Report on the IUTAM Symposium on Mobile Particulate Systems: Kinematics, Rheology, and Complex Phenomena, Bangalore, India, 2012

This report summarizes the presentations and discussions conducted during the symposium, which was held under the aegis of the International Union of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics during 23-27 January 2012 in Bangalore, India. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

EFFECT OF OFF-STOICHIOMETRY AND TERNARY ADDITIONS ON PLANAR FAULT ENERGIES IN Ni3Al

First principles calculations were done to evaluate the lattice parameter, cohesive energy and stacking fault energies of ordered gamma' (Ll(2)) precipitates in superalloys as a function of composition. It was found that addition of Ti and Ta lead to an increase in lattice parameter and decrease in cohesive energy, while Ni antisites had the opposite effect. Ta and Ti addition to stoichiometric Ni3Al resulted in an initial increase in the energies of APB((111)), CSF(111), APB((001)) and SISF(111). However, at higher concentrations, the fault energies decreased. Addition of Ni antisites decreased the energy of all four faults monotonically. A model based on nearest neighbor bonding was used for Ni-3(Al, Ta), Ni-3(Al, Ti) and Ni-3(Al, Ni) pseudo-binary systems and extended to pseudo- ternary Ni-3(Al, Ta, Ni) and Ni-3(Al, Ti, Ni) systems. Recipes were developed for predicting lattice parameters, cohesive energies and fault energies in pseudo- ternary systems on the basis of coefficients derived from simpler pseudobinary systems. The model predictions were found to be in good agreement with first principles calculations for lattice parameters, cohesive energies, and energies of APB((111)) and CSF(111).

Phylogeography unplugged: comparative surveys in the genomic era

In March 2012, the authors met at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent) in Durham, North Carolina, USA, to discuss approaches and cooperative ventures in Indo-Pacific phylogeography. The group emerged with a series of findings: (1) Marine population structure is complex, but single locus mtDNA studies continue to provide powerful first assessment of phylogeographic patterns. (2) These patterns gain greater significance/power when resolved in a diversity of taxa. New analytical tools are emerging to address these analyses with multi-taxon approaches. (3) Genome-wide analyses are warranted if selection is indicated by surveys of standard markers. Such indicators can include discordance between genetic loci, or between genetic loci and morphology. Phylogeographic information provides a valuable context for studies of selection and adaptation. (4) Phylogeographic inferences are greatly enhanced by an understanding of the biology and ecology of study organisms. (5) Thorough, range-wide sampling of taxa is the foundation for robust phylogeographic inference. (6) Congruent geographic and taxonomic sampling by the Indo-Pacific community of scientists would facilitate better comparative analyses. The group concluded that at this stage of technology and software development, judicious rather than wholesale application of genomics appears to be the most robust course for marine phylogeographic studies. Therefore, our group intends to affirm the value of traditional (''unplugged'') approaches, such as those based on mtDNA sequencing and microsatellites, along with essential field studies, in an era with increasing emphasis on genomic approaches.

Advancing biodiversity research in developing countries: the need for changing paradigms

The world is in the midst of a biodiversity crisis, threatening essential goods and services on which humanity depends. While there is an urgent need globally for biodiversity research, growing obstacles are severely limiting biodiversity research throughout the developing world, particularly in Southeast Asia. Facilities, funding, and expertise are often limited throughout this region, reducing the capacity for local biodiversity research. Although western scientists generally have more expertise and capacity, international research has sometimes been exploitative ``parachute science,'' creating a culture of suspicion and mistrust. These issues, combined with misplaced fears of biopiracy, have resulted in severe roadblocks to biodiversity research in the very countries that need it the most. Here, we present an overview of challenges to biodiversity research and case studies that provide productive models for advancing biodiversity research in developing countries. Key to success is integration of research and education, a model that fosters sustained collaboration by focusing on the process of conducting biodiversity research as well as research results. This model simultaneously expands biodiversity research capacity while building trust across national borders. It is critical that developing countries enact policies that protect their biodiversity capital without shutting down international and local biodiversity research that is essential to achieve the long-term sustainability of biodiversity, promoting food security and economic development.

