from carob pod (Ceratonia siliqua L.) rich in polyphenols prevents dyslipidemia in rabbits through SIRT1/PGC-1α pathway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valero-Muñoz, María; Ballesteros, Sandra; Ruiz-Roso, Baltasar; Pérez-Olleros, Lourdes; Martín-Fernández, Beatriz; Lahera, Vicente; de Las Heras, Natalia

    2017-12-22

    To investigate the mechanism implicated in the effect of an insoluble fiber (obtained from carob pod) rich in polyphenols (IFCP) in lipid metabolism in the liver. Male New Zealand rabbits were fed with the following diets for 8 weeks: control diet (CT group), dyslipidemic diet supplemented with 0.5% cholesterol + 14% coconut oil (DL group) and dyslipidemic diet containing 0.5% cholesterol + 14% coconut oil plus 3% IFCP (DL + IFCP group). Dyslipidemic diet with IFCP was able to reduce development of mixed dyslipidemia, liver relative weight and collagen I protein expression compared to DL rabbits. Analyses of the main enzymes implicated in cholesterol and triglycerides metabolism revealed that IFCP increased hepatic concentration of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG-CoA reductase) and cytochrome P450, family 7, subfamily a, polypeptide 1C (CYP7A1) (82.34, 114.42%, respectively) as well as protein expression of LDL receptor (42.48%) in DL rabbits. Importantly, IFCP also increased hepatic lipase (HL) levels (91.43%) and decreased glycerol phosphate acyltransferase (GPAT) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1C (SREBP1c) liver expression levels (20.38 and 41.20%, respectively). Finally, sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1alpha (PGC-1α) hepatic expression increased in DL + IFCP group compared with DL (159.81 and 48.00%, respectively). These findings show that IFCP is able to abrogate the deleterious effects of hepatic dyslipidemia by modulating SIRT1 and PGC-1α pathways.

  11. Rapidly involuting congenital hemangioma (RICH): a brief case report

    OpenAIRE

    Scalise, Robert; Bolton, Joanna; Gibbs, Neil F

    2014-01-01

    Congenital hemangiomas (CH) are benign vascular neoplasms that proliferate in utero and have completed development by birth. Two subtypes of CH are recognized: rapidly involuting congenital hemangiomas (RICH) and non-involuting congenital hemangiomas (NICH). Involution of the RICH subtype often begins in the first weeks of life. NICH does not involute, allowing the distinction between RICH and NICH. We report a case of an infant with RICH occurring on the scalp, examined at birth and followed...

  12. Effect of survey design and catch rate estimation on total catch estimates in Chinook salmon fisheries

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCormick, Joshua L.; Quist, Michael C.; Schill, Daniel J.

    2012-01-01

    Roving–roving and roving–access creel surveys are the primary techniques used to obtain information on harvest of Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha in Idaho sport fisheries. Once interviews are conducted using roving–roving or roving–access survey designs, mean catch rate can be estimated with the ratio-of-means (ROM) estimator, the mean-of-ratios (MOR) estimator, or the MOR estimator with exclusion of short-duration (≤0.5 h) trips. Our objective was to examine the relative bias and precision of total catch estimates obtained from use of the two survey designs and three catch rate estimators for Idaho Chinook salmon fisheries. Information on angling populations was obtained by direct visual observation of portions of Chinook salmon fisheries in three Idaho river systems over an 18-d period. Based on data from the angling populations, Monte Carlo simulations were performed to evaluate the properties of the catch rate estimators and survey designs. Among the three estimators, the ROM estimator provided the most accurate and precise estimates of mean catch rate and total catch for both roving–roving and roving–access surveys. On average, the root mean square error of simulated total catch estimates was 1.42 times greater and relative bias was 160.13 times greater for roving–roving surveys than for roving–access surveys. Length-of-stay bias and nonstationary catch rates in roving–roving surveys both appeared to affect catch rate and total catch estimates. Our results suggest that use of the ROM estimator in combination with an estimate of angler effort provided the least biased and most precise estimates of total catch for both survey designs. However, roving–access surveys were more accurate than roving–roving surveys for Chinook salmon fisheries in Idaho.

  13. Strontium-rich injectable hybrid system for bone regeneration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Neves, Nuno, E-mail: nsmneves@gmail.com [Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde, Universidade do Porto (Portugal); INEB — Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica, Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 823, 4150-180 Porto (Portugal); FMUP — Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Departamento de Cirurgia, Serviço de Ortopedia, Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto (Portugal); Campos, Bruno B. [FCUP — Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Centro de Investigação em Química, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Rua do Campo Alegre 1021/1055, 4169-007 Porto (Portugal); Almeida, Isabel F.; Costa, Paulo C. [FFUP — Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade do Porto, Laboratório de Tecnologia Farmacêutica, Departamento de Ciências do Medicamento, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313 Porto (Portugal); Cabral, Abel Trigo [FMUP — Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto, Departamento de Cirurgia, Serviço de Ortopedia, Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319 Porto (Portugal); and others

    2016-02-01

    Current challenges in the development of scaffolds for bone regeneration include the engineering of materials that can withstand normal dynamic physiological mechanical stresses exerted on the bone and provide a matrix capable of supporting cell migration and tissue ingrowth. The objective of the present work was to develop and characterize a hybrid polymer–ceramic injectable system that consists of an alginate matrix crosslinked in situ in the presence of strontium (Sr), incorporating a ceramic reinforcement in the form of Sr-rich microspheres. The incorporation of Sr in the microspheres and in the vehicle relies on the growing evidence that Sr has beneficial effects in bone remodeling and in the treatment of osteopenic disorders and osteoporosis. Sr-rich porous hydroxyapatite microspheres with a uniform size and a mean diameter of 555 μm were prepared, and their compression strength and friability tested. A 3.5% (w/v) ultrapure sodium alginate solution was used as the vehicle and its in situ gelation was promoted by the addition of calcium (Ca) or Sr carbonate and Glucone-δ-lactone. Gelation times varied with temperature and crosslinking agent, being slower for Sr than for Ca, but adequate for injection in both cases. Injectability was evaluated using a device employed in vertebroplasty surgical procedures, coupled to a texture analyzer in compression mode. Compositions with 35% w of microspheres presented the best compromise between injectability and compression strength of the system, the force required to extrude it being lower than 100 N. Micro CT analysis revealed a homogeneous distribution of the microspheres inside the vehicle, and a mean inter-microspheres space of 220 μm. DMA results showed that elastic behavior of the hybrid is dominant over the viscous one and that the higher storage modulus was obtained for the 3.5%Alg–35%Sr-HAp-Sr formulation. - Highlights: • We developed a Sr rich viscoelastic hybrid system (alginate matrix crosslinked in

  14. Event reconstruction for the CBM-RICH prototype beamtest data in 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adamczewski-Musch, J.; Akishin, P.; Becker, K.-H.; Belogurov, S.; Bendarouach, J.; Boldyreva, N.; Deveaux, C.; Dobyrn, V.; Dürr, M.; Eschke, J.; Förtsch, J.; Heep, J.; Höhne, C.; Kampert, K.-H.; Kochenda, L.; Kopfer, J.; Kravtsov, P.; Kres, I.; Lebedev, S.; Lebedeva, E.; Leonova, E.; Linev, S.; Mahmoud, T.; Michel, J.; Miftakhov, N.; Niebur, W.; Ovcharenko, E.; Patel, V.; Pauly, C.; Pfeifer, D.; Querchfeld, S.; Rautenberg, J.; Reinecke, S.; Riabov, Y.; Roshchin, E.; Samsonov, V.; Schetinin, V.; Tarasenkova, O.; Traxler, M.; Ugur, C.; Vznuzdaev, E.; Vznuzdaev, M.

    2017-12-01

    The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at the future FAIR facility will investigate the QCD phase diagram at high net baryon densities and moderate temperatures in A+A collisions from 2 to 11 AGeV (SIS100). Electron identification in CBM will be performed by a Ring Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) detector and Transition Radiation Detectors (TRD). A real size prototype of the RICH detector was tested together with other CBM groups at the CERN PS/T9 beam line in 2014. For the first time the data format used the FLESnet protocol from CBM delivering free streaming data. The analysis was fully performed within the CBMROOT framework. In this contribution the data analysis and the event reconstruction methods which were used for obtained data are discussed. Rings were reconstructed using an algorithm based on the Hough Transform method and their parameters were derived with high accuracy by circle and ellipse fitting procedures. We present results of the application of the presented algorithms. In particular we compare results with and without Wavelength shifting (WLS) coating.

  15. Firm size diversity, functional richness, and resilience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garmestani, A.S.; Allen, Craig R.; Mittelstaedt, J.D.; Stow, C.A.; Ward, W.A.

    2006-01-01

    This paper applies recent advances in ecology to our understanding of firm development, sustainability, and economic development. The ecological literature indicates that the greater the functional richness of species in a system, the greater its resilience - that is, its ability to persist in the face of substantial changes in the environment. This paper focuses on the effects of functional richness across firm size on the ability of industries to survive in the face of economic change. Our results indicate that industries with a richness of industrial functions are more resilient to employment volatility. ?? 2006 Cambridge University Press.

  16. Photoconduction in silicon rich oxide films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Luna-Lopez, J A; Carrillo-Lopez, J; Flores-Gracia, F J; Garcia-Salgado, G [CIDS-ICUAP, Benemerita Universidad Autonoma de Puebla. Ed. 103 D and C, col. San Manuel, Puebla, Pue. Mexico 72570 (Mexico); Aceves-Mijares, M; Morales-Sanchez, A, E-mail: jluna@buap.siu.m, E-mail: jluna@inaoep.m [INAOE, Luis Enrique Erro No. 1, Apdo. 51, Tonantzintla, Puebla, Mexico 72000 (Mexico)

    2009-05-01

    Photoconduction of silicon rich oxide (SRO) thin films were studied by current-voltage (I-V) measurements, where ultraviolet (UV) and white (Vis) light illumination were applied. SRO thin films were deposited by low pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD) technique, using SiH{sub 4} (silane) and N{sub 2}O (nitrous oxide) as reactive gases at 700 {sup 0}. The gas flow ratio, Ro = [N{sub 2}O]/[SiH{sub 4}] was used to control the silicon excess. The thickness and refractive index of the SRO films were 72.0 nm, 75.5 nm, 59.1 nm, 73.4 nm and 1.7, 1.5, 1.46, 1.45, corresponding to R{sub o} = 10, 20, 30 and 50, respectively. These results were obtained by null ellipsometry. Si nanoparticles (Si-nps) and defects within SRO films permit to obtain interesting photoelectric properties as a high photocurrent and photoconduction. These effects strongly depend on the silicon excess, thickness and structure type. Two different structures (Al/SRO/Si and Al/SRO/SRO/Si metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS)-like structures) were fabricated and used as devices. The photocurrent in these structures is dominated by the generation of carriers due to the incident photon energies ({approx}3.0-1.6 eV and 5 eV). These structures showed large photoconductive response at room temperature. Therefore, these structures have potential applications in optoelectronics devices.

  17. Geomorphic controls on elevational gradients of species richness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bertuzzo, Enrico; Carrara, Francesco; Mari, Lorenzo; Altermatt, Florian; Rodriguez-Iturbe, Ignacio; Rinaldo, Andrea

    2016-02-16

    Elevational gradients of biodiversity have been widely investigated, and yet a clear interpretation of the biotic and abiotic factors that determine how species richness varies with elevation is still elusive. In mountainous landscapes, habitats at different elevations are characterized by different areal extent and connectivity properties, key drivers of biodiversity, as predicted by metacommunity theory. However, most previous studies directly correlated species richness to elevational gradients of potential drivers, thus neglecting the interplay between such gradients and the environmental matrix. Here, we investigate the role of geomorphology in shaping patterns of species richness. We develop a spatially explicit zero-sum metacommunity model where species have an elevation-dependent fitness and otherwise neutral traits. Results show that ecological dynamics over complex terrains lead to the null expectation of a hump-shaped elevational gradient of species richness, a pattern widely observed empirically. Local species richness is found to be related to the landscape elevational connectivity, as quantified by a newly proposed metric that applies tools of complex network theory to measure the closeness of a site to others with similar habitat. Our theoretical results suggest clear geomorphic controls on elevational gradients of species richness and support the use of the landscape elevational connectivity as a null model for the analysis of the distribution of biodiversity.

  18. Environmental heterogeneity–species richness relationships from a global perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anke Stein

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Spatial environmental heterogeneity (EH is considered one of the most important factors promoting species richness, but no general consent about the EH–richness relationship exists so far. This is because research methods and study settings vary widely, and because non-significant and negative associations have also been reported. My thesis provides a comprehensive review of the different measurements and terminologies of EH used in the literature, and presents strong quantitative evidence of a generally positive relationship between biotic and abiotic EH and species richness of terrestrial plants and animals from landscape to global extents. In a meta-analysis and a subsequent case study comparing multiple EH measures and their association with mammal species richness worldwide, I furthermore reveal that the outcome of EH–richness studies depends strongly on study design, including both the EH measure chosen and spatial scale. My research contributes to a better understanding of the EH–richness relationship, while identifying future research needs.

  19. Urbanization level and woodland size are major drivers of woodpecker species richness and abundance.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lukasz Myczko

    Full Text Available Urbanization is a process globally responsible for loss of biodiversity and for biological homogenization. Urbanization may have a direct negative impact on species behaviour and indirect effects on species populations through alterations of their habitats, for example patch size and habitat quality. Woodpeckers are species potentially susceptible to urbanization. These birds are mostly forest specialists and the development of urban areas in former forests may be an important factor influencing their richness and abundance, but documented examples are rare. In this study we investigated how woodpeckers responded to changes in forest habitats as a consequence of urbanization, namely size and isolation of habitat patches, and other within-patch characteristics. We selected 42 woodland patches in a gradient from a semi-natural rural landscape to the city centre of Poznań (Western Poland in spring 2010. Both species richness and abundance of woodpeckers correlated positively to woodland patch area and negatively to increasing urbanization. Abundance of woodpeckers was also positively correlated with shrub cover and percentage of deciduous tree species. Furthermore, species richness and abundance of woodpeckers were highest at moderate values of canopy openness. Ordination analyses confirmed that urbanization level and woodland patch area were variables contributing most to species abundance in the woodpecker community. Similar results were obtained in presence-absence models for particular species. Thus, to sustain woodpecker species within cities it is important to keep woodland patches large, multi-layered and rich in deciduous tree species.

  20. Urbanization level and woodland size are major drivers of woodpecker species richness and abundance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myczko, Lukasz; Rosin, Zuzanna M; Skórka, Piotr; Tryjanowski, Piotr

    2014-01-01

    Urbanization is a process globally responsible for loss of biodiversity and for biological homogenization. Urbanization may have a direct negative impact on species behaviour and indirect effects on species populations through alterations of their habitats, for example patch size and habitat quality. Woodpeckers are species potentially susceptible to urbanization. These birds are mostly forest specialists and the development of urban areas in former forests may be an important factor influencing their richness and abundance, but documented examples are rare. In this study we investigated how woodpeckers responded to changes in forest habitats as a consequence of urbanization, namely size and isolation of habitat patches, and other within-patch characteristics. We selected 42 woodland patches in a gradient from a semi-natural rural landscape to the city centre of Poznań (Western Poland) in spring 2010. Both species richness and abundance of woodpeckers correlated positively to woodland patch area and negatively to increasing urbanization. Abundance of woodpeckers was also positively correlated with shrub cover and percentage of deciduous tree species. Furthermore, species richness and abundance of woodpeckers were highest at moderate values of canopy openness. Ordination analyses confirmed that urbanization level and woodland patch area were variables contributing most to species abundance in the woodpecker community. Similar results were obtained in presence-absence models for particular species. Thus, to sustain woodpecker species within cities it is important to keep woodland patches large, multi-layered and rich in deciduous tree species.

  1. Woody plant richness and NDVI response to drought events in Catalonian (northeastern Spain) forests.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lloret, F; Lobo, A; Estevan, H; Maisongrande, P; Vayreda, J; Terradas, J

    2007-09-01

    The role of species diversity on ecosystem resistance in the face of strong environmental fluctuations has been addressed from both theoretical and experimental viewpoints to reveal a variety of positive and negative relationships. Here we explore empirically the relationship between the richness of forest woody species and canopy resistance to extreme drought episodes. We compare richness data from an extensive forest inventory to a temporal series of satellite imagery that estimated drought impact on forest canopy as NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) anomalies of the dry summer in 2003 in relation to records of previous years. We considered five different types of forests that are representative of the main climatic and altitudinal gradients of the region, ranging from lowland Mediterranean to mountain boreal-temperate climates. The observed relationship differed among forest types and interacted with the climate, summarised by the Thorntwaite index. In Mediterranean Pinus halepensis forests, NDVI decreased during the drought. This decrease was stronger in forests with lower richness. In Mediterranean evergreen forests of Quercus ilex, drought did not result in an overall NDVI loss, but lower NDVI values were observed in drier localities with lower richness, and in more moist localities with higher number of species. In mountain Pinus sylvestris forests NDVI decreased, mostly due to the drought impact on drier localities, while no relation to species richness was observed. In moist Fagus sylvatica forests, NDVI only decreased in plots with high richness. No effect of drought was observed in the high mountain Pinus uncinata forests. Our results show that a shift on the diversity-stability relationship appears across the regional, climatic gradient. A positive relationship appears in drier localities, supporting a null model where the probability of finding a species able to cope with drier conditions increases with the number of species. However, in

  2. Reptiles of Chubut province, Argentina: richness, diversity, conservation status and geographic distribution maps

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minoli, Ignacio; Morando, Mariana; Avila, Luciano Javier

    2015-01-01

    Abstract An accurate estimation of species and population geographic ranges is essential for species-focused studies and conservation and management plans. Knowledge of the geographic distributions of reptiles from Patagonian Argentina is in general limited and dispersed over manuscripts from a wide variety of topics. We completed an extensive review of reptile species of central Patagonia (Argentina) based on information from a wide variety of sources. We compiled and checked geographic distribution records from published literature and museum records, including extensive new data from the LJAMM-CNP (CENPAT-CONICET) herpetological collection. Our results show that there are 52 taxa recorded for this region and the highest species richness was seen in the families Liolaemidae and Dipsadidae with 31 and 10 species, respectively. The Patagónica was the phytogeographic province most diverse in species and Phymaturus was the genus of conservation concern most strongly associated with it. We present a detailed species list with geographical information, richness species, diversity analyses with comparisons across phytogeographical provinces, conservation status, taxonomic comments and distribution maps for all of these taxa. PMID:25931966

  3. Origin of the latitudinal richness gradient

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Engemann, Kristine; Sandel, Brody Steven; Enquist, Brian J.

    2015-01-01

    Spatial variation in richness patterns must be due to variation in rates of speciation, extinction, immigration and emigration. Hotspots of diversity can occur either because they are hotspots of speciation (cradles) or cold spots of extinction (museums) – two major hypotheses that make contrasting...... predictions for the phylogenetic structure of communities. We test these hypotheses by comparing centers of species richness and phylogenetic clustering for vascular plants in the New World. Range maps for 88,417 plant species were extracted from the Botanical Information and Ecology Network (BIEN) database...... and combined with the BIEN mega phylogeny of >80,000 species. We calculated the Phylogenetic Diversity Index (PDI) and Net Relatedness Index (NRI) for each cell in a 100×100 km grid using a new computationally efficient algorithm. Species richness patterns were compared to patterns of PDI and NRI. We found...

  4. The CBM RICH project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adamczewski-Musch, J. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Akishin, P. [Laboratory of Information Technologies, Joint Institute for Nuclear research (JINR-LIT), Dubna (Russian Federation); Becker, K.-H. [Department of Physics, University of Wuppertal, D-42097 Wuppertal (Germany); Belogurov, S. [SSC RF ITEP, 117218 Moscow (Russian Federation); Bendarouach, J. [Institute of Physics II and Institute of Applied Physics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, D-35392 Giessen (Germany); Boldyreva, N. [National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute” B.P. Konstantinov Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, 188300 Gatchina (Russian Federation); Chernogorov, A. [SSC RF ITEP, 117218 Moscow (Russian Federation); Deveaux, C. [Institute of Physics II and Institute of Applied Physics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, D-35392 Giessen (Germany); Dobyrn, V. [National Research Centre “Kurchatov Institute” B.P. Konstantinov Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute, 188300 Gatchina (Russian Federation); Dürr, M. [Institute of Physics II and Institute of Applied Physics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, D-35392 Giessen (Germany); Eschke, J. [GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung GmbH, D-64291 Darmstadt (Germany); Förtsch, J. [Department of Physics, University of Wuppertal, D-42097 Wuppertal (Germany); Heep, J.; Höhne, C. [Institute of Physics II and Institute of Applied Physics, Justus Liebig University Giessen, D-35392 Giessen (Germany); Kampert, K.-H. [Department of Physics, University of Wuppertal, D-42097 Wuppertal (Germany); and others

    2017-02-11

    The CBM RICH detector is an integral component of the future CBM experiment at FAIR, providing efficient electron identification and pion suppression necessary for the measurement of rare dileptonic probes in heavy ion collisions. The RICH design is based on CO{sub 2} gas as radiator, a segmented spherical glass focussing mirror with Al+MgF{sub 2} reflective coating, and Multianode Photomultipliers for efficient Cherenkov photon detection. Hamamatsu H12700 MAPMTs have recently been selected as photon sensors, following an extensive sensor evaluation, including irradiation tests to ensure sufficient radiation hardness of the MAPMTs. A brief overview of the detector design and concept is given, results on the radiation hardness of the photon sensors are shown, and the development of a FPGA-TDC based readout chain is discussed.

  5. Adaptive distributed parameter and input estimation in linear parabolic PDEs

    KAUST Repository

    Mechhoud, Sarra

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we discuss the on-line estimation of distributed source term, diffusion, and reaction coefficients of a linear parabolic partial differential equation using both distributed and interior-point measurements. First, new sufficient identifiability conditions of the input and the parameter simultaneous estimation are stated. Then, by means of Lyapunov-based design, an adaptive estimator is derived in the infinite-dimensional framework. It consists of a state observer and gradient-based parameter and input adaptation laws. The parameter convergence depends on the plant signal richness assumption, whereas the state convergence is established using a Lyapunov approach. The results of the paper are illustrated by simulation on tokamak plasma heat transport model using simulated data.

  6. On the estimation of stellar parameters with uncertainty prediction from Generative Artificial Neural Networks: application to Gaia RVS simulated spectra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dafonte, C.; Fustes, D.; Manteiga, M.; Garabato, D.; Álvarez, M. A.; Ulla, A.; Allende Prieto, C.

    2016-10-01

    Aims: We present an innovative artificial neural network (ANN) architecture, called Generative ANN (GANN), that computes the forward model, that is it learns the function that relates the unknown outputs (stellar atmospheric parameters, in this case) to the given inputs (spectra). Such a model can be integrated in a Bayesian framework to estimate the posterior distribution of the outputs. Methods: The architecture of the GANN follows the same scheme as a normal ANN, but with the inputs and outputs inverted. We train the network with the set of atmospheric parameters (Teff, log g, [Fe/H] and [α/ Fe]), obtaining the stellar spectra for such inputs. The residuals between the spectra in the grid and the estimated spectra are minimized using a validation dataset to keep solutions as general as possible. Results: The performance of both conventional ANNs and GANNs to estimate the stellar parameters as a function of the star brightness is presented and compared for different Galactic populations. GANNs provide significantly improved parameterizations for early and intermediate spectral types with rich and intermediate metallicities. The behaviour of both algorithms is very similar for our sample of late-type stars, obtaining residuals in the derivation of [Fe/H] and [α/ Fe] below 0.1 dex for stars with Gaia magnitude Grvs satellite. Conclusions: Uncertainty estimation of computed astrophysical parameters is crucial for the validation of the parameterization itself and for the subsequent exploitation by the astronomical community. GANNs produce not only the parameters for a given spectrum, but a goodness-of-fit between the observed spectrum and the predicted one for a given set of parameters. Moreover, they allow us to obtain the full posterior distribution over the astrophysical parameters space once a noise model is assumed. This can be used for novelty detection and quality assessment.

  7. rich extract on total polyphenols and antioxidant activity obtained

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Z. Ghouila

    USTHB, Organic Functional Analysis Laboratory, 16111 Bab Ezzouar, Algiers, ... Keywords: Ahmeur Bouamer, extraction, grape seeds, total polyphenols, ... These compounds are known as good natural antioxidant agents arising from natural ... surface between solid and liquid phases; this is mainly due to the dispersion of ...

  8. THE REACH AND RICHNESS OF WIKINOMICS: IS THE FREE WEB-BASED ENCYCLOPEDIA WIKIPEDIA ONLY FOR RICH COUNTRIES?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rask, Morten

    2007-01-01

    In this article, a model of the patterns of correlation in Wikipedia, reach and richness, lays the foundation for studying whether the free Web-based encyclopedia Wikipedia is only for developed countries. Based on data from 12 different Wikipedia language editions, the author finds that the cent......In this article, a model of the patterns of correlation in Wikipedia, reach and richness, lays the foundation for studying whether the free Web-based encyclopedia Wikipedia is only for developed countries. Based on data from 12 different Wikipedia language editions, the author finds...... that the central structural effect is on the level of human development in the current country. In other words, Wikipedia is in general more for rich countries than for less developed countries. It is suggested that policy makers make investments in increasing the general level of literacy, education, and standard...

