Sample records for persistent long-range ordered

  1. Robust edge states in amorphous gyromagnetic photonic lattices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mansha, Shampy; Chong, Y. D.

    2017-09-01

    We numerically study amorphous analogs of a two-dimensional photonic Chern insulator. The amorphous lattices consist of gyromagnetic rods that break time-reversal symmetry, with the lattice sites generated by a close-packing algorithm. The level of short-range order is adjustable, and there is no long-range order. The topologically nontrivial gaps of the photonic Chern insulator are found to persist into the amorphous regime, so long as there is sufficient short-range order. Strongly nonreciprocal robust transmission occurs via edge states, which are shown to propagate ballistically despite the absence of long-range order, and to be exponentially localized along the lattice edge. Interestingly, there is an enhancement of nonreciprocal transmission even at very low levels of short-range order, where there are no discernible spectral gaps.

  2. Long-Range Pre-Thermal Time Crystals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Machado, Francisco; Else, Dominic V.; Nayak, Chetan; Yao, Norman

    Driven quantum systems have recently enabled the realization of a discrete time crystal - an intrinsically out-of-equilibrium phase of matter that spontaneously breaks time translation symmetry. One strategy to prevent the drive-induced, runaway heating of the time crystal phase is the presence of strong disorder leading to many-body localization. A simpler disorder-less approach is to work in the pre-thermal regime where time crystalline order can persist to long times, before ultimately being destroyed by thermalization. In this talk, we will consider the interplay between long-range interactions, dimensionality, and pre-thermal time-translation symmetry breaking. As an example, we will consider the phase diagram of a 1D long-range pre-thermal time crystal.

  3. Memory and long-range correlations in chess games

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Schaigorodsky, Ana L.; Perotti, Juan I.; Billoni, Orlando V.

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we report the existence of long-range memory in the opening moves of a chronologically ordered set of chess games using an extensive chess database. We used two mapping rules to build discrete time series and analyzed them using two methods for detecting long-range correlations; rescaled range analysis and detrended fluctuation analysis. We found that long-range memory is related to the level of the players. When the database is filtered according to player levels we found differences in the persistence of the different subsets. For high level players, correlations are stronger at long time scales; whereas in intermediate and low level players they reach the maximum value at shorter time scales. This can be interpreted as a signature of the different strategies used by players with different levels of expertise. These results are robust against the assignation rules and the method employed in the analysis of the time series.

  4. Long-range Prethermal Time Crystals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Machado, Francisco; Meyer, Gregory D.; Else, Dominic; Olund, Christopher; Nayak, Chetan; Yao, Norman Y.

    2017-04-01

    Driven quantum systems have recently enabled the realization of a discrete time crystal - an intrinsically out-of-equilibrium phase of matter. One strategy to prevent the drive-induced, runaway heating of the time crystal is the presence of strong disorder leading to many-body localization (MBL). A more elegant, disorder-less approach is simply to work in the prethermal regime where time crystalline order can persist to exponentially long times. One key difference between prethermal and MBL time crystals is that the former is prohibited from existing in one dimensional systems with short-range interactions. In this work, we demonstrate that long-range interactions can stabilize a one dimensional prethermal time crystal. By numerically studying the pre-thermal regime, we find evidence for a phase transition out of the time crystal as a function of increasing energy density. Finally, generalizations of previous analytical bounds for the heating time-scale of driven quantum systems to long-range interactions will also be discussed.

  5. Short- and long-range magnetic order in LaMnAsO

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    McGuire, Michael A.; Garlea, Vasile Ovidiu

    2016-02-02

    The magnetic properties of the layered oxypnictide LaMnAsO have been revisited using neutron scattering and magnetization measurements. The present measurements identify the Néel temperature T N = 360(1) K. Below T N the critical exponent describing the magnetic order parameter is β=0.33–0.35 , consistent with a three-dimensional Heisenberg model. Above this temperature, diffuse magnetic scattering indicative of short-range magnetic order is observed, and this scattering persists up to T SRO = 650(10) K. Morevoer, the magnetic susceptibility shows a weak anomaly at T SRO and no anomaly at T N. Analysis of the diffuse scattering data using a reverse Montemore » Carlo algorithm indicates that above T N nearly two-dimensional, short-range magnetic order is present with a correlation length of 9.3(3) Å within the Mn layers at 400 K. The inelastic scattering data reveal a spin gap of 3.5 meV in the long-range ordered state, and strong, low-energy (quasielastic) magnetic excitations emerging in the short-range ordered state. When we compared it with other related compounds correlates the distortion of the Mn coordination tetrahedra to the sign of the magnetic exchange along the layer-stacking direction, and suggests that short-range order above T N is a common feature in the magnetic behavior of layered Mn-based pnictides and oxypnictides.« less

  6. Influence of electron doping on the ground state of (Sr 1-xLa x) 2IrO 4

    DOE PAGES

    Chen, Xiang; Hogan, Tom; Walkup, D.; ...

    2015-08-17

    The evolution of the electronic properties of electron-doped (Sr 1-xLa x) 2IrO 4 is experimentally explored as the doping limit of La is approached. As electrons are introduced, the electronic ground state transitions from a spin-orbit Mott phase into an electronically phase separated state, where long-range magnetic order vanishes beyond x = 0:02 and charge transport remains percolative up to the limit of La substitution (x =0:06). In particular, the electronic ground state remains inhomogeneous even beyond the collapse of the parent state's long-range antiferromagnetic order, while persistent short-range magnetism survives up to the highest La-substitution levels. Furthermore, as electronsmore » are doped into Sr 2IrO 4, we observe the appearance of a low temperature magnetic glass-like state intermediate to the complete suppression of antiferromagnetic order. Universalities and di erences in the electron-doped phase diagrams of single layer and bilayer Ruddlesden-Popper strontium iridates are discussed.« less

  7. The Long Range Persistence of Wakes Behind a Row of Roughness Elements

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Goldstein, M. E.; Sescu, Adrian; Duck, Peter W.; Choudhari, Meelan

    2010-01-01

    We consider a periodic array of relatively small roughness elements whose spanwise separation is of the order of the local boundary-layer thickness and construct a local asymptotic high-Reynolds-number solution that is valid in the vicinity of the roughness. The resulting flow decays on the very short streamwise length scale of the roughness, but the solution eventually becomes invalid at large downstream distances and a new solution has to be constructed in the downstream region. This latter result shows that the roughness-generated wakes can persist over very long streamwise distances, which are much longer than the distance between the roughness elements and the leading edge. Detailed numerical results are given for the far wake structure.

  8. Evidence for a dynamical ground state in the frustrated pyrohafnate Tb2Hf2O7

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anand, V. K.; Opherden, L.; Xu, J.; Adroja, D. T.; Hillier, A. D.; Biswas, P. K.; Herrmannsdörfer, T.; Uhlarz, M.; Hornung, J.; Wosnitza, J.; Canévet, E.; Lake, B.

    2018-03-01

    We report the physical properties of Tb2Hf2O7 based on ac magnetic susceptibility χac(T ) , dc magnetic susceptibility χ (T ) , isothermal magnetization M (H ) , and heat capacity Cp(T ) measurements combined with muon spin relaxation (μ SR ) and neutron powder diffraction measurements. No evidence for long-range magnetic order is found down to 0.1 K. However, χac(T ) data present a frequency-dependent broad peak (near 0.9 K at 16 Hz) indicating slow spin dynamics. The slow spin dynamics is further evidenced from the μ SR data (characterized by a stretched exponential behavior) which show persistent spin fluctuations down to 0.3 K. The neutron powder diffraction data collected at 0.1 K show a broad peak of magnetic origin (diffuse scattering) but no magnetic Bragg peaks. The analysis of the diffuse scattering data reveals a dominant antiferromagnetic interaction in agreement with the negative Weiss temperature. The absence of long-range magnetic order and the presence of slow spin dynamics and persistent spin fluctuations together reflect a dynamical ground state in Tb2Hf2O7 .

  9. Atmospheric Concentrations of Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Southern Ocean

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Vlahos, P.; Edson, J.; Cifuentes, A.; McGillis, W. R.; Zappa, C.

    2008-12-01

    Long-range transport of persistent organic pollutant (POPs) is a global concern. Remote regions such as the Southern Ocean are greatly under-sampled though critical components in understanding POPs cycling. Over 20 high-volume air samples were collected in the Southern Ocean aboard the RV Brown during the GASEX III experiment between Mar 05 to April 9 2008. The relatively stationary platform (51S,38W) enabled the collection of a unique atmospheric time series at this open ocean station. Air sampling was also conducted across transects from Punto Arenas, Chile and to Montevideo, Uruguay. Samples were collected using glass sleeves packed with poly-urethane foam plugs and C-18 resin in order to collect target organic pollutants (per-fluorinated compounds, currently and historically used pesticides) in this under-sampled region. Here we present POPs concentrations and trends over the sampled period and compare variations with air parcel back trajectories to establish potential origins of their long-range transport.

  10. Reconciliation of local and long-range tilt correlations in underdoped La 2-xBa xCuO 4(0 ≤ x ≤ 0.155)

    DOE PAGES

    Bozin, Emil S.; Zhong, Ruidan; Knox, Kevin R.; ...

    2015-02-26

    A long standing puzzle regarding the disparity of local and long range CuO₆ octahedral tilt correlations in the underdoped regime of La₂₋ xBa xCuO₄ is addressed by utilizing complementary neutron powder diffraction and inelastic neutron scattering (INS) approaches. Long-range and static CuO₆ tilt order with orthogonally inequivalent Cu-O bonds in the CuO₂ planes in the low temperature tetragonal (LTT) phase is succeeded on warming through the low-temperature transition by one with orthogonally equivalent bonds in the low temperature orthorhombic (LTO) phase. In contrast, the signatures of LTT-type tilts in the instantaneous local atomic structure persist on heating throughout the LTOmore » crystallographic phase on the nanoscale, although becoming weaker as temperature increases. Analysis of the INS spectra for the x = 1/8 composition reveals the dynamic nature of the LTT-like tilt fluctuations within the LTO phase and their 3D character. The doping dependence of relevant structural parameters indicates that the magnitude of the Cu-O bond anisotropy has a maximum at x = 1/8 doping where bulk superconductivity is most strongly suppressed, suggesting that the structural anisotropy might be influenced by electron-phonon coupling and the particular stability of the stripe-ordered phase at this composition. The bond-length modulation that pins stripe order is found to be remarkably subtle, with no anomalous bond length disorder at low temperature, placing an upper limit on any in-plane Cu-O bondlength anisotropy. The results further reveal that although appreciable octahedral tilts persist through the high-temperature transition and into the high temperature tetragonal (HTT) phase, there is no significant preference between different tilt directions in the HTT regime. As a result, this study also exemplifies the importance of a systematic approach using complementary techniques when investigating systems exhibiting a large degree of complexity and subtle structural responses.« less

  11. MAXI observations of long X-ray bursts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Serino, Motoko; Iwakiri, Wataru; Tamagawa, Toru; Sakamoto, Takanori; Nakahira, Satoshi; Matsuoka, Masaru; Yamaoka, Kazutaka; Negoro, Hitoshi

    2016-12-01

    We report nine long X-ray bursts from neutron stars, detected with the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI). Some of these bursts lasted for hours, and hence are qualified as superbursts, which are prolonged thermonuclear flashes on neutron stars and are relatively rare events. MAXI observes roughly 85% of the whole sky every 92 minutes in the 2-20 keV energy band, and has detected nine bursts with a long e-folding decay time, ranging from 0.27 to 5.2 hr, since its launch in 2009 August until 2015 August. The majority of the nine events were found to originate from transient X-ray sources. The persistent luminosities of the sources, when these prolonged bursts were observed, were lower than 1% of the Eddington luminosity for five of them and lower than 20% for the rest. This trend is contrastive to the 18 superbursts observed before MAXI, all but two of which originated from bright persistent sources. The distribution of the total emitted energy, i.e., the product of e-folding time and luminosity, of these bursts clusters around 1041-1042 erg, whereas both the e-folding time and luminosity ranges for an order of magnitude. Among the nine events, two were from 4U 1850-086 during phases of relatively low persistent flux, whereas it usually exhibits standard short X-ray bursts during outbursts.

  12. HCMV Reprogramming of Infected Monocyte Survival and Differentiation: A Goldilocks Phenomenon

    PubMed Central

    Stevenson, Emily V.; Collins-McMillen, Donna; Kim, Jung Heon; Cieply, Stephen J.; Bentz, Gretchen L.; Yurochko, Andrew D.

    2014-01-01

    The wide range of disease pathologies seen in multiple organ sites associated with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection results from the systemic hematogenous dissemination of the virus, which is mediated predominately by infected monocytes. In addition to their role in viral spread, infected monocytes are also known to play a key role in viral latency and life-long persistence. However, in order to utilize infected monocytes for viral spread and persistence, HCMV must overcome a number of monocyte biological hurdles, including their naturally short lifespan and their inability to support viral gene expression and replication. Our laboratory has shown that HCMV is able to manipulate the biology of infected monocytes in order to overcome these biological hurdles by inducing the survival and differentiation of infected monocytes into long-lived macrophages capable of supporting viral gene expression and replication. In this current review, we describe the unique aspects of how HCMV promotes monocyte survival and differentiation by inducing a “finely-tuned” macrophage cell type following infection. Specifically, we describe the induction of a uniquely polarized macrophage subset from infected monocytes, which we argue is the ideal cellular environment for the initiation of viral gene expression and replication and, ultimately, viral spread and persistence within the infected host. PMID:24531335

  13. Short-range order in the quantum XXZ honeycomb lattice material BaCo2(PO4)2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nair, Harikrishnan S.; Brown, J. M.; Coldren, E.; Hester, G.; Gelfand, M. P.; Podlesnyak, A.; Huang, Q.; Ross, K. A.

    2018-04-01

    We present observations of highly frustrated quasi-two-dimensional (2D) magnetic correlations in the honeycomb lattice layers of the Seff =1 /2 compound γ -BaCo2(PO4)2 (γ -BCPO). Specific heat shows a broad peak comprised of two weak kink features at TN 1˜6 K and TN 2˜3.5 K, the relative weights of which can be modified by sample annealing. Neutron powder diffraction measurements reveal short range quasi-2D order that is established below TN 1 and TN 2, at which two separate, incompatible, short range magnetic orders onset: commensurate antiferromagnetic correlations with correlation length ξc=60 ±2 Å (TN 1) and in quasi-2D helical domains with ξh=350 ±11 Å (TN 2). The ac magnetic susceptibility response lacks frequency dependence, ruling out spin freezing. Inelastic neutron scattering data on γ -BCPO is compared with linear spin wave theory, and two separate parameter regions of the XXZ J1-J2-J3 model with ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor exchange J1 are favored, both near regions of high classical degeneracy. High energy coherent excitations (˜10 meV) persist up to at least 40 K, suggesting strong in-plane correlations persist above TN. These data show that γ -BCPO is a rare highly frustrated, quasi-2D Seff =1 /2 honeycomb lattice material which resists long range magnetic order and spin freezing.

