Increasing Critical Sensitivity of the Load/Unload Response Ratio before Large Earthquakes with Identified Stress Acclumulation Pattern

The Load/Unload Response Ratio (LURR) method is proposed for short-to-intermediate-term earthquake prediction [Yin, X.C., Chen, X.Z., Song, Z.P., Yin, C., 1995. A New Approach to Earthquake Prediction — The Load/Unload Response Ratio (LURR) Theory, Pure Appl. Geophys., 145, 701–715]. This method is based on measuring the ratio between Benioff strains released during the time periods of loading and unloading, corresponding to the Coulomb Failure Stress change induced by Earth tides on optimally oriented faults. According to the method, the LURR time series usually climb to an anomalously high peak prior to occurrence of a large earthquake. Previous studies have indicated that the size of critical seismogenic region selected for LURR measurements has great influence on the evaluation of LURR. In this study, we replace the circular region usually adopted in LURR practice with an area within which the tectonic stress change would mostly affect the Coulomb stress on a potential seismogenic fault of a future event. The Coulomb stress change before a hypothetical earthquake is calculated based on a simple back-slip dislocation model of the event. This new algorithm, by combining the LURR method with our choice of identified area with increased Coulomb stress, is devised to improve the sensitivity of LURR to measure criticality of stress accumulation before a large earthquake. Retrospective tests of this algorithm on four large earthquakes occurred in California over the last two decades show remarkable enhancement of the LURR precursory anomalies. For some strong events of lesser magnitudes occurred in the same neighborhoods and during the same time periods, significant anomalies are found if circular areas are used, and are not found if increased Coulomb stress areas are used for LURR data selection. The unique feature of this algorithm may provide stronger constraints on forecasts of the size and location of future large events.

Efectos de la fertilizacion y altura de corte sobre el rendimiento del pasto alemán (Echynochloa polystachya). Puerto Diaz-Juigalpa, Nicaragua 2009-2010

El presente estudio se realizó en la Hacienda Guapinolapa del Sr Duilio Baltodano, localizada en el municipio de Juigalpa, comunidad de Puerto Díaz a una latitud: 11° 57' 54" n y longitud: 85° 30' 39" w y altitud de 59 msnm. El objetivo de esta investigación fue obtener información técnica sobre: altura, cobertura y rendimiento de materia verde y seca, que contribuya a un mejor manejo del pasto Alemán (Echynochloa polystachya). Se utilizó un diseño de parcelas divididas, para un Bloque Completo al Azar (BCA), con 4 tratamientos: T1 (control), T2 (nitrógeno), T3 (nitrógeno-fósforo) y el T4 (nitrógeno-fósforo-potasio). Las dos alturas de cortes fueron: C1=30 cm, C2=40 cm. Los cortes se realizaron con intervalos de 30 días. Con base en la altura, cobertura, materia verde, materia seca, rendimiento de materia verde y materia seca. Las variables fueron sujetas a un análisis de varianza (ANDEVA). La altura del pasto aumentó en relación directa con el tipo de corte y con los meses de corte, siendo el C2 en el T3, en el mes de septiembre el que promedió mayor altura (1.27 m), la cobertura incrementó en relación al mes de corte y tratamiento, siendo el T3 en el mes de mayo el de mayor cobertura (75.32 %). La producción de materia verde aumentó en el T4 en el mes de octubre con 6 293 kg/ha, la producción de materia seca incrementó en el mes de agosto en el T4 con 4 488 kg/ha; los rendimientos de materia verde y materia seca, incrementaron en el mes de octubre en el T4 (7 641.67 kg/ha, 3 438.75 kg/ha, respectivamente).

Efecto de diferentes laminas de riego por goteo y aplicacion fraccionada del nitrogeno, sobre el cultivo del maiz (Zea mays L.) en su rendimiento de chilote

El ensayo se estableció en las áreas Universidad Nacional Agraria, ubicada en el km 12 ½ carretera norte, Managua, en febrero del año dos mil doce, para evaluar efecto de diferentes láminas de riego y momentos de aplicación de 100 kg. ha-1 de nitrógeno, sobre el crecimiento del maíz (Zea mays L.) variedad NB-S, y rendimiento del chilote, a una densidad de 125 000 Ptas. ha-1. Se utilizó un diseño de parcelas divididas en bloques completos al azar (BCA) con cuatro repeticiones, y los factores en estudio fueron los siguientes: Factor A: Laminas de riego por goteo, con 3 niveles: 4.5 lt de agua/m/día, 3.6 lt de agua/m/día y 2.5 lt de agua/m/día. Y el Factor B: Fraccionamiento de la dosis de nitrógeno de 100 kg. ha-1, con 3 niveles: b1 (100 % de la dosis aplicada a los 21 ddg); b2 dosis fraccionada (50% de la dosis aplicada a los 21 ddg y 50 % de la dosis aplicada a los 42 ddg) y b3 dosis completa (100 % de la dosis aplicada a los 42 dds). Las variables de crecimiento evaluadas fueron: altura de planta (cm), diámetro del tallo (cm) y número de hojas por planta; para las variables del rendimiento del chilote y sus principales componentes fueron: altura de la primera y segunda inserción del chilote (cm), diámetro del chilote con y sin bráctea (cm), longitud del chilote con y sin bráctea (cm), peso de 12 chilotes con y sin bráctea (kg), y rendimiento de chilote con bráctea (kg. ha-1). El análisis de varianza (ANDEVA) realizado a todas las mediciones de crecimiento dio significativo para los niveles del Factor A, Factor B y la interacción A x B a los 35 y 48 días después de la germinación. El ANDEVA realizado a las variables del rendimiento y sus principales componentes dio significativas para los niveles del Factor A, Factor B y la interacción A x B a los 60 días después de la germinación. De los nueve tratamientos evaluados, el tratamiento a1 b2 indujo al mayor rendimiento de chilote con una producción de 1,641.33 kg de chilote. ha-1., con un total de costos variables de 3,858.00 C$. ha-1, un beneficio neto de 9,9029.17 C$.ha-1, y una tasa de retorno marginal del 739.11 por ciento.

