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Onset of luteolytic action of exogenous prostaglandinF-2α during estrous cycle in goats
No full textThe objectives of these two experiments were to determine the day of onset of luteolysis after exogenous PGF-2α administration during the estrous cycle and the fertility of this synchronized estrus in goats. In the first experiment, during the breeding season, 48 Nubian does were estrous synchronized, using intravaginal sponges impregnated with a progestin, and estrus was detected by vasectomized bucks. The does were divided at random into three groups of 16 does each to be treated at days 2, 3, and 4 of the estrous cycle (estrus = day 0). Then, at each day of injection, the does were again randomly divided to receive a single dose of natural prostaglandin F-2α im (PGF-2α; 5 mg/doe; treatment [TRE] group) or sterile saline solution (control [CON] group; 1 mL/doe). Finally, the following groups were originated: TRE-2, CON-2, TRE-3, CON-3, TRE-4, and CON-4. The overall estrus response after treatment with PGF-2α (TRE group, 70.8%) was higher than saline (CON group, 12.5%, P ≤ 0.001). Estrus response for TRE-2, CON-2, TRE-3, CON-3, TRE-4, and CON-4 was 25% (2 of 8), 12.5% (1 of 8), 87.5% (7 of 8), 12.5% (1 of 8), 100% (8 of 8), and 0% (0 of 8) for the same groups, respectively. Estrus response was different between day 2 and days 3 and 4 (P ≤ 0.04) and not between day 3 and day 4 (P ≥ 0.05). In the second experiment, 15 multiparous Boer does were estrous synchronized with control internal drug release (CIDR, 300 mg progesterone = P) and PGF-2 and randomly divided to receive one single dose of PGF-2α im at days 2, 3 or 4, after synchronized estrus (n = 5 at each day). The does were detected twice a day for estrus, and blood was collected daily for P determination for 11 days after the synchronized estrus. Each doe in estrus was bred by hand mating to a proven male. All the does with a functional corpus/corpora luteum/lutea (CL; ≥1.0 ng/mL of P) responded to PGF-2α with a drop in P levels that either lasted only 24 h for the does that did not show estrus (0.27 ± 0.10 ng/mL; n = 4) or persisted longer in all the does that showed estrus (0.22 ± 0.18 ng/mL; n = 10; P = 0.47). Estrus response for days 2, 3, and 4 was 20% (1 of 5), 80% (4 of 5), and 100% (5 of 5), respectively (P = 0.05). The conception rate was 100%, 100%, and 80% for the same days of administration, respectively (P = 0.64). It was concluded that luteolytic action of PGF-2α begins at day 3 of the estrous cycle by inducing an ovulatory and fertile estrus in goats
Anisotropic magnetoresistance and piezoelectric effect in GaAs Hall samples
No full textApplication of a strong magnetic field perpendicular to a two-dimensional electron system leads to a variety of quantum phases ranging from incompressible quantum Hall liquid to Wigner solid, charge density wave, and exotic non-Abelian states. A few quantum phases seen in past experiments on GaAs Hall samples of electrons show pronounced anisotropic magnetoresistance values at certain weak magnetic fields. We argue that this might be due to the piezoelectric effect that is inherent in a semiconductor host such as GaAs. Such an effect has the potential to create a sufficient in-plane internal strain that will be felt by electrons and will determine the direction of high and low resistance. When Wigner solid, charge density wave, and isotropic liquid phases are very close in energy, the overall stability of the system is very sensitive to local order and, thus, can be strongly influenced even by a weak perturbation such as the piezoelectric-induced effective electron-electron interaction, which is anisotropic. In this work, we argue that an anisotropic interaction potential may stabilize anisotropic liquid phases of electrons even in a strong magnetic field regime where normally one expects to see only isotropic quantum Hall or isotropic Fermi liquid states. We use this approach to support a theoretical framework that envisions the possibility of an anisotropic liquid crystalline state of electrons in the lowest Landau level. In particular, we argue that an anisotropic liquid state of electrons may stabilize in the lowest Landau level close to the liquid-solid transition region at filling factor ν=1/6 for a given anisotropic Coulomb interaction potential. Quantum Monte Carlo simulations for a liquid crystalline state with broken rotational symmetry indicate stability of liquid crystalline order consistent with the existence of an anisotropic liquid state of electrons stabilized by anisotropy at filling factor ν=1/6 of the lowest Landau level
Coulomb self-energy integral of a uniformly charged d-cube: A physically-based method for approximating multiple integrals