  14. Interplay between Long-Range Crystal Order and Short-Range Molecular Interactions Tunes Carrier Mobility in Liquid Crystal Dyes

    PubMed Central

    2017-01-01

    We investigated the influence of molecular packing on the optical and electrical properties of the liquid crystalline dye 4,7-bis[5-(2-fluoro-4-pentyl-phenyl)-2-thienyl]-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (FPPTB). FPPTB is crystalline at room temperature, exhibits a nematic phase at temperatures above 149 °C and is in an isotropic melt at temperatures above 230 °C. Solution processed FPPTB films were subject to thermal annealing through these phase transition temperatures and characterized with X-ray diffraction and polarized optical microscopy. Cooling FPPTB films from the nematic and isotropic phases increased crystal domain size, but also induced local structural variations in the molecular packing of crystalline FPPTB. The decrease in long-range order was correlated with an increase in short-range π–π interactions, leading to changes in molecular aggregation which persisted even when the FPPTB films were cooled to room temperature. Annealing-induced changes in molecular aggregation were confirmed with optical spectroscopy. The carrier mobility in FPPTB films increased over 2 orders of magnitude from (2.2 ± 0.4) × 10–5 cm2 V–1 s–1 in as-spun films to μ = (5.0 ± 0.8) × 10–3 cm2 V–1 s–1 in films cooled from the isotropic melt. We discuss the relationship between thermal stability and high carrier mobility values in terms of the interplay between long-range molecular order and increased π–π interactions between molecular pairs in the FPPTB film. PMID:28139915

  15. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the atmosphere of coastal areas of the Ross Sea, Antarctica: Indications for long-term downward trends.

    PubMed

    Pozo, Karla; Martellini, Tania; Corsolini, Simonetta; Harner, Tom; Estellano, Victor; Kukučka, Petr; Mulder, Marie D; Lammel, Gerhard; Cincinelli, Alessandra

    2017-07-01

    Passive air samplers were used to evaluate long-term trends and spatial distribution of trace organic compounds in Antarctica. Duplicate PUF disk samplers were deployed at six automatic weather stations in the coastal area of the Ross sea (East Antarctica), between December 2010 and January 2011, during the XXVI Italian Scientific Research Expedition. Among the investigated persistent organic compounds, Hexachlorobenzene was the most abundant, with air concentrations ranging from 0.8 to 50 pg m -3 . In general, the following decreasing concentration order was found for the air samples analyzed: HCB > PeCB > PCBs > DDTs > HCHs. While HCB concentrations were in the same range as those reported in the atmosphere of other Antarctic sampling areas and did not show a decline, HCHs and DDTs levels were lower or similar to those determined one or two decades ago. In general, the very low concentrations reflected the pristine state of the East Antarctica air. Backward trajectories indicated the prevalence of air masses coming from the Antarctic continent. Local contamination and volatilization from ice were suggested as potential sources for the presence of persistent organic pollutants in the atmosphere. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Increased persistence via asynchrony in oscillating ecological populations with long-range interaction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gupta, Anubhav; Banerjee, Tanmoy; Dutta, Partha Sharathi

    2017-10-01

    Understanding the influence of the structure of a dispersal network on the species persistence and modeling a realistic species dispersal in nature are two central issues in spatial ecology. A realistic dispersal structure which favors the persistence of interacting ecological systems was studied [M. D. Holland and A. Hastings, Nature (London) 456, 792 (2008), 10.1038/nature07395], where it was shown that a randomization of the structure of a dispersal network in a metapopulation model of prey and predator increases the species persistence via clustering, prolonged transient dynamics, and amplitudes of population fluctuations. In this paper, by contrast, we show that a deterministic network topology in a metapopulation can also favor asynchrony and prolonged transient dynamics if species dispersal obeys a long-range interaction governed by a distance-dependent power law. To explore the effects of power-law coupling, we take a realistic ecological model, namely, the Rosenzweig-MacArthur model in each patch (node) of the network of oscillators, and show that the coupled system is driven from synchrony to asynchrony with an increase in the power-law exponent. Moreover, to understand the relationship between species persistence and variations in power-law exponent, we compute a correlation coefficient to characterize cluster formation, a synchrony order parameter, and median predator amplitude. We further show that smaller metapopulations with fewer patches are more vulnerable to extinction as compared to larger metapopulations with a higher number of patches. We believe that the present work improves our understanding of the interconnection between the random network and the deterministic network in theoretical ecology.

  17. Predicting long-range transport: a systematic evaluation of two multimedia transport models.

    PubMed

    Bennett, D H; Scheringer, M; McKone, T E; Hungerbühler, K

    2001-03-15

    The United Nations Environment Program has recently developed criteria to identify and restrict chemicals with a potential for persistence and long-range transport (persistent organic pollutants or POPs). There are many stakeholders involved, and the issues are not only scientific but also include social, economic, and political factors. This work focuses on one aspect of the POPs debate, the criteria for determining the potential for long-range transport (LRT). Our goal is to determine if current models are reliable enough to support decisions that classify a chemical based on the LRT potential. We examine the robustness of two multimedia fate models for determining the relative ranking and absolute spatial range of various chemicals in the environment. We also consider the effect of parameter uncertainties and the model uncertainty associated with the selection of an algorithm for gas-particle partitioning on the model results. Given the same chemical properties, both models give virtually the same ranking. However, when chemical parameter uncertainties and model uncertainties such as particle partitioning are considered, the spatial range distributions obtained for the individual chemicals overlap, preventing a distinct rank order. The absolute values obtained for the predicted spatial range or travel distance differ significantly between the two models for the uncertainties evaluated. We find that to evaluate a chemical when large and unresolved uncertainties exist, it is more informative to use two or more models and include multiple types of uncertainty. Model differences and uncertainties must be explicitly confronted to determine how the limitations of scientific knowledge impact predictions in the decision-making process.

  18. The effect of seasonal birth pulses on pathogen persistence in wild mammal populations.

    PubMed

    Peel, A J; Pulliam, J R C; Luis, A D; Plowright, R K; O'Shea, T J; Hayman, D T S; Wood, J L N; Webb, C T; Restif, O

    2014-07-07

    The notion of a critical community size (CCS), or population size that is likely to result in long-term persistence of a communicable disease, has been developed based on the empirical observations of acute immunizing infections in human populations, and extended for use in wildlife populations. Seasonal birth pulses are frequently observed in wildlife and are expected to impact infection dynamics, yet their effect on pathogen persistence and CCS have not been considered. To investigate this issue theoretically, we use stochastic epidemiological models to ask how host life-history traits and infection parameters interact to determine pathogen persistence within a closed population. We fit seasonal birth pulse models to data from diverse mammalian species in order to identify realistic parameter ranges. When varying the synchrony of the birth pulse with all other parameters being constant, our model predicted that the CCS can vary by more than two orders of magnitude. Tighter birth pulses tended to drive pathogen extinction by creating large amplitude oscillations in prevalence, especially with high demographic turnover and short infectious periods. Parameters affecting the relative timing of the epidemic and birth pulse peaks determined the intensity and direction of the effect of pre-existing immunity in the population on the pathogen's ability to persist beyond the initial epidemic following its introduction.

  19. The effect of seasonal birth pulses on pathogen persistence in wild mammal populations

    PubMed Central

    Peel, A. J.; Pulliam, J. R. C.; Luis, A. D.; Plowright, R. K.; O'Shea, T. J.; Hayman, D. T. S.; Wood, J. L. N.; Webb, C. T.; Restif, O.

    2014-01-01

    The notion of a critical community size (CCS), or population size that is likely to result in long-term persistence of a communicable disease, has been developed based on the empirical observations of acute immunizing infections in human populations, and extended for use in wildlife populations. Seasonal birth pulses are frequently observed in wildlife and are expected to impact infection dynamics, yet their effect on pathogen persistence and CCS have not been considered. To investigate this issue theoretically, we use stochastic epidemiological models to ask how host life-history traits and infection parameters interact to determine pathogen persistence within a closed population. We fit seasonal birth pulse models to data from diverse mammalian species in order to identify realistic parameter ranges. When varying the synchrony of the birth pulse with all other parameters being constant, our model predicted that the CCS can vary by more than two orders of magnitude. Tighter birth pulses tended to drive pathogen extinction by creating large amplitude oscillations in prevalence, especially with high demographic turnover and short infectious periods. Parameters affecting the relative timing of the epidemic and birth pulse peaks determined the intensity and direction of the effect of pre-existing immunity in the population on the pathogen's ability to persist beyond the initial epidemic following its introduction. PMID:24827436

  20. Fe-induced enhancement of antiferromagnetic spin correlations in Mn2-xFexBO4

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kazak, N. V.; Platunov, M. S.; Knyazev, Yu. V.; Moshkina, E. M.; Gavrilkin, S. Yu.; Bayukov, O. A.; Gorev, M. V.; Pogoreltsev, E. I.; Zeer, G. M.; Zharkov, S. M.; Ovchinnikov, S. G.

    2018-04-01

    Fe substitution effect on the magnetic behavior of Mn2-xFexBO4 (x = 0.3, 0.5, 0.7) warwickites has been investigated combining Mössbauer spectroscopy, dc magnetization, ac magnetic susceptibility, and heat capacity measurements. The Fe3+ ions distribution over two crystallographic nonequivalent sites is studied. The Fe introduction breaks a long-range antiferromagnetic order and leads to onset of spin-glass ground state. The antiferromagnetic short-range-order spin correlations persist up to temperatures well above TSG reflecting in increasing deviations from the Curie-Weiss law, the reduced effective magnetic moment and "missing" entropy. The results are interpreted in the terms of the progressive increase of the frustration effect and the formation of spin-correlated regions.

  1. Doping Evolution of Magnetic Order and Magnetic Excitations in (Sr1 -xLax)3Ir2O7

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lu, Xingye; McNally, D. E.; Moretti Sala, M.; Terzic, J.; Upton, M. H.; Casa, D.; Ingold, G.; Cao, G.; Schmitt, T.

    2017-01-01

    We use resonant elastic and inelastic x-ray scattering at the Ir-L3 edge to study the doping-dependent magnetic order, magnetic excitations, and spin-orbit excitons in the electron-doped bilayer iridate (Sr1 -xLax )3Ir2 O7 (0 ≤x ≤0.065 ). With increasing doping x , the three-dimensional long range antiferromagnetic order is gradually suppressed and evolves into a three-dimensional short range order across the insulator-to-metal transition from x =0 to 0.05, followed by a transition to two-dimensional short range order between x =0.05 and 0.065. Because of the interactions between the Jeff=1/2 pseudospins and the emergent itinerant electrons, magnetic excitations undergo damping, anisotropic softening, and gap collapse, accompanied by weakly doping-dependent spin-orbit excitons. Therefore, we conclude that electron doping suppresses the magnetic anisotropy and interlayer couplings and drives (Sr1 -xLax )3Ir2 O7 into a correlated metallic state with two-dimensional short range antiferromagnetic order. Strong antiferromagnetic fluctuations of the Jeff=1/2 moments persist deep in this correlated metallic state, with the magnon gap strongly suppressed.

  2. Local Crystal Structure of Antiferroelectric Bi2Mn4/3Ni2/3O6 in Commensurate and Incommensurate Phases Described by Pair Distribution Function (PDF) and Reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) Modeling.

    PubMed

    Szczecinski, Robert J; Chong, Samantha Y; Chater, Philip A; Hughes, Helen; Tucker, Matthew G; Claridge, John B; Rosseinsky, Matthew J

    2014-04-08

    The functional properties of materials can arise from local structural features that are not well determined or described by crystallographic methods based on long-range average structural models. The room temperature (RT) structure of the Bi perovskite Bi 2 Mn 4/3 Ni 2/3 O 6 has previously been modeled as a locally polar structure where polarization is suppressed by a long-range incommensurate antiferroelectric modulation. In this study we investigate the short-range local structure of Bi 2 Mn 4/3 Ni 2/3 O 6 , determined through reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) modeling of neutron total scattering data, and compare the results with the long-range incommensurate structure description. While the incommensurate structure has equivalent B site environments for Mn and Ni, the local structure displays a significantly Jahn-Teller distorted environment for Mn 3+ . The local structure displays the rock-salt-type Mn/Ni ordering of the related Bi 2 MnNiO 6 high pressure phase, as opposed to Mn/Ni clustering observed in the long-range average incommensurate model. RMC modeling reveals short-range ferroelectric correlations between Bi 3+ cations, giving rise to polar regions that are quantified for the first time as existing within a distance of approximately 12 Å. These local correlations persist in the commensurate high temperature (HT) phase, where the long-range average structure is nonpolar. The local structure thus provides information about cation ordering and B site structural flexibility that may stabilize Bi 3+ on the A site of the perovskite structure and reveals the extent of the local polar regions created by this cation.

  3. Short-range order in the quantum XXZ honeycomb lattice material BaCo 2 ( PO 4 ) 2

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nair, Harikrishnan S.; Brown, J; Coldren, E.

    In this paper, we present observations of highly frustrated quasi-two-dimensional (2D) magnetic correlations in the honeycomb lattice layers of the S eff =1/2 compound γ-BaCo 2(PO 4) 2 (γ-BCPO). Specific heat shows a broad peak comprised of two weak kink features at T N1~6 K and T N2~3.5 K, the relative weights of which can be modified by sample annealing. Neutron powder diffraction measurements reveal short range quasi-2D order that is established below T N1 and T N2, at which two separate, incompatible, short range magnetic orders onset: commensurate antiferromagnetic correlations with correlation length ξ c=60±2 Å (T N1) andmore » in quasi-2D helical domains with ξ h=350±11 Å (T N2). The ac magnetic susceptibility response lacks frequency dependence, ruling out spin freezing. Inelastic neutron scattering data on γ-BCPO is compared with linear spin wave theory, and two separate parameter regions of the XXZ J 1-J 2-J 3 model with ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor exchange J 1 are favored, both near regions of high classical degeneracy. High energy coherent excitations (~10 meV) persist up to at least 40 K, suggesting strong in-plane correlations persist above TN. Finally, these data show that γ-BCPO is a rare highly frustrated, quasi-2D S eff =1/2 honeycomb lattice material which resists long range magnetic order and spin freezing.« less

  4. Short-range order in the quantum XXZ honeycomb lattice material BaCo 2 ( PO 4 ) 2

    DOE PAGES

    Nair, Harikrishnan S.; Brown, J; Coldren, E.; ...