  9. Lipase-catalyzed glycerolysis of fish oil to obtain diacylglycerols

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baeza-Jiménez, R.

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Diacylglycerols (DAG rich in n-3 residues were successfully produced by Novozym 435-catalysed glycerolysis of n-3 PUFA rich fish oil. Orbital and magnetic agitations were evaluated in order to minimize mass transfer limitations and thus assure the homogeneity of the reactant mixture. Different temperatures (65, 70, 75, 80, 85 and 90 °C and speeds (300, 500, 700 and 900 rpm were tested. Optimal conditions to obtain the highest amount of DAG were: 65 °C, with a substrate molar ratio of 3:1 (oil:glycerol, 500 rpm and 15% enzyme load after 2.5 h, with a yield of 60%.Diacilglicéridos (DAG ricos en n-3 fueron producidos en la glicerolisis de aceite de pescado rico en n-3 PUFA catalizada por Novozym 435. Las agitaciones orbital y magnética fueron evaluadas con el propósito de minimizar las limitaciones de transferencia de masa y garantizar la homogeneidad de la mezcla de reactivos. Diferentes temperaturas (65, 70, 75, 80, 85 y 90 °C y velocidades de agitación (300, 500, 700 y 900 rpm fueron empleadas. Las condiciones óptimas para alcanzar la mayor cantidad de DAG fueron: 65 °C, una relación molar de sustratos 3:1 (aceite:glicerol, 500 rpm y 15% de enzima, después de 2.5 h, con un rendimiento de 60%.

  10. Mangroves among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donato, Daniel C.; Kauffman, J. Boone; Murdiyarso, Daniel; Kurnianto, Sofyan; Stidham, Melanie; Kanninen, Markku

    2011-05-01

    Mangrove forests occur along ocean coastlines throughout the tropics, and support numerous ecosystem services, including fisheries production and nutrient cycling. However, the areal extent of mangrove forests has declined by 30-50% over the past half century as a result of coastal development, aquaculture expansion and over-harvesting. Carbon emissions resulting from mangrove loss are uncertain, owing in part to a lack of broad-scale data on the amount of carbon stored in these ecosystems, particularly below ground. Here, we quantified whole-ecosystem carbon storage by measuring tree and dead wood biomass, soil carbon content, and soil depth in 25 mangrove forests across a broad area of the Indo-Pacific region--spanning 30° of latitude and 73° of longitude--where mangrove area and diversity are greatest. These data indicate that mangroves are among the most carbon-rich forests in the tropics, containing on average 1,023Mg carbon per hectare. Organic-rich soils ranged from 0.5m to more than 3m in depth and accounted for 49-98% of carbon storage in these systems. Combining our data with other published information, we estimate that mangrove deforestation generates emissions of 0.02-0.12Pg carbon per year--as much as around 10% of emissions from deforestation globally, despite accounting for just 0.7% of tropical forest area.

  11. A classical regression framework for mediation analysis: fitting one model to estimate mediation effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saunders, Christina T; Blume, Jeffrey D

    2017-10-26

    Mediation analysis explores the degree to which an exposure's effect on an outcome is diverted through a mediating variable. We describe a classical regression framework for conducting mediation analyses in which estimates of causal mediation effects and their variance are obtained from the fit of a single regression model. The vector of changes in exposure pathway coefficients, which we named the essential mediation components (EMCs), is used to estimate standard causal mediation effects. Because these effects are often simple functions of the EMCs, an analytical expression for their model-based variance follows directly. Given this formula, it is instructive to revisit the performance of routinely used variance approximations (e.g., delta method and resampling methods). Requiring the fit of only one model reduces the computation time required for complex mediation analyses and permits the use of a rich suite of regression tools that are not easily implemented on a system of three equations, as would be required in the Baron-Kenny framework. Using data from the BRAIN-ICU study, we provide examples to illustrate the advantages of this framework and compare it with the existing approaches. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

  12. arXiv The Future of RICH Detectors through the Light of the LHCb RICH

    CERN Document Server

    D'Ambrosio, C.; Easo, S.; Petrolini, A.; Ullaland, O.

    2017-12-21

    The limitations in performance of the present RICH system in the LHCb experiment are given by the natural chromatic dispersion of the gaseous Cherenkov radiator, the aberrations of the optical system and the pixel size of the photon detectors. Moreover, the overall PID performance can be affected by high detector occupancy as the pattern recognition becomes more difficult with high particle multiplicities. This paper shows a way to improve performance by systematically addressing each of the previously mentioned limitations. These ideas are applied in the present and future upgrade phases of the LHCb experiment. Although applied to specific circumstances, they are used as a paradigm on what is achievable in the development and realisation of high precision RICH detectors.

  13. Strangeness as a probe to baryon-rich QCD matter at NICA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fukushima, Kenji [The University of Tokyo, Department of Physics, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo (Japan)

    2016-08-15

    We elucidate a prospect of strangeness fluctuation measurements in the heavy-ion collision at NICA energies. The strangeness fluctuation is sensitive to quark deconfinement. At the same time strangeness has a strong correlation with the baryon number under the condition of vanishing net strangeness, which leads to an enhancement of Λ{sup 0}, Ξ{sup 0}, Ξ{sup -}, and K{sup +} at high baryon density. The baryon density is maximized around the NICA energies, and strangeness should be an ideal probe to investigate quark deconfinement phenomena of baryon-rich QCD matter created at NICA. We also utilize the hadron resonance gas model to estimate a mixed fluctuation of strangeness and baryon number. (orig.)

  14. Partitioning sources of variation in vertebrate species richness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boone, R.B.; Krohn, W.B.

    2000-01-01

    Aim: To explore biogeographic patterns of terrestrial vertebrates in Maine, USA using techniques that would describe local and spatial correlations with the environment. Location: Maine, USA. Methods: We delineated the ranges within Maine (86,156 km2) of 275 species using literature and expert review. Ranges were combined into species richness maps, and compared to geomorphology, climate, and woody plant distributions. Methods were adapted that compared richness of all vertebrate classes to each environmental correlate, rather than assessing a single explanatory theory. We partitioned variation in species richness into components using tree and multiple linear regression. Methods were used that allowed for useful comparisons between tree and linear regression results. For both methods we partitioned variation into broad-scale (spatially autocorrelated) and fine-scale (spatially uncorrelated) explained and unexplained components. By partitioning variance, and using both tree and linear regression in analyses, we explored the degree of variation in species richness for each vertebrate group that Could be explained by the relative contribution of each environmental variable. Results: In tree regression, climate variation explained richness better (92% of mean deviance explained for all species) than woody plant variation (87%) and geomorphology (86%). Reptiles were highly correlated with environmental variation (93%), followed by mammals, amphibians, and birds (each with 84-82% deviance explained). In multiple linear regression, climate was most closely associated with total vertebrate richness (78%), followed by woody plants (67%) and geomorphology (56%). Again, reptiles were closely correlated with the environment (95%), followed by mammals (73%), amphibians (63%) and birds (57%). Main conclusions: Comparing variation explained using tree and multiple linear regression quantified the importance of nonlinear relationships and local interactions between species

  15. Hubble Space Telescope-NICMOS Observations of M31'S Metal-Rich Globular Clusters and Their Surrounding Fields. I. Techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stephens, Andrew W.; Frogel, Jay A.; Freedman, Wendy; Gallart, Carme; Jablonka, Pascale; Ortolani, Sergio; Renzini, Alvio; Rich, R. Michael; Davies, Roger

    2001-05-01

    Astronomers are always anxious to push their observations to the limit-basing results on objects at the detection threshold, spectral features barely stronger than the noise, or photometry in very crowded regions. In this paper we present a careful analysis of photometry in crowded regions and show how image blending affects the results and interpretation of such data. Although this analysis is specifically for our NICMOS observations in M31, the techniques we develop can be applied to any imaging data taken in crowded fields; we show how the effects of image blending will limit even the Next Generation Space Telescope. We have obtained HST-NICMOS observations of five of M31's most metal-rich globular clusters. These data allow photometry of individual stars in the clusters and their surrounding fields. However, to achieve our goals-obtain accurate luminosity functions to compare with their Galactic counterparts, determine metallicities from the slope of the giant branch, identify long-period variables, and estimate ages from the AGB tip luminosity-we must be able to disentangle the true properties of the population from the observational effects associated with measurements made in very crowded fields. We thus use three different techniques to analyze the effects of crowding on our data, including the insertion of artificial stars (traditional completeness tests) and the creation of completely artificial clusters. These computer simulations are used to derive threshold- and critical-blending radii for each cluster, which determine how close to the cluster center reliable photometry can be achieved. The simulations also allow us to quantify and correct for the effects of blending on the slope and width of the RGB at different surface brightness levels. We then use these results to estimate the limits blending will place on future space-based observations. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope obtained at the Space Telescope Science

  16. Platelet concentration of plateletrich plasma from dogs, obtained through three centrifugation speeds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vanessa Couto de Magalhães Ferraz

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available The platelets release at least 4 growth factors (Platelet Derived Growth Factor. ²1 and ²2 Transforming Growth Factors and Insulin-like Growth Factor which are responsible for the migration and activation of cells that will start the reparation of soft tissues and bones. The Platelet Rich Plasma is an autogenous source for Growth Factors, obtained by platelet concentration by centrifuging total blood. This study aimed the comparison of platelet concentrations in plasma centrifuged in three different centrifugation speeds (1300, 1600 e 3200rpm, for the production of platelet rich plasma. Blood was drowned from 15 dogs, 40ml of each, and these were divided into four groups and centrifuged at 800rpm. Then the first group was centrifuged at 1300rpm, the second at 1600rpm, the third at 3200rpm and the last was used as control, named plasma. The mean percentage increase in the platelet concentration for each technique was: 1300 - 183%, 1600 - 210% and 3200 - 222%. But in centrifugation at 3200 rpm, platelets presented altered morphology and different sizes in every sample studied, which was understood as severe cell damage. It was concluded that the best technique for the preparation of the platelet rich plasma in dogs consisted of the previous centrifugation of the blood at 800rpm for ten minutes, and then the plasma should be separated. This plasma is then submitted to a second centrifugation of 1600rpm for 10 minutes, and the platelet poor plasma is separated and discharged.

  17. Operation of a Fast-RICH Prototype with VLSI readout electronics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guyonnet, J.L. (CRN, IN2P3-CNRS / Louis Pasteur Univ., Strasbourg (France)); Arnold, R. (CRN, IN2P3-CNRS / Louis Pasteur Univ., Strasbourg (France)); Jobez, J.P. (Coll. de France, 75 - Paris (France)); Seguinot, J. (Coll. de France, 75 - Paris (France)); Ypsilantis, T. (Coll. de France, 75 - Paris (France)); Chesi, E. (CERN / ECP Div., Geneve (Switzerland)); Racz, A. (CERN / ECP Div., Geneve (Switzerland)); Egger, J. (Paul Scherrer Inst., Villigen (Switzerland)); Gabathuler, K. (Paul Scherrer Inst., Villigen (Switzerland)); Joram, C. (Karlsruhe Univ. (Germany)); Adachi, I. (KEK, Tsukuba (Japan)); Enomoto, R. (KEK, Tsukuba (Japan)); Sumiyoshi, T. (KEK, Tsukuba (Japan))

    1994-04-01

    We discuss the first test results, obtained with cosmic rays, of a full-scale Fast-RICH Prototype with proximity-focused 10 mm thick LiF (CaF[sub 2]) solid radiators, TEA as photosensor in CH[sub 4], and readout of 12 x 10[sup 3] cathode pads (5.334 x 6.604 mm[sup 2]) using dedicated VLSI electronics we have developed. The number of detected photoelectrons is 7.7 (6.9) for the CaF[sub 2] (LiF) radiator, very near to the expected values 6.4 (7.5) from Monte Carlo simulations. The single-photon Cherenkov angle resolution [sigma][sub [theta

  18. Biosynthesis of tannase and gallic acid from tannin rich substrates by Rhizopus oryzae and Aspergillus foetidus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukherjee, Gargi; Banerjee, Rintu

    2004-01-01

    Modified solid-state fermentation (MSSF) of tannin-rich substrates for production of tannase and gallic acid was carried out using two fungal cultures, Rhizopus oryzae (RO IIT RB-13, NRRL 21498) and Aspergillus foetidus (GMRB013 MTCC 3557). The tannin rich substrates included powdered fruits of Terminalia chebula and Caesalpinia digyna pod cover powder. The different environmental parameters for the maximum production of tannase and gallic acid were optimized through media engineering. The highest yield of tannase and gallic acid was obtained after 60 h in case of Rhizopus oryzae and after 72 h by Aspergillus foetidus with 3 ml of induced inoculum. The optimum initial pH of the fermentation was found to be 4.5 in case of Rhizopus oryzae and 5.0 for Aspergillus foetidus. MSSF was carried out at the optimum conditions of 30 degrees C and 80% relative humidity. Collectively, the data reveal the potential of the modified solid-state fermentation process for the production of tannase and gallic acid from tannin-rich substrates with R. oryzae and A. foetidus.

  19. Assessment of differences between products obtained in conventional and vacuum spray dryer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernanda de Melo RAMOS

    Full Text Available Abstract In this work, an experimental unit of a vacuum spray dryer was built. This prototype attempted to combine the advantages of freeze-drying (drying at low temperatures due to vacuum and spray drying (increase of surface area aiming the improvement of heat transfer efficiency. Maltodextrin solutions were dried in the vacuum operated equipment and in conventional spray dryer. The vacuum spray dryer system allowed obtaining powder at low temperatures due to the lowering of pressure conditions (2-5 kPa inside the drying chamber. The products obtained in the two systems were characterized and compared for particle size distribution, moisture content, water activity, bulk density and solubility in water. The processes yields were also evaluated and compared. The vacuum spray dryer system allowed the production of larger, more soluble and less dense particles than those obtained in the conventional configuration of the equipment, resulting in drier and, therefore, with lower water activity particles. Thus, the use of the vacuum spray dryer as a drying technique may be an alternative for the production of powder rich in thermosensitive compounds.

  20. Chemical variation in Piper aduncum and biological properties of its dillapiole-rich essential oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Almeida, Roseli R P; Souto, Raimundo N P; Bastos, Cleber N; da Silva, Milton H L; Maia, José G S

    2009-09-01

    The essential oils of the specimens of Piper aduncum that occur in deforested areas of Brazilian Amazon, North Brazil, are rich in dillapiole (35-90%), a derivative of phenylpropene, to which are attributed biological properties. On the other hand, the oils of the specimens with occurrence in the Atlantic Forest, and Northeastern and Southeastern Brazil, do not contain dillapiole, but only terpene compounds such as (E)-nerolidol and linalool. One specimen existing in the Amazon was hydrodistilled. The obtained oil was fractioned on a silica chromatographic column, resulting in fractions rich in dillapiole (95.0-98.9%) utilized for analyses by GC and GC/MS, structural characterization by NMR, confirmation of their biological properties, and to obtain the isomer isodillapiole. Dillapiole showed a fungicide action against the fungus Clinipellis perniciosa (witches' broom) by inhibition of its basidiospores, in concentrations ranging from 0.6 to 1.0 ppm. The larvicide and insecticide actions of dillapiole were tested against the larvae and the adult insects of Anopheles marajoara and Aedes aegypti (malaria and dengue mosquitoes), resulting in mortality of the larvae (48 h, 100%) at a concentration of 100 ppm, and mortality of the insects (30 min, 100%) at a concentration of 600 ppm. The isomeric isodillapiole showed no significant activity in the same biological tests.

  1. Solar flare neon and solar cosmic ray fluxes in the past using gas-rich meteorites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nautiyal, C.M.; Rao, M.N.

    1986-01-01

    Methods were developed earlier to deduce the composition of solar flare neon and to determine the solar cosmic ray proton fluxes in the past using etched lunar samples and at present, these techniques are extended to gas rich meteorites. By considering high temperature Ne data points for Pantar, Fayetteville and other gas rich meteorites and by applying the three component Ne-decomposition methods, the solar cosmic ray and galactic cosmic ray produced spallation Ne components from the trapped SF-Ne was resolved. Using appropiate SCR and GCR production rates, in the case of Pantar, for example, a GCR exposure age of 2 m.y. was estimated for Pantar-Dark while Pantar-Light yielded a GCR age of approx. 3 m.y. However the SCR exposure age of Pantar-Dark is two orders of magnitude higher than the average surface exposure ages of lunar soils. The possibility of higher proton fluxes in the past is discussed

  2. Disturbance alters local-regional richness relationships in appalachian forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Belote, R.T.; Sanders, N.J.; Jones, R.H.

    2009-01-01

    Whether biological diversity within communities is limited by local interactions or regional species pools remains an important question in ecology. In this paper, we investigate how an experimentally applied tree-harvesting disturbance gradient influenced local-regional richness relationships. Plant species richness was measured at three spatial scales (2 ha = regional; 576 m2 and 1 m2 = local) on three occasions (one year pre-disturbance, one year post-disturbance, and 10 years post-disturbance) across five disturbance treatments (uncut control through clearcut) replicated throughout the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA. We investigated whether species richness in 576-m2 plots and 1-m2 subplots depended on species richness in 2-ha experimental units and whether this relationship changed through time before and after canopy disturbance. We found that, before disturbance, the relationship between local and regional richness was weak or nonexistent. One year after disturbance local richness was a positive function of regional richness, because local sites were colonized from the regional species pool. Ten years after disturbance, the positive relationship persisted, but the slope had decreased by half. These results suggest that disturbance can set the stage for strong influences of regional species pools on local community assembly in temperate forests. However, as time since disturbance increases, local controls on community assembly decouple the relationships between regional and local diversity. ?? 2009 by the Ecological Society of America.

  3. Gas-rich galaxy pair unveiled in the lensed quasar 0957+561

    Science.gov (United States)

    Planesas; Martin-Pintado; Neri; Colina

    1999-12-24

    Molecular gas in the host galaxy of the lensed quasar 0957+561 (QSO 0957+561) at the redshift of 1.41 has been detected in the carbon monoxide (CO) line. This detection shows the extended nature of the molecular gas distribution in the host galaxy and the pronounced lensing effects due to the differentially magnified CO luminosity at different velocities. The estimated mass of molecular gas is about 4 x 10(9) solar masses, a molecular gas mass typical of a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way. A second, weaker component of CO is interpreted as arising from a close companion galaxy that is rich in molecular gas and has remained undetected so far. Its estimated molecular gas mass is 1.4 x 10(9) solar masses, and its velocity relative to the main galaxy is 660 kilometers per second. The ability to probe the molecular gas distribution and kinematics of galaxies associated with high-redshift lensed quasars can be used to improve the determination of the Hubble constant H(0).

  4. Synthesis and study of neutron-rich nuclides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luo, Y.X.

    1995-01-01

    During the past few years our understanding of the decay properties and nuclear structure has been extended in a systematic fashion for the neutron-rich nuclei. This review will discuss the impressive progress in the studies of the exotic decay properties and nuclear structure of n-rich nuclei. Their astrophysical implications will also be outlined. ((orig.))

  5. LHCb RICH1 Engineering Design Review Report

    CERN Document Server

    Brook, N; Metlica, F; Muir, A; Phillips, A; Buckley, A; Gibson, V; Harrison, K; Jones, C R; Katvars, S G; Lazzeroni, C; Storey, J; Ward, CP; Wotton, S; Alemi, M; Arnabaldi, C; Bellunato, T F; Calvi, M; Matteuzzi, C; Musy, M; Negri, P; Perego, D L; Pessina, G; Chamonal, R; Eisenhardt, S; Lawrence, J; McCarron, J; Muheim, F; Playfer, S; Walker, A; Cuneo, S; Fontanelli, F; Gracco, Valerio; Mini, G; Musico, P; Petrolini, A; Sannino, M; Bates, A; MacGregor, A; O'Shea, V; Parkes, C; Paterson, S; Petrie, D; Pickford, A; Rahman, M; Soler, F; Allebone, L; Barber, J H; Cameron, W; Clark, D; Dornan, Peter John; Duane, A; Egede, U; Hallam, R; Howard, A; Plackett, R; Price, D; Savidge, T; Vidal-Sitjes, G; Websdale, D M; Adinolfi, M; Bibby, J H; Cioffi, C; Gligorov, Vladimir V; Harnew, N; Harris, F; McArthur, I A; Newby, C; Ottewell, B; Rademacker, J; Senanayake, R; Somerville, L P; Soroko, A; Smale, N J; Topp-Jørgensen, S; Wilkinson, G; Yang, S; Benayoun, M; Khmelnikov, V A; Obraztsov, V F; Densham, C J; Easo, S; Franek, B; Kuznetsov, G; Loveridge, P W; Morrow, D; Morris, JV; Papanestis, A; Patrick, G N; Woodward, M L; Aglieri-Rinella, G; Albrecht, A; Braem, André; Campbell, M; D'Ambrosio, C; Forty, R W; Frei, C; Gys, Thierry; Jamet, O; Kanaya, N; Losasso, M; Moritz, M; Patel, M; Piedigrossi, D; Snoeys, W; Ullaland, O; Van Lysebetten, A; Wyllie, K

    2005-01-01

    This document describes the concepts of the engineering design to be adopted for the upstream Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector (RICH1) of the reoptimized LHCb detector. Our aim is to ensure that coherent solutions for the engineering design and integration for all components of RICH1 are available, before proceeding with the detailed design of these components.

  6. Anti-chikungunya activity of luteolin and apigenin rich fraction from Cynodon dactylon

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Krishnan Saravana Murali; Srinivasan Sivasubramanian; Savariar Vincent; Shanmugaraj Bala Murugan; Bupesh Giridaran; Sundaram Dinesh; Palani Gunasekaran; Kaveri Krishnasamy; Ramalingam Sathishkumar

    2015-01-01

    Objective:To obtain luteolin and apigenin rich fraction from the ethanolic extract ofCynodon dactylon (L.) (C. dactylon) Pers and evaluate the fraction’s cytotoxicity and anti-Chikungunya potential using Vero cells.Methods:The ethanolic extract ofC. dactylon was subjected to silica gel column chromatography to obtain anti-chikungunya virus (CHIKV) fraction. Reverse phase-HPLC and GC-MS studies were carried out to identify the major phytochemicals in the fraction using phytochemical standards. Cytotoxicity and the potential of the fraction against CHIKV were evaluatedin vitrousing Vero cells. Reduction in viral replication was assessed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) after treating the viral infected Vero cells with the fraction.Results:Reverse Phase-HPLC and GC-MS studies confirmed the presence of flavonoids, luteolin and apigenin as major phytochemicals in the anti-CHIKV ethanolic fraction ofC. dactylon. The fraction was found to exhibit potent viral inhibitory activity (about 98%) at the concentration of 50 µg/mL as observed by reduction in cytopathic effect, and the cytotoxic concentration of the fraction was found to be 250 µg/mL. RT-PCR analyses indicated that the reduction in viral mRNA synthesis in fraction treated infected cells was much higher than the viral infected control cells.Conclusions:Luteolin and apigenin rich ethanolic fraction fromC. dactylon can be utilized as a potential therapeutic agent against CHIKV infection as the fraction does not show cytotoxicity while inhibiting the virus.

  7. Phase relationships in the Al-rich region of the Al-Cu-Er system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Ligang; Masset, Patrick J.; Cao Fuyong; Meng Fangui; Liu Libin; Jin Zhanpeng

    2011-01-01

    Research highlights: → One ternary phase τ 1 -Al 8 Cu 4 Er in Al-rich region with a composition of 59.4-60.4 at.% Al, 32.2-33.8 at.% Cu, and 6.4-7.7 at.% Er is observed in both as-cast and annealed alloys. At 673 K, the binary Al 3 Er phase dissolves about 3.51 at.% Cu. → The calculated solidification paths (based on the CALPHAD method) of as-cast alloys are in agreement with the experimental results. → It can be found that the resultant thermodynamic database can be applied to case studies of as-cast alloys, showing that the literature thermodynamic description of the Al-Cu-Er system is reliable as a working basis for computer-assisted alloy design. - Abstract: The Al-rich region of the ternary Al-Cu-Er system is investigated using the method of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Phase equilibria in the Al-rich region of the Al-Cu-Er system at 673 K have been obtained, and the microstructures of as-cast alloys in the Al-rich region are also investigated. One ternary phase τ 1 -Al 8 Cu 4 Er with a composition of 59.4-60.4 at.% Al, 32.2-33.8 at.% Cu, and 6.4-7.7 at.% Er is observed in both as-cast and annealed alloys. At 673 K, the binary Al 3 Er phase dissolves about 3.51 at.% Cu. The calculated solidification paths (based on the CALPHAD method) of as-cast alloys are in agreement with the experimental results.

  8. Seismic data are rich in information about subsurface formations and fluids

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Farfour, Mohammed; Yoon, Wang Jung; Kim, Dongshin [Geophysical Prospecting Lab, Energy & Resources Eng., Dept., Chonnam National University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Jeong-Hwan [Petroleum Engineering Lab, Energy & Resources Eng., Dept., Chonnam National University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-06-08

    Seismic attributes are defined as any measured or computed information derived from seismic data. Throughout the last decades extensive work has been done in developing variety of mathematical approaches to extract maximum information from seismic data. Nevertheless, geoscientists found that seismic is still mature and rich in information. In this paper a new seismic attribute is introduced. Instantaneous energy seismic attribute is an amplitude based attribute that has the potential to emphasize anomalous amplitude associated with hydrocarbons. Promising results have been obtained from applying the attribute on seismic section traversing hydrocarbon filled sand from Alberta, Canada.

