Random attractors for degenerate stochastic partial differential equations

We prove the existence of random attractors for a large class of degenerate stochastic partial differential equations (SPDE) perturbed by joint additive Wiener noise and real, linear multiplicative Brownian noise, assuming only the standard assumptions of the variational approach to SPDE with compact embeddings in the associated Gelfand triple. This allows spatially much rougher noise than in known results. The approach is based on a construction of strictly stationary solutions to related strongly monotone SPDE. Applications include stochastic generalized porous media equations, stochastic generalized degenerate p-Laplace equations and stochastic reaction diffusion equations. For perturbed, degenerate p-Laplace equations we prove that the deterministic, infinite dimensional attractor collapses to a single random point if enough noise is added.Comment: 34 pages; The final publication is available at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10884-013-9294-

Excited States of Proton-bound DNA/RNA Base Homo-dimers: Pyrimidines

We are presenting the electronic photo fragment spectra of the protonated pyrimidine DNA bases homo-dimers. Only the thymine dimer exhibits a well structured vibrational progression, while protonated monomer shows broad vibrational bands. This shows that proton bonding can block some non radiative processes present in the monomer.Comment: We acknowledge the use of the computing facility cluster GMPCS of the LUMAT federation (FR LUMAT 2764

Dissipative structure formation in cold-rolled Fe and Ni during heavy ion irradiation

We report 4-probe resistivity measurements of cold-rolled Ni and Fe during 100 MeV oxygen ion irradiation, at 300K. The resistivity shows increase and saturation, marked by jumps. Employing 200 MeV silver ion irradiation of Fe and Si(100) and topographically identifying strain at an artificial interface in the latter, we assign the resistivity behavior to atomic rearrangements arising from dissipation of incident ion energy at internal interfaces of Ni and Fe, with positive feedback.}Comment: RevTex+ 7 Postscript figures; Fig 2 (topograph) available on demand to [email protected]. To appear in Phys Rev Let

South Korea's automotive labour regime, Hyundai Motors’ global production network and trade‐based integration with the European Union

This article explores the interrelationship between global production networks(GPNs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) in the South Korean auto industry and its employment relations. It focuses on the production network of the Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) — the third biggest automobile manufacturer in the world — and the FTA between the EU and South Korea. This was the first of the EU’s ‘new generation’ FTAs, which among other things contained provisions designed to protect and promote labour standards. The article’s argument is twofold. First, that HMG’s production network and Korea’s political economy (of which HMG is a crucial part) limited the possibilities for the FTA’s labour provisions to take effect. Second, that the commercial provisions in this same FTA simultaneously eroded HMG’s domestic market and corporate profitability, leading to adverse consequences for auto workers in the more insecure and low-paid jobs. In making this argument, the article advances a multiscalar conceptualization of the labour regime as an analytical intermediary between GPNs and FTAs. It also provides one of the first empirical studies of the EU–South Korea FTA in terms of employment relations, drawing on 105 interviews with trade unions, employer associations, automobile companies and state officials across both parties

GENETIC DISTANCE DETERMINATION IN SOME GENOTYPES OF ARNICA MONTANA L., BY RAPD TECHNIQUE

Arnica Montana L. is one of the most important plants, protected by European laws. Yet, due to its curative properties, the plants from the wild flora are collected by unauthorized persons, having no education in the conservation of this species and thus its existence in Romania is endangered. On the other hand, there is no large scale cultivation technology for this plant. The aim of our studies is to find valuable ecotypes of this plant and to design an amelioration program, by creation of high value cultivars. For this, it is necessary to determine the characteristics of the germplasm, and this paper presents a method to organize this