    2018-04-12

    In this paper, we present observations of highly frustrated quasi-two-dimensional (2D) magnetic correlations in the honeycomb lattice layers of the S eff =1/2 compound γ-BaCo 2(PO 4) 2 (γ-BCPO). Specific heat shows a broad peak comprised of two weak kink features at T N1~6 K and T N2~3.5 K, the relative weights of which can be modified by sample annealing. Neutron powder diffraction measurements reveal short range quasi-2D order that is established below T N1 and T N2, at which two separate, incompatible, short range magnetic orders onset: commensurate antiferromagnetic correlations with correlation length ξ c=60±2 Å (T N1) andmore » in quasi-2D helical domains with ξ h=350±11 Å (T N2). The ac magnetic susceptibility response lacks frequency dependence, ruling out spin freezing. Inelastic neutron scattering data on γ-BCPO is compared with linear spin wave theory, and two separate parameter regions of the XXZ J 1-J 2-J 3 model with ferromagnetic nearest-neighbor exchange J 1 are favored, both near regions of high classical degeneracy. High energy coherent excitations (~10 meV) persist up to at least 40 K, suggesting strong in-plane correlations persist above TN. Finally, these data show that γ-BCPO is a rare highly frustrated, quasi-2D S eff =1/2 honeycomb lattice material which resists long range magnetic order and spin freezing.« less

  5. Discriminating low frequency components from long range persistent fluctuations in daily atmospheric temperature variability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lanfredi, M.; Simoniello, T.; Cuomo, V.; Macchiato, M.

    2009-02-01

    This study originated from recent results reported in literature, which support the existence of long-range (power-law) persistence in atmospheric temperature fluctuations on monthly and inter-annual scales. We investigated the results of Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) carried out on twenty-two historical daily time series recorded in Europe in order to evaluate the reliability of such findings in depth. More detailed inspections emphasized systematic deviations from power-law and high statistical confidence for functional form misspecification. Rigorous analyses did not support scale-free correlation as an operative concept for Climate modelling, as instead suggested in literature. In order to understand the physical implications of our results better, we designed a bivariate Markov process, parameterised on the basis of the atmospheric observational data by introducing a slow dummy variable. The time series generated by this model, analysed both in time and frequency domains, tallied with the real ones very well. They accounted for both the deceptive scaling found in literature and the correlation details enhanced by our analysis. Our results seem to evidence the presence of slow fluctuations from another climatic sub-system such as ocean, which inflates temperature variance up to several months. They advise more precise re-analyses of temperature time series before suggesting dynamical paradigms useful for Climate modelling and for the assessment of Climate Change.

  6. Discriminating low frequency components from long range persistent fluctuations in daily atmospheric temperature variability

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lanfredi, M.; Simoniello, T.; Cuomo, V.; Macchiato, M.

    2009-07-01

    This study originated from recent results reported in literature, which support the existence of long-range (power-law) persistence in atmospheric temperature fluctuations on monthly and inter-annual scales. We investigated the results of Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) carried out on twenty-two historical daily time series recorded in Europe in order to evaluate the reliability of such findings in depth. More detailed inspections emphasized systematic deviations from power-law and high statistical confidence for functional form misspecification. Rigorous analyses did not support scale-free correlation as an operative concept for Climate modelling, as instead suggested in literature. In order to understand the physical implications of our results better, we designed a bivariate Markov process, parameterised on the basis of the atmospheric observational data by introducing a slow dummy variable. The time series generated by this model, analysed both in time and frequency domains, tallied with the real ones very well. They accounted for both the deceptive scaling found in literature and the correlation details enhanced by our analysis. Our results seem to evidence the presence of slow fluctuations from another climatic sub-system such as ocean, which inflates temperature variance up to several months. They advise more precise re-analyses of temperature time series before suggesting dynamical paradigms useful for Climate modelling and for the assessment of Climate Change.

  7. PERSISTENT CONTAMINANTS: NEW PRIORITIES, NEW CONCERNS

    EPA Science Inventory


    The Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) was adopted in 2001 to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that are highly toxic, persistent, bioaccumulative, and undergo long range transport. These POPs include 9 pesticides, polychlorin...

  8. Long-range correlations and asymmetry in the Bitcoin market

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alvarez-Ramirez, J.; Rodriguez, E.; Ibarra-Valdez, C.

    2018-02-01

    This work studies long-range correlations and informational efficiency of the Bitcoin market for the period from June 30, 2013 to June 3rd, 2017. To this end, the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) was implemented over sliding windows to estimate long-range correlations for price returns. It was found that the Bitcoin market exhibits periods of efficiency alternating with periods where the price dynamics are driven by anti-persistence. The pattern is replicated by prices samples at day, hour and second frequencies. The Bitcoin market also presents asymmetric correlations with respect to increasing and decreasing price trending, with the former trend linked to anti-persistence of returns dynamics.

  9. Mean wind speed persistence over China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Jiang, Lei

    2018-07-01

    The wind speed persistence is an important factor in the assessment of wind energy potential. In this paper, we explore the persistence of Mean Wind Speed (MWS) with many years of record using Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) over China. The results illustrate that there exist irregular high-frequency fluctuations for daily MWS anomaly records. Long-term persistence of MWS is found for all meteorological observed sites. We also make some numerical tests in order to verify the significance of long-term persistence by shuffling the data records many times. These facts prove that the MWS anomaly records have long-term persistence over all the stations in China. The mean value 0.64 in DFA-exponents for all stations over China is also obviously higher than the value 0.53 according to interval threshold of 95% confidence level after shuffling the MWS records many times. In addition, the values of scaling exponent vary from station to station over China. Long-term persistence of MWS in spatial distributions seems to be downward trends from east to west China. Many factors may affect long-term persistence of MWS such as southwest monsoon, Tibetan Plateau landform and atmosphere-ocean-land interaction and so on. Possible physical mechanism need further analysis in the future.

  10. The Effect of the Underlying Distribution in Hurst Exponent Estimation

    PubMed Central

    Sánchez, Miguel Ángel; Trinidad, Juan E.; García, José; Fernández, Manuel

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, a heavy-tailed distribution approach is considered in order to explore the behavior of actual financial time series. We show that this kind of distribution allows to properly fit the empirical distribution of the stocks from S&P500 index. In addition to that, we explain in detail why the underlying distribution of the random process under study should be taken into account before using its self-similarity exponent as a reliable tool to state whether that financial series displays long-range dependence or not. Finally, we show that, under this model, no stocks from S&P500 index show persistent memory, whereas some of them do present anti-persistent memory and most of them present no memory at all. PMID:26020942

  11. Application of multimedia models for screening assessment of long-range transport potential and overall persistence.

    PubMed

    Klasmeier, Jörg; Matthies, Michael; Macleod, Matthew; Fenner, Kathrin; Scheringer, Martin; Stroebe, Maximilian; Le Gall, Anne Christine; Mckone, Thomas; Van De Meent, Dik; Wania, Frank

    2006-01-01

    We propose a multimedia model-based methodology to evaluate whether a chemical substance qualifies as POP-like based on overall persistence (Pov) and potential for long-range transport (LRTP). It relies upon screening chemicals against the Pov and LRTP characteristics of selected reference chemicals with well-established environmental fates. Results indicate that chemicals of high and low concern in terms of persistence and long-range transport can be consistently identified by eight contemporary multimedia models using the proposed methodology. Model results for three hypothetical chemicals illustrate that the model-based classification of chemicals according to Pov and LRTP is not always consistent with the single-media half-life approach proposed by the UNEP Stockholm Convention and thatthe models provide additional insight into the likely long-term hazards associated with chemicals in the environment. We suggest this model-based classification method be adopted as a complement to screening against defined half-life criteria at the initial stages of tiered assessments designed to identify POP-like chemicals and to prioritize further environmental fate studies for new and existing chemicals.

  12. Comparison of glacial and non-glacial-fed streams to evaluate the loading of persistent organic pollutants through seasonal snow/ice melt.

    PubMed

    Bizzotto, E C; Villa, S; Vaj, C; Vighi, M

    2009-02-01

    The release of persistent organic pollutants (PCBs, HCB, HCHs and DDTs) accumulated in Alpine glaciers, was studied during spring-summer 2006 on the Frodolfo glacial-fed stream (Italian Alps). Samples were also taken on a non-glacial stream in the same valley, to compare POP contribution from different water sources (glacier ice, recent snow and spring). In late spring and early summer (May, June) recent snow melting is the most important process. POP contamination is more affected by local emissions and transport, and comparable levels have been measured in both streams for all studied compounds. In late summer and autumn (July-October), the contribution of ice melting strongly increases. In the glacial-fed stream the concentration of chlorinated pesticides (HCHs and DDTs) is about one order of magnitude higher than in the non-glacial-fed. A different behaviour was observed for PCBs, characterised by a peak in June showing, in both streams, concentrations three orders of magnitude higher than the background levels measured in May and in October. This result should be attributed to local emissions rather than long range atmospheric transport (LRAT). This hypothesis is supported by the PCB congener profile in June strictly comparable to the most commonly used Aroclor technical mixtures. The different seasonal behaviour observed for the different groups of chemicals indicates the POP loading in glacial streams is a combined role of long range atmospheric transport and local emission.

  13. Orientational order of motile defects in active nematics

    DOE PAGES

    DeCamp, Stephen J.; Redner, Gabriel S.; Baskaran, Aparna; ...

    2015-08-17

    The study of equilibrium liquid crystals has led to fundamental insights into the nature of ordered materials, as well as many practical applications such as display technologies. Active nematics are a fundamentally different class of liquid crystals, which are driven away from equilibrium by the autonomous motion of their constituent rodlike particles. This internally-generated activity powers the continuous creation and annihilation of topological defects, leading to complex streaming flows whose chaotic dynamics appear to destroy long-range order. Here, we study these dynamics in experimental and computational realizations of active nematics. By tracking thousands of defects over centimeter distances in microtubule-basedmore » active nematics, we identify a non-equilibrium phase characterized by system-spanning orientational order of defects. This emergent order persists over hours despite defect lifetimes of only seconds. Lastly, similar dynamical structures are observed in coarse-grained simulations, suggesting that defect-ordered phases are a generic feature of active nematics.« less

  14. Investigating Long-Range Dependence in American Treasury Bills Variations and Volatilities during Stable and Unstable Periods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lahmiri, Salim

    2016-05-01

    Detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) is used to examine long-range dependence in variations and volatilities of American treasury bills (TB) during periods of low and high movements in TB rates. Volatility series are estimated by generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model under Gaussian, Student, and the generalized error distribution (GED) assumptions. The DFA-based Hurst exponents from 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year TB data indicates that in general the dynamics of the TB variations process is characterized by persistence during stable time period (before 2008 international financial crisis) and anti-persistence during unstable time period (post-2008 international financial crisis). For volatility series, it is found that; for stable period; 3-month volatility process is more likely random, 6-month volatility process is anti-persistent, and 1-year volatility process is persistent. For unstable period, estimation results show that the generating process is persistent for all maturities and for all distributional assumptions.

  15. Pulmonary Vein Antral Isolation and Nonpulmonary Vein Trigger Ablation Are Sufficient to Achieve Favorable Long-Term Outcomes Including Transformation to Paroxysmal Arrhythmias in Patients With Persistent and Long-Standing Persistent Atrial Fibrillation.

    PubMed

    Liang, Jackson J; Elafros, Melissa A; Muser, Daniele; Pathak, Rajeev K; Santangeli, Pasquale; Zado, Erica S; Frankel, David S; Supple, Gregory E; Schaller, Robert D; Deo, Rajat; Garcia, Fermin C; Lin, David; Hutchinson, Mathew D; Riley, Michael P; Callans, David J; Marchlinski, Francis E; Dixit, Sanjay

    2016-11-01

    Transformation from persistent to paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) after ablation suggests modification of the underlying substrate. We examined the nature of initial arrhythmia recurrence in patients with nonparoxysmal AF undergoing antral pulmonary vein isolation and nonpulmonary vein trigger ablation and correlated recurrence type with long-term ablation efficacy after the last procedure. Three hundred and seventeen consecutive patients with persistent (n=200) and long-standing persistent (n=117) AF undergoing first ablation were included. AF recurrence was defined as early (≤6 weeks) or late (>6 weeks after ablation) and paroxysmal (either spontaneous conversion or treated with cardioversion ≤7 days) or persistent (lasting >7 days). During median follow-up of 29.8 (interquartile range: 14.8-49.9) months, 221 patients had ≥1 recurrence. Initial recurrence was paroxysmal in 169 patients (76%) and persistent in 52 patients (24%). Patients experiencing paroxysmal (versus persistent) initial recurrence were more likely to achieve long-term freedom off antiarrhythmic drugs (hazard ratio, 2.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-3.2; P<0.0001), freedom on/off antiarrhythmic drugs (hazard ratio, 2.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.6-3.8; P<0.0001), and arrhythmia control (hazard ratio, 5.2; 95% confidence interval, 2.9-9.2; P<0.0001) after last ablation. In patients with persistent and long-standing persistent AF, limited ablation targeting pulmonary veins and documented nonpulmonary vein triggers improves the maintenance of sinus rhythm and reverses disease progression. Transformation to paroxysmal AF after initial ablation may be a step toward long-term freedom from recurrent arrhythmia. © 2016 American Heart Association, Inc.

  16. Universality of the helimagnetic transition in cubic chiral magnets: Small angle neutron scattering and neutron spin echo spectroscopy studies of FeCoSi

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bannenberg, L. J.; Kakurai, K.; Falus, P.; Lelièvre-Berna, E.; Dalgliesh, R.; Dewhurst, C. D.; Qian, F.; Onose, Y.; Endoh, Y.; Tokura, Y.; Pappas, C.