  9. Altered Rich-Club and Frequency-Dependent Subnetwork Organization in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A MEG Resting-State Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marios Antonakakis

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Functional brain connectivity networks exhibit “small-world” characteristics and some of these networks follow a “rich-club” organization, whereby a few nodes of high connectivity (hubs tend to connect more densely among themselves than to nodes of lower connectivity. The Current study followed an “attack strategy” to compare the rich-club and small-world network organization models using Magnetoencephalographic (MEG recordings from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI patients and neurologically healthy controls to identify the topology that describes the underlying intrinsic brain network organization. We hypothesized that the reduction in global efficiency caused by an attack targeting a model's hubs would reveal the “true” underlying topological organization. Connectivity networks were estimated using mutual information as the basis for cross-frequency coupling. Our results revealed a prominent rich-club network organization for both groups. In particular, mTBI patients demonstrated hyper-synchronization among rich-club hubs compared to controls in the δ band and the δ-γ1, θ-γ1, and β-γ2 frequency pairs. Moreover, rich-club hubs in mTBI patients were overrepresented in right frontal brain areas, from θ to γ1 frequencies, and underrepresented in left occipital regions in the δ-β, δ-γ1, θ-β, and β-γ2 frequency pairs. These findings indicate that the rich-club organization of resting-state MEG, considering its role in information integration and its vulnerability to various disorders like mTBI, may have a significant predictive value in the development of reliable biomarkers to help the validation of the recovery from mTBI. Furthermore, the proposed approach might be used as a validation tool to assess patient recovery.

  10. Improvement in ductility of high strength polycrystalline Ni-rich Ni{sub 3}Al alloy produced by EB-PVD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sun, J.Y.; Pei, Y.L.; Li, S.S.; Zhang, H.; Gong, S.K., E-mail: gongsk@buaa.edu.cn

    2014-11-25

    Highlights: • High strength and high ductility of polycrystalline Ni-rich Ni{sub 3}Al alloy sheets were produced. • The elongation could be enhanced from ∼0.5% to ∼14.6% by microstructural control. • The fracture strength (∼820 MPa) was enhanced by the precipitation strengthening. • This work provides a general processing for repairing the worn single crystal blades. - Abstract: A 300 μm Ni-rich Ni{sub 3}Al sheet was produced by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) and followed by different heat treatments to obtain fine γ′/γ two-phase structures with large elongation. Tensile testing was performed at room-temperature, and the corresponding mechanisms were investigated in detail. Results indicated that the as-deposited Ni{sub 3}Al alloy exhibited non-equilibrium directional columnar crystal, and transited to equiaxed crystal with uniformly distributed tough γ phase after heat treatment. Meanwhile, the fracture mechanism transited from brittleness to a mixture of ductility and brittleness modes. With an appropriate heat treatment, high strength (ultimate tensile strength obtained 828 MPa) and high ductility (elongation obtained 14.6%) Ni{sub 3}Al alloy has been achieved, which was due to the mesh network microstructure. A series of transmission electron microscope (TEM) characterizations confirmed that the increasing flow stress of Ni{sub 3}Al alloy was attributed to the cubical secondary γ′ phase precipitates (25–50 nm) within the γ phase. This work provides a potential strategy for repairing the worn tip of single crystal engine blades using Ni-rich Ni{sub 3}Al alloy by EB-PVD.

  11. Cost to patients of obtaining treatment for HIV/AIDS in South Africa ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background. South Africa is providing antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for HIV I AIDS free of charge in order to increase access for poorer patients and promote adherence. However, non-drug costs of obtaining treatment may limit access. We estimated the costs that South African patients incur in obtaining antiretroviral therapy ...

  12. Historical dynamics and current environmental effects explain the spatial distribution of species richness patterns of New World monkeys

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulo Vallejos-Garrido

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Background Why biodiversity is not uniformly distributed on the Earth is a major research question of biogeography. One of the most striking patterns of disparity in species distribution are the biodiversity hotspots, which generally do not fit with the distribution of relevant components of the Neotropical biota. In this study, we assess the proximal causes of the species-richness pattern of one of the most conspicuous groups of Neotropical mammals, the New World monkeys the Platyrrhini. We test two complementary hypotheses: (1 there is a historical source-sink dynamic (addressed using macroevolutionary and macroecological approaches; (2 the large number of species in the Amazon basin is due to the constraints imposed by environmental variables occurring outside this area. Methods We first characterize spatial patterns of species richness and biodiversity hotspots using a new, objective protocol based on probabilities. Then we evaluate the source-sink hypothesis using BioGeoBEARS analysis and nestedness analysis of species richness patterns. Complementarily, to measure how often different species pairs appear in the same sites, we used null models to estimate the checkerboard score index (C-score. Finally, we evaluate the relationship between several climatic variables and species richness through ordinary least squares (OLS and spatial autoregressive (SAR models, and the potential environmental constraints on the pattern. Results We found one significant cluster of high values for species richness in the Amazon basin. Most dispersal events occurred from the Amazonian subregion to other Neotropical areas. Temperature (T, discrepancy (BR, and NODF indexes show a significant nesting in the matrix ordered by species richness and available energy. The C-score observed was significantly smaller than the null expectation for all sites in the Neotropics where there are records of platyrrhine species. Ten climatic variables comprised the best

  13. Characterization of intronic uridine-rich sequence elements acting as possible targets for nuclear proteins during pre-mRNA splicing in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gniadkowski, M; Hemmings-Mieszczak, M; Klahre, U; Liu, H X; Filipowicz, W

    1996-02-15

    Introns of nuclear pre-mRNAs in dicotyledonous plants, unlike introns in vertebrates or yeast, are distinctly rich in A+U nucleotides and this feature is essential for their processing. In order to define more precisely sequence elements important for intron recognition in plants, we investigated the effects of short insertions, either U-rich or A-rich, on splicing of synthetic introns in transfected protoplast of Nicotiana plumbaginifolia. It was found that insertions of U-rich (sequence UUUUUAU) but not A-rich (AUAAAAA) segments can activate splicing of a GC-rich synthetic infron, and that U-rich segments, or multimers thereof, can function irrespective of the site of insertion within the intron. Insertions of multiple U-rich segments, either at the same or different locations, generally had an additive, stimulatory effect on splicing. Mutational analysis showed that replacement of one or two U residues in the UUUUUAU sequence with A or C residues had only a small effect on splicing, but replacement with G residues was strongly inhibitory. Proteins that interact with fragments of natural and synthetic pre-mRNAs in vitro were identified in nuclear extracts of N.plumbaginifolia by UV cross- linking. The profile of cross-linked plant proteins was considerably less complex than that obtained with a HeLa cell nuclear extract. Two major cross-linkable plant proteins had apparent molecular mass of 50 and 54 kDa and showed affinity for oligouridilates present in synGC introns or for poly(U).

  14. Relativistic mean field calculations in neutron-rich nuclei

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gangopadhyay, G.; Bhattacharya, Madhubrata [Department of Physics, University of Calcutta, 92 Acharya Prafulla Chandra Road, Kolkata 700 009 (India); Roy, Subinit [Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Block AF, Sector 1, Kolkata- 700 064 (India)

    2014-08-14

    Relativistic mean field calculations have been employed to study neutron rich nuclei. The Lagrange's equations have been solved in the co-ordinate space. The effect of the continuum has been effectively taken into account through the method of resonant continuum. It is found that BCS approximation performs as well as a more involved Relativistic Continuum Hartree Bogoliubov approach. Calculations reveal the possibility of modification of magic numbers in neutron rich nuclei. Calculation for low energy proton scattering cross sections shows that the present approach reproduces the density in very light neutron rich nuclei.

  15. Novel serologic biomarkers provide accurate estimates of recent Plasmodium falciparum exposure for individuals and communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helb, Danica A; Tetteh, Kevin K A; Felgner, Philip L; Skinner, Jeff; Hubbard, Alan; Arinaitwe, Emmanuel; Mayanja-Kizza, Harriet; Ssewanyana, Isaac; Kamya, Moses R; Beeson, James G; Tappero, Jordan; Smith, David L; Crompton, Peter D; Rosenthal, Philip J; Dorsey, Grant; Drakeley, Christopher J; Greenhouse, Bryan

    2015-08-11

    Tools to reliably measure Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) exposure in individuals and communities are needed to guide and evaluate malaria control interventions. Serologic assays can potentially produce precise exposure estimates at low cost; however, current approaches based on responses to a few characterized antigens are not designed to estimate exposure in individuals. Pf-specific antibody responses differ by antigen, suggesting that selection of antigens with defined kinetic profiles will improve estimates of Pf exposure. To identify novel serologic biomarkers of malaria exposure, we evaluated responses to 856 Pf antigens by protein microarray in 186 Ugandan children, for whom detailed Pf exposure data were available. Using data-adaptive statistical methods, we identified combinations of antibody responses that maximized information on an individual's recent exposure. Responses to three novel Pf antigens accurately classified whether an individual had been infected within the last 30, 90, or 365 d (cross-validated area under the curve = 0.86-0.93), whereas responses to six antigens accurately estimated an individual's malaria incidence in the prior year. Cross-validated incidence predictions for individuals in different communities provided accurate stratification of exposure between populations and suggest that precise estimates of community exposure can be obtained from sampling a small subset of that community. In addition, serologic incidence predictions from cross-sectional samples characterized heterogeneity within a community similarly to 1 y of continuous passive surveillance. Development of simple ELISA-based assays derived from the successful selection strategy outlined here offers the potential to generate rich epidemiologic surveillance data that will be widely accessible to malaria control programs.

  16. Arthropod but not bird predation in ethiopian homegardens is higher in tree-poor than in tree-rich landscapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemessa, Debissa; Hambäck, Peter A; Hylander, Kristoffer

    2015-01-01

    Bird and arthropod predation is often associated with natural pest control in agricultural landscapes, but the rates of predation may vary with the amount of tree cover or other environmental factors. We examined bird and arthropod predation in three tree-rich and three tree-poor landscapes across southwestern Ethiopia. Within each landscape we selected three tree-rich and three tree-poor homegardens in which we recorded the number of tree species and tree stems within 100 × 100 m surrounding the central house. To estimate predation rates, we attached plasticine caterpillars on leaves of two coffee and two avocado shrubs in each homegarden, and recorded the number of attacked caterpillars for 7-9 consecutive weeks. The overall mean daily predation rate was 1.45% for birds and 1.60% for arthropods. The rates of arthropod predation varied among landscapes and were higher in tree-poor landscapes. There was no such difference for birds. Within landscapes, predation rates from birds and arthropods did not vary between tree-rich and tree-poor homegardens in either tree-rich or tree-poor landscapes. The most surprising result was the lack of response by birds to tree cover at either spatial scale. Our results suggest that in tree-poor landscapes there are still enough non-crop habitats to support predatory arthropods and birds to deliver strong top-down effect on crop pests.

  17. Arthropod but not bird predation in ethiopian homegardens is higher in tree-poor than in tree-rich landscapes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Debissa Lemessa

    Full Text Available Bird and arthropod predation is often associated with natural pest control in agricultural landscapes, but the rates of predation may vary with the amount of tree cover or other environmental factors. We examined bird and arthropod predation in three tree-rich and three tree-poor landscapes across southwestern Ethiopia. Within each landscape we selected three tree-rich and three tree-poor homegardens in which we recorded the number of tree species and tree stems within 100 × 100 m surrounding the central house. To estimate predation rates, we attached plasticine caterpillars on leaves of two coffee and two avocado shrubs in each homegarden, and recorded the number of attacked caterpillars for 7-9 consecutive weeks. The overall mean daily predation rate was 1.45% for birds and 1.60% for arthropods. The rates of arthropod predation varied among landscapes and were higher in tree-poor landscapes. There was no such difference for birds. Within landscapes, predation rates from birds and arthropods did not vary between tree-rich and tree-poor homegardens in either tree-rich or tree-poor landscapes. The most surprising result was the lack of response by birds to tree cover at either spatial scale. Our results suggest that in tree-poor landscapes there are still enough non-crop habitats to support predatory arthropods and birds to deliver strong top-down effect on crop pests.

  18. Polyphenol-Rich Dry Common Beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and Their Health Benefits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganesan, Kumar

    2017-01-01

    Polyphenols are plant metabolites with potent anti-oxidant properties, which help to reduce the effects of oxidative stress-induced dreaded diseases. The evidence demonstrated that dietary polyphenols are of emerging increasing scientific interest due to their role in the prevention of degenerative diseases in humans. Possible health beneficial effects of polyphenols are based on the human consumption and their bioavailability. Common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are a greater source of polyphenolic compounds with numerous health promoting properties. Polyphenol-rich dry common beans have potential effects on human health, and possess anti-oxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory and anti-mutagenic and anti-carcinogenic properties. Based on the studies, the current comprehensive review aims to provide up-to-date information on the nutritional compositions and health-promoting effect of polyphenol-rich common beans, which help to explore their therapeutic values for future clinical studies. Investigation of common beans and their impacts on human health were obtained from various library databases and electronic searches (Science Direct PubMed, and Google Scholar). PMID:29113066

  19. Clot formation and lysis in platelet rich plasma of healthy donors and patients with resistant hypertension

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. I. Patalakh

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Hemostatic balance in blood is affected by numerous factors, including coagulation and fibrinolytic proteins, the wide spectrum of their inhibitors, and blood cells. Since platelets can participate in contradictory processes, they significantly complicate the whole picture. Therefore, nowadays the development of global assays of hemostasis, which can reflect the physiological process of hemostasis and can be used for point-of-care diagnosis of thrombosis, is crucial. This paper outlines a new approach we used to analyze the capabilities of clot waveform analysis tools to distinguish the response of platelet-rich plasma from healthy donors and patients with arterial hypertension caused by stimulation of coagulation and lysis (with exogenous thrombin and recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator, respectively. In donor plasma, when the clot degradation was accompanied by 40 IU/ml of recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator, platelets potentiated fibrinolysis more than coagulation, which ultimately shifts the overall balance to a profibrinolytic state. At the same time, for patients with hypertension, platelets, embedded in clot obtained from platelet-rich plasma, showed a weaker ability to stimulate fibrinolysis. The obtained data gives the evidence that platelets can act not only as procoagulants but also as profibrinolytics. By simultaneously amplifying coagulation and fibrinolysis, making their rates comparable, platelets would control plasma procoagulant activity, thereby regulating local hemostatic balance, the size and lifetime of the clot. Moreover, clot waveform analysis may be used to distinguish the effects of platelet-rich plasma on clotting or lysis of fibrin clots in healthy donors and patients with essential hypertension.

  20. Remarks on the low value obtained for the Hubble constant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jaakkola, Toivo

    1975-01-01

    Some remarks are made on the basis of the data given by Sandage and Tamman, suggesting that these authors have over-estimated the distances to the most luminous galaxies and obtained a value too low for the Hubble constant [fr

  1. Long-term follow up of revascularization using platelet-rich fibrin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ray, Herbert L; Marcelino, Janel; Braga, Raquel; Horwat, Richard; Lisien, Michael; Khaliq, Shahryar

    2016-02-01

    Trauma is one of the primary causes of tooth loss and pulpal injury in adolescents and children. Prior to regenerative endodontics, treatment of necrotic, immature teeth with open apices was limited to long-term calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2 ) apexification and subsequent root canal therapy or extraction. Through revascularization, retention of these teeth can be achieved and the elimination of patient symptoms and the radiographic appearance of continued root development were obtained. This report illustrates a revascularization protocol through a case where platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) was utilized as an autologous scaffold for traumatized, necrotic, immature teeth with incomplete root development. Through consistent follow-up reports, comprising of both clinical examination and radiographs, marked improvement in the condition of the traumatized tooth was noted. This case demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing PRF as an effective treatment protocol for traumatized teeth in lieu of traditional treatment protocols, such as long-term calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2 ) apexification or extraction. The choice of utilizing PRF, as opposed to other platelet concentrates, such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or a blood clot, lies in PRF's ability to allow for a slow, long-term release of autologous growth factors. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Spray drying of a phenolic-rich membrane filtration fraction of olive mill wastewater: Optimization and dried product quality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olive mill wastewater (OMWW) from two California mills (3-phase and 2-phase) was subjected to a two-step membrane filtration process using a novel vibratory system. The obtained reverse osmosis retentate (RO-R) is a phenolic-rich co-product stream, and the reverse osmosis permeate is a near-pure wat...

  3. Approximation to estimation of critical state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Orso, Jose A.; Rosario, Universidad Nacional

    2011-01-01

    The position of the control rod for the critical state of the nuclear reactor depends on several factors; including, but not limited to the temperature and configuration of the fuel elements inside the core. Therefore, the position can not be known in advance. In this paper theoretical estimations are developed to obtain an equation that allows calculating the position of the control rod for the critical state (approximation to critical) of the nuclear reactor RA-4; and will be used to create a software performing the estimation by entering the count rate of the reactor pulse channel and the length obtained from the control rod (in cm). For the final estimation of the approximation to critical state, a function obtained experimentally indicating control rods reactivity according to the function of their position is used, work is done mathematically to obtain a linear function, which gets the length of the control rod, which has to be removed to get the reactor in critical position. (author) [es

  4. Numerical modelling of continuous spin detonation in rich methane-oxygen mixture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trotsyuk, A V

    2016-01-01

    A numerical simulation of a two-dimensional structure of the detonation wave (DW) in a rich (equivalence ratio φ=1.5) methane-air mixture at normal initial condition has been conducted. The computations have been performed in a wide range of channel heights. From the analysis of the flow structure and the number of primary transverse waves in the channel, the dominant size of the detonation cell for studied mixture has been determined to be 45÷50 cm. Based on the fundamental studies of multi-front (cellular) structure of the classical propagating DW in methane mixtures, numerical simulation of continuous spin detonation (CSD) of rich (φ=1.2) methane-oxygen mixture has been carried out in the cylindrical detonation chamber (DC) of the rocket-type engine. We studied the global flow structure in DC, and the detailed structure of the front of the rotating DW. Integral characteristics of the detonation process - the distribution of average values of static and total pressure along the length of the DC, and the value of specific impulse have been obtained. The geometric limit of stable existence of CSD has been determined. (paper)

  5. The response of chironomid assemblages to mineral richness gradient in the Western Carpathian helocrenes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vít Syrovátka

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Chironomid assemblages of helocrene springs were investigated in the Western Carpathians in order to identify potential effect of water mineral richness on the taxonomic structure of the assemblages. A complex gradient considering water chemistry and substratum was used as a measure of basicity (mineral richness. Taxonomic structure, total abundance and abundance of most frequent taxa were related to this gradient with regards to two contrasting habitats: trickle (A and water-loged soil with standing water (B. The variance in chironomid assemblage attributable to basicity was estimated and tested via PERMANOVA as well as the possible effect of the other environmental variables. The response of individual taxa was examined using GAM. The results indicate a strong relationship between basicity and substratum characteristics, with coarser mineral substrata at basic and high amount of organic matter at acidic conditions. Although water chemistry was correlated with and inseparable from these substratum properties, it could not be substituted with them, as they discriminated well only between acidic and basic springs, but did not follow the basicity gradient in either acidic or basic group of springs. Chironomid assemblage showed a strong and systematic response to the complex gradient of mineral richness, which explained the largest portion of variance in both the habitat A and B faunal data and was projected on the first axes of both NMDS ordinations. The assemblage response could be documented by the preference of several taxa for particular mineral richness conditions, while the number of taxa seemed to be highest in the middle of the basicity gradient. As only 17 samples were analysed so far, the results are considered preliminary and, hopefully, more confident results will be available in near future.doi: 10.5324/fn.v31i0.1403.Published online: 17 October 2012.

  6. Use of fish parasite species richness indices in analyzing anthropogenically impacted coastal marine ecosystems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dzikowski, R.; Paperna, I.; Diamant, A.

    2003-10-01

    The diversity of fish parasite life history strategies makes these species sensitive bioindicators of aquatic ecosystem health. While monoxenous (single-host) species may persist in highly perturbed, extreme environments, this is not necessarily true for heteroxenous (multiple-host) species. As many parasites possess complex life cycles and are transmitted through a chain of host species, their dependency on the latter to complete their life cycles renders them sensitive to perturbed environments. In the present study, parasite communities of grey mullet Liza aurata and Liza ramada (Mugilidae) were investigated at two Mediterranean coastal sites in northern Israel: the highly polluted Kishon Harbor (KH) and the relatively unspoiled reference site, Ma'agan Michael (MM). Both are estuarine sites in which grey mullet are one of the most common fish species. The results indicate that fish at the polluted site had significantly less trematode metacercariae than fish at the reference site. Heteroxenous gut helminths were completely absent at the polluted sampling site. Consequently, KH fish displayed lower mean parasite species richness. At the same time, KH fish mean monoxenous parasite richness was higher, although the prevalence of different monoxenous taxa was variable. Copepods had an increased prevalence while monogenean prevalence was significantly reduced at the polluted site. This variability may be attributed to the differential susceptibility of the parasites to the toxicity of different pollutants, their concentration, the exposure time and possible synergistic effects. In this study, we used the cumulative species curve model that extrapolates "true" species richness of a given habitat as a function of increasing sample size. We considered the heteroxenous and monoxenous species separately for each site, and comparison of curves yielded significant results. It is proposed to employ this approach, originally developed for estimating the "true" parasite

  7. A Study on Parametric Wave Estimation Based on Measured Ship Motions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Ulrik Dam; Iseki, Toshio

    2011-01-01

    The paper studies parametric wave estimation based on the ‘wave buoy analogy’, and data and results obtained from the training ship Shioji-maru are compared with estimates of the sea states obtained from other measurements and observations. Furthermore, the estimating characteristics of the param......The paper studies parametric wave estimation based on the ‘wave buoy analogy’, and data and results obtained from the training ship Shioji-maru are compared with estimates of the sea states obtained from other measurements and observations. Furthermore, the estimating characteristics...... of the parametric model are discussed by considering the results of a similar estimation concept based on Bayesian modelling. The purpose of the latter comparison is not to favour the one estimation approach to the other but rather to highlight some of the advantages and disadvantages of the two approaches....

  8. On the sharpness of the Rüssmann estimates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Figueras, Jordi-Lluís; Haro, Alex; Luque, Alejandro

    2018-02-01

    Estimating the norm of the solution of the linear difference equation u(θ) - u(θ + ω) = v(θ) plays a fundamental role in KAM theory. Optimal (in certain sense) estimates for the solution of this equation were provided by Rüssmann in the mid 70's. The aim of this paper is to compare the sharpness of these classical estimates with more specific estimates obtained with the help of the computer. We perform several experiments to quantify the improvement obtained when using computer assisted estimates. By comparing these estimates with the actual norm of the solution, we can analyze the different sources of overestimation, thus encouraging future improvements.

  9. LHCB : The upgraded LHCb RICH detector: status and perspectives

    CERN Multimedia

    Cardinale, Roberta

    2015-01-01

    The LHCb experiment is designed to perform high-precision measurements of CP violation and search for New Physics using the enormous flux of beauty and charmed hadrons produced at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The two RICH detectors installed in LHCb have performed successfully during the 2010-2012 data taking period. The data from these detectors were essential to most of the physics results published by LHCb. In order to extend its potential for discovery and study of new phenomena it is planned to upgrade the LHCb experiment in 2018 with a 40MHz readout and a much more flexible software-based triggering system. This would increase the readout rate and occupancies for the RICH detectors. The RICH detector will require new photon detectors and modifications of the optics of the upstream RICH detector. Tests of the complete opto-electronic chain have been performed during testbeam sessions in autumn 2014. The status and perspectives of the RICH upgrade project will be presented.

  10. Water availability determines the richness and density of fig trees within Brazilian semideciduous forest landscapes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coelho, Luís Francisco Mello; Ribeiro, Milton Cezar; Pereira, Rodrigo Augusto Santinelo

    2014-05-01

    The success of fig trees in tropical ecosystems is evidenced by the great diversity (+750 species) and wide geographic distribution of the genus. We assessed the contribution of environmental variables on the species richness and density of fig trees in fragments of seasonal semideciduous forest (SSF) in Brazil. We assessed 20 forest fragments in three regions in Sao Paulo State, Brazil. Fig tree richness and density was estimated in rectangular plots, comprising 31.4 ha sampled. Both richness and fig tree density were linearly modeled as function of variables representing (1) fragment metrics, (2) forest structure, and (3) landscape metrics expressing water drainage in the fragments. Model selection was performed by comparing the AIC values (Akaike Information Criterion) and the relative weight of each model (wAIC). Both species richness and fig tree density were better explained by the water availability in the fragment (meter of streams/ha): wAICrichness = 0.45, wAICdensity = 0.96. The remaining variables related to anthropic perturbation and forest structure were of little weight in the models. The rainfall seasonality in SSF seems to select for both establishment strategies and morphological adaptations in the hemiepiphytic fig tree species. In the studied SSF, hemiepiphytes established at lower heights in their host trees than reported for fig trees in evergreen rainforests. Some hemiepiphytic fig species evolved superficial roots extending up to 100 m from their trunks, resulting in hectare-scale root zones that allow them to efficiently forage water and soil nutrients. The community of fig trees was robust to variation in forest structure and conservation level of SSF fragments, making this group of plants an important element for the functioning of seasonal tropical forests.