No full textWe report a concise expression for the electrostatic Coulomb self-energy of a uniformly charged cube with arbitrary dimensionality. The result, conveniently expressed in integral form, shows the unique behavior of the system as dimensionality increases. We use the case study of a uniformly charged square and cube to illustrate the effectiveness of the method employed. The resulting integral expression of the Coulomb self-energy of a multi-dimensional cube can be calculated numerically at very high accuracy. Numerically exact values of Coulomb self-energy obtained this way provide an excellent tool to gauge the validity of various computational techniques including a straightforward discretization method employed in this work. The proposed method relates the self-energy multi-variable integral to energy contributions coming from a finite discrete system of point charges with the understanding that the number of point charges gradually increases towards the continuum limit. We achieve very good accuracy by using an expression with only two terms where the second term increases considerably the accuracy of computation of continuum integrals and represents a systematic first-order correction to the finite energy of the discrete system. The applied numerical method turns out to be very reliable as shown by the results obtained for cubic domains with dimensionality varying from two to five. The method can be easily generalized to other types of domains with arbitrary geometry
A result for the Coulomb electrostatic energy of a uniformly charged disk
No full textClosed-form expressions of the Coulomb electrostatic potential created by a uniformly charged disk at some arbitrary point in space are readily available. We rely on one of these expressions to provide the simplest possible derivation of the Coulomb electrostatic energy of a uniformly charged disk
Numerical Study of Soliton Solutions of KdV, Boussinesq, and Kaup-Kuperschmidt Equations Based on Jacobi Polynomials
Get PDFIn this paper, a numerical method is developed to approximate the soliton solutions of some nonlinear wave equations in terms of the Jacobi polynomials. Wave are very important phenomena in dispersion, dissipation, diffusion, reaction, and convection. Using the wave variable converts these nonlinear equations to the nonlinear ODE equations. Then, the operational Collocation method based on Jacobi polynomials as bases is applied to approximate the solution of ODE equation resulted. In addition, the intervals of the solution will be extended using an rational exponential approximation (REA). The KdV, Boussinesq, and Kaup–Kuperschmidt equations are studied as the test examples. Finally, numerical computation of the conservation values shows the effectiveness and stability of the proposed method
Bifurcation and Stability of Prey-Predator Model with Beddington-DeAngelis Functional Response
Get PDFIn this paper we discuss the harvesting of the prey species making a fraction of them to be accessed by the predator while both the prey and predator are being subjected to Beddington-DeAngelis functional response. It is observed that a Hopf-bifurcation may occur around the interior equilibrium taking the environmental carrying capacity of the prey species as the parameter. Some numerical examples and the corresponding curves are studied using Maple to explain the results of the proposed model
Potential climate change impacts on citrus water requirement across major producing areas in the world
No full textUnderstanding how potential climate change will affect availability of water resources for citrus production globally is needed. The main goal of this study is to investigate impacts of potential future climate change on citrus irrigation requirements (IRR) in major global citrus producing regions, e.g., Africa, Asia, Australia, Mediterranean, Americas. The Irrigation Management System (IManSys) model was used to calculate optimum IRR for the baseline period (1986–2005) and two future periods (2055s and 2090s) subject to combination of five and seven temperature and precipitation levels, respectively. Predicted IRR show significant spatio-temporal variations across study regions. Future annual IRR are predicted to globally decrease; however, future monthly IRR showed mixed results. Future evapotranspiration and IRR are projected to decrease by up to 12 and 37%, respectively, in response to increases in CO2 concentration. Future citrus canopy interception and drainage below citrus rootzones are expected to slightly increase. Annual rainfall changes are negatively correlated with changes in IRR. These projections should help the citrus industry better understand potential climate change impacts on citrus IRR and major components of the water budget. Further studies are needed to investigate how these potential changes in CO2 concentration, temperature, evapotranspiration, rainfall, and IRR will affect citrus yield and its economic impact on the citrus industry