    2017-04-01

    We present a comprehensive small angle neutron scattering and neutron spin echo spectroscopy study of the structural and dynamical aspects of the helimagnetic transition in Fe1 -xCoxSi with x =0.30 . In contrast to the sharp transition observed in the archetype chiral magnet MnSi, the transition in Fe1 -xCoxSi is gradual, and long-range helimagnetic ordering coexists with short-range correlations over a wide temperature range. The dynamics are more complex than in MnSi and involve long relaxation times with a stretched exponential relaxation which persists even under magnetic field. These results in conjunction with an analysis of the hierarchy of the relevant length scales show that the helimagnetic transition in Fe1 -xCoxSi differs substantially from the transition in MnSi and question the validity of a universal approach to the helimagnetic transition in chiral magnets.

  17. Ferromagnetism in tetragonally distorted LaCoO3 thin films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mehta, Virat Vasav; Liberati, Marco; Wong, Franklin J.; Chopdekar, Rajesh Vilas; Arenholz, Elke; Suzuki, Yuri

    2009-04-01

    Thin films of epitaxial LaCoO3 were synthesized on SrTiO3 and (La ,Sr)(Al,Ta)O3 substrates, varying the oxygen background pressure in order to evaluate the impact of epitaxial growth as well as oxygen vacancies on the long range magnetic order. The epitaxial constraints from the substrate impose a tetragonal distortion compared to the bulk form. X-ray absorption and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements confirmed that the ferromagnetism arises from the Co ions and persists through the entire thickness of the film. It was found that for the thin films to show ferromagnetic order they have to be grown under the higher oxygen pressures. A correlation of the structure and magnetism suggests that the tetragonal distortions induce the ferromagnetism.

  18. Future climate change is predicted to shift long-term persistence zones in the cold-temperate kelp Laminaria hyperborea.

    PubMed

    Assis, Jorge; Lucas, Ana Vaz; Bárbara, Ignacio; Serrão, Ester Álvares

    2016-02-01

    Global climate change is shifting species distributions worldwide. At rear edges (warmer, low latitude range margins), the consequences of small variations in environmental conditions can be magnified, producing large negative effects on species ranges. A major outcome of shifts in distributions that only recently received attention is the potential to reduce the levels of intra-specific diversity and consequently the global evolutionary and adaptive capacity of species to face novel disturbances. This is particularly important for low dispersal marine species, such as kelps, that generally retain high and unique genetic diversity at rear ranges resulting from long-term persistence, while ranges shifts during climatic glacial/interglacial cycles. Using ecological niche modelling, we (1) infer the major environmental forces shaping the distribution of a cold-temperate kelp, Laminaria hyperborea (Gunnerus) Foslie, and we (2) predict the effect of past climate changes in shaping regions of long-term persistence (i.e., climatic refugia), where this species might hypothetically harbour higher genetic diversity given the absence of bottlenecks and local extinctions over the long term. We further (3) assessed the consequences of future climate for the fate of L. hyperborea using different scenarios of greenhouse gas emissions (RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5). Results show NW Iberia, SW Ireland and W English Channel, Faroe Islands and S Iceland, as regions where L. hyperborea may have persisted during past climate extremes until present day. All predictions for the future showed expansions to northern territories coupled with the significant loss of suitable habitats at low latitude range margins, where long-term persistence was inferred (e.g., NW Iberia). This pattern was particularly evident in the most agressive scenario of climate change (RCP 8.5), likely driving major biodiversity loss, changes in ecosystem functioning and the impoverishment of the global gene pool of L. hyperborea. Because no genetic baseline is currently available for this species, our results may represent a first step in informing conservation and mitigation strategies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Rescaled range analysis of streamflow records in the São Francisco River Basin, Brazil

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Araujo, Marcelo Vitor Oliveira; Celeste, Alcigeimes B.

    2018-01-01

    Hydrological time series are sometimes found to have a distinctive behavior known as long-term persistence, in which subsequent values depend on each other even under very large time scales. This implies multiyear consecutive droughts or floods. Typical models used to generate synthetic hydrological scenarios, widely used in the planning and management of water resources, fail to preserve this kind of persistence in the generated data and therefore may have a major impact on projects whose design lives span for long periods of time. This study deals with the evaluation of long-term persistence in streamflow records by means of the rescaled range analysis proposed by British engineer Harold E. Hurst, who first observed the phenomenon in the mid-twentieth century. In this paper, Hurst's procedure is enhanced by a strategy based on statistical hypothesis testing. The case study comprises the six main hydroelectric power plants located in the São Francisco River Basin, part of the Brazilian National Grid. Historical time series of inflows to the major reservoirs of the system are investigated and 5/6 sites show significant persistence, with values for the so-called Hurst exponent near or greater than 0.7, i.e., around 40% above the value 0.5 that represents a white noise process, suggesting that decision makers should take long-term persistence into consideration when conducting water resources planning and management studies in the region.

  20. HUMAN HEALTH IMPACTS OF EXPOSURE TO POPS

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) was adopted in 2001 to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that are highly toxic, persistent, bioaccumulative and undergo long range transport. These POPs include 9 pesticides, polychlorinated d...

  1. Self-affinity in the dengue fever time series

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Azevedo, S. M.; Saba, H.; Miranda, J. G. V.; Filho, A. S. Nascimento; Moret, M. A.

    2016-06-01

    Dengue is a complex public health problem that is common in tropical and subtropical regions. This disease has risen substantially in the last three decades, and the physical symptoms depict the self-affine behavior of the occurrences of reported dengue cases in Bahia, Brazil. This study uses detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) to verify the scale behavior in a time series of dengue cases and to evaluate the long-range correlations that are characterized by the power law α exponent for different cities in Bahia, Brazil. The scaling exponent (α) presents different long-range correlations, i.e. uncorrelated, anti-persistent, persistent and diffusive behaviors. The long-range correlations highlight the complex behavior of the time series of this disease. The findings show that there are two distinct types of scale behavior. In the first behavior, the time series presents a persistent α exponent for a one-month period. For large periods, the time series signal approaches subdiffusive behavior. The hypothesis of the long-range correlations in the time series of the occurrences of reported dengue cases was validated. The observed self-affinity is useful as a forecasting tool for future periods through extrapolation of the α exponent behavior. This complex system has a higher predictability in a relatively short time (approximately one month), and it suggests a new tool in epidemiological control strategies. However, predictions for large periods using DFA are hidden by the subdiffusive behavior.

  2. Persistent organic contaminants in Saharan dust air masses in West Africa, Cape Verde and the eastern Caribbean

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Garrison, Virginia H.; Majewski, Michael S.; Foreman, William T.; Genualdi, Susan A.; Mohammed, Azad; Massey Simonich, Stacy L.

    2014-01-01

    Anthropogenic semivolatile organic compounds (SOCs) that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate, are toxic at low concentrations, and undergo long-range atmospheric transport (LRT) were identified and quantified in the atmosphere of a Saharan dust source region (Mali) and during Saharan dust incursions at downwind sites in the eastern Caribbean (U.S. Virgin Islands, Trinidad and Tobago) and Cape Verde. More organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides (OCPPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were detected in the Saharan dust region than at downwind sites. Seven of the 13 OCPPs detected occurred at all sites: chlordanes, chlorpyrifos, dacthal, dieldrin, endosulfans, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and trifluralin. Total SOCs ranged from 1.9–126 ng/m3 (mean = 25 ± 34) at source and 0.05–0.71 ng/m3 (mean = 0.24 ± 0.18) at downwind sites during dust conditions. Most SOC concentrations were 1–3 orders of magnitude higher in source than downwind sites. A Saharan source was confirmed for sampled air masses at downwind sites based on dust particle elemental composition and rare earth ratios, atmospheric back trajectory models, and field observations. SOC concentrations were considerably below existing occupational and/or regulatory limits; however, few regulatory limits exist for these persistent organic compounds. Long-term effects of chronic exposure to low concentrations of SOCs are unknown, as are possible additive or synergistic effects of mixtures of SOCs, biologically active trace metals, and mineral dust particles transported together in Saharan dust air masses.

  3. Persistence of Change: Fume Hood Campaign Lessons

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Feder, Elah; Robinson, Jennifer; Wakefield, Sarah

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Sustainability initiatives typically operate for a limited time period, but it is often unclear whether they have lasting effects. The purpose of this paper is to examine a laboratory fume hood campaign, in order to identify factors that might contribute or detract from long-term change persistence. Design/methodology/approach: The…

  4. Long-range dynamical magnetic order and spin tunneling in the cooperative paramagnetic states of the pyrochlore analogous spinel antiferromagnets CdYb2X4 (X =S or Se)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dalmas de Réotier, P.; Marin, C.; Yaouanc, A.; Ritter, C.; Maisuradze, A.; Roessli, B.; Bertin, A.; Baker, P. J.; Amato, A.

    2017-10-01

    Magnetic systems with spins sitting on a lattice of corner sharing regular tetrahedra have been particularly prolific for the discovery of new magnetic states for the last two decades. The pyrochlore compounds have offered the playground for these studies, while little attention has been comparatively devoted to other compounds where the rare earth R occupies the same sublattice, e.g., the spinel chalcogenides Cd R2X4 (X =S or Se ). Here, we report measurements performed on powder samples of this series with R =Yb using specific heat, magnetic susceptibility, neutron diffraction, and muon-spin-relaxation measurements. The two compounds are found to be magnetically similar. They long-range order into structures described by the Γ5 irreducible representation. The magnitude of the magnetic moment at low temperature is 0.77 (1) and 0.62 (1) μB for X =S and Se , respectively. Persistent spin dynamics is present in the ordered states. The spontaneous field at the muon site is anomalously small, suggesting magnetic moment fragmentation. A double spin-flip tunneling relaxation mechanism is suggested in the cooperative paramagnetic state up to 10 K. The magnetic space groups into which magnetic moments of systems of corner-sharing regular tetrahedra order are provided for a number of insulating compounds characterized by null propagation wave vectors.

  5. Long-range correlation and market segmentation in bond market

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Zhongxing; Yan, Yan; Chen, Xiaosong

    2017-09-01

    This paper investigates the long-range auto-correlations and cross-correlations in bond market. Based on Detrended Moving Average (DMA) method, empirical results present a clear evidence of long-range persistence that exists in one year scale. The degree of long-range correlation related to maturities has an upward tendency with a peak in short term. These findings confirm the expectations of fractal market hypothesis (FMH). Furthermore, we have developed a method based on a complex network to study the long-range cross-correlation structure and applied it to our data, and found a clear pattern of market segmentation in the long run. We also detected the nature of long-range correlation in the sub-period 2007-2012 and 2011-2016. The result from our research shows that long-range auto-correlations are decreasing in the recent years while long-range cross-correlations are strengthening.

  6. Statistical persistence of air pollutants (O3,SO2,NO2 and PM10) in Mexico City

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meraz, M.; Rodriguez, E.; Femat, R.; Echeverria, J. C.; Alvarez-Ramirez, J.

    2015-06-01

    The rescaled range (R / S) analysis was used for analyzing the statistical persistence of air pollutants in Mexico City. The air-pollution time series consisted of hourly observations of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and particulate matter obtained at the Mexico City downtown monitoring station during 1999-2014. The results showed that long-range persistence is not a uniform property over a wide range of time scales, from days to months. In fact, although the air pollutant concentrations exhibit an average persistent behavior, environmental (e.g., daily and yearly) and socio-economic (e.g., daily and weekly) cycles are reflected in the dependence of the persistence strength as quantified in terms of the Hurst exponent. It was also found that the Hurst exponent exhibits time variations, with the ozone and nitrate oxide concentrations presenting some regularity, such as annual cycles. The persistence dynamics of the pollutant concentrations increased during the rainy season and decreased during the dry season. The time and scale dependences of the persistence properties provide some insights in the mechanisms involved in the internal dynamics of the Mexico City atmosphere for accumulating and dissipating dangerous air pollutants. While in the short-term individual pollutants dynamics seems to be governed by specific mechanisms, in the long-term (for monthly and higher scales) meteorological and seasonal mechanisms involved in atmospheric recirculation seem to dominate the dynamics of all air pollutant concentrations.

  7. The impact of inter-annual variability of annual cycle on long-term persistence of surface air temperature in long historical records

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deng, Qimin; Nian, Da; Fu, Zuntao

    2018-02-01

    Previous studies in the literature show that the annual cycle of surface air temperature (SAT) is changing in both amplitude and phase, and the SAT departures from the annual cycle are long-term correlated. However, the classical definition of temperature anomalies is based on the assumption that the annual cycle is constant, which contradicts the fact of changing annual cycle. How to quantify the impact of the changing annual cycle on the long-term correlation of temperature anomaly variability still remains open. In this paper, a recently developed data adaptive analysis tool, the nonlinear mode decomposition (NMD), is used to extract and remove time-varying annual cycle to reach the new defined temperature anomalies in which time-dependent amplitude of annual cycle has been considered. By means of detrended fluctuation analysis, the impact induced by inter-annual variability from the time-dependent amplitude of annual cycle has been quantified on the estimation of long-term correlation of long historical temperature anomalies in Europe. The results show that the classical climatology annual cycle is supposed to lack inter-annual fluctuation which will lead to a maximum artificial deviation centering around 600 days. This maximum artificial deviation is crucial to defining the scaling range and estimating the long-term persistence exponent accurately. Selecting different scaling range could lead to an overestimation or underestimation of the long-term persistence exponent. By using NMD method to extract the inter-annual fluctuations of annual cycle, this artificial crossover can be weakened to extend a wider scaling range with fewer uncertainties.

  8. Model-based estimates of long-term persistence of induced HPV antibodies: a flexible subject-specific approach.

    PubMed

    Aregay, Mehreteab; Shkedy, Ziv; Molenberghs, Geert; David, Marie-Pierre; Tibaldi, Fabián

    2013-01-01

    In infectious diseases, it is important to predict the long-term persistence of vaccine-induced antibodies and to estimate the time points where the individual titers are below the threshold value for protection. This article focuses on HPV-16/18, and uses a so-called fractional-polynomial model to this effect, derived in a data-driven fashion. Initially, model selection was done from among the second- and first-order fractional polynomials on the one hand and from the linear mixed model on the other. According to a functional selection procedure, the first-order fractional polynomial was selected. Apart from the fractional polynomial model, we also fitted a power-law model, which is a special case of the fractional polynomial model. Both models were compared using Akaike's information criterion. Over the observation period, the fractional polynomials fitted the data better than the power-law model; this, of course, does not imply that it fits best over the long run, and hence, caution ought to be used when prediction is of interest. Therefore, we point out that the persistence of the anti-HPV responses induced by these vaccines can only be ascertained empirically by long-term follow-up analysis.