  11. A study of luminescence from silicon-rich silica fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trwoga, P.F.

    1998-01-01

    Silicon is the most studied electronic material known to man and dominates the electronics industry in its use as a semiconductors for nearly all integrated electronics. However, optoelectronics is almost entirely based on III-V materials. This technology is used because silicon is a very inefficient light source, whereas the III-V band structure can lend itself to efficient light emission by electron injection. However, due to the overwhelming dominance of silicon based electronics it is still a highly desirable goal to generate light efficiently from silicon based materials. Recently, studies have demonstrated that efficient visible luminescence can be obtained from certain novel forms of silicon. These materials include porous silicon, hydrogenated amorphous silicon, and silicon-rich silica (SiO x x x is studied in detail; in addition, electroluminescence and rare-earth doping of silicon-rich silica is also addressed. (author)

  12. Neutron rich nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Foucher, R.

    1979-01-01

    If some β - emitters are particularly interesting to study in light, medium, and heavy nuclei, another (and also) difficult problem is to know systematically the properties of these neutron rich nuclei far from the stability line. A review of some of their characteristics is presented. How far is it possible to be objective in the interpretation of data is questioned and implications are discussed

  13. Lignin-rich biomass of cotton by-products for biorefineries via pyrolysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jiao; Liang, Jiajin; Wu, Shubin

    2016-10-01

    Pyrolysis was demonstrated to investigate the thermal decomposition characteristics and potential of lignin-rich cotton by-products cotton exocarp (CE) and spent mushroom substrate consisted of cotton by-products (MSC) for biorefineries. The chemical component and structure alteration of CE and MSC was found to affect their thermochemical behaviors. The bio-oil yield from CE was 58.13wt% while the maximum yield from MSC was 45.01% at 600°C. The phenolic compounds obtained from CE and MSC were 33.9% and 39.2%, respectively. The yield of acetic acid from MSC between 400 and 600°C was about 30-38% lower than that from CE, which suggests the high quality of bio-oil was obtained. Biochar from MSC via slow pyrolysis had a high mass yield (44.38wt%) with well-developed pore structure. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. ANALYSIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF OZONE-RICH EPISODES IN NORTHEAST PORTUGAL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvalho, A.; Monteiro, A.; Ribeiro, I.; Tchepel, O.; Miranda, A.; Borrego, C.; Saavedra, S.; Souto, J. A.; Casares, J. J.

    2009-12-01

    Each summer period extremely high ozone levels are registered at the rural background station of Lamas d’Olo, located in the Northeast of Portugal. In average, 30% of the total alert threshold registered in Portugal is detected at this site. The main purpose of this study is to characterize the atmospheric conditions that lead to the ozone-rich episodes. Synoptic patterns anomalies and back trajectories cluster analysis were performed for a period of 76 days where ozone maximum concentrations were above 200 µg.m-3. This analysis was performed for the period between 2004 and 2007. The obtained anomaly fields suggested that a positive temperature anomaly is visible above the Iberian Peninsula. In addition, a strong wind flow pattern from NE is visible in the North of Portugal and Galicia, in Spain. These two features may lead to an enhancement of the photochemical production and to the transport of pollutants from Spain to Portugal. In addition, the 3D mean back trajectories associated to the ozone episode days were analysed. A clustering method has been applied to the obtained back trajectories. Four main clusters of ozone-rich episodes were identified, with different frequencies of occurrence: north-westerly flows (11%); north-easterly flows (45%), southern flow (4%) and westerly flows (40%). Both analyses highlight the NE flow as a dominant pattern over the North of Portugal. The analysis of the ozone concentrations for each selected cluster indicates that this northeast circulation pattern, together with the southern flow, is responsible for the highest ozone peak episodes. This also suggests that long-range transport of atmospheric pollutants may be the main contributor to the ozone levels registered at Lamas d’Olo. This is also highlighted by the correlation of the ozone time series with the meteorological parameters analysed in the frequency domain.

  15. [Reflection of estimating postmortem interval in forensic entomology and the Daubert standard].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Dan; Peng, Yu-Long; Guo, Ya-Dong; Cai, Ji-Feng

    2013-08-01

    Estimating postmortem interval (PMI) is always the emphasis and difficulty in forensic practice. Forensic entomology plays a significant indispensable role. Recently, the theories and technologies of forensic entomology are increasingly rich. But many problems remain in the research and practice. With proposing the Daubert standard, the reliability and accuracy of estimation PMI by forensic entomology need more demands. This review summarizes the application of the Daubert standard in several aspects of ecology, quantitative genetics, population genetics, molecular biology, and microbiology in the practice of forensic entomology. It builds a bridge for basic research and forensic practice to provide higher accuracy for estimating postmortem interval by forensic entomology.

  16. Load Estimation by Frequency Domain Decomposition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Ivar Chr. Bjerg; Hansen, Søren Mosegaard; Brincker, Rune

    2007-01-01

    When performing operational modal analysis the dynamic loading is unknown, however, once the modal properties of the structure have been estimated, the transfer matrix can be obtained, and the loading can be estimated by inverse filtering. In this paper loads in frequency domain are estimated by ...

  17. Aluminum-rich mesoporous MFI - type zeolite single crystals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kustova, Marina; Kustov, Arkadii; Christensen, Christina Hviid

    2005-01-01

    Zeolitcs are crystalline materials, which are widely used as solid acid catalysts and supports in many industrial processes. Recently, mesoporous MFI-type zeolite single crystals were synthesized by use of carbon particles as a mesopore template and sodium aluminate as the aluminum Source....... With this technique, only zeolites with relatively low Al contents were reported (Si/Al ratio about 100). In this work, the preparation of aluminum-rich mesoporous MFI-type zeolite single crystals (Si/Al similar to 16-50) using aluminum isopropoxide as the aluminum Source is reported for the first time. All samples...... are characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ammonia temperature programmed desorption (NH3-TPD), and N-2 adsorption measurements. The obtained zeolites combine the high crystallinity and the characteristic micropores of zeolites with an intracrystalline mesopore system...

  18. Estimating species – area relationships by modeling abundance and frequency subject to incomplete sampling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamaura, Yuichi; Connor, Edward F.; Royle, Andy; Itoh, Katsuo; Sato, Kiyoshi; Taki, Hisatomo; Mishima, Yoshio

    2016-01-01

    Models and data used to describe species–area relationships confound sampling with ecological process as they fail to acknowledge that estimates of species richness arise due to sampling. This compromises our ability to make ecological inferences from and about species–area relationships. We develop and illustrate hierarchical community models of abundance and frequency to estimate species richness. The models we propose separate sampling from ecological processes by explicitly accounting for the fact that sampled patches are seldom completely covered by sampling plots and that individuals present in the sampling plots are imperfectly detected. We propose a multispecies abundance model in which community assembly is treated as the summation of an ensemble of species-level Poisson processes and estimate patch-level species richness as a derived parameter. We use sampling process models appropriate for specific survey methods. We propose a multispecies frequency model that treats the number of plots in which a species occurs as a binomial process. We illustrate these models using data collected in surveys of early-successional bird species and plants in young forest plantation patches. Results indicate that only mature forest plant species deviated from the constant density hypothesis, but the null model suggested that the deviations were too small to alter the form of species–area relationships. Nevertheless, results from simulations clearly show that the aggregate pattern of individual species density–area relationships and occurrence probability–area relationships can alter the form of species–area relationships. The plant community model estimated that only half of the species present in the regional species pool were encountered during the survey. The modeling framework we propose explicitly accounts for sampling processes so that ecological processes can be examined free of sampling artefacts. Our modeling approach is extensible and could be applied

  19. The effect of platelet-rich plasma on composite graft survival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeon, Yeo Reum; Kang, Eun Hye; Yang, Chae Eun; Yun, In Sik; Lee, Won Jai; Lew, Dae Hyun

    2014-08-01

    Composite grafts are suitable for facial reconstruction because of good color matching, low donor-site morbidity, acceptable texture, and easy surgical techniques. However, their use is limited to small defects and by unpredictable survival rates. As platelet-rich plasma contains large numbers of growth factors and has been widely used for tissue regeneration, this study aimed to investigate platelet-rich plasma as an adjuvant to enhance composite graft survival. Twenty New Zealand White rabbits were used, and chondrocutaneous composite grafts were applied to their ears. The grafts were then returned to their original positions after rotation to block the original circulation from the base of the graft. Each of the individual ears was assigned randomly into one of two groups: experimental (n=20; platelet-rich plasma group) or control (n=20; control group). The surrounding skin of the composite graft was injected with either 1.0 ml of platelet-rich plasma derived from autologous whole blood in the platelet-rich plasma group or normal saline in the control group. Graft survival, cutaneous blood flow, CD31-stained vessels, and vascular endothelial growth factor protein levels were examined. Twelve days after surgery, graft viability in the platelet-rich plasma group was higher than in the control group. Blood perfusion was also higher in the platelet-rich plasma group. Compared with the control group, the number of CD31 blood vessels and vascular endothelial growth factor expression levels were significantly increased in the platelet-rich plasma group. The authors' results suggest that platelet-rich plasma restores the perfusion of composite grafts by enhancing revascularization and may exert therapeutic effects on the survival of composite grafts.

  20. Shape Evolution in Neutron-Rich Krypton Isotopes Beyond N=60: First Spectroscopy of ^{98,100}Kr.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flavigny, F; Doornenbal, P; Obertelli, A; Delaroche, J-P; Girod, M; Libert, J; Rodriguez, T R; Authelet, G; Baba, H; Calvet, D; Château, F; Chen, S; Corsi, A; Delbart, A; Gheller, J-M; Giganon, A; Gillibert, A; Lapoux, V; Motobayashi, T; Niikura, M; Paul, N; Roussé, J-Y; Sakurai, H; Santamaria, C; Steppenbeck, D; Taniuchi, R; Uesaka, T; Ando, T; Arici, T; Blazhev, A; Browne, F; Bruce, A; Carroll, R; Chung, L X; Cortés, M L; Dewald, M; Ding, B; Franchoo, S; Górska, M; Gottardo, A; Jungclaus, A; Lee, J; Lettmann, M; Linh, B D; Liu, J; Liu, Z; Lizarazo, C; Momiyama, S; Moschner, K; Nagamine, S; Nakatsuka, N; Nita, C; Nobs, C R; Olivier, L; Orlandi, R; Patel, Z; Podolyák, Zs; Rudigier, M; Saito, T; Shand, C; Söderström, P A; Stefan, I; Vaquero, V; Werner, V; Wimmer, K; Xu, Z

    2017-06-16

    We report on the first γ-ray spectroscopy of low-lying states in neutron-rich ^{98,100}Kr isotopes obtained from ^{99,101}Rb(p,2p) reactions at ∼220  MeV/nucleon. A reduction of the 2_{1}^{+} state energies beyond N=60 demonstrates a significant increase of deformation, shifted in neutron number compared to the sharper transition observed in strontium and zirconium isotopes. State-of-the-art beyond-mean-field calculations using the Gogny D1S interaction predict level energies in good agreement with experimental results. The identification of a low-lying (0_{2}^{+}, 2_{2}^{+}) state in ^{98}Kr provides the first experimental evidence of a competing configuration at low energy in neutron-rich krypton isotopes consistent with the oblate-prolate shape coexistence picture suggested by theory.

  1. Ice-Rich Yedoma Permafrost: A Synthesis of Circum-Arctic Distribution and Thickness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strauss, J.; Fedorov, A. N.; Fortier, D.; Froese, D. G.; Fuchs, M.; Grosse, G.; Günther, F.; Harden, J. W.; Hugelius, G.; Kanevskiy, M. Z.; Kholodov, A. L.; Kunitsky, V.; Laboor, S.; Lapointe Elmrabti, L.; Rivkina, E.; Robinson, J. E.; Schirrmeister, L.; Shmelev, D.; Shur, Y.; Spektor, V.; Ulrich, M.; Veremeeva, A.; Walter Anthony, K. M.; Zimov, S. A.

    2015-12-01

    Vast portions of Arctic and sub-Arctic Siberia, Alaska and the Yukon Territory are covered by ice-rich silts that are penetrated by large ice wedges, resulting from syngenetic sedimentation and freezing. Accompanied by wedge-ice growth, the sedimentation process was driven by cold continental climatic and environmental conditions in unglaciated regions during the late Pleistocene, inducing the accumulation of the unique Yedoma permafrost deposits up to 50 meter thick. Because of fast incorporation of organic material into permafrost during formation, Yedoma deposits include low-decomposed organic matter. Moreover, ice-rich permafrost deposits like Yedoma are especially prone to degradation triggered by climate changes or human activity. When Yedoma deposits degrade, large amounts of sequestered organic carbon as well as other nutrients are released and become part of active biogeochemical cycling. This could be of global significance for the climate warming, as increased permafrost thaw is likely to cause a positive feedback loop. Therefore, a detailed assessment of the Yedoma deposit volume is of importance to estimate its potential future climate response. Moreover, as a step beyond the objectives of this synthesis study, our coverage (see figure for the Yedoma domain) and thickness estimation will provide critical data to refine the Yedoma permafrost organic carbon inventory, which is assumed to have freeze-locked between 83±12 and 129±30 gigatonnes (Gt) of organic carbon. Hence, we here synthesize data on the circum-Arctic and sub-Arctic distribution and thickness of Yedoma permafrost (see figure for the Yedoma domain) in the framework of an Action Group funded by the International Permafrost Association (IPA). The quantification of the Yedoma coverage is conducted by the digitization of geomorphological and Quaternary geological maps. Further data on Yedoma thickness is contributed from boreholes and exposures reported in the scientific literature.

  2. Consumption of food away from home in Bangladesh: Do rich households spend more?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mottaleb, Khondoker A; Rahut, Dil Bahadur; Mishra, Ashok K

    2017-12-01

    While consumption of food away from home (FAFH) is an established phenomenon among households in the developed countries, FAFH is a growing phenomenon in many middle-income and rapidly growing developing countries. Although, studies are available on the factors affecting consumption of FAFH in developed countries, there is a paucity of such studies in developing countries. This study examines households' choice of and expenditures on FAFH. We used information from Bangladeshi households and applied a double-hurdle regression model estimation procedure. Findings show that, in general, rich households are spending proportionately less on FAFH and, over time, the trend is continuing. Although households with female members who work in the non-farm sector are more likely to consume FAFH, educated household heads and spouses, and particularly urban households are less likely to consume and spend on FAFH. As the problem of food adulteration by dishonest sellers is rampant in Bangladesh, perhaps it discourages rich, urban and households headed by educated heads and spouses to consume and spend more on FAFH. Based on the findings, some points of interventions are also prescribed in this study. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Small leucine-rich proteoglycans in the aging skeleton

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Young, M F; Bi, Y; Ameye, L

    2006-01-01

    Small Leucine-Rich Proteoglyans (SLRPs) are major skeletal extracellular matrix (ECM) components that comprise a family of 13 members containing repeats of a leucine-rich motif. To examine SLRP function, we generated mice deficient in one or more member and analyzed them at the tissue, cell...

  4. $\\beta$-decay study of neutron-rich Tl and Pb isotopes

    CERN Multimedia

    It is proposed to study the structure of neutron-rich nuclei beyond $^{208}$Pb. The one-proton hole $^{211-215}$Tl and the semi magic $^{213}$Pb will be produced and studied via nuclear and atomic spectroscopy searching for long-lived isomers and investigating the $\\beta$-delayed $\\gamma$- emission to build level schemes. Information on the single particle structure in $^{211-215}$Pb, especially the position of the g$_{9/2}$ and i$_{11/2}$ neutron orbitals, will be extracted along with lifetimes. The $\\beta$-decay will be complemented with the higher spin selectivity that can be obtained by resonant laser ionization to single-out the decay properties of long-living isomers in $^{211,213}$Tl and $^{213}$Pb.

  5. Simulation of neutron rich nuclei production through 239U fission at intermediates energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirea, M.; Clapier, F.; Pauwels, N.; Proust, J.

    1997-01-01

    The theoretical part and some results obtained from a model realised for fission processes in wide range of mass-asymmetries are presented. The fission barriers are computed in a tridimensional configuration space using the Yukawa - plus - exponential macroscopic energies corrected within the Strutinsky procedure. It is assumed that channel probabilities are proportional with Gamow penetrabilities. The model is applied for the disintegration of the 239 U in order to determine the relative yields for the production of neutron rich nuclei at diverse intermediate energies. (author)

  6. Biodiversity estimates from different camera trap surveys: a case study from Osogovo Mt., Bulgaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana P. Zlatanova

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Inventorying mammal assemblages is vital for their conservation and management, especially when they include rare or endangered species. However, obtaining a correct estimation of the species diversity in a particular area can be challenging due to uncertainties regarding study design and duration. In this paper, we present the biodiversity estimates derived from three unrelated camera trap studies in Osogovo Mt., Bulgaria. They have different duration and positioning schemes of the camera trap locations: Study 1 – grid based, 34 days; Study 2 – random points based, 138 days; Study 3 – locations based on expert opinion, 1437 days. Utilising EstimateS, we compare a number of estimators (Shannon diversity index, Coleman rarefaction curve, ACE (Abundance-based Coverage Estimator, ICE (Incidence-based Coverage Estimator, Chao 1, Chao 2 and Jackknife estimators to the number of present and confirmed and/or potentially present mammals (excluding bats in the mountains. A total of 17 mammal species were registered in the three studies, which represents around 76% of the permanently present mammals in the mountain that inhabit its forested area and can be detected by a camera trap. The results point to some guidelines that can aid future camera trap research in temperate forested areas. A grid-based design works best for very short study periods (e.g. 10 days, while the opportunistic expert-based positioning scheme provides good results for longer studies (approx. a month. However, the grid-based design needs to be further tested for longer periods. Generally, the random points approach does not yield satisfactory results. In agreement with other studies, analysis based on the Jackknife procedure (Jack 2 appears to result in the best estimate of species richness. When performing camera trap studies, special care should be taken to minimise the number of unidentifiable photos and to take into account «trap-shy» individuals. The results from this

  7. STRONG ORACLE OPTIMALITY OF FOLDED CONCAVE PENALIZED ESTIMATION.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Jianqing; Xue, Lingzhou; Zou, Hui

    2014-06-01

    Folded concave penalization methods have been shown to enjoy the strong oracle property for high-dimensional sparse estimation. However, a folded concave penalization problem usually has multiple local solutions and the oracle property is established only for one of the unknown local solutions. A challenging fundamental issue still remains that it is not clear whether the local optimum computed by a given optimization algorithm possesses those nice theoretical properties. To close this important theoretical gap in over a decade, we provide a unified theory to show explicitly how to obtain the oracle solution via the local linear approximation algorithm. For a folded concave penalized estimation problem, we show that as long as the problem is localizable and the oracle estimator is well behaved, we can obtain the oracle estimator by using the one-step local linear approximation. In addition, once the oracle estimator is obtained, the local linear approximation algorithm converges, namely it produces the same estimator in the next iteration. The general theory is demonstrated by using four classical sparse estimation problems, i.e., sparse linear regression, sparse logistic regression, sparse precision matrix estimation and sparse quantile regression.

  8. Particle size effect of Ni-rich cathode materials on lithium ion battery performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, Ilkyu; Lee, Chul Wee; Kim, Jae Chang; Yoon, Songhun

    2012-01-01

    Graphical abstract: The preparation condition of Ni-rich cathode materials was investigated. When the retention time was short, a poor cathode performance was observed. For long retention time condition, cathode performance displayed a best result at pH 12. Highlights: ► Ni-rich cathode materials (LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 ) were prepared by co-precipitation method using separate addition of Al salt. ► Particle size of Ni-rich cathode materials became larger with increase of retention time and solution pH. ► Cathode performance was poor for low retention time. ► Optimal pH for co-precipitation was 12. -- Abstract: Herein, Ni-rich cathode materials (LiNi 0.8 Co 0.15 Al 0.05 O 2 ) in lithium ion batteries are prepared by a separate addition of Ni/Co salt and Al sol solution using a continuously stirred tank reactor. Retention time and solution pH were controlled in order to obtain high performance cathode material. Particle size increase was observed with a higher retention time of the reactants. Also, primary and secondary particles became smaller according to an increase of solution pH, which was probably due to a decrease of growth rate. From the cathode application, a high discharge capacity (175 mAh g −1 ), a high initial efficiency (90%) and a good cycleability were observed in the cathode material prepared under pH 12 condition, which was attributed to its well-developed layered property and the optimal particle size. However, rate capability was inversely proportional to the particle size, which was clarified by a decrease of charge-transfer resistance measured in the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

  9. Reconstruction and calibration strategies for the LHCb RICH detector

    CERN Multimedia

    2006-01-01

    - LHCb particle identification - LHCb ring pattern recognition algorithm requirements - RICH pattern recognition - Cherenkov angle reconstruction online - Online PID - Hough transform - Metropolis- Hastings Markov chains - PID online: physics performances - Rich PID Callibration

  10. Evolutionary rates of mitochondrial genomes correspond to diversification rates and to contemporary species richness in birds and reptiles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eo, Soo Hyung; DeWoody, J. Andrew

    2010-01-01

    Rates of biological diversification should ultimately correspond to rates of genome evolution. Recent studies have compared diversification rates with phylogenetic branch lengths, but incomplete phylogenies hamper such analyses for many taxa. Herein, we use pairwise comparisons of confamilial sauropsid (bird and reptile) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genome sequences to estimate substitution rates. These molecular evolutionary rates are considered in light of the age and species richness of each taxonomic family, using a random-walk speciation–extinction process to estimate rates of diversification. We find the molecular clock ticks at disparate rates in different families and at different genes. For example, evolutionary rates are relatively fast in snakes and lizards, intermediate in crocodilians and slow in turtles and birds. There was also rate variation across genes, where non-synonymous substitution rates were fastest at ATP8 and slowest at CO3. Family-by-gene interactions were significant, indicating that local clocks vary substantially among sauropsids. Most importantly, we find evidence that mitochondrial genome evolutionary rates are positively correlated with speciation rates and with contemporary species richness. Nuclear sequences are poorly represented among reptiles, but the correlation between rates of molecular evolution and species diversification also extends to 18 avian nuclear genes we tested. Thus, the nuclear data buttress our mtDNA findings. PMID:20610427

  11. Underestimation of species richness in neotropical frogs revealed by mtDNA analyses.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antoine Fouquet

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available Amphibians are rapidly vanishing. At the same time, it is most likely that the number of amphibian species is highly underestimated. Recent DNA barcoding work has attempted to define a threshold between intra- and inter-specific genetic distances to help identify candidate species. In groups with high extinction rates and poorly known species boundaries, like amphibians, such tools may provide a way to rapidly evaluate species richness.Here we analyse published and new 16S rDNA sequences from 60 frog species of Amazonia-Guianas to obtain a minimum estimate of the number of undescribed species in this region. We combined isolation by distance, phylogenetic analyses, and comparison of molecular distances to evaluate threshold values for the identification of candidate species among these frogs.In most cases, geographically distant populations belong to genetically highly distinct lineages that could be considered as candidate new species. This was not universal among the taxa studied and thus widespread species of Neotropical frogs really do exist, contrary to previous assumptions. Moreover, the many instances of paraphyly and the wide overlap between distributions of inter- and intra-specific distances reinforce the hypothesis that many cryptic species remain to be described. In our data set, pairwise genetic distances below 0.02 are strongly correlated with geographical distances. This correlation remains statistically significant until genetic distance is 0.05, with no such relation thereafter. This suggests that for higher distances allopatric and sympatric cryptic species prevail. Based on our analyses, we propose a more inclusive pairwise genetic distance of 0.03 between taxa to target lineages that could correspond to candidate species.Using this approach, we identify 129 candidate species, two-fold greater than the 60 species included in the current study. This leads to estimates of around 170 to 460 frog taxa unrecognized in Amazonia

  12. USE OF WASTE WATER OF LIVESTOCK IN ORDER TO OBTAIN BIOMASS FODDER CHEAP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MELNICIUC CRISTINA

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this work was the combination of two directions for use of algae: algae biomass obtaining fodder minor and wastewater purification. Subject research have served cianofite species of algae: Nostoc gelatinosum, N. flagelliforme and Anabaena propinqua. As nutrient medium were used wastewater from livestock complexes (poultry and pigs with a rich content of organic substances. Investigations carried out indicate that the largest quantity of biomass of Nostoc flageliforme is achieved in the cultivation with wastewater by 1% from pig complexes -13.2 g / l, Nostoc gelatinosum-1% -68 g / l. and Anabaena propinqua-5%-8.8g/l.

  13. Solution of the spatial neutral model yields new bounds on the Amazonian species richness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shem-Tov, Yahav; Danino, Matan; Shnerb, Nadav M.

    2017-02-01

    Neutral models, in which individual agents with equal fitness undergo a birth-death-mutation process, are very popular in population genetics and community ecology. Usually these models are applied to populations and communities with spatial structure, but the analytic results presented so far are limited to well-mixed or mainland-island scenarios. Here we combine analytic results and numerics to obtain an approximate solution for the species abundance distribution and the species richness for the neutral model on continuous landscape. We show how the regional diversity increases when the recruitment length decreases and the spatial segregation of species grows. Our results are supported by extensive numerical simulations and allow one to probe the numerically inaccessible regime of large-scale systems with extremely small mutation/speciation rates. Model predictions are compared with the findings of recent large-scale surveys of tropical trees across the Amazon basin, yielding new bounds for the species richness (between 13100 and 15000) and the number of singleton species (between 455 and 690).