Asymptotic Behavior of Waves in a Nonuniform Medium
Get PDFAn incoming wave on an infinite string, that has uniform density except for one or two jump discontinuities, splits into transmitted and reflected waves. These waves can explicitly be described in terms of the incoming wave with changes in the amplitude and speed. But when a string or membrane has continuous inhomogeneity in a finite region the waves can only be approximated or described asymptotically. Here, we study the cases of monochromatic waves along a nonuniform density string and plane waves along a membrane with nonuniform density. In both cases the speed of the physical system is assumed to tend to a constant when the spatial variable gets very large. In the case of a string with local inhomogeneity it is possible to find solutions that are asymptotic to sinusoidal waves involving the limiting speed of the string. On the other hand when the coefficients in the equation of the vibrating string are small deviations from a constant, we use a special Green’s function to approximate the solution. We also find a finite series of sinusoidal waves with constant speeds, that are asymptotic to the solutions of a vibrating membrane problem. The number of waves in the series depends on the width of the membrane, the limiting speed of the waves and the time frequency of the sinusoidal waves. The technique we use to show asymptotic approximations involves reducing the pde equations of the physical models to a first-order system of ode’s
Emerging Stress and Relative Resiliency of Giant Sequoia Groves Experiencing Multiyear Dry Periods in a Warming Climate
No full textThe relative greenness and wetness of Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) groves and the surrounding Sierra Nevada, California forests were investigated using patterns in vegetation indices from Landsat imagery for the period 1985–2015. Vegetation greenness (normalized difference vegetation index) and thus forest biomass in groves increased by about 6% over that 30 year period, suggesting a 10% increase in evapotranspiration. No significant change in the surrounding nongrove forest was observed. In this period, local temperature measurements showed an increase of about 2.2°C. The wetness of groves (normalized difference wetness index) showed no overall long-term trend but responded to changes in annual water-year precipitation and temperature. The long-term trends of grove greenness and wetness varied by elevation, with the lower rain-snow transition elevation zone (1,700–2,100 m) marking a change from an increasing trend at lower elevations to a decreasing trend at higher elevations. The 2011–2015 drought brought an unprecedented drop in grove wetness, over 5 times the 1985–2010 standard deviation, and wetness in SEGI groves dropped 50% more than in nongrove areas. Overall, the wetness and greenness of SEGI groves showed a larger response to the warming climate and drought than nongrove areas. The influence of droughts on the wetness of SEGI groves reflected effects of both the multidecadal increase in forest biomass and the effects of warmer drought-year temperatures on the evaporative demand of current grove vegetation, plus sufficient regolith water storage of rain and snowmelt to sustain that vegetation through seasonal and multiyear dry periods
PLA/PHBV electrospun membrane: Fabrication, coating with conductive PEDOT:PSS and antibacterial activity of drug loaded membrane
No full textIn this study, biodegradable and biocompatible polylactic acid (PLA) and poly(3-hyroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) blend polymer solutions were electrospun using electrospinning technique. Polymer blend ratio and electrospinning voltage were varied and optimized. The fabricated electrospun PLA/PHBV membranes were dipped into poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) solution to produce conductive PEDOT:PSS coated membranes. The coated and uncoated membranes were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) and water uptake measurement. PEDOT:PSS coated membranes were then loaded with drug (tetracycline hydrochloride) and their antibacterial activity was investigated. Beadless PLA/PHBV membranes were successfully fabricated. The fabricated PLA/PHBV membranes were rendered conductive by dipping them into poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) solution. Drug loaded membranes showed antibacterial properties which was confirmed by zone inhibition method