  9. Ontogenetic resource-use strategies in a rare long-lived cycad along environmental gradients

    PubMed Central

    Álvarez-Yépiz, Juan C.; Cueva, Alejandro; Dovčiak, Martin; Teece, Mark; Yepez, Enrico A.

    2014-01-01

    Functional traits can drive plant responses to short- and long-term stressful conditions, with potential effects on species persistence in local habitats, changes in population size and structure, and potential species range shifts in changing environments. We investigated whether ecophysiological traits in a rare cycad vary along environmental gradients and with ontogeny to understand intra-specific resource-use variation (e.g. symbiotic nitrogen fixation, nitrogen- and water-use efficiency) and possible species adaptations for different environments. Environmental gradients were characterized with 14 soil and topographic variables. Nitrogen- and water-use efficiency improved with ontogeny (from seedling to juvenile and adult stages) but declined as soil fertility decreased with increasing elevation. Conversely, reliance on symbiotic nitrogen fixation increased with elevation and varied slightly with ontogeny. Improved water-use efficiency at lower elevation and nitrogen fixation at higher elevation may represent key functional strategies for maintaining the lower and upper altitudinal species range limits, especially in arid environments where stressful conditions are intensifying due to climatic and land-use changes. In addition to facilitation linked to the regeneration niche, improved resource-use efficiency linked to the adult niche may strongly influence cycad distribution and persistence in contemporary environments. A functional approach to conservation of rare or endangered plant species may be needed in order to target the most sensitive stages to changing environmental conditions and to better understand potential range shifts and adaptive responses to global land-use and climate changes. PMID:27293655

  10. Thermally induced coloration of KBr at high pressures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Arveson, Sarah M.; Kiefer, Boris; Deng, Jie; Liu, Zhenxian; Lee, Kanani K. M.

    2018-03-01

    Laser-heated diamond-anvil cell (LHDAC) experiments reveal electronic changes in KBr at pressures between ˜13 -81 GPa when heated to high temperatures that cause runaway heating to temperatures in excess of ˜5000 K . The drastic changes in absorption behavior of KBr are interpreted as rapid formation of high-pressure F-center defects. The defects are localized to the heated region and thus do not change the long-range crystalline order of KBr. The results have significant consequences for temperature measurements in LHDAC experiments and extend the persistence of F centers in alkali halides to at least 81 GPa.

  11. Birth, Death, and Flight: A Theory of Malthusian Flocks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Toner, John

    2012-02-01

    I study “Malthusian flocks”: moving aggregates of self-propelled entities (e.g., organisms, cytoskeletal actin, microtubules in mitotic spindles) that reproduce and die. Long-ranged order (i.e., the existence of a nonzero average velocity ⟨v→(r→,t)⟩≠0→) is possible in these systems, even in spatial dimension d=2. Their spatiotemporal scaling structure can be determined exactly in d=2; furthermore, they lack both the longitudinal sound waves and the giant number fluctuations found in immortal flocks. Number fluctuations are very persistent, and propagate along the direction of flock motion, but at a different speed.

  12. Lattice dynamics and thermal transport in multiferroic CuCrO 2

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Bansal, Dipanshu; Niedziela, Jennifer L.; May, Andrew F.

    Inelastic neutron and x-ray scattering measurements of phonons and spin waves in CuCrO 2 were performed over a wide range of temperature, and complemented with first-principles simulations. The phonon dispersions and density of states are well reproduced by our density functional cal- culations, and reveal a strong anisotropy of Cu vibrations, with large amplitudes of low-frequency in-plane motions. In addition, we find that spin fluctuations persist above 300 K, far above the N eel temperature for long-range antiferromagnetic order, TN. Modeling of the thermal conductivity, based on our phonon measurements and simulations, reveals a significant anisotropy and indicates that themore » spin fluctuations above TN constitute a strong source of phonon scattering.« less

  13. Lattice dynamics and thermal transport in multiferroic CuCrO 2

    DOE PAGES

    Bansal, Dipanshu; Niedziela, Jennifer L.; May, Andrew F.; ...

    2017-02-09

    Inelastic neutron and x-ray scattering measurements of phonons and spin waves in CuCrO 2 were performed over a wide range of temperature, and complemented with first-principles simulations. The phonon dispersions and density of states are well reproduced by our density functional cal- culations, and reveal a strong anisotropy of Cu vibrations, with large amplitudes of low-frequency in-plane motions. In addition, we find that spin fluctuations persist above 300 K, far above the N eel temperature for long-range antiferromagnetic order, TN. Modeling of the thermal conductivity, based on our phonon measurements and simulations, reveals a significant anisotropy and indicates that themore » spin fluctuations above TN constitute a strong source of phonon scattering.« less

  14. The consentaneous model of the financial markets exhibiting spurious nature of long-range memory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gontis, V.; Kononovicius, A.

    2018-09-01

    It is widely accepted that there is strong persistence in the volatility of financial time series. The origin of the observed persistence, or long-range memory, is still an open problem as the observed phenomenon could be a spurious effect. Earlier we have proposed the consentaneous model of the financial markets based on the non-linear stochastic differential equations. The consentaneous model successfully reproduces empirical probability and power spectral densities of volatility. This approach is qualitatively different from models built using fractional Brownian motion. In this contribution we investigate burst and inter-burst duration statistics of volatility in the financial markets employing the consentaneous model. Our analysis provides an evidence that empirical statistical properties of burst and inter-burst duration can be explained by non-linear stochastic differential equations driving the volatility in the financial markets. This serves as an strong argument that long-range memory in finance can have spurious nature.

  15. Stable distribution and long-range correlation of Brent crude oil market

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yuan, Ying; Zhuang, Xin-tian; Jin, Xiu; Huang, Wei-qiang

    2014-11-01

    An empirical study of stable distribution and long-range correlation in Brent crude oil market was presented. First, it is found that the empirical distribution of Brent crude oil returns can be fitted well by a stable distribution, which is significantly different from a normal distribution. Second, the detrended fluctuation analysis for the Brent crude oil returns shows that there are long-range correlation in returns. It implies that there are patterns or trends in returns that persist over time. Third, the detrended fluctuation analysis for the Brent crude oil returns shows that after the financial crisis 2008, the Brent crude oil market becomes more persistence. It implies that the financial crisis 2008 could increase the frequency and strength of the interdependence and correlations between the financial time series. All of these findings may be used to improve the current fractal theories.

  16. Anticipating persistent infection

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moitra, Promit; Jain, Kanishk; Sinha, Sudeshna

    2018-03-01

    We explore the emergence of persistent infection in a closed region where the disease progression of the individuals is given by the SIRS model, with an individual becoming infected on contact with another infected individual within a given range. We focus on the role of synchronization in the persistence of contagion. Our key result is that higher degree of synchronization, both globally in the population and locally in the neighbourhoods, hinders persistence of infection. Importantly, we find that early short-time asynchrony appears to be a consistent precursor to future persistence of infection, and can potentially provide valuable early warnings for sustained contagion in a population patch. Thus, transient synchronization can help anticipate the long-term persistence of infection. Further we demonstrate that when the range of influence of an infected individual is wider, one obtains lower persistent infection. This counterintuitive observation can also be understood through the relation between synchronization and infection burn-out.

  17. Persistent fluctuations in stride intervals under fractal auditory stimulation.

    PubMed

    Marmelat, Vivien; Torre, Kjerstin; Beek, Peter J; Daffertshofer, Andreas

    2014-01-01

    Stride sequences of healthy gait are characterized by persistent long-range correlations, which become anti-persistent in the presence of an isochronous metronome. The latter phenomenon is of particular interest because auditory cueing is generally considered to reduce stride variability and may hence be beneficial for stabilizing gait. Complex systems tend to match their correlation structure when synchronizing. In gait training, can one capitalize on this tendency by using a fractal metronome rather than an isochronous one? We examined whether auditory cues with fractal variations in inter-beat intervals yield similar fractal inter-stride interval variability as isochronous auditory cueing in two complementary experiments. In Experiment 1, participants walked on a treadmill while being paced by either an isochronous or a fractal metronome with different variation strengths between beats in order to test whether participants managed to synchronize with a fractal metronome and to determine the necessary amount of variability for participants to switch from anti-persistent to persistent inter-stride intervals. Participants did synchronize with the metronome despite its fractal randomness. The corresponding coefficient of variation of inter-beat intervals was fixed in Experiment 2, in which participants walked on a treadmill while being paced by non-isochronous metronomes with different scaling exponents. As expected, inter-stride intervals showed persistent correlations similar to self-paced walking only when cueing contained persistent correlations. Our results open up a new window to optimize rhythmic auditory cueing for gait stabilization by integrating fractal fluctuations in the inter-beat intervals.

  18. Persistent Fluctuations in Stride Intervals under Fractal Auditory Stimulation

    PubMed Central

    Marmelat, Vivien; Torre, Kjerstin; Beek, Peter J.; Daffertshofer, Andreas

    2014-01-01

    Stride sequences of healthy gait are characterized by persistent long-range correlations, which become anti-persistent in the presence of an isochronous metronome. The latter phenomenon is of particular interest because auditory cueing is generally considered to reduce stride variability and may hence be beneficial for stabilizing gait. Complex systems tend to match their correlation structure when synchronizing. In gait training, can one capitalize on this tendency by using a fractal metronome rather than an isochronous one? We examined whether auditory cues with fractal variations in inter-beat intervals yield similar fractal inter-stride interval variability as isochronous auditory cueing in two complementary experiments. In Experiment 1, participants walked on a treadmill while being paced by either an isochronous or a fractal metronome with different variation strengths between beats in order to test whether participants managed to synchronize with a fractal metronome and to determine the necessary amount of variability for participants to switch from anti-persistent to persistent inter-stride intervals. Participants did synchronize with the metronome despite its fractal randomness. The corresponding coefficient of variation of inter-beat intervals was fixed in Experiment 2, in which participants walked on a treadmill while being paced by non-isochronous metronomes with different scaling exponents. As expected, inter-stride intervals showed persistent correlations similar to self-paced walking only when cueing contained persistent correlations. Our results open up a new window to optimize rhythmic auditory cueing for gait stabilization by integrating fractal fluctuations in the inter-beat intervals. PMID:24651455

  19. Long memory in international financial markets trends and short movements during 2008 financial crisis based on variational mode decomposition and detrended fluctuation analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lahmiri, Salim

    2015-11-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate long-range dependence in trend and short variation of stock market price and return series before, during, and after 2008 financial crisis. Variational mode decomposition (VMD), a newly introduced technique for signal processing, is adopted to decompose stock market data into a finite set of modes so as to obtain long term trends and short term movements of stock market data. Then, the detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) and range scale (R/S) analysis are used to estimate Hurst exponent in each variational mode obtained from VMD. For both price and return series, the empirical results from twelve international stock markets show evidence that long term trends are persistent, whilst short term variations are anti-persistent before, during, and after 2008 financial crisis.

  20. Centrality dependence of dihadron correlations and azimuthal anisotropy harmonics in PbPb collisions at $$\\sqrt{s_{NN}}= 2.76\\ \\mbox{TeV}$$

    DOE PAGES

    Chatrchyan, S.; Khachatryan, V.; Sirunyan, A. M.; ...

    2012-05-30

    Measurements from the CMS experiment at the LHC of dihadron correlations for charged particles produced in PbPb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energy of 2. 76 TeV are presented. The results are reported as a function of the particle transverse momenta (p T ) and collision centrality over a broad range in relative pseudorapidity (Δη) and the full range of relative azimuthal angle (Δmore » $$\\phi$$). The observed two-dimensional correlation structure in Δη and Δ$$\\phi$$ is characterised by a narrow peak at (Δη,Δ$$\\phi$$)≈(0,0) from jet-like correlations and a long-range structure that persists up to at least |Δη|=4. An enhancement of the magnitude of the short-range jet peak is observed with increasing centrality, especially for particles of p T around 1-2 GeV/c. The long-range azimuthal dihadron correlations are extensively studied using a Fourier decomposition analysis. The extracted Fourier coefficients are found to factorise into a product of single-particle azimuthal anisotropies up to p T ≈3-3. 5 GeV/c for at least one particle from each pair, except for the second-order harmonics in the most central PbPb events. Various orders of the single-particle azimuthal anisotropy harmonics are extracted for associated particle p T of 1-3 GeV/c, as a function of the trigger particle p T up to 20 GeV/c and over the full centrality range.« less

  1. Monte Carlo simulations of kagome lattices with magnetic dipolar interactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Plumer, Martin; Holden, Mark; Way, Andrew; Saika-Voivod, Ivan; Southern, Byron

    Monte Carlo simulations of classical spins on the two-dimensional kagome lattice with only dipolar interactions are presented. In addition to revealing the sixfold-degenerate ground state, the nature of the finite-temperature phase transition to long-range magnetic order is discussed. Low-temperature states consisting of mixtures of degenerate ground-state configurations separated by domain walls can be explained as a result of competing exchange-like and shape-anisotropy-like terms in the dipolar coupling. Fluctuations between pairs of degenerate spin configurations are found to persist well into the ordered state as the temperature is lowered until locking in to a low-energy state. Results suggest that the system undergoes a continuous phase transition at T ~ 0 . 43 in agreement with previous MC simulations but the nature of the ordering process differs. Preliminary results which extend this analysis to the 3D fcc ABC-stacked kagome systems will be presented.

  2. Phosphors with long-persistent green phosphorescence

    DOEpatents

    Yen, William M; Jia, Weiyi; Lu, Lizhu; Yuan, Huabiao

    2001-01-01

    This invention relates to phosphors including long-persistence green phosphors. Phosphors of the invention are represented by the general formula: M.sub.k Al.sub.2 O.sub.4 :2xEu.sup.2+,2yR.sup.3+ wherein k-1-2x-2y, x is a number ranging from about 0.0001 to about 0.05, y is a number ranging from about x to about 3x, M is an alkaline earth metal, and R.sup.3+ is one or more trivalent metal ions. Phosphors of this invention include powders, ceramics, single crystals and single crystal fibers. A method of manufacturing improved phosphors and a method of manufacturing single crystal phosphors are also provided.