  14. Performance in space of the AMS-02 RICH detector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Giovacchini, F., E-mail: francesca.giovacchini@cern.ch

    2014-12-01

    AMS-02 was successfully installed on the International Space Station (ISS) in May 2011, to perform precise measurements of galactic cosmic rays in the 100 MV to few TV magnetic rigidity range. Among several specialized sub-detectors, AMS-02 includes a Ring Imaging Cherenkov detector (RICH), which provides a precise measurement of the particle charge and velocity. The Cherenkov light is produced in a radiator made of silica aerogel and sodium fluoride and collected by means of an array of photomultiplier tubes. Since its launch to space, the detector has been taking data without failures; its functionality and data integrity are monitored and show stable response. In order to achieve the optimal detector performance, calibrations have been performed to account for the dependence of the photodetectors response on temperature and for effective non-uniformities in the detector. The knowledge gathered of the photon yield at the percent level resulted in a charge resolution of 0.3 charge units for He and 0.5 charge units for Si ions. The required precision in the measurements of the particle velocity at the per mil level demanded a more accurate determination of the aerogel refractive index. A map of the aerogel radiator refractive index has been directly inferred from in-flight high statistics data with a precision of Δn/n<2×10{sup −5} on average and its stability with time has also been checked. Finally, a velocity resolution of ∼0.8×10{sup −3} for He and ∼0.5×10{sup −3} for Z>5 ions has been obtained. - Highlights: • AMS-02 RICH detector is fully operational in space and monitored from ground. • Detector calibration for t-dependent and t-independent effects is performed. • Aerogel refractive index fine map has been obtained and its stability checked. • Charge and velocity resolution fulfill design requirements.

  15. Anti-chikungunya activity of luteolin and apigenin rich fraction from Cynodon dactylon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murali, Krishnan Saravana; Sivasubramanian, Srinivasan; Vincent, Savariar; Murugan, Shanmugaraj Bala; Giridaran, Bupesh; Dinesh, Sundaram; Gunasekaran, Palani; Krishnasamy, Kaveri; Sathishkumar, Ramalingam

    2015-05-01

    To obtain luteolin and apigenin rich fraction from the ethanolic extract of Cynodon dactylon (L.) (C. dactylon) Pers and evaluate the fraction's cytotoxicity and anti-Chikungunya potential using Vero cells. The ethanolic extract of C. dactylon was subjected to silica gel column chromatography to obtain anti-chikungunya virus (CHIKV) fraction. Reverse phase-HPLC and GC-MS studies were carried out to identify the major phytochemicals in the fraction using phytochemical standards. Cytotoxicity and the potential of the fraction against CHIKV were evaluated in vitro using Vero cells. Reduction in viral replication was assessed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) after treating the viral infected Vero cells with the fraction. Reverse Phase-HPLC and GC-MS studies confirmed the presence of flavonoids, luteolin and apigenin as major phytochemicals in the anti-CHIKV ethanolic fraction of C. dactylon. The fraction was found to exhibit potent viral inhibitory activity (about 98%) at the concentration of 50 µg/mL as observed by reduction in cytopathic effect, and the cytotoxic concentration of the fraction was found to be 250 µg/mL. RT-PCR analyses indicated that the reduction in viral mRNA synthesis in fraction treated infected cells was much higher than the viral infected control cells. Luteolin and apigenin rich ethanolic fraction from C. dactylon can be utilized as a potential therapeutic agent against CHIKV infection as the fraction does not show cytotoxicity while inhibiting the virus. Copyright © 2015 Hainan Medical College. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Phase fields of nickel silicides obtained by mechanical alloying in the nanocrystalline state

    Science.gov (United States)

    Datta, M. K.; Pabi, S. K.; Murty, B. S.

    2000-06-01

    Solid state reactions induced by mechanical alloying (MA) of elemental blends of Ni and Si have been studied over the entire composition range of the Ni-Si system. A monotonous increase of the lattice parameter of the Ni rich solid solution, Ni(Si), is observed with refinement of crystallite size. Nanocrystalline phase/phase mixtures of Ni(Si), Ni(Si)+Ni31Si12, Ni31Si12+Ni2Si, Ni2Si+NiSi and NiSi+Si, have been obtained during MA, over the composition ranges of 0-10, 10-28, 28-33, 33-50, and >50 at. % Si, respectively. The results clearly suggest that only congruent melting phases, Ni31Si12, Ni2Si, and NiSi form, while the formation of noncongruent melting phases, Ni3Si, Ni3Si2, and NiSi2, is bypassed in the nanocrystalline state. The phase formation during MA has been discussed based on thermodynamic arguments. The predicted phase fields obtained from effective free energy calculations are quite consistent with those obtained during MA.

  17. Production of conjugated linoleic acid-rich potato chips.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Vishal P; Proctor, Andrew

    2007-01-01

    Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is found primarily in diary and beef products, but the health benefits of CLA can only be realized if they are consumed at much greater levels than a normal healthy dietary intake. We have recently shown that a CLA-rich soy oil can be produced by simple isomerization of linoleic acid in soy oil by photoirradiation. This oil may allow greatly increased dietary CLA without significantly elevating fat intake. The objective of this study was to prepare CLA-rich potato chips by frying in CLA-rich soy oil. Soy oil was photoisomerized in the presence of iodine catalyst with UV/visible light. The irradiated oil was clay processed to remove the residual iodine and this oil was then used to fry potato chips. Oil was extracted from fried chips and analyzed for its CLA content with gas chromatography. A 1-oz serving of CLA-rich potato chips contained approximately 2.4 g CLA as compared to 0.1 g CLA in 3-oz serving of steak fillet and 0.06 g CLA in 8-oz serving of whole milk. The peroxide value of the oil extracted from potato chips was found to be 1 meq/1000 g sample, which was within the acceptable commercial standards. This study may lead to the commercialization of CLA-rich food products.

  18. Error Estimation and Accuracy Improvements in Nodal Transport Methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zamonsky, O.M.

    2000-01-01

    The accuracy of the solutions produced by the Discrete Ordinates neutron transport nodal methods is analyzed.The obtained new numerical methodologies increase the accuracy of the analyzed scheems and give a POSTERIORI error estimators. The accuracy improvement is obtained with new equations that make the numerical procedure free of truncation errors and proposing spatial reconstructions of the angular fluxes that are more accurate than those used until present. An a POSTERIORI error estimator is rigurously obtained for one dimensional systems that, in certain type of problems, allows to quantify the accuracy of the solutions. From comparisons with the one dimensional results, an a POSTERIORI error estimator is also obtained for multidimensional systems. LOCAL indicators, which quantify the spatial distribution of the errors, are obtained by the decomposition of the menctioned estimators. This makes the proposed methodology suitable to perform adaptive calculations. Some numerical examples are presented to validate the theoretical developements and to illustrate the ranges where the proposed approximations are valid

  19. Optimal estimations of random fields using kriging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barua, G.

    2004-01-01

    Kriging is a statistical procedure of estimating the best weights of a linear estimator. Suppose there is a point or an area or a volume of ground over which we do not know a hydrological variable and wish to estimate it. In order to produce an estimator, we need some information to work on, usually available in the form of samples. There can, be an infinite number of linear unbiased estimators for which the weights sum up to one. The problem is how to determine the best weights for which the estimation variance is the least. The system of equations as shown above is generally known as the kriging system and the estimator produced is the kriging estimator. The variance of the kriging estimator can be found by substitution of the weights in the general estimation variance equation. We assume here a linear model for the semi-variogram. Applying the model to the equation, we obtain a set of kriging equations. By solving these equations, we obtain the kriging variance. Thus, for the one-dimensional problem considered, kriging definitely gives a better estimation variance than the extension variance

  20. Ge-rich graded-index Si1-xGex devices for MID-IR integrated photonics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez, J. M.; Vakarin, V.; Liu, Q.; Frigerio, J.; Ballabio, A.; Le Roux, X.; Benedikovic, D.; Alonso-Ramos, C.; Isella, G.; Vivien, L.; Marris-Morini, D.

    2018-02-01

    Mid-infrared (mid-IR) silicon photonics is becoming a prominent research with remarkable potential in several applications such as in early medical diagnosis, safe communications, imaging, food safety and many more. In the quest for the best material platform to develop new photonic systems, Si and Ge depart with a notable advantage over other materials due to the high processing maturity accomplished during the last part of the 20th century through the deployment of the CMOS technology. From an optical viewpoint, combining Si with Ge to obtain SiGe alloys with controlled stoichiometry is also of interest for the photonic community since permits to increase the effective refractive index and the nonlinear parameter, providing a fascinating playground to exploit nonlinear effects. Furthermore, using Ge-rich SiGe gives access to a range of deep mid-IR wavelengths otherwise inaccessible (λ 2-20 μm). In this paper, we explore for the first time the limits of this approach by measuring the spectral loss characteristic over a broadband wavelength range spanning from λ = 5.5 μm to 8.5 μm. Three different SiGe waveguide platforms are compared, each one showing higher compactness than the preceding through the engineering of the vertical Ge profile, giving rise to different confinement characteristics to the propagating modes. A flat propagation loss characteristic of 2-3 dB/cm over the entire wavelength span is demonstrated in Ge-rich graded-index SiGe waveguides of only 6 μm thick. Also, the role of the overlap fraction of the confined optical mode with the Si-rich area at the bottom side of the epitaxial SiGe waveguide is put in perspective, revealing a lossy characteristic compared to the other designs were the optical mode is located in the Ge-rich area at the top of the waveguide uniquely. These Ge-rich graded-index SiGe waveguides may pave the way towards a new generation of photonic integrated circuits operating at deep mid-IR wavelengths.

  1. Variation in fish community structure, richness, and diversity in 56 Danish lakes with contrasting depth, size, and trophic state: does the method matter?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Menezes, Rosemberg; Borchsenius, Finn; Svenning, J.-C.

    2013-01-01

    a better understanding of fish communities. We compare fish community composition, richness, and diversity in 56 Danish lakes using data obtained by gillnetting in different lake zones and near-shore electrofishing, respectively. On average, electrofishing captured more species than offshore gillnets......, but not more than littoral gillnets. Overall, the different fish sampling methods showed consistency as to fish community structure, but noticeable differences in community–environment relationships. Lake area was the best predictor for fish species richness in the littoral samplings, while it was poor...... community, as all methods miss some important species that other methods capture. However, electrofishing seems to be a fast alternative to gillnets for monitoring fish species richness and composition in littoral habitats of Danish lakes....

  2. Hamman-Rich syndrome in a goldsmith

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirchner, J.; Stein, A.; Jacobi, V.; Viel, K.

    1997-01-01

    We report the case of a 54-year-old goldsmith admitted because of dyspnea on exertion, persistent cough, and weakness under the suspicion of exogenous allergic alveolitis. He rapidly developed progressive lung fibrosis with exitus letalis 7 weeks after admission. Radiological examination (chest X-ray and HRCT) first showed ground glass opacities, and later rapid development of severe interstitial pattern with architectural distraction. The findings were similar to idiopathic lung fibrosis; however, the rare Hamman-Rich syndrome was confirmed by progressive course of the disease. Correlations between Hamann-Rich syndrome and idiopathic lung fibrosis are discussed. (orig.) [de

  3. A new framework for analysing automated acoustic species-detection data: occupancy estimation and optimization of recordings post-processing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chambert, Thierry A.; Waddle, J. Hardin; Miller, David A.W.; Walls, Susan; Nichols, James D.

    2018-01-01

    The development and use of automated species-detection technologies, such as acoustic recorders, for monitoring wildlife are rapidly expanding. Automated classification algorithms provide a cost- and time-effective means to process information-rich data, but often at the cost of additional detection errors. Appropriate methods are necessary to analyse such data while dealing with the different types of detection errors.We developed a hierarchical modelling framework for estimating species occupancy from automated species-detection data. We explore design and optimization of data post-processing procedures to account for detection errors and generate accurate estimates. Our proposed method accounts for both imperfect detection and false positive errors and utilizes information about both occurrence and abundance of detections to improve estimation.Using simulations, we show that our method provides much more accurate estimates than models ignoring the abundance of detections. The same findings are reached when we apply the methods to two real datasets on North American frogs surveyed with acoustic recorders.When false positives occur, estimator accuracy can be improved when a subset of detections produced by the classification algorithm is post-validated by a human observer. We use simulations to investigate the relationship between accuracy and effort spent on post-validation, and found that very accurate occupancy estimates can be obtained with as little as 1% of data being validated.Automated monitoring of wildlife provides opportunity and challenges. Our methods for analysing automated species-detection data help to meet key challenges unique to these data and will prove useful for many wildlife monitoring programs.

  4. Precision measurements of gas refractivity by means of a Fabry-Perot interferometer illustrated by the monitoring of radiator refractivity in the DELPHI RICH detectors

    CERN Document Server

    Filippas-Tassos, A; Fokitis, E; Maltezos, S; Patrinos, K

    2002-01-01

    With an updated, flexible, highly efficient and easily installed system we obtained accurate refractivity (n-1) values. This system is a refractometer based on a Fabry-Perot interferometer and was used to monitor the refractivity of DELPHI RICH Cherenkov radiators near the VUV region. By using a Pt-Ne spectral lamp and improved alignment and temperature control, the refractivities of C//5F//1//2 and C//4F//1 //0 have been monitored since 1996. With this light source, selected to have large coherence lengths, we can extract the refractivity at several wavelengths from one data set only. The estimated errors of the refractivity measurements are less than 1.2%, and depend on wavelength and the type of gas used. The various parameters affecting the accuracy of the refractometer are also discussed. Finally, results from special sample refractivity measurements of the liquid radiator (C//6F//1//4) in its gas phase, are presented.

  5. Effects of metal-rich particulate matter exposure on exogenous and endogenous viral sequence methylation in healthy steel-workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercorio, Roberta; Bonzini, Matteo; Angelici, Laura; Iodice, Simona; Delbue, Serena; Mariani, Jacopo; Apostoli, Pietro; Pesatori, Angela Cecilia; Bollati, Valentina

    2017-11-01

    Inhaled particles have been shown to produce systemic changes in DNA methylation. Global hypomethylation has been associated to viral sequence reactivation, possibly linked to the activation of pro-inflammatory pathways occurring after exposure. This observation provides a rationale to investigate viral sequence (both exogenous and endogenous) methylation in association to metal-rich particulate matter exposure. To verify this hypothesis, we chose the Wp promoter of the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV-Wp) and the promoter of the human-endogenous-retrovirus w (HERV-w), respectively as a paradigm of an exogenous and an endogenous retroviral sequence, to be investigated by bisulfite PCR Pyrosequencing. We enrolled 63 male workers in an electric furnace steel plant, exposed to high level of metal-rich particulate matter. Comparing samples obtained in the first day of a work week (time 0-baseline, after 2 days off work) and the samples obtained after 3 days of work (time 1-post exposure), the mean methylation of EBV-Wp was significantly higher at baseline compared to post-exposure (mean baseline = 56.7%5mC; mean post-exposure = 47.9%5mC; p-value = 0.009), whereas the mean methylation of HERV-w did not significantly differ. Individual exposure to inhalable particles and metals was estimated based on measures in all working areas and time spent by the study subjects in each area. In a regression model adjusted for age, body mass index and smoking, PM and metal components had a positive association with EBV-Wp methylation (i.e. PM10: β = 5.99, p-value < 0.038; nickel: β = 17.82, p-value = 0.02; arsenic: β = 13.59, p-value < 0.015). The difference observed comparing baseline and post-exposure samples may be suggestive of a rapid change in EBV methylation induced by air particles, while correlation between EBV methylation and PM/metal exposure may represent a more stable adaptive mechanism. Future studies investigating a larger panel of viral sequences could better elucidate

  6. Immunoglobulin M and G antibody responses to Plasmodium falciparum glutamate-rich protein

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dziegiel, Morten Hanefeld; Rowe, P; Bennett, S

    1993-01-01

    were measured with a recombinant fusion protein consisting of the carboxy-terminal 783 amino acids of the GLURP. Samples for the study were obtained during a longitudinal malaria morbidity survey performed in The Gambia; cross-sectional surveys were performed at the beginning of the transmission season......The aims of the present study were to describe the age-related immunoglobulin M (IgM) and IgG response to part of a 220-kDa glutamate-rich protein (GLURP) from Plasmodium falciparum and to determine possible correlations of possession of these antibodies with malaria morbidity. IgM and IgG levels...

  7. Diversification rates and species richness across the Tree of Life.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholl, Joshua P; Wiens, John J

    2016-09-14

    Species richness varies dramatically among clades across the Tree of Life, by over a million-fold in some cases (e.g. placozoans versus arthropods). Two major explanations for differences in richness among clades are the clade-age hypothesis (i.e. species-rich clades are older) and the diversification-rate hypothesis (i.e. species-rich clades diversify more rapidly, where diversification rate is the net balance of speciation and extinction over time). Here, we examine patterns of variation in diversification rates across the Tree of Life. We address how rates vary across higher taxa, whether rates within higher taxa are related to the subclades within them, and how diversification rates of clades are related to their species richness. We find substantial variation in diversification rates, with rates in plants nearly twice as high as in animals, and rates in some eukaryotes approximately 10-fold faster than prokaryotes. Rates for each kingdom-level clade are then significantly related to the subclades within them. Although caution is needed when interpreting relationships between diversification rates and richness, a positive relationship between the two is not inevitable. We find that variation in diversification rates seems to explain most variation in richness among clades across the Tree of Life, in contrast to the conclusions of previous studies. © 2016 The Author(s).

  8. The chemistry and structure of nickel–tungsten coatings obtained by pulse galvanostatic electrodeposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Argañaraz, M.P. Quiroga; Ribotta, S.B.; Folquer, M.E.; Zelaya, E.; Llorente, C.; Ramallo-López, J.M.; Benítez, G.; Rubert, A.; Gassa, L.M.; Vela, M.E.; Salvarezza, R.C.

    2012-01-01

    A detailed characterization of electrodeposited Ni-W coatings prepared by pulse electrodeposition on steel and copper substrates is presented. The coatings were obtained at high current pulse frequency and show high microhardness and absence of brittleness. The surface of the coating consists of nanometer sized crystals forming a cauliflower-like structure protected by a mixture of nickel and tungsten oxides. The cauliflower structure is preserved into the bulk coating that exhibits an average composition ≈70 at% Ni-30 at% W. Different phases are observed in the bulk structure: a W-rich amorphous phase (≈40%) and Ni-rich crystalline phases (≈60%). The crystalline phases consist of crystalline domains ≈7 nm in size of Ni(W) (fcc) solid solution (12 at% W content) and a minor Ni 4 W component (less than 10%). The amorphous phase exhibits a less compact Ni-W structure where some amount of C could also be present. Oxidized W species cannot be detected in the bulk coating, thus discarding the presence of significant amounts of tungsten carbide, tungstates or citrate–tungsten complexes. Our results shed light on controversial points related to the chemical composition and demonstrate the complex structure of this system.

  9. $\\beta$-decay study of neutron-rich Tl, Pb, and Bi by means of the pulsed-release technique and resonant laser ionisation

    CERN Multimedia

    Lettry, J

    2002-01-01

    It is proposed to study new neutron-rich nuclei around the Z = 82 magic shell closure, with major relevance for understanding the evolution of nuclear structure at extreme isospin values. Following the IS354 experiment, $\\beta$-decay studies of neutron-rich thallium, lead and bismuth isotopes will be performed for 215 $\\leqslant$ A $\\leqslant$ 219. To this purpose the pulsed-release technique, which was pioneered at ISOLDE, will be optimised. It will be complemented with the higher element selectivity that can be obtained by the unique features of resonant laser ionisation, available at ISOLDE from the RILIS source.

  10. Application of the generator coordinate method to neutron-rich Se and Ge isotopes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Higashiyama Koji

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The quantum-number projected generator coordinate method (GCM is applied to the neutron-rich Se and Ge isotopes, where the monopole and quadrupole pairing plus quadrupole-quadrupole interaction is employed as an effective interaction. The energy spectra obtained by the GCM are compared to both the shell model results and the experimental data. The GCM reproduces well the energy levels of high-spin states as well as the low-lying states. The structure of the low-lying collective states is analyzed through the GCM wave functions.

  11. Efficacy and safety of the use of platelet-rich plasma to manage venous ulcers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Escamilla Cardeñosa, Manuel; Domínguez-Maldonado, Gabriel; Córdoba-Fernández, Antonio

    2017-05-01

    The aim of this study was to analyse the efficacy and safety of using platelet rich in growth factor (PRGF) as a local treatment for venous ulcers. In a clinical trial 102 venous ulcers (58 patients) were randomly assigned to the study group (application of PRGF) or the control group (standard cure with saline). For both groups the healed area was calculated before and after the follow up period (twenty-four weeks). The Kundin method was used to calculate the healed area (Area = Length × Width × 0.785). Pain was measured at the start and end of treatment as a secondary variable for each group by record obtained by means of self-evaluation visual analogue scale. The average percentage healed area in the platelet rich plasma group was 67.7 ± 41.54 compared to 11.17 ± 24.4 in the control group (P = 0.001). Similarly, in the experimental group a significant reduction in pain occurred on the scale (P = 0.001). No adverse effects were observed in either of the two treatment groups. The study results reveal that application of plasma rich in platelets is an effective and safe method to speed up healing and reduce pain in venous ulcers. Copyright © 2016 Tissue Viability Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Cat-CVD-prepared oxygen-rich μc-Si:H for wide-bandgap material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsumoto, Yasuhiro; Ortega, Mauricio; Peza, Juan-Manuel; Reyes, Mario-Alfredo; Escobosa, Arturo

    2005-01-01

    Microcrystalline phase-involved oxygen-rich a-Si:H (hydrogenated amorphous silicon) films have been obtained using catalytic chemical vapor deposition (Cat-CVD) process. Pure SiH 4 (silane), H 2 (hydrogen), and O 2 (oxygen) gases were introduced in the chamber by maintaining a pressure of 0.1 Torr. A tungsten catalyzer was fixed at temperatures of 1750 and 1950 deg. C for film deposition on glass and crystalline silicon substrates at 200 deg. C. As revealed from X-ray diffraction spectra, the microcrystalline phase appears for oxygen-rich a-Si:H samples deposited at a catalyzer temperature of 1950 deg. C. However, this microcrystalline phase tends to disappear for further oxygen incorporation. The oxygen content in the deposited films was corroborated by FTIR analysis revealing Si-O-Si bonds and typical Si-H bonding structures. The optical bandgap of the sample increases from 2.0 to 2.7 eV with oxygen gas flow and oxygen incorporation to the deposited films. In the present thin film deposition conditions, no strong tungsten filament degradation was observed after a number of sample preparations

  13. The Formation Mechanism of Cu(In0.7Ga0.3Se2 Nanoparticles and the Densification Trajectory of the Se-Rich Quaternary Target by Hot Pressing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiang Ma

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, a method to obtain the CuInGaSe2 (CIGS absorber layer with an appropriate selenium content is put forward, in which a Se-rich target is used to deposit a CIGS thin-film and this film is annealed in a Se-free inert atmosphere. The key issue of this method is the preparation of a Se-rich target with a homogeneous composition and a high-density. The formation mechanism of CuInSe2 and CuGaSe2 is investigated and the results point to the intermediate phase Cu2−xSe playing a role of a nucleation core. The sintering densification trajectory of the target with the addition of extra selenium is researched. Additionally, an effective way to avoid the sintering defects is proposed. Finally, a conversion efficiency of 11.2% for the CIGS solar cell is reached by sputtering from the obtained Se-rich target.

  14. Spring Small Grains Area Estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmer, W. F.; Mohler, R. J.

    1986-01-01

    SSG3 automatically estimates acreage of spring small grains from Landsat data. Report describes development and testing of a computerized technique for using Landsat multispectral scanner (MSS) data to estimate acreage of spring small grains (wheat, barley, and oats). Application of technique to analysis of four years of data from United States and Canada yielded estimates of accuracy comparable to those obtained through procedures that rely on trained analysis.

  15. Use of platelet-rich fibrin and platelet-rich plasma in combination with fat graft: which is more effective during facial lipostructure?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keyhan, Seied Omid; Hemmat, Seifollah; Badri, Amir Ali; Abdeshahzadeh, Arshad; Khiabani, Kazem

    2013-03-01

    Fat grafts have always represented a challenge in inducing the necessary neoangiogenesis, which results in significant resorption. This study was designed to compare the efficiency of first- and second-generation platelet-rich plasmas (PRPs) combined with a fat graft during facial lipostructure surgery. To address the research purpose, the investigators designed and implemented a double-blinded prospective clinical trial. The patients underwent bilateral facial lipostructure, a natural long-lasting method of filling and supporting the face using intricate layers of infiltrated autologous fat. The method involved the use of PRP on 1 side and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) on the other side. The study population was composed of all patients presenting to the authors' department for the evaluation and management of facial contouring in the cheek and cheekbone areas from June 2008 through December 2010. The primary predictor variable was the type of combination (PRP/fat or PRF/fat). The outcome variables were the amount of resorption, which was estimated by comparing pre- and postsurgical photographic views, pain, edema, and bruising. The statistical evaluation of the findings was performed using SPSS software. Parametric tests (t test and Levene test) were used to compare the treatment efficacy and complications between the groups. Twenty-five patients (8 men and 17 women) underwent bilateral facial lipostructure surgery in the cheek and cheekbone areas using PRP and PRF. One year after the operation, a slight esthetic asymmetry was noticeable, with greater average resorption on the PRP/fat side. This first comparative clinical study highlights the value of using concentrated platelets for adipocyte grafts. The results suggest that the combination of fat and PRF is more effective than the combination of fat and PRP in the context of facial lipostructure surgery. Copyright © 2013 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All

  16. Platelet rich plasma in dermatology and aesthetic medicine

    OpenAIRE

    Neerja Puri

    2015-01-01

    Platelet rich plasma is a promising therapy in dermatology and aesthetic medicine. In this article we will discuss the pros and cons of platelet rich plasma (PRP) and the usage of PRP in aesthetics. PRP is especially used for conditions like facial and neck rejuvenation, fine lines and wrinkles, abdominal striae and facial scarring.