The April 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes: Seismotectonic context and implications for their mechanisms

The 11 April 2012 earthquakes (M-w 8.6 and M-w 8.2) were sourced within the Northern Wharton Basin in the northeastern part of the Indo-Australian diffuse plate boundary. This unusually active oceanic intraplate region has generated many large earthquakes in the past, most of which are believed to have occurred by strike-slip motion, triggered by the NW-SE oriented compressional stresses acting across the Indian and Australian plates. In the aftermath of the 2004 megathrust earthquake along the nearby Sunda Trench, increased seismicity in the Northern Wharton Basin is attributed to the stress transfer from the Sumatra-Andaman plate boundary. Models proposed for the April 2012 earthquakes differ somewhat in details but partly attribute their complex rupture to the reactivation of pre-existing structures. These structures include previously mapped N-S trending fracture zones within the Northern Wharton Basin and E-W lineations across the Ninetyeast Ridge. In this paper, we review the regional tectonics and past seismicity on the Indo-Australian Plate in order to understand the seismotectonic setting of the April 2012 Indian Ocean earthquakes. (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Slow Slip Acceleration beneath Andaman Islands Triggered by the 11 April 2012 Indian Ocean Earthquakes

The M-w 8.6 and 8.2 strike-slip earthquakes that struck the northeast Indian Ocean on 11 April 2012 resulted in coseismic deformation both at near and distant sites. The slip distribution, deduced using seismic-wave analysis for the orthogonal faults that ruptured during these earthquakes, is sufficient to predict the coseismic displacements at the Global Positioning System (GPS) sites, such as NTUS, PALK, and CUSV, but fall short at four continuous sites in the Andaman Islands region. Slip modeling, for times prior to the events, suggests that the lower portion of the thrust fault beneath the Andaman Islands has been slipping at least at the rate of 40 cm/yr, in response to the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman coseismic stress change. Modeling of GPS displacements suggests that the en echelon and orthogonal fault ruptures of the 2012 intraplate oceanic earthquakes could have possibly accelerated the ongoing slow slip, along the lower portion of the thrust fault beneath the islands with a month-long slip of 4-10 cm. The misfit to the coseismic GPS displacements along the Andaman Islands could be improved with a better source model, assuming that no local process contributed to this anomaly.

A critical review of the definition of FRA resonance frequency of transformers as per IEEE Std C57.149-2012

The explanation of resonance given in IEEE Std C57.149-2012 to define resonance during frequency response analysis (FRA) measurements on transformers implicitly uses the conditions prevalent during resonance in a series R-L-C circuit. This dependence is evident from the two assertions made in the definition, viz., resulting in zero net reactive impedance, and, accompanied by a zero value appearing in the phase angle of the frequency response function. These two conditions are satisfied (at resonance) only in a series R-L-C circuit and certainly not in a transformer, as has been assumed in the Standard. This can be proved by considering a ladder-network model. Circuit analysis of this ladder network reveals the origin of this fallacy and proves that, at resonance, neither is the ladder network purely resistive and nor is the phase angle (between input voltage and input current) always zero. Also, during FRA measurements, it is often seen that phase angle does not traverse the conventional cyclic path from +90 degrees to -90 degrees (or vice versa) at all resonant frequencies. This peculiar feature can also be explained using pole-zero maps. Simple derivations, simulations and experimental results on an actual winding are presented. In summary, authors believe that this study dispels existing misconceptions about definition of FRA resonance and provides material for its correction in IEEE Std C57.149-2012. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sistematización de la información sobre dendroenergía existente en la región del Pacífico y Central de Nicaragua, período 1993-2012

La leña es la forma más simple de biomasa utilizada en los hogares del mundo. En Nicaragua, casi el cincuenta por ciento de los nicaragüenses cocinan con leña y carbón. Esta demanda de leña ha provocado sobre explotación del bosque seco del Pacifico de Nicaragua, ocasionando degradación progresiva del bosque. La información dendroenergética de los focos de producción de leña se encuentra dispersa y desorganizada, esto justifica la realización del presente estudio de sistematización, que servirá para establecer lineamientos básicos sobre las pautas a seguir al momento de la planificación, seguimiento y evaluación de proyectos y/o programas dendroenergéticos. La información se recolectó a través de entrevistas dirigidas a responsables administrativos o técnicos de cada entidad relevante del sector dendroenerg ético. Adicionalmente se recolectó información bibliográfica de documentos físicos y electrónicos. La información se organizó en cuatro tópicos: Leyes/políticas: se identificó la necesidad de la formulación y adición de leyes y/o políticas que promuevan y faciliten la inversión en proyectos de generación eléctrica renovable; Investigaciones/estudios/publicaciones: se observa buena cantidad de investigaciones y documentos educativos, sin embargo, están desactualizados y sin contenido ambiental completo; Organización, poca vinculación de las instancias gubernamentales del sector con los actores locales como las asociaciones, cooperativas y productores individuales; Producción/comercialización, limitada a actividades de plantación y producción de plántulas con fines energéticos. En conclusión, el sector dendroenergético en Nicaragua es poco atractivo a la inversión por los procedimientos administrativos, las normas jurídicas y la falta de mecanismos de incentivos y créditos. Las cooperativas y asociaciones no están bien vinculadas entre ellas, lo que no les permite incidir en políticas a favor del sector. Sin embargo, se detectan aspectos positivos, como La Estrategia de Leña y Carbón y la inserción en muchos hogares de las estufas mejoradas como mecanismo de ahorro dendroenergético.