  3. Temporal fractals in seabird foraging behaviour: diving through the scales of time

    PubMed Central

    MacIntosh, Andrew J. J.; Pelletier, Laure; Chiaradia, Andre; Kato, Akiko; Ropert-Coudert, Yan

    2013-01-01

    Animal behaviour exhibits fractal structure in space and time. Fractal properties in animal space-use have been explored extensively under the Lévy flight foraging hypothesis, but studies of behaviour change itself through time are rarer, have typically used shorter sequences generated in the laboratory, and generally lack critical assessment of their results. We thus performed an in-depth analysis of fractal time in binary dive sequences collected via bio-logging from free-ranging little penguins (Eudyptula minor) across full-day foraging trips (216 data points; 4 orders of temporal magnitude). Results from 4 fractal methods show that dive sequences are long-range dependent and persistent across ca. 2 orders of magnitude. This fractal structure correlated with trip length and time spent underwater, but individual traits had little effect. Fractal time is a fundamental characteristic of penguin foraging behaviour, and its investigation is thus a promising avenue for research on interactions between animals and their environments. PMID:23703258

  4. On the climate impacts from the volcanic and solar forcings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Varotsos, Costas A.; Lovejoy, Shaun

    2016-04-01

    The observed and the modelled estimations show that the main forcings on the atmosphere are of volcanic and solar origins, which act however in an opposite way. The former can be very strong and decrease at short time scales, whereas, the latter increase with time scale. On the contrary, the observed fluctuations in temperatures increase at long scales (e.g. centennial and millennial), and the solar forcings do increase with scale. The common practice is to reduce forcings to radiative equivalents assuming that their combination is linear. In order to clarify the validity of the linearity assumption and determine its range of validity, we systematically compare the statistical properties of solar only, volcanic only and combined solar and volcanic forcings over the range of time scales from one to 1000 years. Additionally, we attempt to investigate plausible reasons for the discrepancies observed between the measured and modeled anomalies of tropospheric temperatures in the tropics. For this purpose, we analyse tropospheric temperature anomalies for both the measured and modeled time series. The results obtained show that the measured temperature fluctuations reveal white noise behavior, while the modeled ones exhibit long-range power law correlations. We suggest that the persistent signal, should be removed from the modeled values in order to achieve better agreement with observations. Keywords: Scaling, Nonlinear variability, Climate system, Solar radiation

  5. Effect of genomic long-range correlations on DNA persistence length: from theory to single molecule experiments.

    PubMed

    Moukhtar, Julien; Faivre-Moskalenko, Cendrine; Milani, Pascale; Audit, Benjamin; Vaillant, Cedric; Fontaine, Emeline; Mongelard, Fabien; Lavorel, Guillaume; St-Jean, Philippe; Bouvet, Philippe; Argoul, Françoise; Arneodo, Alain

    2010-04-22

    Sequence dependency of DNA intrinsic bending properties has been emphasized as a possible key ingredient to in vivo chromatin organization. We use atomic force microscopy (AFM) in air and liquid to image intrinsically straight (synthetic), uncorrelated (hepatitis C RNA virus) and persistent long-range correlated (human) DNA fragments in various ionic conditions such that the molecules freely equilibrate on the mica surface before being captured in a particular conformation. 2D thermodynamic equilibrium is experimentally verified by a detailed statistical analysis of the Gaussian nature of the DNA bend angle fluctuations. We show that the worm-like chain (WLC) model, commonly used to describe the average conformation of long semiflexible polymers, reproduces remarkably well the persistence length estimates for the first two molecules as consistently obtained from (i) mean square end-to-end distance measurement and (ii) mean projection of the end-to-end vector on the initial orientation. Whatever the operating conditions (air or liquid, concentration of metal cations Mg(2+) and/or Ni(2+)), the persistence length found for the uncorrelated viral DNA underestimates the value obtained for the straight DNA. We show that this systematic difference is the signature of the presence of an uncorrelated structural intrinsic disorder in the hepatitis C virus (HCV) DNA fragment that superimposes on local curvatures induced by thermal fluctuations and that only the entropic disorder depends upon experimental conditions. In contrast, the WLC model fails to describe the human DNA conformations. We use a mean-field extension of the WLC model to account for the presence of long-range correlations (LRC) in the intrinsic curvature disorder of human genomic DNA: the stronger the LRC, the smaller the persistence length. The comparison of AFM imaging of human DNA with LRC DNA simulations confirms that the rather small mean square end-to-end distance observed, particularly for G+C-rich human DNA molecules, more likely results from a large-scale intrinsic curvature due to a persistent distribution of DNA curvature sites than from some increased flexibility.

  6. Europium mixed-valence, long-range magnetic order, and dynamic magnetic response in EuCu 2 ( Si x Ge 1 - x ) 2

    DOE PAGES

    Nemkovski, Krill S.; Kozlenko, D. P.; Alekseev, Pavel A.; ...

    2016-11-01

    In mixed-valence or heavy-fermion systems, the hybridization between local f orbitals and conduction band states can cause the suppression of long-range magnetic order, which competes with strong spin uctuations. Ce- and Yb-based systems have been found to exhibit fascinating physical properties (heavy-fermion superconductivity, non-Fermi-liquid states, etc.) when tuned to the vicinity of magnetic quantum critical points by use of various external control parameters (temperature, magnetic eld, chemical composition). Recently, similar effects (mixed-valence, Kondo uctuations, heavy Fermi liquid) have been reported to exist in some Eu-based compounds. Unlike Ce (Yb), Eu has a multiple electron (hole) occupancy of its 4f shell,more » and the magnetic Eu 2+ state (4f 7) has no orbital component in the usual LS coupling scheme, which can lead to a quite different and interesting physics. In the EuCu 2(Si xGe 1-x) 2 series, where the valence can be tuned by varying the Si/Ge ratio, it has been reported that a significant valence uctuation can exist even in the magnetic order regime. This paper presents a detailed study of the latter material using different microscopic probes (XANES, Mossbauer spectroscopy, elastic and inelastic neutron scattering), in which the composition dependence of the magnetic order and dynamics across the series is traced back to the change in the Eu valence state. In particular, the results support the persistence of valence uctuations into the antiferromagnetic state over a sizable composition range below the critical Si concentration x c ≈ 0:65. In conclusion, the sequence of magnetic ground states in the series is shown to re ect the evolution of the magnetic spectral response.« less

  7. Zigzag antiferromagnetic ground state with anisotropic correlation lengths in the quasi-two-dimensional honeycomb lattice compound N a2C o2Te O6

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bera, A. K.; Yusuf, S. M.; Kumar, Amit; Ritter, C.

    2017-03-01

    The crystal structure, magnetic ground state, and the temperature-dependent microscopic spin-spin correlations of the frustrated honeycomb lattice antiferromagnet N a2C o2Te O6 have been investigated by powder neutron diffraction. A long-range antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering has been found below TN˜24.8 K . The magnetic ground state, determined to be zigzag antiferromagnetic and characterized by a propagation vector k =(1 /2 0 0 ) , occurs due to the competing exchange interactions up to third-nearest neighbors within the honeycomb lattice. The exceptional existence of a limited magnetic correlation length along the c axis (perpendicular to the honeycomb layers in the a b planes) has been found even at 1.8 K, well below the TN˜24.8 K . The observed limited correlation along the c axis is explained by the disorder distribution of the Na ions within the intermediate layers between honeycomb planes. The reduced ordered moments mCo (1 )=2.77 (3 ) μB/C o2 + and mCo (2 )=2.45 (2 ) μB/C o2 + at 1.8 K reflect the persistence of spin fluctuations in the ordered state. Above TN˜24.8 K , the presence of short-range magnetic correlations, manifested by broad diffuse magnetic peaks in the diffraction patterns, has been found. Reverse Monte Carlo analysis of the experimental diffuse magnetic scattering data reveals that the spin correlations are mainly confined within the two-dimensional honeycomb layers (a b plane) with a correlation length of ˜12 Å at 25 K. The nature of the spin arrangements is found to be similar in both the short-range and long-range ordered magnetic states. This implies that the short-range correlation grows with decreasing temperature and leads to the zigzag AFM ordering at T ≤TN . The present study provides a comprehensive picture of the magnetic correlations over the temperature range above and below the TN and their relation to the crystal structure. The role of intermediate soft Na layers on the magnetic coupling between honeycomb planes is discussed.

  8. Persistent Identifiers for Dutch cultural heritage institutions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ras, Marcel; Kruithof, Gijsbert

    2016-04-01

    Over the past years, more and more collections belonging to archives, libraries, media, museums, and knowledge institutes are being digitised and made available online. These are exciting times for ALM institutions. They are realising that, in the information society, their collections are goldmines. Unfortunately most heritage institutions in the Netherlands do not yet meet the basic preconditions for long-term availability of their collections. The digital objects often have no long lasting fixed reference yet. URL's and web addresses change. Some digital objects that were referenced in Europeana and other portals can no longer be found. References in scientific articles have a very short life span, which is damaging for scholarly research. In 2015, the Dutch Digital Heritage Network (NDE) has started a two-year work program to co-ordinate existing initiatives in order to improve the (long-term) accessibility of the Dutch digital heritage for a wide range of users, anytime, anyplace. The Digital Heritage Network is a partnership established on the initiative of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. The members of the NDE are large, national institutions that strive to professionally preserve and manage digital data, e.g. the National Library, The Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, the Netherlands Cultural Heritage Agency, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Archive of the Netherlands and the DEN Foundation, and a growing number of associations and individuals both within and outside the heritage sector. By means of three work programmes the goals of the Network should be accomplished and improve the visibility, the usability and the sustainability of digital heritage. Each programme contains of a set of projects. Within the sustainability program a project on creating a model for persistent identifiers is taking place. The main goals of the project are (1) raise awareness among cultural heritage institutions on the subject of persistent identifiers, (2) develop a business model for a persistent identifier service especially for smaller CH organisations, and (3) set up some show cases. Some of the products delivered by the project in 2016 will be: (1) a business model for a persistent identifier service based on an affordable co-financing model (2) a technical implementation of a persistent identifier service based on one of the existing PI models (3) a general agreement with suppliers of collection management systems and record management systems used by cultural heritage institutions in The Netherlands (4) a decision tree for cultural heritage organisations which can guide them through the process of selecting a particular type of Persistent Identifier (Handle, DOI, ARK or NBN:URN) (5) a technical implementation help function In the presentation we will explain the collaborative work carried out in The Netherlands within the framework of the NDE Network, focusing on the Persistent Identifiers project. We will present our preliminary results on communication strategy, business model and decision tree. And we will speak about the discussions we have with the commercial vendors of record management systems in order to built-in facilities for persistent identifiers in the systems used by the Dutch cultural heritage organisations.

  9. More than Content: The Persistent Cross-Subject Effects of English Language Arts Teachers' Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Master, Benjamin; Loeb, Susanna; Wyckoff, James

    2017-01-01

    Evidence that teachers' short-term instructional effects persist over time and predict substantial long-run impacts on students' lives provides much of the impetus for a wide range of educational reforms focused on identifying and responding to differences in teachers' value-added to student learning. However, relatively little research has…

  10. On the wrong inference of long-range correlations in climate data; the case of the solar and volcanic forcing over the Tropical Pacific

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Varotsos, Costas A.; Efstathiou, Maria N.

    2017-05-01

    A substantial weakness of several climate studies on long-range dependence is the conclusion of long-term memory of the climate conditions, without considering it necessary to establish the power-law scaling and to reject a simple exponential decay of the autocorrelation function. We herewith show one paradigmatic case, where a strong long-range dependence could be wrongly inferred from incomplete data analysis. We firstly apply the DFA method on the solar and volcanic forcing time series over the tropical Pacific, during the past 1000 years and the results obtained show that a statistically significant straight line fit to the fluctuation function in a log-log representation is revealed with slope higher than 0.5, which wrongly may be assumed as an indication of persistent long-range correlations in the time series. We argue that the long-range dependence cannot be concluded just from this straight line fit, but it requires the fulfilment of the two additional prerequisites i.e. reject the exponential decay of the autocorrelation function and establish the power-law scaling. In fact, the investigation of the validity of these prerequisites showed that the DFA exponent higher than 0.5 does not justify the existence of persistent long-range correlations in the temporal evolution of the solar and volcanic forcing during last millennium. In other words, we show that empirical analyses, based on these two prerequisites must not be considered as panacea for a direct proof of scaling, but only as evidence that the scaling hypothesis is plausible. We also discuss the scaling behaviour of solar and volcanic forcing data based on the Haar tool, which recently proved its ability to reliably detect the existence of the scaling effect in climate series.

  11. Detection of long term persistence in time series of the Neuquen River (Argentina)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Seoane, Rafael; Paz González, Antonio

    2014-05-01

    In the Patagonian region (Argentina), previous hydrometeorological studies that have been developed using general circulation models show variations in annual mean flows. Future climate scenarios obtained from high-resolution models indicate decreases in total annual precipitation, and these scenarios are more important in the Neuquén river basin (23000 km2). The aim of this study was the estimation of long term persistence in the Neuquén River basin (Argentina). The detection of variations in the long range dependence term and long memory of time series was evaluated with the Hurst exponent. We applied rescaled adjusted range analysis (R/S) to time series of River discharges measured from 1903 to 2011 and this time series was divided into two subperiods: the first was from 1903 to 1970 and the second from 1970 to 2011. Results show a small increase in persistence for the second period. Our results are consistent with those obtained by Koch and Markovic (2007), who observed and estimated an increase of the H exponent for the period 1960-2000 in the Elbe River (Germany). References Hurst, H. (1951).Long term storage capacities of reservoirs". Trans. Am. Soc. Civil Engrs., 116:776-808. Koch and Markovic (2007). Evidences for Climate Change in Germany over the 20th Century from the Stochastic Analysis of hydro-meteorological Time Series, MODSIM07, International Congress on Modelling and Simulation, Christchurch, New Zealand.

  12. Low-noise phase of a two-dimensional active nematic system

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shankar, Suraj; Ramaswamy, Sriram; Marchetti, M. Cristina

    2018-01-01

    We consider a collection of self-driven apolar particles on a substrate that organize into an active nematic phase at sufficiently high density or low noise. Using the dynamical renormalization group, we systematically study the two-dimensional fluctuating ordered phase in a coarse-grained hydrodynamic description involving both the nematic director and the conserved density field. In the presence of noise, we show that the system always displays only quasi-long-ranged orientational order beyond a crossover scale. A careful analysis of the nonlinearities permitted by symmetry reveals that activity is dangerously irrelevant over the linearized description, allowing giant number fluctuations to persist although now with strong finite-size effects and a nonuniversal scaling exponent. Nonlinear effects from the active currents lead to power-law correlations in the density field, thereby preventing macroscopic phase separation in the thermodynamic limit.