  17. Species richness inside and outside long-term exclosures

    Science.gov (United States)

    W. A. Laycock; D. L. Bartos; K. D. Klement

    2004-01-01

    Recent environmental literature contains claims that livestock grazing has caused reduction in species diversity on Western rangelands. Data of species richness (number of species) is presented from inside and outside 24 long-term exclosures in Montana, Utah, and Wyoming. For the average of all exclosures there was no difference between species richness inside and...

  18. Reactivity estimation using digital nonlinear H∞ estimator for VHTRC experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suzuki, Katsuo; Nabeshima, Kunihiko; Yamane, Tsuyoshi

    2003-01-01

    On-line and real-time estimation of time-varying reactivity in a nuclear reactor in necessary for early detection of reactivity anomaly and safe operation. Using a digital nonlinear H ∞ estimator, an experiment of real-time dynamic reactivity estimation was carried out in the Very High Temperature Reactor Critical Assembly (VHTRC) of Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. Some technical issues of the experiment are described, such as reactivity insertion, data sampling frequency, anti-aliasing filter, experimental circuit and digitalising nonlinear H ∞ reactivity estimator, and so on. Then, we discussed the experimental results obtained by the digital nonlinear H ∞ estimator with sampled data of the nuclear instrumentation signal for the power responses under various reactivity insertions. Good performances of estimated reactivity were observed, with almost no delay to the true reactivity and sufficient accuracy between 0.05 cent and 0.1 cent. The experiment shows that real-time reactivity for data sampling period of 10 ms can be certainly realized. From the results of the experiment, it is concluded that the digital nonlinear H ∞ reactivity estimator can be applied as on-line real-time reactivity meter for actual nuclear plants. (author)

  19. An Ecofeminist Approach to Adrienne Rich's Poem "Diving into the Wreck" Adrienne

    OpenAIRE

    ERKAN, Ayça Ülker

    2012-01-01

    This study examines Adrienne Rich\\'s poem “Diving into the Wreck” (1973) through ecofeminist criticism. Rich\\'s ecopoetry questions assumptions about feminine subjectivity and female consciousness, patriarchal abuse, and indifference regarding women. With the androgynous persona in the poem “I”, Rich moves beyond the limits of gender and sexes to give room to form female subjectivity. Persona in the poem starts to explore and express her feminine identity and sexuality by figuratively “diving...

  20. Acoustic and Petrophysical Evolution of Organic-Rich Chalk Following Maturation Induced by Unconfined Pyrolysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shitrit, Omri; Hatzor, Yossef H.; Feinstein, Shimon; Vinegar, Harold J.

    2017-12-01

    Thermal maturation is known to influence the rock physics of organic-rich rocks. While most studies were performed on low-porosity organic-rich shales, here we examine the effect of thermal maturation on a high-porosity organic-rich chalk. We compare the physical properties of native state immature rock with the properties at two pyrolysis-simulated maturity levels: early-mature and over-mature. We further evaluate the applicability of results from unconfined pyrolysis experiments to naturally matured rock properties. Special attention is dedicated to the elastic properties of the organic phase and the influence of bitumen and kerogen contents. Rock physics is studied based on confined petrophysical measurements of porosity, density and permeability, and measurements of bedding-normal acoustic velocities at estimated field stresses. Geochemical parameters like total organic carbon (TOC), bitumen content and thermal maturation indicators are used to monitor variations in density and volume fraction of each phase. We find that porosity increases significantly upon pyrolysis and that P wave velocity decreases in accordance. Solids density versus TOC relationships indicate that the kerogen increases its density from 1.43 to 1.49 g/cc at the immature and early-mature stages to 2.98 g/cc at the over-mature stage. This density value is unusually high, although increase in S wave velocity and backscatter SEM images of the over-mature samples verify that the over-mature kerogen is significantly denser and stiffer. Using the petrophysical and acoustic properties, the elastic moduli of the rock are estimated by two Hashin-Shtrikman (HS)-based models: "HS + BAM" and "HS kerogen." The "HS + BAM" model is calibrated to the post-pyrolysis measurements to describe the mechanical effect of the unconfined pyrolysis on the rock. The absence of compaction in the pyrolysis process causes the post-pyrolysis samples to be extremely porous. The "HS kerogen" model, which simulates a

  1. Comparative Transcriptomic Analysis of the Response of Dunaliella acidophila (Chlorophyta) to Short-Term Cadmium and Chronic Natural Metal-Rich Water Exposures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puente-Sánchez, Fernando; Olsson, Sanna; Aguilera, Angeles

    2016-10-01

    Heavy metals are toxic compounds known to cause multiple and severe cellular damage. However, acidophilic extremophiles are able to cope with very high concentrations of heavy metals. This study investigated the stress response under natural environmental heavy metal concentrations in an acidophilic Dunaliella acidophila. We employed Illumina sequencing for a de novo transcriptome assembly and to identify changes in response to high cadmium concentrations and natural metal-rich water. The photosynthetic performance was also estimated by pulse amplitude-modulated (PAM) fluorescence. Transcriptomic analysis highlights a number of processes mainly related to a high constitutive expression of genes involved in oxidative stress and response to reactive oxygen species (ROS), even in the absence of heavy metals. Photosynthetic activity seems to be unaltered under short-term exposition to Cd and chronic exposure to natural metal-rich water, probably due to an increase in the synthesis of structural photosynthetic components preserving their functional integrity. An overrepresentation of Gene Ontology (GO) terms related to metabolic activities, transcription, and proteosomal catabolic process was observed when D. acidophila grew under chronic exposure to natural metal-rich water. GO terms involved in carbohydrate metabolic process, reticulum endoplasmic and Golgi bodies, were also specifically overrepresented in natural metal-rich water library suggesting an endoplasmic reticulum stress response.

  2. Multiscale assessment of patterns of avian species richness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rahbek, C; Graves, G R

    2001-01-01

    at continental scales. We used a database of the geographic ranges of 2,869 species of birds breeding in South America (nearly a third of the world's living avian species) to explore the influence of climate, quadrat area, ecosystem diversity, and topography on species richness gradients at 10 spatial scales...... (quadrat area, approximately 12,300 to approximately 1,225,000 km(2)). Topography, precipitation, topography x latitude, ecosystem diversity, and cloud cover emerged as the most important predictors of regional variability of species richness in regression models incorporating 16 independent variables...... the hypothesis that terrestrial species richness from the equator to the poles is ultimately governed by a synergism between climate and coarse-scale topographic heterogeneity....

  3. Estimation of subcriticality of TCA using 'indirect estimation method for calculation error'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naito, Yoshitaka; Yamamoto, Toshihiro; Arakawa, Takuya; Sakurai, Kiyoshi

    1996-01-01

    To estimate the subcriticality of neutron multiplication factor in a fissile system, 'Indirect Estimation Method for Calculation Error' is proposed. This method obtains the calculational error of neutron multiplication factor by correlating measured values with the corresponding calculated ones. This method was applied to the source multiplication and to the pulse neutron experiments conducted at TCA, and the calculation error of MCNP 4A was estimated. In the source multiplication method, the deviation of measured neutron count rate distributions from the calculated ones estimates the accuracy of calculated k eff . In the pulse neutron method, the calculation errors of prompt neutron decay constants give the accuracy of the calculated k eff . (author)

  4. Assessment of dietary intake of flavouring substances within the procedure for their safety evaluation: advantages and limitations of estimates obtained by means of a per capita method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arcella, D; Leclercq, C

    2005-01-01

    The procedure for the safety evaluation of flavourings adopted by the European Commission in order to establish a positive list of these substances is a stepwise approach which was developed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) and amended by the Scientific Committee on Food. Within this procedure, a per capita amount based on industrial poundage data of flavourings, is calculated to estimate the dietary intake by means of the maximised survey-derived daily intake (MSDI) method. This paper reviews the MSDI method in order to check if it can provide conservative intake estimates as needed at the first steps of a stepwise procedure. Scientific papers and opinions dealing with the MSDI method were reviewed. Concentration levels reported by the industry were compared with estimates obtained with the MSDI method. It appeared that, in some cases, these estimates could be orders of magnitude (up to 5) lower than those calculated considering concentration levels provided by the industry and regular consumption of flavoured foods and beverages. A critical review of two studies which had been used to support the statement that MSDI is a conservative method for assessing exposure to flavourings among high consumers was performed. Special attention was given to the factors that affect exposure at high percentiles, such as brand loyalty and portion sizes. It is concluded that these studies may not be suitable to validate the MSDI method used to assess intakes of flavours by European consumers due to shortcomings in the assumptions made and in the data used. Exposure assessment is an essential component of risk assessment. The present paper suggests that the MSDI method is not sufficiently conservative. There is therefore a clear need for either using an alternative method to estimate exposure to flavourings in the procedure or for limiting intakes to the levels at which the safety was assessed.

  5. Treatment of infrabony defects with platelet-rich fibrin along with bone graft: Case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Surekha Y Bhedasgaonkar

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Although periodontitis is an infectious disease of periodontal tissues, changes that occur in the bone are crucial, because destruction of bone is responsible for tooth loss. Although horizontal bone loss is most common, vertical bone loss is more amenable to regenerative periodontal therapy. Recently, importance has been given to use of platelet-rich fibrin (PRF for predictably obtaining periodontal regeneration. PRF is a concentrated suspension of growth factors found in platelets. These growth factors moderate the wound healing and promote tissue regeneration. This article includes case reports of two patients who showed infrabony defects that were treated with combining PRF with allograft. This case report tried to compare the clinical and radiographical outcome obtained by combination of PRF and allograft.

  6. Diversity Dynamics in Nymphalidae Butterflies: Effect of Phylogenetic Uncertainty on Diversification Rate Shift Estimates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peña, Carlos; Espeland, Marianne

    2015-01-01

    The species rich butterfly family Nymphalidae has been used to study evolutionary interactions between plants and insects. Theories of insect-hostplant dynamics predict accelerated diversification due to key innovations. In evolutionary biology, analysis of maximum credibility trees in the software MEDUSA (modelling evolutionary diversity using stepwise AIC) is a popular method for estimation of shifts in diversification rates. We investigated whether phylogenetic uncertainty can produce different results by extending the method across a random sample of trees from the posterior distribution of a Bayesian run. Using the MultiMEDUSA approach, we found that phylogenetic uncertainty greatly affects diversification rate estimates. Different trees produced diversification rates ranging from high values to almost zero for the same clade, and both significant rate increase and decrease in some clades. Only four out of 18 significant shifts found on the maximum clade credibility tree were consistent across most of the sampled trees. Among these, we found accelerated diversification for Ithomiini butterflies. We used the binary speciation and extinction model (BiSSE) and found that a hostplant shift to Solanaceae is correlated with increased net diversification rates in Ithomiini, congruent with the diffuse cospeciation hypothesis. Our results show that taking phylogenetic uncertainty into account when estimating net diversification rate shifts is of great importance, as very different results can be obtained when using the maximum clade credibility tree and other trees from the posterior distribution. PMID:25830910

  7. Diversity dynamics in Nymphalidae butterflies: effect of phylogenetic uncertainty on diversification rate shift estimates.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Peña

    Full Text Available The species rich butterfly family Nymphalidae has been used to study evolutionary interactions between plants and insects. Theories of insect-hostplant dynamics predict accelerated diversification due to key innovations. In evolutionary biology, analysis of maximum credibility trees in the software MEDUSA (modelling evolutionary diversity using stepwise AIC is a popular method for estimation of shifts in diversification rates. We investigated whether phylogenetic uncertainty can produce different results by extending the method across a random sample of trees from the posterior distribution of a Bayesian run. Using the MultiMEDUSA approach, we found that phylogenetic uncertainty greatly affects diversification rate estimates. Different trees produced diversification rates ranging from high values to almost zero for the same clade, and both significant rate increase and decrease in some clades. Only four out of 18 significant shifts found on the maximum clade credibility tree were consistent across most of the sampled trees. Among these, we found accelerated diversification for Ithomiini butterflies. We used the binary speciation and extinction model (BiSSE and found that a hostplant shift to Solanaceae is correlated with increased net diversification rates in Ithomiini, congruent with the diffuse cospeciation hypothesis. Our results show that taking phylogenetic uncertainty into account when estimating net diversification rate shifts is of great importance, as very different results can be obtained when using the maximum clade credibility tree and other trees from the posterior distribution.

  8. Platelet rich plasma in dermatology and aesthetic medicine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neerja Puri

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Platelet rich plasma is a promising therapy in dermatology and aesthetic medicine. In this article we will discuss the pros and cons of platelet rich plasma (PRP and the usage of PRP in aesthetics. PRP is especially used for conditions like facial and neck rejuvenation, fine lines and wrinkles, abdominal striae and facial scarring.

  9. Development of axial asymmetry in the neutron-rich nucleus {sup 110}Mo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Watanabe, H., E-mail: hiroshi@ribf.riken.jp [RIKEN Nishina Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Yamaguchi, K.; Odahara, A. [Department of Physics, Osaka University, Machikaneyama-machi 1-1, Osaka 560-0043 Toyonaka (Japan); Sumikama, T. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba (Japan); Nishimura, S. [RIKEN Nishina Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Yoshinaga, K. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba (Japan); Li, Z. [RIKEN Nishina Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Miyashita, Y. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba (Japan); Sato, K. [RIKEN Nishina Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Prochniak, L. [Institute of Physics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, pl. M. Curie-Sklodowskiej 1, 20-031 Lublin (Poland); Baba, H. [RIKEN Nishina Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Berryman, J.S. [Nuclear Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Blasi, N. [INFN, Sezione di Milano, via Celoria 16, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Bracco, A.; Camera, F. [INFN, Sezione di Milano, via Celoria 16, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita di Milano, via Celoria 16, I-20133 Milano (Italy); Chiba, J. [Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba (Japan); Doornenbal, P. [RIKEN Nishina Center, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan); Go, S.; Hashimoto, T.; Hayakawa, S. [Center for Nuclear Study, University of Tokyo, Hirosawa 2-1, Wako, Saitama 351-0198 (Japan)

    2011-10-19

    The neutron-rich nucleus {sup 110}Mo has been investigated by means of {gamma}-ray spectroscopy following the {beta}-decay of {sup 110}Nb, produced using in-flight fission of a {sup 238}U beam at 345 MeV/nucleon at the RIBF facility. In addition to the ground-band members reported previously, spectroscopic information on the low-lying levels of the quasi-{gamma} band built on the second 2{sup +} state at 494 keV has been obtained for the first time. The experimental finding of the second 2{sup +} state being lower than the yrast 4{sup +} level suggests that axially-asymmetric {gamma} softness is substantially enhanced in this nucleus. The experimental results are compared with model calculations based on the general Bohr Hamiltonian method. The systematics of the low-lying levels in even-even A{approx}110 nuclei is discussed in comparison with that in the neutron-rich A{approx}190 region, by introducing the quantity E{sub S}/E(2{sub 1}{sup +}), E{sub S}=E(2{sub 2}{sup +})-E(4{sub 1}{sup +}), as a global signature of the structural evolution involving axial asymmetry.

  10. Ion transport by mitochondria-rich cells in toad skin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Erik Hviid; Ussing, H H; Spring, K R

    1987-01-01

    The optical sectioning video imaging technique was used for measurements of the volume of mitochondria-rich (m.r.) cells of the isolated epithelium of toad skin. Under short-circuit conditions, cell volume decreased by about 14% in response to bilateral exposure to Cl-free (gluconate substitution....... Unilateral exposure to a Cl-free solution did not prevent ouabain-induced cell swelling. It is concluded that m.r. cells have an amiloride-blockable Na conductance in the apical membrane, a ouabain-sensitive Na pump in the basolateral membrane, and a passive Cl permeability in both membranes. From...... the initial rate of ouabain-induced cell volume increase the active Na current carried by a single m.r. cell was estimated to be 9.9 +/- 1.3 pA. Voltage clamping of the preparation in the physiological range of potentials (0 to -100 mV, serosa grounded) resulted in a cell volume increase with a time course...

  11. Value-Added Products from FGD Sulfite-Rich Scrubber Materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vivak Malhotra

    2010-01-31

    According to the American Coal Ash Association, about 29.25 million tons of flue gas desulfurization (FGD) byproducts were produced in the USA in 2003. Out of 29.25 million tons, 17.35 million tons were sulfite-rich scrubber materials. At present, unlike its cousin FGD gypsum, the prospect for effective utilization of sulfite-rich scrubber materials is not bright. In fact, almost 16.9 million tons are leftover every year. In our pursuit to mitigate the liability of sulfite-rich FGD scrubber materials' disposal, we are attempting to develop value-added products that can commercially compete. More specifically, for this Innovative Concept Phase I project, we have the following objectives: to characterize the sulfite-rich scrubber material for toxic metals; to optimize the co-blending and processing of scrubber material and natural byproducts; to formulate and develop structural composites from sulfite-rich scrubber material; and to evaluate the composites' mechanical properties and compare them with current products on the market. After successfully demonstrating the viability of our research, a more comprehensive approach will be proposed to take these value-added materials to fruition.

  12. Microwave assisted synthesis of camellia oleifera shell-derived porous carbon with rich oxygen functionalities and superior supercapacitor performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Jiyuan; Qu, Tingting; Kun, Xiang; Zhang, Yu; Chen, Shanyong; Cao, Yuan-Cheng; Xie, Mingjiang; Guo, Xuefeng

    2018-04-01

    Biomass-derived carbon (BDCs) materials are receiving extensive attention as electrode materials for energy storage because of the considerable economic value offering possibility for practical applications, but the electrochemical capacitance of BDCs are usually relatively low resulted from limited electric double layer capacitance. Herein, an oxygen-rich porous carbon (KMAC) was fabricated through a rapid and convenient microwave assisted carbonization and KOH activation of camellia oleifera shell. The obtained KMAC possesses three-dimensional porous architecture, large surface area (1229 m2/g) and rich oxygen functionalities (C/O ratio of 1.66). As the electrode materials for supercapacitor, KMAC exhibits superior supercapacitive performances as compared to the activated carbon (KAC) derived from direct carbonization/KOH activation method in 2.0 M H2SO4 (315 F/g vs. 202 F/g) and 6.0 M KOH (251 F/g vs. 214 F/g) electrolyte due to the rich oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of porous carbon resulted from the developed microwave-assisted carbonization/activation approach.

  13. Vertebrate richness and biogeography in the Big Thicket of Texas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michael H MacRoberts; Barbara R. MacRoberts; D. Craig Rudolph

    2010-01-01

    The Big Thicket of Texas has been described as rich in species and a “crossroads:” a place where organisms from many different regions meet. We examine the species richness and regional affiliations of Big Thicket vertebrates. We found that the Big Thicket is neither exceptionally rich in vertebrates nor is it a crossroads for vertebrates. Its vertebrate fauna is...

  14. Platelet-rich plasma, plasma rich in growth factors and simvastatin in the regeneration and repair of alveolar bone.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rivera, César; Monsalve, Francisco; Salas, Juan; Morán, Andrea; Suazo, Iván

    2013-12-01

    Platelet preparations promote bone regeneration by inducing cell migration, proliferation and differentiation in the area of the injury, which are essential processes for regeneration. In addition, several studies have indicated that simvastatin (SIMV), widely used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, stimulates osteogenesis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of treatment with either platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) in combination with SIMV in the regeneration and repair of alveolar bone. The jaws of Sprague Dawley rats (n=18) were subjected to rotary instrument-induced bone damage (BD). Animals were divided into six groups: BD/H 2 O (n=3), distilled water without the drug and alveolar bone damage; BD/H 2 O/PRP (n=3), BD and PRP; BD/H 2 O/PRGF (n=3), BD and PRGF; BD/SIMV (n=3), BD and water with SIMV; BD/SIMV/PRP (n=3), BD, PRP and SIMV; and BD/SIMV/PRGF (n=3), BD, PRGF and SIMV. Conventional histological analysis (hematoxylin and eosin staining) revealed that the BD/SIMV group showed indicators for mature bone tissue, while the BD/SIMV/PRP and BD/SIMV/PRGF groups showed the coexistence of indicators for mature and immature bone tissue, with no statistical differences between the platelet preparations. Simvastatin did not improve the effect of platelet-rich plasma and plasma rich in growth factors. It was not possible to determine which platelet preparation produced superior effects.

  15. The STAR-RICH Detector

    CERN Document Server

    Lasiuk, B; Braem, André; Cozza, D; Davenport, M; De Cataldo, G; Dell'Olio, L; Di Bari, D; Di Mauro, A; Dunlop, J C; Finch, E; Fraissard, Daniel; Franco, A; Gans, J; Ghidini, B; Harris, J W; Horsley, M; Kunde, G J; Lasiuk, B; Lesenechal, Y; Majka, R D; Martinengo, P; Morsch, Andreas; Nappi, E; Paic, G; Piuz, François; Posa, F; Raynaud, J; Salur, S; Sandweiss, J; Santiard, Jean-Claude; Satinover, J; Schyns, E M; Smirnov, N; Van Beelen, J; Williams, T D; Xu, Z

    2002-01-01

    The STAR-RICH detector extends the particle idenfication capabilities of the STAR spectrometer for charged hadrons at mid-rapidity. It allows identification of pions and kaons up to ~3 GeV/c and protons up to ~5 GeV/c. The characteristics and performance of the device in the inaugural RHIC run are described.

  16. The LHCb RICH system; detector description and operation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Papanestis, A., E-mail: antonis.papanestis@stfc.ac.uk

    2014-12-01

    Two RICH detectors provide positive charged hadron identification in the LHCb experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. RICH 1 covers the full acceptance of the spectrometer and contains two radiators: aerogel and C{sub 4}F{sub 10}. RICH 2 covers half the acceptance and uses CF{sub 4} as a Cherenkov radiator. Photon detection is performed by the Hybrid Photon Detectors (HPDs), with silicon pixel sensors and bump-bonded readout encapsulated in a vacuum tube for efficient, low-noise single photon detection. The LHCb RICH detectors form a complex system of three radiators, 120 mirrors and 484 photon detectors operating in the very challenging environment of the LHC. The high performance of the system in pion and kaon identification in the momentum range of 2–100 GeV/c is reached only after careful calibration of many parameters. Operational efficiency above 99% was achieved by a high level of automatization in the operation of the detectors, from switching-on to error recovery. The challenges of calibrating and operating such a system will be presented. - Highlights: • This paper describes the operation and calibration of the LHCb RICH detectors. • The scintillation of CF{sub 4} was successfully suppressed with CO{sub 2}. • The refractive index of the gas radiators was calibrated with data to an accuracy better than 0.1%. • The Hybrid Photons Detectors were calibrated for operation in a magnetic field without loss of resolution.

  17. Growth and alteration of uranium-rich microlite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giere, R.; Swope, R. J.; Buck, E. C.; Guggenheim, R.; Mathys, D.; Reusser, E.

    2000-01-01

    Uranium-rich microlite, a pyrochlore-group mineral, occurs in 440 Ma old lithium pegmatites of the Mozambique Belt in East Africa. Microlite exhibits a pronounced growth zoning, with a U-free core surrounded by a U-rich rim (UO 2 up to 17 wt.%). The core exhibits conjugate sets of straight cracks (cleavage planes) which provided pathways for a late-stage U-enriched pegmatitic fluid which interacted with the U-free microlite to produce a distinct U enrichment along the cracks and led to the formation of the U-rich rim. Following the stage of U incorporation into microlite, a second generation of hydrothermal fluids deposited mica along the cleavage planes. Subsequent to these two hydrothermal stages, the host rock was uplifted and subjected to intense low-temperature alteration during which Na, Ca and F were leached from the microlite crystals. This alteration also led to a hydration of microlite, but there is no evidence of U loss. These low-temperature alteration effects were only observed in the U-rich rim which is characterized by a large number of irregular cracks which are most probably the result of metamictization, as indicated by electron diffraction images and powder X-ray patterns. The pyrochlore-group minerals provide excellent natural analogues for pyrochlore-based nuclear waste forms, because samples of variable age and with high actinide contents are available

  18. G-rich, a Drosophila selenoprotein, is a Golgi-resident type III membrane protein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Chang Lan; Shim, Myoung Sup; Chung, Jiyeol; Yoo, Hyun-Seung; Ha, Ji Min; Kim, Jin Young; Choi, Jinmi; Zang, Shu Liang; Hou, Xiao; Carlson, Bradley A.; Hatfield, Dolph L.; Lee, Byeong Jae

    2006-01-01

    G-rich is a Drosophila melanogaster selenoprotein, which is a homologue of human and mouse SelK. Subcellular localization analysis using GFP-tagged G-rich showed that G-rich was localized in the Golgi apparatus. The fusion protein was co-localized with the Golgi marker proteins but not with an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) marker protein in Drosophila SL2 cells. Bioinformatic analysis of G-rich suggests that this protein is either type II or type III transmembrane protein. To determine the type of transmembrane protein experimentally, GFP-G-rich in which GFP was tagged at the N-terminus of G-rich, or G-rich-GFP in which GFP was tagged at the C-terminus of G-rich, were expressed in SL2 cells. The tagged proteins were then digested with trypsin, and analyzed by Western blot analysis. The results showed that the C-terminus of the G-rich protein was exposed to the cytoplasm indicating it is a type III microsomal membrane protein. G-rich is First selenoprotein identified in the Golgi apparatus

  19. Insights into the historical construction of species-rich Mesoamerican seasonally dry tropical forests: the diversification of Bursera (Burseraceae, Sapindales).