Estructura, diversidad florística y estimación de carbono almacenado en tres bosques del municipio El Castillo, Río San Juan, Nicaragua, 2012

La planificación y manejo integral de fincas es un mod elo con tendencias productivas, en Nicaragua la ausencia de metodologías sencillas, flexibles, con alta factibilidad económica y confiabilidad de los resultados, es un factor determinante de la aceptación e implementación de los planes de manejo a nivel de finca. El presente estudio se realizó con la finalidad de contribuir información de metodología para inventarios forestales y resultados florísticos en el almacenamiento de carbono, en tres fincas productivas del bosque húmedo tropical del municipio El Castillo, Río San Juan. El estudio se estableció en tres etapas metodológicas: planificación de trabajo, fase de campo y almacenamiento de datos (procesamiento). Para cumplir los objetivos se implementó un inventario forestal por muestreo sistemático con diferentes intensidades de muestreo en cada finca, se establecieron parcelas de 10m x 50m (0.05 ha), para comparar la diversidad entre fincas se utilizó igual tamaño de parcelas (0.3 ha), mediante el índice de Margalef (riqueza) e índice de Shannon-Weiner (equidad), se analizó la estructura horizontal mediante el cálculo de abundancia, área basal y volumen por hectárea, para la estimación de carbono se optó por el método no destructivo utilizando la ecuación general de biomasa (Brown, 1997) y el factor de carbono según IPCC, 2005. Las variables estudiadas son: nombre botánico de la especie arbórea, DAP (1.30m sobre el suelo ) mayor a 10 cm y altura fustal. Se identificaron 31 familias botánicos, 57 géneros y 68 especies, las familias más representativas, según el número de especie son, Moraceae, Rubiaceae, Fabaceae, Sapotaceae, Anonaceae, Burseraceae, Cumbretaceae, Lauraceae, Meliaceae, Vochysiaceae, Mimosaceae, alta presencia de especies indicadoras de bosques alterados o secundarios y bajo número de especies comerciales. No obstante el estudio de muestra alta riqueza en las tres fincas sin diferencias significativas (X²= 0,916; P>0,05) y baja equidad en La Pavona y La Perilla, por el contrario La Primavera presenta mejor representatividad de las especies. El bosque con mayor área basal y volumen (desarrollo estructural), fue La Pavona (26.51 m2ha-1 y 365.39 m3 ha-1), también almacenó mayor carbono por hectárea (195.66Mg C ha-1), básicamente los resultado de carbono son similares entre las tres fincas (La Perilla con 184.38 MgC ha-1 y La Primavera con 192.21 MgC ha-1), también se encontró alta relación entre el estado de desarrollo (clases naturales de edades), abundancia, volumen y el almacenamiento de carbono por la alta cantidad de biomasa.

Degradación ruminal de la materia seca y materia orgánica del follaje de marango (Moringa oleífera) a diferentes edades de corte en vacas reyna, finca Santa Rosa, Managua, Nicaragua 2012

Se realizó un estudio en la Finca Santa Rosa Propiedad de la Universidad Nacional Agraria Ubicada en Managua-Nicaragua, con una temperatura promedio de 26.9 ºC y una precipitación anual de 1119.8 mm INETER (2012), el objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la tasa de degradación in situ de la Materia seca (DMS) y Degradación de la Materia orgánica (DMO) del follaje de Marango (Moringa oleifera) a diferentes edades de corte. Los tiempos de incubación evaluados fueron 3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 48, 72, 96 y 120h utilizándose un diseño experimental completamente al azar con arreglo factorial donde el factor A fueron las edades de corte y el factor B los tiempos de incubación. Los parámetros de degradación fueron evaluados por regresión no lineal. La degradabilidad del follaje de Marango se estimó mediante el modelo de Ørskov y McDonald (1979); para conocer el efecto de la edad sobre la tasa de degradabilidad, se realizó análisis de varianza y la prueba honesta de Tukey para conocer las diferencias entre los tiempos de incubación. Los resultados obtenidos mostraron un efecto significativo (P<0.001) de la edad sobre la degradación in situ de la materia seca del follaje de Marango con un máximo de degradación potencial de 92.09%, 83.99, 95.05% a los 45,60 y 75 días de edad y 120 h de incubación. En cuanto a la degradación de la materia orgánica se encontró diferencia altamente significativa de la edad sobre la degradación in situ (P<0.001) con un máximo de degradación potencial de 74.59%, 65.10%, 66.24% a los 45,60 y 75 días de corte respectivamente a 120 horas de incubación