  13. Reexamining the minimum viable population concept for long-lived species.

    PubMed

    Shoemaker, Kevin T; Breisch, Alvin R; Jaycox, Jesse W; Gibbs, James P

    2013-06-01

    For decades conservation biologists have proposed general rules of thumb for minimum viable population size (MVP); typically, they range from hundreds to thousands of individuals. These rules have shifted conservation resources away from small and fragmented populations. We examined whether iteroparous, long-lived species might constitute an exception to general MVP guidelines. On the basis of results from a 10-year capture-recapture study in eastern New York (U.S.A.), we developed a comprehensive demographic model for the globally threatened bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii), which is designated as endangered by the IUCN in 2011. We assessed population viability across a wide range of initial abundances and carrying capacities. Not accounting for inbreeding, our results suggest that bog turtle colonies with as few as 15 breeding females have >90% probability of persisting for >100 years, provided vital rates and environmental variance remain at currently estimated levels. On the basis of our results, we suggest that MVP thresholds may be 1-2 orders of magnitude too high for many long-lived organisms. Consequently, protection of small and fragmented populations may constitute a viable conservation option for such species, especially in a regional or metapopulation context. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

  14. A long-term intensive behavioral treatment study in patients with persistent vegetative state or minimally conscious state.

    PubMed

    Lotze, Martin; Schertel, Karin; Birbaumer, Niels; Kotchoubey, Boris

    2011-02-01

    Persistent vegetative state is regarded as "permanent", if it persists for more than 1 year for traumatic aetiology, or for more than 3 months for other aetiologies. This is also the case for patients in a minimally conscious state. In order to investigate possible improvements after this period we treated and observed 7 such patients over a period of 6 months. An ABA-BAB study design was used, with sensory stimulation and social-tactile intervention as treatment regimes. Changes were documented by clinical evaluation and blind behavioural assessment through video monitoring. Clinical scores improved significantly after treatment. Video assessment also indicated significant changes in the patients' behaviour. During the initial period of therapy, social tactile interaction improved patients' activity, while sensory stimulation impaired activity. During the main part of therapy, both types of treatment yielded similar positive results. This study indicates the possibility of achieving behavioural improvements with regard to the responsiveness of patients with long-lasting persistent vegetative state and minimally conscious state by use of long-term treatment.

  15. DUST CAPTURE AND LONG-LIVED DENSITY ENHANCEMENTS TRIGGERED BY VORTICES IN 2D PROTOPLANETARY DISKS

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Surville, Clément; Mayer, Lucio; Lin, Douglas N. C., E-mail: clement.surville@physik.uzh.ch

    We study dust capture by vortices and its long-term consequences in global two-fluid inviscid disk simulations using a new polar grid code RoSSBi. We perform the longest integrations so far, several hundred disk orbits, at the highest resolution attainable in global disk simulations with dust, namely, 2048 × 4096 grid points. We vary a wide range of dust parameters, most notably the initial dust-to-gas ratio ϵ varies in the range of 10{sup −4}–10{sup −2}. Irrespective of the value of ϵ , we find rapid concentration of the dust inside vortices, reaching dust-to-gas ratios of the order of unity inside themore » vortex. We present an analytical model that describes this dust capture process very well, finding consistent results for all dust parameters. A vortex streaming instability develops, which invariably causes vortex destruction. After vortex dissipation large-scale dust rings encompassing a disk annulus form in most cases, which sustain very high dust concentration, approaching ratios of the order of unity; they persist as long as the duration of the simulations. They are sustained by a streaming instability, which manifests itself in high-density dust clumps at various scales. When vortices are particularly long-lived, rings do not form but dust clumps inside vortices can survive a long time and would likely undergo collapse by gravitational instability. Rings encompass almost an Earth mass of solid material, while even larger masses of dust do accumulate inside vortices in the earlier stage. We argue that rapid planetesimal formation would occur in the dust clumps inside the vortices as well as in the post-vortex rings.« less

  16. Dust Capture and Long-lived Density Enhancements Triggered by Vortices in 2D Protoplanetary Disks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Surville, Clément; Mayer, Lucio; Lin, Douglas N. C.

    2016-11-01

    We study dust capture by vortices and its long-term consequences in global two-fluid inviscid disk simulations using a new polar grid code RoSSBi. We perform the longest integrations so far, several hundred disk orbits, at the highest resolution attainable in global disk simulations with dust, namely, 2048 × 4096 grid points. We vary a wide range of dust parameters, most notably the initial dust-to-gas ratio ɛ varies in the range of 10-4-10-2. Irrespective of the value of ɛ, we find rapid concentration of the dust inside vortices, reaching dust-to-gas ratios of the order of unity inside the vortex. We present an analytical model that describes this dust capture process very well, finding consistent results for all dust parameters. A vortex streaming instability develops, which invariably causes vortex destruction. After vortex dissipation large-scale dust rings encompassing a disk annulus form in most cases, which sustain very high dust concentration, approaching ratios of the order of unity they persist as long as the duration of the simulations. They are sustained by a streaming instability, which manifests itself in high-density dust clumps at various scales. When vortices are particularly long-lived, rings do not form but dust clumps inside vortices can survive a long time and would likely undergo collapse by gravitational instability. Rings encompass almost an Earth mass of solid material, while even larger masses of dust do accumulate inside vortices in the earlier stage. We argue that rapid planetesimal formation would occur in the dust clumps inside the vortices as well as in the post-vortex rings.

  17. Scaling Exponents in Financial Markets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, Kyungsik; Kim, Cheol-Hyun; Kim, Soo Yong

    2007-03-01

    We study the dynamical behavior of four exchange rates in foreign exchange markets. A detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) is applied to detect the long-range correlation embedded in the non-stationary time series. It is for our case found that there exists a persistent long-range correlation in volatilities, which implies the deviation from the efficient market hypothesis. Particularly, the crossover is shown to exist in the scaling behaviors of the volatilities.

  18. Scaling Analysis of Tide Gauge Data from the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Pacific Coasts of the United States

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barton, C. C.; Smigelski, J. R.; Tebbens, S. F.

    2008-12-01

    Most coastal regions are subject to inundation due to many periodic and non-periodic inputs including for example: diurnal and semi diurnal tides, storms, tsunamis, and global sea level change. Tide guage data provide a frequently sampled long term record of fluctuations in water level. A power-spectral-density analysis of tidal gauge data is used to quantify persistence (degree of internal correlation over various time intervals) in terms of the scaling exponent β and to identify temporal changes in persistence. The stations are located at different proximity to the open ocean, including bays, harbors, and channels. The datasets are from the NOAA CO-OPS Verified Hourly Station Datum. The length of the data sets ranges from 3 years to 101 years. The hourly data sets are decimated to one record every four hours. All data sets analyzed show three distinct regions of persistence with two inflection points at approximately one day and five days. For times less than one day, the scaling exponent ranges between 0 < β < 2.6. For the time interval 1 to 5 days, the scaling exponent ranges between 1.1 < β < 2.1. For times greater than 5 days, the scaling exponent ranges between 0.4 < β < 0.9. Persistence generally decreases as period increases but is stable between the inflection points. At Duck, NC, long term persistence in the tide gauge signal is 0.6 as compared to 0.9 for the biweekly shoreline position signal over twenty years, suggesting a strong correlation between the two and the possibility of using tide gauge data to quantify nearby shoreline mobility over similar time intervals.

  19. [Effects of perceived benefits about when and how to use a learning strategy].

    PubMed

    Yamaguchi, Tsuyoshi

    2017-04-01

    Previous studies have shown a positive correlation between the use of a learning strategy and perceived benefits. However, the impact of perceived benefits as conditional knowledge in metacognitive knowledge has not been examined. The present study investigated the effect of perceived benefits about when (short and long) and how (persistent and suitable) to use learning strategies using two surveys. Each survey utilized a sample of undergraduate students from three different Japanese universities, and the Bayesian hierarchical modeling and within-person variance were used to verify the relationship between the use of a learning strategy and perceived benefits. The students completed questionnaires regarding cognitive (Survey 2a) and metacognitive (Survey 2b) strategies (Survey 1 included two strategies), and achievement goals (without Survey 1). Findings revealed the effects of long-term and short-term persistent perceived benefits on the use of a learning strategy in all the surveys. These results suggest that persistent benefits be emphasized in order to promote the use of learning strategies, and that the appropriate perceived benefits be emphasized in order to become an adaptive learner.

  20. Long-range persistence in the global mean surface temperature and the global warming "time bomb"

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rypdal, M.; Rypdal, K.

    2012-04-01

    Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) and Maximum Likelihood Estimations (MLE) based on instrumental data over the last 160 years indicate that there is Long-Range Persistence (LRP) in Global Mean Surface Temperature (GMST) on time scales of months to decades. The persistence is much higher in sea surface temperature than in land temperatures. Power spectral analysis of multi-model, multi-ensemble runs of global climate models indicate further that this persistence may extend to centennial and maybe even millennial time-scales. We also support these conclusions by wavelet variogram analysis, DFA, and MLE of Northern hemisphere mean surface temperature reconstructions over the last two millennia. These analyses indicate that the GMST is a strongly persistent noise with Hurst exponent H>0.9 on time scales from decades up to at least 500 years. We show that such LRP can be very important for long-term climate prediction and for the establishment of a "time bomb" in the climate system due to a growing energy imbalance caused by the slow relaxation to radiative equilibrium under rising anthropogenic forcing. We do this by the construction of a multi-parameter dynamic-stochastic model for the GMST response to deterministic and stochastic forcing, where LRP is represented by a power-law response function. Reconstructed data for total forcing and GMST over the last millennium are used with this model to estimate trend coefficients and Hurst exponent for the GMST on multi-century time scale by means of MLE. Ensembles of solutions generated from the stochastic model also allow us to estimate confidence intervals for these estimates.

  1. Prethermalization and persistent order in the absence of a thermal phase transition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Halimeh, Jad C.; Zauner-Stauber, Valentin; McCulloch, Ian P.; de Vega, Inés; Schollwöck, Ulrich; Kastner, Michael

    2017-01-01

    We numerically study the dynamics after a parameter quench in the one-dimensional transverse-field Ising model with long-range interactions (∝1 /rα with distance r ), for finite chains and also directly in the thermodynamic limit. In nonequilibrium, i.e., before the system settles into a thermal state, we find a long-lived regime that is characterized by a prethermal value of the magnetization, which in general differs from its thermal value. We find that the ferromagnetic phase is stabilized dynamically: as a function of the quench parameter, the prethermal magnetization shows a transition between a symmetry-broken and a symmetric phase, even for those values of α for which no finite-temperature transition occurs in equilibrium. The dynamical critical point is shifted with respect to the equilibrium one, and the shift is found to depend on α as well as on the quench parameters.

  2. The Hurst exponent in energy futures prices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Serletis, Apostolos; Rosenberg, Aryeh Adam

    2007-07-01

    This paper extends the work in Elder and Serletis [Long memory in energy futures prices, Rev. Financial Econ., forthcoming, 2007] and Serletis et al. [Detrended fluctuation analysis of the US stock market, Int. J. Bifurcation Chaos, forthcoming, 2007] by re-examining the empirical evidence for random walk type behavior in energy futures prices. In doing so, it uses daily data on energy futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange, over the period from July 2, 1990 to November 1, 2006, and a statistical physics approach-the ‘detrending moving average’ technique-providing a reliable framework for testing the information efficiency in financial markets as shown by Alessio et al. [Second-order moving average and scaling of stochastic time series, Eur. Phys. J. B 27 (2002) 197-200] and Carbone et al. [Time-dependent hurst exponent in financial time series. Physica A 344 (2004) 267-271; Analysis of clusters formed by the moving average of a long-range correlated time series. Phys. Rev. E 69 (2004) 026105]. The results show that energy futures returns display long memory and that the particular form of long memory is anti-persistence.

  3. Long-range fluctuations and multifractality in connectivity density time series of a wind speed monitoring network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Laib, Mohamed; Telesca, Luciano; Kanevski, Mikhail

    2018-03-01

    This paper studies the daily connectivity time series of a wind speed-monitoring network using multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis. It investigates the long-range fluctuation and multifractality in the residuals of the connectivity time series. Our findings reveal that the daily connectivity of the correlation-based network is persistent for any correlation threshold. Further, the multifractality degree is higher for larger absolute values of the correlation threshold.

  4. Post-fire logging produces minimal persistent impacts on understory vegetation in northeastern Oregon, USA

    Treesearch

    David W. Peterson; Erich Dodson

    2016-01-01

    Post-fire forest management commonly requires accepting some negative ecological impacts from management activities in order to achieve management objectives. Managers need to know, however, whether ecological impacts from post-fire management activities are transient or cause long-term ecosystem degradation. We studied the long-term response of understory vegetation...

  5. Spin-isotropic continuum of spin excitations in antiferromagnetically ordered Fe1.07Te

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Song, Yu; Lu, Xingye; Regnault, L.-P.; Su, Yixi; Lai, Hsin-Hua; Hu, Wen-Jun; Si, Qimiao; Dai, Pengcheng

    2018-02-01

    Unconventional superconductivity typically emerges in the presence of quasidegenerate ground states, and the associated intense fluctuations are likely responsible for generating the superconducting state. Here we use polarized neutron scattering to study the spin space anisotropy of spin excitations in Fe1.07Te exhibiting bicollinear antiferromagnetic (AF) order, the parent compound of FeTe1 -xSex superconductors. We confirm that the low-energy spin excitations are transverse spin waves, consistent with a local-moment origin of the bicollinear AF order. While the ordered moments lie in the a b plane in Fe1.07Te , it takes less energy for them to fluctuate out of plane, similar to BaFe2As2 and NaFeAs. At energies above E ≳20 meV, we find magnetic scattering to be dominated by an isotropic continuum that persists up to at least 50 meV. Although the isotropic spin excitations cannot be ascribed to spin waves from a long-range-ordered local-moment antiferromagnet, the continuum can result from the bicollinear magnetic order ground state of Fe1.07Te being quasidegenerate with plaquette magnetic order.

  6. [Accumulative effects and long-term persistence of subliminal mere exposure].