Aquecimento global e mudanças climáticas : uma introdução

Aborda eventos climáticos extremos que vêm ocorrendo em todo o mundo nos últimos tempos relacionados com o aquecimento global, causado por atividades antrópicas, em especial, pelo consumo de combustíveis fósseis, bem como pelos desmatamentos e queimadas. É o fenômeno, conhecido como efeito estufa. Faz referência aos relatórios do Painel Intergovernamental sobre Mudança do Clima - IPCC e ao Protocolo de Quioto.

Kinking of an interface crack between 2 dissimilar anisotropic elastic solids

A detailed analysis of kinking of an interface crack between two dissimilar anisotropic elastic solids is presented in this paper. The branched crack is considered as a distributed dislocation. A set of the singular integral equations for the distribution function of the dislocation density is developed. Explicit formulas of the stress intensity factors and the energy release rates for the branched crack are given for orthotropic bimaterials and misoriented orthotropic bicrystals. The role of the stress parallel to the interface, sigma0 is taken into account in these formulas. The interface crack can advance either by continued extension along the interface or by kinking out of the interface into one of the adjoining materials. This competition depends on the ratio of the energy release rates for interface cracking and for kinking out of the interface and the ratio of interface toughness to substrate toughness. Throughout the paper, the influences of the inplane stress sigma0 on the stress intensity factors and the energy release rates for the branched crack, which can significantly alter the conditions for interface cracking, are emphasized.

A consistent model of isolated force-free magnetic arches

The magnetic flux tube concentrating strong magnetic field is the basic configuration of magneticfield in the solar atmosphere. In the present paper, the equilibrium of isolated magnetic flux tube inthe solar atmosphere is discussed. In the viewpoint of mathematics, the boundary condition is nonlinearand the position of boundary needs to be determined by the physical condition although the equation ofmagnetic potential is linear for the linear force-free field. Analytical solutions to the arches of bothuniform circular cross-section and non-uniform cross section have been obtained. The results show thatthe nonlinear problem may have or not have any solution according to different azimuthal components of the magnetic field; the number of solutions to the nonlinear problem is four at most, and two in some cases. In the present paper, the analytical solutions to the approximations of both fat and slender arches are given in detail, and the general features of magnetic arch structure are shown.

毕生献中华──纪念林同骥先生诞辰80周年

林同骥先生是我国著名流体力学家．在稀薄气体力学、高超声速、跨声速空气动力学和不可压缩流体动力学等广泛的领域中都有重要的研究成果，尤其是在再入飞行器防热、再人物体的表面烧蚀和不可压缩振荡流等方面，为我国航天事业和海洋工程的发展作出了贡献．林同骥先生在１９７９～１９９０年期间先后任《力学学报》副主编、主编．为《力学学报》在改革开放新形势下的发展和进人国际交流大网络倾注了大量心血．在纪念林同骥先生诞辰８０周年之际，我们向读者介绍这位毕生献中华的科学家，并刊出他的学生们的一些论文，以表达怀念与崇敬之情．

Exploration of new drug delivery pathways: I. Mechanism of folate uptake in cultured human cells. II. Role of nuclear localization signal peptides in the delivery of oligonucleotide into reconstituted nuclei

The roles of the folate receptor and an anion carrier in the uptake of 5- methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MeH_4folate) were studied in cultured human (KB) cells using radioactive 5-MeH_4folate. Binding of the 5-MeH_4folate was inhibited by folic acid, but not by probenecid, an anion carrier inhibitor. The internalization of 5-MeH_4folate was inhibited by low temperature, folic acid, probenecid and methotrexate. Prolonged incubation of cells in the presence of high concentrations of probenecid appeared to inhibit endocytosis of folatereceptors as well as the anion carrier. The V_(max) and K_M values for the carrier were 8.65 ± 0.55 pmol/min/mg cell protein and 3.74 ± 0.54µM, respectively. The transport of 5-MeH4folate was competitively inhibited by folic acid, probenecid and methotrexate. The carrier dissociation constants for folic acid, probenecid and methotreate were 641 µM, 2.23 mM and 13.8 µM, respectively. Kinetic analysis suggests that 5-MeH_4folate at physiological concentration is transported through an anion carrier with the characteristics of the reduced-folate carrier after 5-MeH_4folate is endocytosed by folate receptors in KB cells. Our data with KB cells suggest that folate receptors and probenecid-sensitive carriers work in tandem to transport 5-MeH_4folate to the cytoplasm of cells, based upon the assumption that 1 mM probenecid does not interfere with the acidification of the vesicle where the folate receptors are endocytosed.