    Science.gov (United States)

    De-Nova, J Arturo; Medina, Rosalinda; Montero, Juan Carlos; Weeks, Andrea; Rosell, Julieta A; Olson, Mark E; Eguiarte, Luis E; Magallón, Susana

    2012-01-01

    • Mesoamerican arid biomes epitomize neotropical rich and complex biodiversity. To document some of the macroevolutionary processes underlying the vast species richness of Mesoamerican seasonally dry tropical forests (SDTFs), and to evaluate specific predictions about the age, geographical structure and niche conservatism of SDTF-centered woody plant lineages, the diversification of Bursera is reconstructed. • Using a nearly complete Bursera species-level phylogeny from nuclear and plastid genomic markers, we estimate divergence times, test for phylogenetic and temporal diversification heterogeneity, test for geographical structure, and reconstruct habitat shifts. • Bursera became differentiated in the earliest Eocene, but diversified during independent early Miocene consecutive radiations that took place in SDTFs. The late Miocene average age of Bursera species, the presence of phylogenetic geographical structure, and its strong conservatism to SDTFs conform to expectations derived from South American SDTF-centered lineages. • The diversification of Bursera suggests that Mesoamerican SDTF richness derives from high speciation from the Miocene onwards uncoupled from habitat shifts, during a period of enhanced aridity resulting mainly from global cooling and regional rain shadows. © 2011 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2011 New Phytologist Trust.

  20. Species richness of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: associations with grassland plant richness and biomass

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hiiesalu, Inga; Pärtel, M.; Davison, J.; Gerhold, P.; Metsis, M.; Moora, M.; Öpik, M.; Vasar, M.; Zobel, M.; Wilson, S. D.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 203, č. 1 (2014), s. 233-244 ISSN 1469-8137 R&D Projects: GA MŠk EE2.3.30.0048 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z60050516 Institutional support: RVO:67985939 Keywords : belowground plant richness * diversity * productivity Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 6.545, year: 2013

  1. Monte Carlo Estimation of Absorbed Dose Distributions Obtained from Heterogeneous 106Ru Eye Plaques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaragoza, Francisco J; Eichmann, Marion; Flühs, Dirk; Sauerwein, Wolfgang; Brualla, Lorenzo

    2017-09-01

    The distribution of the emitter substance in 106 Ru eye plaques is usually assumed to be homogeneous for treatment planning purposes. However, this distribution is never homogeneous, and it widely differs from plaque to plaque due to manufacturing factors. By Monte Carlo simulation of radiation transport, we study the absorbed dose distribution obtained from the specific CCA1364 and CCB1256 106 Ru plaques, whose actual emitter distributions were measured. The idealized, homogeneous CCA and CCB plaques are also simulated. The largest discrepancy in depth dose distribution observed between the heterogeneous and the homogeneous plaques was 7.9 and 23.7% for the CCA and CCB plaques, respectively. In terms of isodose lines, the line referring to 100% of the reference dose penetrates 0.2 and 1.8 mm deeper in the case of heterogeneous CCA and CCB plaques, respectively, with respect to the homogeneous counterpart. The observed differences in absorbed dose distributions obtained from heterogeneous and homogeneous plaques are clinically irrelevant if the plaques are used with a lateral safety margin of at least 2 mm. However, these differences may be relevant if the plaques are used in eccentric positioning.

  2. Leveraging data rich environments using marketing analytics

    OpenAIRE

    Holtrop, Niels

    2017-01-01

    With the onset of what is popularly known as “big data”, increased attention is being paid to creating value from these data rich environments. Within the field of marketing, the analysis of customer and market data supported by models is known as marketing analytics. The goal of these analyses is to enhance managerial decision making regarding marketing problems. However, before these data rich environments can be used to guide managerial decision making, firms need to grasp the process of d...

  3. Patterns of species richness and diversity of insects associated with cucurbit fruits in the southern part of Cameroon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mokam, Didi Gaëlle; Djiéto-Lordon, Champlain; Bilong Bilong, Charles-Félix

    2014-01-01

    Patterns of species diversity and community structure of insects associated with fruits of domesticated cucurbits were investigated from January 2009 to 2011 in three localities from two agroecological zones in the southern part of Cameroon. Rarefaction curves combined with nonparametric estimators of species richness were used to extrapolate species richness beyond our own data. Sampling efforts of over 92% were reached in each of the three study localities. Data collected revealed a total of 66 insect morphospecies belonging to 37 families and five orders, identified from a set of 57,510 insects. The orders Diptera (especially Tephritidae and Lonchaeidae) and Hymenoptera (mainly Braconidae and Eulophidae) were the most important, in terms of both abundance and species richness on the one hand, and effects on agronomic performance on the other. Values for both the species diversity (Shannon and Simpson) and the species richness indices (Margalef and Berger-Parker) calculated showed that the insect communities were species-rich but dominated, all to a similar extent, by five main species (including four fruit fly species and one parasitoid). Species abundance distributions in these communities ranged from the Zipf-Mandelbrot to Mandelbrot models. The communities are structured as tritrophic networks, including cucurbit fruits, fruit-feeding species (fruit flies) and carnivorous species (parasitoids). Within the guild of the parasitoids, about 30% of species, despite their low abundance, may potentially be of use in biological control of important pests. Our field data contribute in important ways to basic knowledge of biodiversity patterns in agrosystems and constitute baseline data for the planned implementation of biological control in Integrated Pest Management. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Entomological Society of America.

  4. Ecological transfer of radionuclides and metals to free-living earthworm species in natural habitats rich in NORM

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mrdakovic Popic, Jelena, E-mail: jelena.mrdakovic.popic@umb.no; Salbu, Brit; Skipperud, Lindis

    2012-01-01

    Transfer of radionuclides ({sup 232}Th and {sup 238}U) and associated metals (As, Cd, Pb and Cr) from soil to free-living earthworm species was investigated in a thorium ({sup 232}Th) rich area in Norway. Sampling took place within former mining sites representing the technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM), at undisturbed site with unique bedrock geology representing the naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and at site outside the {sup 232}Th rich area taken as reference Background site. Soil analysis revealed the elevated levels of investigated elements at NORM and TENORM sites. Based on sequential extraction, uranium ({sup 238}U) and cadmium (Cd) were quite mobile, while the other elements were strongly associated with mineral components of soil. Four investigated earthworm species (Aporrectodea caliginosa, Aporrectodea rosea, Dendrodrilus rubidus and Lumbricus rubellus) showed large individual variability in the accumulation of radionuclides and metals. Differences in uptake by epigeic and endogeic species, as well as differences within same species from the NORM, TENORM and Background sites were also seen. Based on total concentrations in soil, the transfer factors (TF) were in ranges 0.03-0.08 and 0.09-0.25, for {sup 232}Th and {sup 238}U, respectively. TFs for lead (Pb), chromium (Cr) and arsenic (As) were low (less than 0.5), while TFs for Cd were higher (about 10). Using the ERICA tool, the estimated radiation exposure dose rate of the earthworms ranged from 2.2 to 3.9 {mu}Gy/h. The radiological risk for investigated earthworms was low (0.28). The obtained results demonstrated that free-living earthworm species can survive in soil containing elevated {sup 232}Th and {sup 238}U, as well As, Cd, Pb and Cr levels, although certain amount of radionuclides was accumulated within their bodies. The present investigation contributes to general better understanding of complex soil-to-biota transfer processes of

  5. Global hotspots and correlates of alien species richness across taxonomic groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawson, Wayne; Moser, Dietmar; van Kleunen, Mark; Kreft, Holger; Pergl, Jan; Pysek, Petr; Weigelt, Patrick; Winter, Marten; Lenzner, Bernd; Blackburn, Tim M.; Dyer, Ellie; Cassey, Phillip; Scrivens, Sally-Louise; Economo, Evan P.; Guenard, Benoit; Capinha, Cesar; Seebens, Hanno; Garcia-Diaz, Pablo; Nentwig, Wolfgang; Garcia-Berthou, Emili; Casal, Christine; Mandrak, Nicholas E.; Fuller, Pam; Meyer, Carsten; Essl, Franz

    2017-01-01

    Human-mediated transport beyond biogeographic barriers has led to the introduction and establishment of alien species in new regions worldwide. However, we lack a global picture of established alien species richness for multiple taxonomic groups. Here, we assess global patterns and potential drivers of established alien species richness across eight taxonomic groups (amphibians, ants, birds, freshwater fishes, mammals, vascular plants, reptiles and spiders) for 186 islands and 423 mainland regions. Hotspots of established alien species richness are predominantly island and coastal mainland regions. Regions with greater gross domestic product per capita, human population density, and area have higher established alien richness, with strongest effects emerging for islands. Ants and reptiles, birds and mammals, and vascular plants and spiders form pairs of taxonomic groups with the highest spatial congruence in established alien richness, but drivers explaining richness differ between the taxa in each pair. Across all taxonomic groups, our results highlight the need to prioritize prevention of further alien species introductions to island and coastal mainland regions globally.

  6. Platelet-rich fibrin in the treatment of periodontal bone defects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ranganathan, Aravindhan T; Chandran, Chitraa R

    2014-05-01

    Periodontitis is characterized by the formation of true pockets, bone loss and attachment loss. Various techniques have been attempted in the past to truly regenerate the lost periodontal structures, albeit with variable outcome. In this evolution, the technique being tried out widely is the use of platelet rich concentrates, namely platelet-rich fibrin (PRF). In this report, we present a case of surgical treatment of osseous bone defects namely two walled crater and dehiscence treated in posterior teeth with autologously prepared platelet rich fibrin mixed with hydroxy apatite bone graft and PRF in the form of a membrane. Our results showed clinical improvements in all the clinical parameters postoperatively namely the pocket depth reduction and gain in attachment level and hence, PRF can be used alone or in combination with the bone graft to yield successful clinical results in treating periodontal osseous defects. Platelet-rich fibrin is an effective alternative to platelet-rich plasma (PRP) in reconstructing bone defects.

  7. Estimating elasticity for residential electricity demand in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, G; Zheng, X; Song, F

    2012-01-01

    Residential demand for electricity is estimated for China using a unique household level dataset. Household electricity demand is specified as a function of local electricity price, household income, and a number of social-economic variables at household level. We find that the residential demand for electricity responds rather sensitively to its own price in China, which implies that there is significant potential to use the price instrument to conserve electricity consumption. Electricity elasticities across different heterogeneous household groups (e.g., rich versus poor and rural versus urban) are also estimated. The results show that the high income group is more price elastic than the low income group, while rural families are more price elastic than urban families. These results have important policy implications for designing an increasing block tariff.

  8. ACTH radioimmunocytochemistry (RICH) on rat anterior pituitary cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rappay, G.; Karteszi, M.; Makara, G.B.

    1979-01-01

    Radioimmunocytochemistry (RICH) was applied to detect corticotrophs in adult rat pituitaries and 8-day-old anterior pituitary monolayers by incubating sections and cultures with 125 I-ACTH-anti ACTH immune complexes. After incubations autoradiography was made. In comparison, 'conventional' immunostaining was carried out on adjacent sections and parallel cultures. It has been established that RICH is suitable for detection of corticotrophs. (orig.) [de

  9. Ilmenite-rich pyroclastic deposits - An ideal lunar resource

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawke, B. R.; Clark, B.; Coombs, C. R.

    1990-01-01

    With a view of investigating possible economic benefits that a permanent lunar settlement might provide to the near-earth space infrastructures, consideration was given to the ilmenite-rich pyroclastic deposits as sources of oxygen (for use as a propellant) and He-3 (for nuclear fusion fuel). This paper demonstrates that ilmenite-rich pyroclastic deposits would be excellent sources of a wide variety of valuable elements besides O and He-3, including Fe, Ti, H2, N, C, S, Cu, Zn, Cd, Bi, and Pb. It is shown that several ilmenite-rich pyroclastic deposits of regional extent exist on the lunar surface. The suitability of regional pyroclastic deposits for lunar mining operations, construction activities, and the establishment of permanent lunar settlements is examined.

  10. Geographic range size and determinants of avian species richness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jetz, Walter; Rahbek, Carsten

    2002-01-01

    Geographic patterns in species richness are mainly based on wide-ranging species because their larger number of distribution records has a disproportionate contribution to the species richness counts. Here we demonstrate how this effect strongly influences our understanding of what determines spe...

  11. Predicting invasion in grassland ecosystems: is exotic dominance the real embarrassment of richness?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seabloom, Eric W. [Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of MN, St. Paul MN 55108 USA; Borer, Elizabeth T. [Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of MN, St. Paul MN 55108 USA; Buckley, Yvonne [ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane Queensland 4072 Australia; Cleland, Elsa E. [Ecology, Behavior & Evolution Section, University of California, San Diego La Jolla CA 92093 USA; Davies, Kendi [Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder CO 80309 USA; Firn, Jennifer [Queensland University of Technology, Biogeosciences, Brisbane Queensland 4000 Australia; Harpole, W. Stanley [Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames IA 50011 USA; Hautier, Yann [Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of MN, St. Paul MN 55108 USA; Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190 CH-8057 Zurich Switzerland; Lind, Eric [Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of MN, St. Paul MN 55108 USA; MacDougall, Andrew [Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph Ontario N1G 2W1 Canada; Orrock, John L. [Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison WI 53706 USA; Prober, Suzanne M. [CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Private Bag 5 Wembley WA 6913 Australia; Adler, Peter [Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center, Utah State University, Logan UT 84322 USA; Alberti, Juan [Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (UNMdP-CONICET), Mar del Plata Argentina; Michael Anderson, T. [Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem NC 27109 USA; Bakker, Jonathan D. [School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98195-4115 USA; Biederman, Lori A. [Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames IA 50011 USA; Blumenthal, Dana [Rangeland Resources Research Unit, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Fort Collins CO 80526 USA; Brown, Cynthia S. [Department of Bioagricultural Sciences and Pest Management, Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO 80523 USA; Brudvig, Lars A. [Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing MI 48824 USA; Caldeira, Maria [Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Technical University of Lisbon, Lisbon Portugal; Chu, Chengjin [School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 China; Crawley, Michael J. [Department of Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Ascot SL5 7PY UK; Daleo, Pedro [Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (UNMdP-CONICET), Mar del Plata Argentina; Damschen, Ellen I. [Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin, Madison WI 53706 USA; D' Antonio, Carla M. [Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara CA 93106 USA; DeCrappeo, Nicole M. [U.S. Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis OR 97331 USA; Dickman, Chris R. [Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006 Australia; Du, Guozhen [School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000 China; Fay, Philip A. [USDA-ARS Grassland Soil and Water Research Lab, Temple TX 76502 USA; Frater, Paul [Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames IA 50011 USA; Gruner, Daniel S. [Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park MD 20742 USA; Hagenah, Nicole [School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Scottsville Pietermaritzburg 3209 South Africa; Department of Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven CT 06520 USA; Hector, Andrew [Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190 CH-8057 Zurich Switzerland; Helm, Aveliina [Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu Estonia; Hillebrand, Helmut [Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, Carl-von-Ossietzky University, Wilhelmshaven Germany; Hofmockel, Kirsten S. [Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames IA 50011 USA; Humphries, Hope C. [INSTAAR, University of Colorado, Boulder CO 80309-0450 USA; Iribarne, Oscar [Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (UNMdP-CONICET), Mar del Plata Argentina; Jin, Virginia L. [USDA-ARS Agroecosystem Management Research Unit, Lincoln NE 68583 USA; Kay, Adam [Biology Department, University of St. Thomas, Saint Paul MN 55105 USA; Kirkman, Kevin P. [School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Scottsville Pietermaritzburg 3209 South Africa; Klein, Julia A. [Department Forest, Rangeland & Watershed Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO 80523-1472 USA; Knops, Johannes M. H. [School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln NE 68588 USA; La Pierre, Kimberly J. [Department of Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven CT 06520 USA; Ladwig, Laura M. [Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM 87103 USA; Lambrinos, John G. [Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, Corvallis OR 97331 USA; Leakey, Andrew D. B. [Department of Plant Biology and Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL 61801 USA; Li, Qi [Key Laboratory of Adaptation and Evolution of Plateau Biota, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 Qinghai China; Li, Wei [Yunnan Academy of Biodiversity, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224 China; McCulley, Rebecca [Department of Plant & Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington KY 40546 USA; Melbourne, Brett [Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder CO 80309 USA; Mitchell, Charles E. [Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill NC 27599 USA; Moore, Joslin L. [Australian Research Centre for Urban Ecology, Melbourne, c/o School of Botany, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Victoria 3010 Australia; Morgan, John [Department of Botany, La Trobe University, Bundoora 3086 Victoria Australia; Mortensen, Brent [Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames IA 50011 USA; O' Halloran, Lydia R. [Department of Zoology, Oregon State University, Corvallis OR 97331 USA; Pärtel, Meelis [Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu Estonia; Pascual, Jesús [Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (UNMdP-CONICET), Mar del Plata Argentina; Pyke, David A. [U.S. Geological Survey Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, Corvallis OR 97331 USA; Risch, Anita C. [Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, 8903 Birmensdorf Switzerland; Salguero-Gómez, Roberto [ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane Queensland 4072 Australia; Sankaran, Mahesh [National Centre for Biological Sciences, GKVK Campus, Bellary Road Bangalore 560065 India; Schuetz, Martin [Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, 8903 Birmensdorf Switzerland; Simonsen, Anna [Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto ON M5S 3B2 Canada; Smith, Melinda [Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO 80523 USA; Stevens, Carly [Lancaster Environment Center, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ UK; Sullivan, Lauren [Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames IA 50011 USA; Wardle, Glenda M. [Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney NSW 2006 Australia; Wolkovich, Elizabeth M. [Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver V6T 1Z4 Canada; Wragg, Peter D. [Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of MN, St. Paul MN 55108 USA; Wright, Justin [Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham NC 27708 USA; Yang, Louie [Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis CA 95616 USA

    2013-10-16

    Invasions have increased the size of regional species pools, but are typically assumed to reduce native diversity. However, global-scale tests of this assumption have been elusive because of the focus on exotic species richness, rather than relative abundance. This is problematic because low invader richness can indicate invasion resistance by the native community or, alternatively, dominance by a single exotic species. Here, we used a globally replicated study to quantify relationships between exotic richness and abundance in grass-dominated ecosystems in 13 countries on six continents, ranging from salt marshes to alpine tundra. We tested effects of human land use, native community diversity, herbivore pressure, and nutrient limitation on exotic plant dominance. Despite its widespread use, exotic richness was a poor proxy for exotic dominance at low exotic richness, because sites that contained few exotic species ranged from relatively pristine (low exotic richness and cover) to almost completely exotic-dominated ones (low exotic richness but high exotic cover). Both exotic cover and richness were predicted by native plant diversity (native grass richness) and land use (distance to cultivation). Although climate was important for predicting both exotic cover and richness, climatic factors predicting cover (precipitation variability) differed from those predicting richness (maximum temperature and mean temperature in the wettest quarter). Herbivory and nutrient limitation did not predict exotic richness or cover. Exotic dominance was greatest in areas with low native grass richness at the site- or regional-scale. Although this could reflect native grass displacement, a lack of biotic resistance is a more likely explanation, given that grasses comprise the most aggressive invaders. These findings underscore the need to move beyond richness as a surrogate for the extent of invasion, because this metric confounds monodominance with invasion resistance. Monitoring

  12. Circumstellar ammonia in oxygen-rich evolved stars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, K. T.; Menten, K. M.; Kamiński, T.; Wyrowski, F.; Lacy, J. H.; Greathouse, T. K.

    2018-04-01

    Context. The circumstellar ammonia (NH3) chemistry in evolved stars is poorly understood. Previous observations and modelling showed that NH3 abundance in oxygen-rich stars is several orders of magnitude above that predicted by equilibrium chemistry. Aims: We would like to characterise the spatial distribution and excitation of NH3 in the oxygen-rich circumstellar envelopes (CSEs) of four diverse targets: IK Tau, VY CMa, OH 231.8+4.2, and IRC +10420. Methods: We observed NH3 emission from the ground state in the inversion transitions near 1.3 cm with the Very Large Array (VLA) and submillimetre rotational transitions with the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared (HIFI) aboard Herschel Space Observatory from all four targets. For IK Tau and VY CMa, we observed NH3 rovibrational absorption lines in the ν2 band near 10.5 μm with the Texas Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (TEXES) at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility (IRTF). We also attempted to search for the rotational transition within the excited vibrational state (v2 = 1) near 2 mm with the IRAM 30m Telescope. Non-LTE radiative transfer modelling, including radiative pumping to the vibrational state, was carried out to derive the radial distribution of NH3 in the CSEs of these targets. Results: We detected NH3 inversion and rotational emission in all four targets. IK Tau and VY CMa show blueshifted absorption in the rovibrational spectra. We did not detect vibrationally excited rotational transition from IK Tau. Spatially resolved VLA images of IK Tau and IRC +10420 show clumpy emission structures; unresolved images of VY CMa and OH 231.8+4.2 indicate that the spatial-kinematic distribution of NH3 is similar to that of assorted molecules, such as SO and SO2, that exhibit localised and clumpy emission. Our modelling shows that the NH3 abundance relative to molecular hydrogen is generally of the order of 10-7, which is a few times lower than previous estimates that were made without considering radiative

  13. Identification of new neutron-rich rare-earth nuclei produced in /sup 252/Cf spontaneous fission

    CERN Document Server

    Greenwood, R C; Gehrke, R J; Meikrantz, D H

    1981-01-01

    A program of systematic study of the decay properties of neutron-rich rare-earth nuclei with 30 sobtained to date with this system include the identification of a number of new neutron-rich rare-earth isotopes including /sup 155/Pm (t/sub 1/2/=48+or-4 s) and /sup 163/Gd (t/sub 1 /2/=68+or-3 s), in addition to 5.51 min /sup 158/Sm which was identified in an earlier series of experiments. (11 refs).

  14. The geological characteristics and forming conditions of granite type uranium-rich ore deposits

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tiangang, Li; Hangshou, Tong; Mingyue, Feng; Yuexiang, Li; Zhan, Xu [Beijing Research Inst. of Uranium Geology (China)

    1993-03-01

    The forming conditions and concentration mechanism of rich ore, criteria of ore prospecting and selection of uranium-rich ore target area are introduced in the article that is based on the studying of geological characteristics and conditions of granite type uranium-rich ore deposits of No 201 and 361 and on the comparisons of rich and poor ore deposits in geological conditions. Some new view points are also presented as the separate deposition of uranium minerals and gangue minerals is the main mechanism to form rich ore, for rich ore formation the ore enrichment by superimposition is not a universal regularity and most uranium-rich ore deposits are formed within one mineralization stage or mainly in one mineralization stage.

  15. The geological characteristics and forming conditions of granite type uranium-rich ore deposits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Tiangang; Tong Hangshou; Feng Mingyue; Li Yuexiang; Xu Zhan

    1993-03-01

    The forming conditions and concentration mechanism of rich ore, criteria of ore prospecting and selection of uranium-rich ore target area are introduced in the article that is based on the studying of geological characteristics and conditions of granite type uranium-rich ore deposits of No 201 and 361 and on the comparisons of rich and poor ore deposits in geological conditions. Some new view points are also presented as the separate deposition of uranium minerals and gangue minerals is the main mechanism to form rich ore, for rich ore formation the ore enrichment by superimposition is not a universal regularity and most uranium-rich ore deposits are formed within one mineralization stage or mainly in one mineralization stage

  16. Multiscale estimation of excess mass from gravity data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castaldo, Raffaele; Fedi, Maurizio; Florio, Giovanni

    2014-06-01

    We describe a multiscale method to estimate the excess mass of gravity anomaly sources, based on the theory of source moments. Using a multipole expansion of the potential field and considering only the data along the vertical direction, a system of linear equations is obtained. The choice of inverting data along a vertical profile can help us to reduce the interference effects due to nearby anomalies and will allow a local estimate of the source parameters. A criterion is established allowing the selection of the optimal highest altitude of the vertical profile data and truncation order of the series expansion. The inversion provides an estimate of the total anomalous mass and of the depth to the centre of mass. The method has several advantages with respect to classical methods, such as the Gauss' method: (i) we need just a 1-D inversion to obtain our estimates, being the inverted data sampled along a single vertical profile; (ii) the resolution may be straightforward enhanced by using vertical derivatives; (iii) the centre of mass is also estimated, besides the excess mass; (iv) the method is very robust versus noise; (v) the profile may be chosen in such a way to minimize the effects from interfering anomalies or from side effects due to the a limited area extension. The multiscale estimation of excess mass method can be successfully used in various fields of application. Here, we analyse the gravity anomaly generated by a sulphide body in the Skelleftea ore district, North Sweden, obtaining source mass and volume estimates in agreement with the known information. We show also that these estimates are substantially improved with respect to those obtained with the classical approach.