DETERMINATION OF GENETIC VARIABILITY AND POLYMORPHISM FOR SOME FAMILIES TO GENTIANA LUTEA L. SPECIES BY RAPD

Gentiana L. species are distributed in the North hemisphere, in Europe, Asia, North America, and in South America they occur in the Andes. In Europe, 29 species occur and are classifed into six sections, determined by their morphological and physiological characteristics [1]. Some of them are distributed in the mountainous part of Romania [2]. The paper presents the results of a survey made in the Postavaru Mountains, in Romanian country, on mapping and monitoring of certain populations of Gentiana lutea L., an endangered species. The aim of these researches was to create a germoplasm fund to be used further as initial material for breeding works, in order to create new genotypes, able to be cultivated on large scale. We realized to identified some families from Gentiana lutea L. species who present different fenotipycal caracters. RAPD analysis can use for establish the degree of their genetic variability at the DNA level. Since so many species and varieties exist, development of molecular markers would be important for quality assessment in the medicinal industry. Recently, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analyses have been carried out on Gentiana genus [1]. RADP can be employed as a means of differentiating or characterizing subspecies, varieties or ecotypes. Our work want to present the genetic fingerprints for ten families by Gentiana lutea L. A dendrogram (fig. 1) of the relative relation between these families has been drawn based on the DNA polymorphism as revealed by the RAPD markers. The molecular data was compared with, and corroborated to the phenotypic data in order to achieve a better picture of relation and variation between these ten lines

The SURFEXv7.2 land and ocean surface platform for coupled or offline simulation of Earth surface variables and fluxes

CC Attribution 3.0 License.Final revised paper also available at http://www.geosci-model-dev.net/6/929/2013/gmd-6-929-2013.pdfInternational audienceSURFEX is a new externalized land and ocean surface platform that describes the surface fluxes and the evolution of four types of surface: nature, town, inland water and ocean. It can be run either coupled or in offline mode. It is mostly based on pre-existing, well validated scientific models. It can be used in offline mode (from point scale to global runs) or fully coupled with an atmospheric model. SURFEX is able to simulate fluxes of carbon dioxide, chemical species, continental aerosols, sea salt and snow particles. It also includes a data assimilation module. The main principles of the organization of the surface are described first. Then, a survey is made of the scientific module (including the coupling strategy). Finally the main applications of the code are summarized. The current applications are extremely diverse, ranging from surface monitoring and hydrology to numerical weather prediction and global climate simulations. The validation work undertaken shows that replacing the pre-existing surface models by SURFEX in these applications is usually associated with improved skill, as the numerous scientific developments contained in this community code are used to good advantage

Exiles in British sociology

We have all seen them, foreheads wrinkled like a ploughed field, pastel-shaded check summer shirts worn in winter, desks festooned with yellowed index cards covered in hieroglyphics, books like yours only in plainer covers and read more carefully, filthy cigarettes, an accent growing thicker with age. But we have all seen them too, the luxuriant thatch at seventy, the jacket and tie, the tidy desk, the London club and the house in the country, the pipe, the disdain for small talk made all the more intimidating by an English acquired somewhere between grammar school and Oxford. Self-contained in a way only the uprooted can be, mysterious because you never knew what questions to ask them, emissaries from worlds they have lost and you have never known: the Polish gentry, the central European peasantry, Jewish merchants, German workers and, most puzzling of all, the continental European middle class

The improbable transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi to human: the missing link in the dynamics and control of Chagas disease

Chagas disease has a major impact on human health in Latin America and is becoming of global concern due to international migrations. Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of the disease, is one of the rare human parasites transmitted by the feces of its vector, as it is unable to reach the salivary gland of the insect. This stercorarian transmission is notoriously poorly understood, despite its crucial role in the ecology and evolution of the pathogen and the disease. The objective of this study was to quantify the probability of T. cruzi vectorial transmission to humans, and to use such an estimate to predict human prevalence from entomological data. We developed several models of T. cruzi transmission to estimate the probability of transmission from vector to host. Using datasets from the literature, we estimated the probability of transmission per contact with an infected triatomine to be 5.8x10(-4) (95%CI: [2.6; 11.0] x 10(-4)). This estimate was consistent across triatomine species, robust to variations in other parameters, and corresponded to 900-4,000 contacts per case. Our models subsequently allowed predicting human prevalence from vector abundance and infection rate in 7/10 independent datasets covering various triatomine species and epidemiological situations. This low probability of T. cruzi transmission reflected well the complex and unlikely mechanism of transmission via insect feces, and allowed predicting human prevalence from basic entomological data. Although a proof of principle study would now be valuable to validate our models' predictive ability in an even broader range of entomological and ecological settings, our quantitative estimate could allow switching the evaluation of disease risk and vector control program from purely entomological indexes to parasitological measures, as commonly done for other major vector borne diseases. This might lead to different quantitative perspectives as these indexes are well known not to be proportional one to another