Oligodeoxynucleotides designed to hybridize to specific mRNA sequences (antisense oligonucleotides) or double stranded DNA sequences have been used to inhibit the synthesis of a number of cellular and viral proteins (Crooke, S. T. (1993) FASEB J. 7, 533-539; Carter, G. and Lemoine, N. R. (1993) Br. J. Cacer 67, 869-876; Stein, C. A. and cohen, J. S. (1988) Cancer Res. 48, 2659-2668). However, the distribution of the delivered oligonucleotides in the cell, i.e., in the cytoplasm or in the nucleus has not been clearly defined. We studied the kinetics of oligonucleotide transport into the cell nucleus using reconstituted cell nuclei as a model system. We present evidences here that oligonucleotides can freely diffuse into reconstituted nuclei. Our results are consistent with the reports by Leonetti et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, Vol. 88, pp. 2702-2706, April 1991), which were published while we were carrying this research independently. We also investigated whether a synthetic nuclear localization signal (NLS) peptide of SV40 T antigen could be used for the nuclear targeting of oligonucleotides. We synthesized a nuclear localization signal peptide-conjugated oligonucleotide to see if a nuclear localization signal peptide can enhance the uptake of oligonucleotides into reconstituted nuclei of Xenopus. Uptake of the NLS peptide-conjugated oligonucleotide was comparable to the control oligonucleotide at similar concentrations, suggesting that the NLS signal peptide does not significantly enhance the nuclear accumulation of oligonucleotides. This result is probably due to the small size of the oligonucleotide.

飞秒强激光场中大尺寸氩团簇爆炸机理的实验研究

By using time-of-flight spectroscopy, the ionization and explosion of large argon clusters ( (n) over bar = 3 x 10(3) - 3 x 10(6)) in the intense femtosecond pulsed laser field (60 fs,2 x 10(16) W/cm(2)) has been studied, and the dependence of average energy of ions emitted from argon clusters on the gas backing pressure has been measured. By comparing the average ion energies obtained with two different supersonic conical nozzles and considering the Hagena's scaling law of clusters, we have found that the average ion energy is determined by the cluster size when the laser parameters are kept unchanged. The experimental results indicated that when the cluster size is less than 3 x 10(5) atoms per cluster, the Coulomb repulsion force is the dominating factor in the expansion mechanism. Beyond this size, for 3 x 10(5) < (n) over barn < 3 x 10(6), the expansion is the result of the combined effect of both the Coulomb repulsion force and the hydrodynamic force, and the latter will play the dominating role for increasing cluster size.

脉冲啁啾对于阿秒脉冲的影响

采用单电子近似和软核势模型，通过数值求解一维含时薛定谔方程，理论研究了当脉冲分别带有正、负啁啾的情况下所产生的阿秒脉冲，分析了不同脉冲啁啾特性对阿秒脉冲的强度和宽度的影响，研究结果表明，无论是正啁啾还是负啁啾，随着啁啾量的增加，都将使激光脉冲由产生单个阿秒脉冲趋向于产生阿秒脉冲链，正啁啾和负啁啾对于阿秒脉冲宽度的影响是不同的，负啁啾对于阿秒脉冲宽度影响很小，适当的负啁啾有利于缩小阿秒脉冲的宽度；而正啁啾脉冲产生的阿秒脉冲较无啁啾时展宽，且随着啁啾量的增加，其阿秒脉冲宽度迅速增大。

Edad de menarquía e indicadores de adiposidad en mujeres del País Vasco (España)

[ES] El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar la relación entre la cantidad de grasa y su patrón de distribución con la edad de menarquia, en una muestra de 641 jóvenes universitarias de la UPVEHU (18+ a 29+ años), así como en una muestra de 378 mujeres de más edad (30+ y 49+ años). Se midieron la estatura, el peso y cinco pliegues de grasa subcutánea. Se calcularon el IMC y el % de grasa (Siri, 1961). La obtención de los patrones de distribución de grasa, central vs. periférico, se realizó mediante un ACP. La edad de menarquia se ha estimado mediante el método retrospectivo y las categorías de maduración se basan en las medias y desviaciones típicas de cada muestra. En general, se comprueba que las maduradoras tempranas tienen mayor cantidad de grasa y son algo más centrales que las de maduración media y tardía. La asociación es más evidente en la muestra de mayor edad, por lo que la asociación entre maduración sexual y adiposidad depende de la etapa del ciclo vital, haciéndose más patente conforme aumenta la edad.