  17. Intraplate mantle oxidation by volatile-rich silicic magmas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martin, Audrey M.; Médard, Etienne; Righter, Kevin; Lanzirotti, Antonio

    2017-11-01

    The upper subcontinental lithospheric mantle below the French Massif Central is more oxidized than the average continental lithosphere, although the origin of this anomaly remains unknown. Using iron oxidation analysis in clinopyroxene, oxybarometry, and melt inclusions in mantle xenoliths, we show that widespread infiltration of volatile (HCSO)-rich silicic melts played a major role in this oxidation. We propose the first comprehensive model of magmatism and mantle oxidation at an intraplate setting. Two oxidizing events occurred: (1) a 365–286 Ma old magmatic episode that produced alkaline vaugnerites, potassic lamprophyres, and K-rich calc-alkaline granitoids, related to the N–S Rhenohercynian subduction, and (2) < 30 Ma old magmatism related to W–E extension, producing carbonatites and hydrous potassic trachytes. These melts were capable of locally increasing the subcontinental lithospheric mantle fO2 to FMQ + 2.4. Both events originate from the melting of a metasomatized lithosphere containing carbonate + phlogopite ± amphibole. The persistence of this volatile-rich lithospheric source implies the potential for new episodes of volatile-rich magmatism. Similarities with worldwide magmatism also show that the importance of volatiles and the oxidation of the mantle in intraplate regions is underestimated.

  18. Microstructural evolution in Mg-rich Mg-Zn-Y alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Biswas, T.; Ranganathan, S.; Nair, S.; Bajargan, G.

    2005-01-01

    Mg-rich Mg-Zn-Y alloys with nominal compositions Mg 97 Zn 1 Y 2 , Mg 97 Zn 2 Y 1 , Mg 92 Zn 6.5 Y 1.5 and Mg 97-x Zn 1 Y 2 Zr x have been chosen for the present study. These alloys are prepared by using sand casting mold. The sand cast alloys are remelted and subjected to copper mold casting and melt spinning techniques. The effect of cooling rate on microstructures was studied. It is observed that the size of the precipitates decreases with an increase of cooling rate. The formation of nano precipitates results in higher strength of the alloy as compared to the conventional alloys. The microstructures of melt spun ribbons are compared with RS/PM (rapidly solidified power metallurgy) Mg 97 Zn 1 Y 2 alloy, obtained from a different source. (author)

  19. The electric dipole response of neutron rich tin isotopes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Horvat, Andrea; Aumann, Thomas; Rossi, Dominic; Schindler, Fabia [Institut fuer Kernphysik, TU Darmstadt (Germany); Boretzky, Konstanze [GSI Helmholzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung, Darmstadt (Germany); Johansen, Jacob [Aarhus University (Denmark); Schrock, Philipp [The University of Tokyo (Japan); Collaboration: R3B-Collaboration

    2016-07-01

    Studies of the dipole response in medium heavy and heavy neutron rich nuclei reveal valuable information about the isospin dependence of the nuclear equation of state. Therefore an experimental campaign investigating both the electric dipole response via Coulomb excitation and neutron removal along the tin isotope chain ({sup 124-134}Sn) has been carried out at the R3B (Reactions with Relativistic Radioactive Beams) setup at GSI (Helmholtzzentrum fuer Schwerionenforschung) for which the analysis is ongoing. The E1 response was induced via relativistic Coulomb scattering by a lead target in inverse kinematics, and calls for a kinematically complete determination of all reaction products in order to reconstruct the excitation energy by means of the invariant mass method. The goal is to obtain the Coulomb excitation cross section up to the adiabatic cut-off energy, covering the giant dipole resonance (GDR) range.

  20. Fusion enhancement in the reactions of neutron-rich nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bian Baoan; Zhang Fengshou; Zhou Hongyu

    2009-01-01

    The neutron-rich fusion reactions are investigated systematically using the improved isospin dependent quantum molecular dynamics model. By studying the systematic dependence of fusion barrier on neuron excess, we find the enhancement of the fusion cross sections for neutron-rich nuclear reactions that give the lowered static Coulomb barriers. The calculated fusion cross sections agree quantitatively with the experimental data. We further discuss the mechanism of the fusion enhancement of the cross sections for neutron-rich nuclear reactions by analyzing the dynamical lowering of the Coulomb barrier that is attributed to the enhancement of the N/Z ratio at the neck region.

  1. Estimation of electricity demand of Iran using two heuristic algorithms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amjadi, M.H.; Nezamabadi-pour, H.; Farsangi, M.M.

    2010-01-01

    This paper deals with estimation of electricity demand of Iran based on economic indicators using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) Algorithm. The estimation is based on Gross Domestic Product (GDP), population, number of customers and average price electricity by developing two different estimation models: a linear model and a non-linear model. The proposed models are obtained based upon available actual data of 21 years; since 1980-2000. Then the models obtained are used to estimate the electricity demand of the target years; for a period of time e.g. 2001-2006 and the results obtained are compared with the actual demand during this period. Furthermore, to validate the results obtained by PSO, genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to solve the problem. The results show that the PSO is a useful optimization tool for solving the problem using two developed models and can be used as an alternative solution to estimate the future electricity demand.

  2. Assessing Error Correlations in Remote Sensing-Based Estimates of Forest Attributes for Improved Composite Estimation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah Ehlers

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Today, non-expensive remote sensing (RS data from different sensors and platforms can be obtained at short intervals and be used for assessing several kinds of forest characteristics at the level of plots, stands and landscapes. Methods such as composite estimation and data assimilation can be used for combining the different sources of information to obtain up-to-date and precise estimates of the characteristics of interest. In composite estimation a standard procedure is to assign weights to the different individual estimates inversely proportional to their variance. However, in case the estimates are correlated, the correlations must be considered in assigning weights or otherwise a composite estimator may be inefficient and its variance be underestimated. In this study we assessed the correlation of plot level estimates of forest characteristics from different RS datasets, between assessments using the same type of sensor as well as across different sensors. The RS data evaluated were SPOT-5 multispectral data, 3D airborne laser scanning data, and TanDEM-X interferometric radar data. Studies were made for plot level mean diameter, mean height, and growing stock volume. All data were acquired from a test site dominated by coniferous forest in southern Sweden. We found that the correlation between plot level estimates based on the same type of RS data were positive and strong, whereas the correlations between estimates using different sources of RS data were not as strong, and weaker for mean height than for mean diameter and volume. The implications of such correlations in composite estimation are demonstrated and it is discussed how correlations may affect results from data assimilation procedures.

  3. 6-Shogaol-Rich Extract from Ginger Up-Regulates the Antioxidant Defense Systems in Cells and Mice

    OpenAIRE

    Bak, Min-Ji; Ok, Seon; Jun, Mira; Jeong, Woo-Sik

    2012-01-01

    The rhizome of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) is known to have several bioactive compounds including gingerols and shogaols which possess beneficial health properties such as anti-inflammatory and chemopreventive effects. Based on recent observations that 6-shogaol may have more potent bioactivity than 6-gingerol, we obtained a 6-shogaol-rich extract from ginger and examined its effects on the nuclear factor E2-related factor2 (Nrf2)/antioxidant response element (ARE...

  4. Beta-decay measurements of neutron-rich thallium, lead, and bismuth by means of resonant laser ionisation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franchoo, S.; de Witte, H.; Andreyev, A. N.; Cederka¨Ll, J.; Dean, S.; de Smet, A.; Eeckhaudt, S.; Fedorov, D. V.; Fedosseev, V. N.; G´Rska, M.; Huber, G.; Huyse, M.; Janas, Z.; Ko¨Ster, U.; Kurcewicz, W.; Kurpeta, J.; Mayer, P.; Płchocki, A.; van de Vel, K.; van Duppen, P.; Weissman, L.; Isolde Collaboration

    2004-04-01

    Neutron-rich thallium, lead, and bismuth isotopes were investigated at the ISOLDE facility. After mass separation and resonant laser ionisation of the produced activity, new spectroscopic data were obtained for 215,218Bi and 215Pb. An attempt to reach heavy thallium had to be abandoned because of a strong francium component in the beam that gave rise to a neutron background through (α,n) reactions on the aluminium walls of the experimental chamber.

  5. Species richness alone does not predict cultural ecosystem service value

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graves, Rose A.; Pearson, Scott M.; Turner, Monica G.

    2017-01-01

    Many biodiversity-ecosystem services studies omit cultural ecosystem services (CES) or use species richness as a proxy and assume that more species confer greater CES value. We studied wildflower viewing, a key biodiversity-based CES in amenity-based landscapes, in Southern Appalachian Mountain forests and asked (i) How do aesthetic preferences for wildflower communities vary with components of biodiversity, including species richness?; (ii) How do aesthetic preferences for wildflower communities vary across psychographic groups?; and (iii) How well does species richness perform as an indicator of CES value compared with revealed social preferences for wildflower communities? Public forest visitors (n = 293) were surveyed during the summer of 2015 and asked to choose among images of wildflower communities in which flower species richness, flower abundance, species evenness, color diversity, and presence of charismatic species had been digitally manipulated. Aesthetic preferences among images were unrelated to species richness but increased with more abundant flowers, greater species evenness, and greater color diversity. Aesthetic preferences were consistent across psychographic groups and unaffected by knowledge of local flora or value placed on wildflower viewing. When actual wildflower communities (n = 54) were ranked based on empirically measured flower species richness or wildflower viewing utility based on multinomial logit models of revealed preferences, rankings were broadly similar. However, designation of hotspots (CES values above the median) based on species richness alone missed 27% of wildflower viewing utility hotspots. Thus, conservation priorities for sustaining CES should incorporate social preferences and consider multiple dimensions of biodiversity that underpin CES supply. PMID:28320953

  6. Monte Carlo estimation of neoclassical transport for the TJ-II stellarator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tribaldos, V.

    2001-01-01

    The neoclassical transport properties of TJ-II stellarator [C. Alejaldre et al., Fusion Technol. 13, 521 (1988)] are studied with the monoenergetic Monte Carlo technique. A compromise between the number of modes and particles and the required computing time to obtain reliable estimates, from the computational point of view, of the monoenergetic diffusion coefficients is shown to be of one thousand particles and one hundred harmonics, because of the rich magnetic-field structure of TJ-II. Although, these requirements are probably too demanding in making the transport estimations. The data base containing the normalized monoenergetic diffusion coefficient for several radial positions, radial electric fields and collisionalities have been fitted using a neural network. This fit reduces the number of points necessary in the data base and allows a smooth interpolation and extrapolation to perform the convolutions of the monoenergetic coefficients with the Maxwellian. For two different typical TJ-II discharges the ambipolar radial electric field, and the neoclassical particle and heat fluxes are presented both showing rather large positive radial electric fields at the plasma core and small negative fields at the edge. The neoclassical particle and energy confinement time are in surprisingly good agreement with the experimental energy balance analysis and the international stellarator scaling. Although no satisfactory explanation is available yet the large neoclassical diffusion caused by the complex ripple structure of TJ-II magnetic field may be an important ingredient

  7. EVALUATION AGRONOMIQUE DES VARIETES DE MAÏS RICHES ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Administrateur

    Cinq variétés de maïs riches en protéines de qualité (MRP) ont été expérimentées en station puis en milieu ..... sionnent bord champ. ... Tableau 1 : Carrés moyens des variables étudiées en station, pour les variétés de maïs précoces riche en.

  8. Comparison of distance sampling estimates to a known population ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Line-transect sampling was used to obtain abundance estimates of an Ant-eating Chat Myrmecocichla formicivora population to compare these with the true size of the population. The population size was determined by a long-term banding study, and abundance estimates were obtained by surveying line transects.

  9. The Mean and Scatter of the Velocity Dispersion-Optical Richness Relation for MaxBCG Galaxy Clusters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Becker, M.R.; McKay, T.A.; /Michigan U.; Koester, B.; /Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.; Wechsler, R.H.; /KIPAC, Menlo Park /SLAC /Stanford U., Phys. Dept.; Rozo, E.; /Ohio State U.; Evrard, A.; /Michigan U. /Michigan U., MCTP; Johnston, D.; /Caltech, JPL; Sheldon, E.; /New York U.; Annis, J.; /Fermilab; Lau, E.; /Chicago U., Astron. Astrophys. Ctr.; Nichol, R.; /Portsmouth U., ICG; Miller, C.; /Michigan U.

    2007-06-05

    The distribution of galaxies in position and velocity around the centers of galaxy clusters encodes important information about cluster mass and structure. Using the maxBCG galaxy cluster catalog identified from imaging data obtained in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we study the BCG--galaxy velocity correlation function. By modeling its non-Gaussianity, we measure the mean and scatter in velocity dispersion at fixed richness. The mean velocity dispersion increases from 202 {+-} 10 km s{sup -1} for small groups to more than 854 {+-} 102 km s{sup -1} for large clusters. We show the scatter to be at most 40.5{+-}3.5%, declining to 14.9{+-}9.4% in the richest bins. We test our methods in the C4 cluster catalog, a spectroscopic cluster catalog produced from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR2 spectroscopic sample, and in mock galaxy catalogs constructed from N-body simulations. Our methods are robust, measuring the scatter to well within one-sigma of the true value, and the mean to within 10%, in the mock catalogs. By convolving the scatter in velocity dispersion at fixed richness with the observed richness space density function, we measure the velocity dispersion function of the maxBCG galaxy clusters. Although velocity dispersion and richness do not form a true mass--observable relation, the relationship between velocity dispersion and mass is theoretically well characterized and has low scatter. Thus our results provide a key link between theory and observations up to the velocity bias between dark matter and galaxies.

  10. Models of alien species richness show moderate predictive accuracy and poor transferability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    César Capinha

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Robust predictions of alien species richness are useful to assess global biodiversity change. Nevertheless, the capacity to predict spatial patterns of alien species richness remains largely unassessed. Using 22 data sets of alien species richness from diverse taxonomic groups and covering various parts of the world, we evaluated whether different statistical models were able to provide useful predictions of absolute and relative alien species richness, as a function of explanatory variables representing geographical, environmental and socio-economic factors. Five state-of-the-art count data modelling techniques were used and compared: Poisson and negative binomial generalised linear models (GLMs, multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS, random forests (RF and boosted regression trees (BRT. We found that predictions of absolute alien species richness had a low to moderate accuracy in the region where the models were developed and a consistently poor accuracy in new regions. Predictions of relative richness performed in a superior manner in both geographical settings, but still were not good. Flexible tree ensembles-type techniques (RF and BRT were shown to be significantly better in modelling alien species richness than parametric linear models (such as GLM, despite the latter being more commonly applied for this purpose. Importantly, the poor spatial transferability of models also warrants caution in assuming the generality of the relationships they identify, e.g. by applying projections under future scenario conditions. Ultimately, our results strongly suggest that predictability of spatial variation in richness of alien species richness is limited. The somewhat more robust ability to rank regions according to the number of aliens they have (i.e. relative richness, suggests that models of aliens species richness may be useful for prioritising and comparing regions, but not for predicting exact species numbers.

  11. The pygmy dipole resonance in neutron-rich nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hung, Nguyen Quang; Kiet, Hoang Anh Tuan; Duc, Huynh Ngoc; Chuong, Nguyen Thi

    2016-01-01

    The pygmy dipole resonance (PDR), which has been observed via the enhancement of the electric dipole strength E 1 of atomic nuclei, is studied within a microscopic collective model. The latter employs the Hartree-Fock (HF) method with effective nucleon-nucleon interactions of the Skyrme types plus the random-phase approximation (RPA). The results of the calculations obtained for various even-even nuclei such as "1"6"-"2"8O, "4"0"-"5"8Ca, "1"0"0"-"1"2"0Sn, and "1"8"2"-"2"1"8Pb show that the PDR is significantly enhanced when the number of neutrons outside the stable core of the nucleus is increased, that is, in the neutron-rich nuclei. As the result, the relative ratio between the energy weighted sum of the strength of the PDR and that of the GDR (giant dipole resonance) does not exceed 4%. The collectivity of the PDR and GDR states will be also discussed. (paper)

  12. Food plant diversity as broad-Scale Determinant of Avian Frugivore Richness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kissling, W. Daniel; Rahbek, Carsten; Böhning-Gaese, Katrin

    2007-01-01

    from niche assembly mechanisms (e.g. coevolutionary adaptations to fruit size, fruit colour or vertical stratification of fruit presentation) or, alternatively, from stochastic speciation-extinction processes. In any case, the close relationship between species richness of Ficus and avian frugivores......The causes of variation in animal species richness at large spatial scales are intensively debated. Here, we examine whether the diversity of food plants, contemporary climate and energy, or habitat heterogeneity determine species richness patterns of avian frugivores across sub-Saharan Africa....... Path models indicate that species richness of Ficus (their fruits being one of the major food resources for frugivores in the tropics) has the strongest direct effect on richness of avian frugivores, whereas the influences of variables related to water-energy and habitat heterogeneity are mainly...

  13. The richness and reach of Wikinomics: Is the free web-based encyclopedia Wikipedia only for the rich countries?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rask, Morten

    2007-01-01

    In this paper, a model of the patterns of correlation in Wikipedia, reach and richness, lays the foundation for studying whether or not the free web-based encyclopedia Wikipedia is only for developed countries. Based upon data from 12 different Wikipedia language editions, we find that the central...... structural effect is on the level of human development in the current country. In other words, Wikipedia is in general, more for rich countries than for less developed countries. It is suggested that policy makers make investments in increasing the general level of literacy, education, and standard of living...

  14. The Chinese Cretaceous Continental Scientific Drilling Project in the Songliao Basin, NE China: Organic-rich source rock evaluation with geophysical logs from Borehole SK-2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, X.; Zou, C.

    2017-12-01

    The Cretaceous strata have been recognized as an important target of oil or gas exploration in the Songliao Basin, northeast China. The second borehole (SK-2) of the Chinese Cretaceous Continental Scientific Drilling Project in the Songliao Basin (CCSD-SK) is the first one to drill through the Cretaceous continental strata in the frame of ICDP. It was designed not only to solve multiple scientific problems (including the Cretaceous paleoenvironment and paleoclimate, as well as deep resources exploration of the Songliao Basin), but also to expect to achieve new breakthroughs in oil and gas exploration. Based on the project, various geophysical log data (including gamma, sonic, resistivity, density etc.) and core samples have been collected from Borehole SK-2. We do research on organic-rich source rocks estimation using various geophysical log data. Firstly, we comprehensively analyzed organic-rich source rocks' geophysical log response characteristics. Then, source rock's identification methods were constructed to identify organic-rich source rocks with geophysical logs. The main identification methods include cross-plot, multiple overlap and Decision Tree method. Finally, the technique and the CARBOLOG method were applied to evaluate total organic carbon (TOC) content from geophysical logs which provide continuous vertical profile estimations (Passey, 1990; Carpentier et al., 1991). The results show that source rocks are widely distributed in Borehole SK-2, over a large depth strata (985 5700m), including Nenjiang, Qingshankou, Denglouku, Yingcheng, Shahezi Formations. The organic-rich source rocks with higher TOC content occur in the Qingshankou (1647 1650m), Denglouku (2534 2887m) and Shahezi (3367 5697m) Formations. The highest TOC content in these formations can reach 10.31%, 6.58%, 12.79% respectively. The bed thickness of organic-rich source rocks in the these formations are totally up to 7.88m, 74.34m, 276.60m respectively. These organic-rich rocks in the

  15. How rich is consciousness? The partial awareness hypothesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kouider, Sid; de Gardelle, Vincent; Sackur, Jérôme; Dupoux, Emmanuel

    2010-07-01

    Current theories of consciousness posit a dissociation between 'phenomenal' consciousness (rich) and 'access' consciousness (limited). Here, we argue that the empirical evidence for phenomenal consciousness without access is equivocal, resulting either from a confusion between phenomenal and unconscious contents, or from an impression of phenomenally rich experiences arising from illusory contents. We propose a refined account of access that relies on a hierarchy of representational levels and on the notion of partial awareness, whereby lower and higher levels are accessed independently. Reframing of the issue of dissociable forms of consciousness into dissociable levels of access provides a more parsimonious account of the existing evidence. In addition, the rich phenomenology illusion can be studied and described in terms of testable cognitive mechanisms. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Estimations of parameters in Pareto reliability model in the presence of masked data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sarhan, Ammar M.

    2003-01-01

    Estimations of parameters included in the individual distributions of the life times of system components in a series system are considered in this paper based on masked system life test data. We consider a series system of two independent components each has a Pareto distributed lifetime. The maximum likelihood and Bayes estimators for the parameters and the values of the reliability of the system's components at a specific time are obtained. Symmetrical triangular prior distributions are assumed for the unknown parameters to be estimated in obtaining the Bayes estimators of these parameters. Large simulation studies are done in order: (i) explain how one can utilize the theoretical results obtained; (ii) compare the maximum likelihood and Bayes estimates obtained of the underlying parameters; and (iii) study the influence of the masking level and the sample size on the accuracy of the estimates obtained

  17. Estimating demand schedules in hedonic analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Panduro, Toke Emil; Jensen, Cathrine Ulla; Lundhede, Thomas

    The hedonic pricing method has been used extensively to obtain implicit prices for availability of urban green space, but few hedonic studies have obtained households’ preference parameters. We estimate willingness to pay functions for park availability in Copenhagen using an approach that places...... identifying restrictions on the utility function. We do this for two different measures of park availability. We apply our results to a policy scenario and show how estimates of aggregate welfare changes are highly sensitive to the measure of park availability applied. Thus, the approach in this study applies...... an alternative path for estimation of demand schedules for public goods using hedonic data. The findings also stress the importance of paying attention to how public goods are defined when undertaking welfare economic policy analyses....

  18. Wet season cyanobacterial N enrichment highly correlated with species richness and Nostoc in the northern Australian savannah

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Wendy; Büdel, Burkhard; Williams, Stephen

    2018-04-01

    The Boodjamulla National Park research station is situated in the north-western Queensland dry savannah, where the climate is dominated by summer monsoons and virtually dry winters. Under shrub canopies and in between the tussock grasses cyanobacterial crusts almost entirely cover the flood plain soil surfaces. Seasonality drives N fixation, and in the savannah this has a large impact on both plant and soil function. Many cyanobacteria fix dinitrogen that is liberated into the soil in both inorganic and organic N forms. We examined cyanobacterial species richness and bioavailable N spanning 7 months of a typical wet season. Over the wet season cyanobacterial richness ranged from 6 to 19 species. N-fixing Scytonema accounted for seasonal averages between 51 and 93 % of the biocrust. Cyanobacterial richness was highly correlated with N fixation and bioavailable N in 0-1 cm. Key N-fixing species such as Nostoc, Symploca and Gloeocapsa significantly enriched soil N although Nostoc was the most influential. Total seasonal N fixation by cyanobacteria demonstrated the variability in productivity according to the number of wet days as well as the follow-on days where the soil retained adequate moisture. Based on total active days per month we estimated that N soil enrichment via cyanobacteria would be ˜ 5.2 kg ha-1 annually which is comparable to global averages. This is a substantial contribution to the nutrient-deficient savannah soils that are almost entirely reliant on the wet season for microbial turnover of organic matter. Such well-defined seasonal trends and synchronisation in cyanobacterial species richness, N fixation, bioavailable N and C fixation (Büdel et al., 2018) provide important contributions to multifunctional microprocesses and soil fertility.

  19. Neutron-rich isotopes of the lightest elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oganesyan, Yu.Ts.; Penionzhkevich, Yu.Eh.; Kalpakchieva, R.

    1989-01-01

    A review is presented of the experimental investigations on the stability of very neutron-rich light nuclei carried out at the JINR Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions. Results on mass excess measurements are reported for 4 H, 5 H, 6 H, 7 H and for the superheavy helium isotope 9 He. Some results from the joint JINR-Ganil experiment on the search for and study of new neutron-rich light nuclei are also given. Analyzed are new possibilities for the investigation of multineutron decay of light nuclei. 14 refs.; 10 figs

  20. Evaluation of quality of kefir from milk obtained from goats supplemented with a diet rich in bioactive compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cais-Sokolińska, Dorota; Pikul, Jan; Wójtowski, Jacek; Danków, Romualda; Teichert, Joanna; Czyżak-Runowska, Grażyna; Bagnicka, Emilia

    2015-04-01

    The composition of bioactive components in dairy products depends on their content in raw milk and the processing conditions. The experimental material consisted of the milk of dairy goats supplemented with 120 g d(-1) per head of false flax cake. The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of kefir produced from goat's milk with a higher content of bioactive components resulting from supplementation of the goats' diet with false flax cake. The administration of false flax cake to goats had a positive effect on the fatty acid profile of the raw milk, causing an increase in the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), including conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and n-3 fatty acids. Their increased percentage was detected in the kefir after production as well as after storage. The processing value of the harvested milk did not differ from the qualitative characteristics of milk from goats of the control group. Increasing the proportion of bioactive components in goat's milk did not result in changes in the acidity, texture, colour, flavour, aroma or consistency of the kefir obtained. Milk and kefir obtained after the administration of false flax cake to goats contain bioactive components (PUFA including CLA, n-3 and monoenic trans fatty acids) in significant amounts. Kefir from experimental goat's milk did not differ in quality from kefir made from the milk of the control group. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.