    PubMed

    Kawakami, Naoaki; Yoshida, Fujio

    2011-10-01

    We examined the accumulative effects and long-term persistence of subliminal mere exposure. An accumulative exposure condition (100 exposures distributed over five days) and a massed exposure condition (100 exposures in one day) were used in a Go/No-go Association Task (GNAT), with assessments of likability from Time 1 (just after) to Time 6 (after three months). First, a single stimulus was shown subliminally for a total of 100 times. The results indicated that mere exposure effects occurred equally often at Time 1. However, after Time 2, likability gradually decreased under the massed exposure condition, while it did not decrease under the accumulative exposure condition until Time 6. Second, in order to investigate the effect of multiple exposure, five stimuli belonging to a common category were shown 20 times each, for a total of 100 times. An ANOVA suggested that massed exposure had an instantaneous effect on likability, whereas accumulative exposure had a long-term persistence effect. Also, multiple exposures strengthened the mere exposure effect.

  7. Entanglement entropy for the long-range Ising chain in a transverse field.

    PubMed

    Koffel, Thomas; Lewenstein, M; Tagliacozzo, Luca

    2012-12-28

    We consider the Ising model in a transverse field with long-range antiferromagnetic interactions that decay as a power law with their distance. We study both the phase diagram and the entanglement properties as a function of the exponent of the interaction. The phase diagram can be used as a guide for future experiments with trapped ions. We find two gapped phases, one dominated by the transverse field, exhibiting quasi-long-range order, and one dominated by the long-range interaction, with long-range Néel ordered ground states. We determine the location of the quantum critical points separating those two phases. We determine their critical exponents and central charges. In the phase with quasi-long-range order the ground states exhibit exotic corrections to the area law for the entanglement entropy coexisting with gapped entanglement spectra.

  8. Patients with Long-Term Oral Carriage Harbor High-Persister Mutants of Candida albicans▿

    PubMed Central

    LaFleur, Michael D.; Qi, Qingguo; Lewis, Kim

    2010-01-01

    Fungal biofilms produce a small number of persister cells which can tolerate high concentrations of fungicidal agents. Persisters form upon attachment to a surface, an important step in the pathogenesis of Candida strains. The periodic application of antimicrobial agents may select for strains with increased levels of persister cells. In order to test this possibility, 150 isolates of Candida albicans and C. glabrata were obtained from cancer patients who were at high risk for the development of oral candidiasis and who had been treated with topical chlorhexidine once a day. Persister levels were measured by exposing biofilms growing in the wells of microtiter plates to high concentrations of amphotericin B and plating for survivors. The persister levels of the isolates varied from 0.2 to 9%, and strains isolated from patients with long-term carriage had high levels of persisters. High-persister strains were isolated from every patient with Candida carriage of more than 8 consecutive weeks but from no patients with transient carriage. All of the high-persister isolates had an amphotericin B MIC that was the same as that for the wild type, indicating that these strains were drug-tolerant rather than drug-resistant mutants. Biofilms of the majority of high-persister strains also showed an increased tolerance to chlorhexidine and had the same MIC for this antimicrobial as the wild type. This study suggests that persister cells are clinically relevant, and antimicrobial therapy selects for high-persister strains in vivo. The drug tolerance of persisters may be a critical but overlooked component responsible for antimicrobial drug failure and relapsing infections. PMID:19841146

  9. Observation of Dipolar Spin-Exchange Interactions with Polar Molecules in a Lattice

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2013-01-01

    extend beyond nearest neighbours. This allows coherent spin dynamics to persist even for gases with relatively high entropy and low lattice filling...dynamics to persist even for gases with relatively high entropy and low lat- tice filling. While measured effects of dipolar interactions in ultracold...limits superexchange to nearest-neighbor interactions and requires extremely low temperature and entropy . In contrast, long-range dipolar

  10. Focus: the peculiar persistence of the naturalistic fallacy. Introduction.

    PubMed

    Milam, Erika Lorraine

    2014-09-01

    Although "naturalistic fallacy" is a term coined in the twentieth century, scholars have long voiced myriad anxieties over the mechanisms by which their contemporaries have derived moral, social, and political lessons from natural phenomena--often as gambits for advancing their own alternative explanations. The essays in this Focus section explore five episodes in the history of such concerns with naturalistic reasoning in order to shed new light on the persistence of naturalism itself.

  11. Predictors of Very Late Events After Percutaneous Mitral Valvuloplasty in Patients With Mitral Stenosis.

    PubMed

    Jorge, Elisabete; Pan, Manuel; Baptista, Rui; Romero, Miguel; Ojeda, Soledad; Suárez de Lezo, Javier; Faria, Henrique; Calisto, João; Monteiro, Pedro; Pêgo, Mariano; Suárez de Lezo, José

    2016-06-15

    Data on long-term outcomes of percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (PMV) are still scarce. In addition, the persistence of pulmonary hypertension (PH) after PMV is a complication for which mechanisms and prognostic implications are unclear. Our aims were (1) to report the long-term outcomes of patients with rheumatic mitral stenosis treated with PMV; (2) to determine the risk factors for long-term poor outcomes; and (3) to analyze the prevalence and predictors of persistent PH. We prospectively enrolled 532 patients who underwent PMV from 1987 to 2011 at 2 hospitals. The following end points were assessed after PMV: all-cause mortality, mitral reintervention, a composite end point of all-cause mortality and mitral reintervention, and PH persistence. Survival status was available for 97% patients; the median follow-up was 10 years (interquartile range 4 to 18 years). Procedural success was achieved in 85% patients. During the follow-up, 21% patients died and 27% required mitral reintervention. Before PMV, 74% patients had PH that persisted after PMV in 45% of patients (p <0.001). Unfavorable valve anatomy (Wilkins score >8) and post-PMV mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) were independent predictors of all-cause mortality, mitral reintervention, and the composite end point. Post-PMV mean PAP was significantly correlated with a mitral valve area (MVA) <2.5 cm(2) (p <0.001); in addition, on the echocardiographic follow-up, MVA was an independent predictor of systolic PAP (p <0.001). In conclusion, PMV represents an advantageous therapeutic option for patients with mitral stenosis in terms of long-term outcomes. Unfavorable valve anatomy and persistent PH were the most important predictors of long-term outcomes. The persistence of PH is associated with the MVA obtained after PMV. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Generating Dynamic Persistence in the Time Domain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guerrero, A.; Smith, L. A.; Smith, L. A.; Kaplan, D. T.

    2001-12-01

    Many dynamical systems present long-range correlations. Physically, these systems vary from biological to economical, including geological or urban systems. Important geophysical candidates for this type of behaviour include weather (or climate) and earthquake sequences. Persistence is characterised by slowly decaying correlation function; that, in theory, never dies out. The Persistence exponent reflects the degree of memory in the system and much effort has been expended creating and analysing methods that successfully estimate this parameter and model data that exhibits persistence. The most widely used methods for generating long correlated time series are not dynamical systems in the time domain, but instead are derived from a given spectral density. Little attention has been drawn to modelling persistence in the time domain. The time domain approach has the advantage that an observation at certain time can be calculated using previous observations which is particularly suitable when investigating the predictability of a long memory process. We will describe two of these methods in the time domain. One is a traditional approach using fractional ARIMA (autoregressive and moving average) models; the second uses a novel approach to extending a given series using random Fourier basis functions. The statistical quality of the two methods is compared, and they are contrasted with weather data which shows, reportedly, persistence. The suitability of this approach both for estimating predictability and for making predictions is discussed.

  13. Persistent model order reduction for complex dynamical systems using smooth orthogonal decomposition

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ilbeigi, Shahab; Chelidze, David

    2017-11-01

    Full-scale complex dynamic models are not effective for parametric studies due to the inherent constraints on available computational power and storage resources. A persistent reduced order model (ROM) that is robust, stable, and provides high-fidelity simulations for a relatively wide range of parameters and operating conditions can provide a solution to this problem. The fidelity of a new framework for persistent model order reduction of large and complex dynamical systems is investigated. The framework is validated using several numerical examples including a large linear system and two complex nonlinear systems with material and geometrical nonlinearities. While the framework is used for identifying the robust subspaces obtained from both proper and smooth orthogonal decompositions (POD and SOD, respectively), the results show that SOD outperforms POD in terms of stability, accuracy, and robustness.

  14. Hot particles attract in a cold bath

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tanaka, Hidenori; Lee, Alpha A.; Brenner, Michael P.

    2017-04-01

    Controlling interactions out of thermodynamic equilibrium is crucial for designing addressable and functional self-organizing structures. These active interactions also underpin collective behavior in biological systems. Here we study a general setting of active particles in a bath of passive particles and demonstrate a mechanism for long-range attraction between active particles. The mechanism operates when the translational persistence length of the active particle motion is smaller than the particle diameter. In this limit, the system reduces to particles of higher diffusivity ("hot" particles) in a bath of particles with lower diffusivity ("cold" particles). This attractive interaction arises as a hot particle pushes cold particles away to create a large hole around itself, and the holes interact via a depletion-like attraction. Strikingly, the interaction range is more than an order of magnitude larger than the particle radius, well beyond the range of the conventional depletion force. Although the mechanism occurs outside the parameter regime of typical biological swimmers, the mechanism could be realized in the laboratory.

  15. Assessment of secondary sources of Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Arctic

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pisso, Ignacio; Eckhardt, Sabine; Breivik, Knut

    2014-05-01

    Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including highly toxic pesticides and other chemicals accumulate in living tissues and magnify in food chains. POPs are subject to long-range transport and hence represent a serious public health issue even in regions where their production is regulated. Rational control strategies require an understanding of the overall relationship between environmental emissions of contaminants and environmental / human exposure. In this study, we assess the relationships between environmental emissions and potential human exposure of organic contaminants with emphasis on long-range atmospheric transport. We investigate whether atmospheric levels of POPs measured at Zeppelin observatory in Svalbard since the early '90s are controlled by primary or secondary emissions. We present statistical indications that the measurements are affected by secondary ocean emissions and discuss the applicability of different inverse modeling approaches.

  16. Hazardous air pollutants in industrial area of Mumbai - India.

    PubMed

    Srivastava, Anjali; Som, Dipanjali

    2007-09-01

    Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs) have a potential to be distributed into different component of environment with varying persistence. In the current study fourteen HAPs have been quantified in the air using TO-17 method in an industrial area of Mumbai. The distribution of these HAPs in different environmental compartments have been calculated using multi media mass balance model, TaPL3, along with long range transport potential and persistence. Results show that most of the target compounds partition mostly in air. Phenol and trifluralin, partition predominantly into soil while ethyl benzene and xylene partition predominantly into vegetation compartment. Naphthalene has the highest persistence followed by ethyl benzene, xylene and 1,1,1 trihloro ethane. Long range transport potential is maximum for 1,1,1 trichloroethane. Assessment of human health risk in terms of non-carcinogenic hazard and carcinogenic risk due to exposure to HAPs. have been estimated for industrial workers and residents in the study area considering all possible exposure routes using the output from TaPL3 model. The overall carcinogenic risk for residents and workers are estimated as high as unity along with very high hazard potential.

  17. Structural Evolution of Supercritical CO2 across the Frenkel Line.

    PubMed

    Bolmatov, Dima; Zav'yalov, D; Gao, M; Zhernenkov, Mikhail

    2014-08-21

    Here, we study structural properties of the supercritical carbon dioxide and discover the existence of persistent medium-range order correlations, which make supercritical carbon dioxide nonuniform and heterogeneous on an intermediate length scale. We report on the CO2 heterogeneity shell structure where, in the first shell, both carbon and oxygen atoms experience gas-like-type interactions with short-range order correlations while within the second shell, oxygen atoms essentially exhibit a liquid-like type of interactions due to localization of transverse-like phonon packets. Importantly, we highlight a catalytic role of atoms inside of the nearest-neighbor heterogeneity shell in providing a mechanism for diffusion and proving the existence of an additional thermodynamic boundary in the supercritical carbon dioxide on an intermediate length scale. Finally, we discuss important implications for answering the intriguing question whether Venus may have had CO2 oceans and urge for an experimental detection of this persistent local-order heterogeneity.

  18. Population genetic signatures of a climate change driven marine range extension.

    PubMed

    Ramos, Jorge E; Pecl, Gretta T; Moltschaniwskyj, Natalie A; Semmens, Jayson M; Souza, Carla A; Strugnell, Jan M

    2018-06-22

    Shifts in species distribution, or 'range shifts', are one of the most commonly documented responses to ocean warming, with important consequences for the function and structure of ecosystems, and for socio-economic activities. Understanding the genetic signatures of range shifts can help build our knowledge of the capacity of species to establish and persist in colonised areas. Here, seven microsatellite loci were used to examine the population connectivity, genetic structure and diversity of Octopus tetricus, which has extended its distribution several hundred kilometres polewards associated with the southwards extension of the warm East Australian Current along south-eastern Australia. The historical distribution and the range extension zones had significant genetic differences but levels of genetic diversity were comparable. The population in the range extension zone was sub-structured, contained relatively high levels of self-recruitment and was sourced by migrants from along the entire geographic distribution. Genetic bottlenecks and changes in population size were detected throughout the range extension axis. Persistent gene flow from throughout the historical zone and moderate genetic diversity may buffer the genetic bottlenecks and favour the range extension of O. tetricus. These characteristics may aid adaptation, establishment, and long-term persistence of the population in the range extension zone.

  19. Condensation of collective charge ordering in chromium

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Singer, A.; Marsh, M. J.; Dietze, S. H.

    2015-03-01

    We report on the dynamics of the structural order parameter in a chromium film using synchrotron radiation in response to photoinduced ultrafast excitations. Following transient optical excitations the effective lattice temperature of the film rises close to the Neel temperature and the charge-density wave (CDW) amplitude is reduced but does not appear to ever be fully destroyed. The persistence of the CDW diffraction signal demonstrates that the CDW, if destroyed by the laser pulse, must be reestablished within the 100-ps time resolution of the synchrotron x-ray pulses. Furthermore, at all times after photoexcitation, the CDW retains its low-temperature periodicity, rathermore » than regenerating with its high-temperature period shortly after photoexcitation. The long-term evolution shows that the CDW reverts to its ground state on a time scale of 370 +/- 40 ps. We attribute the apparent persistence of the CDW to the long-lived periodic lattice displacement in chromium. This study highlights the fundamental role of the lattice distortion and its impact on the recondensation dynamics of the charge ordered state in strongly correlated materials.« less

  20. Beam-Dynamics Analysis of Long-Range Wakefield Effects on the SCRF Cavities at the Fast Facility

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Shin, Young-Min; Bishofberger, Kip; Carlsten, Bruce

    Long-range wakefields in superconducting RF (SCRF) cavities create complicated effects on beam dynamics in SCRF-based FEL beamlines. The driving bunch excites effectively an infinite number of structure modes (including HOMs) which oscillate within the SCRF cavity. Couplers with loads are used to damp the HOMs. However, these HOMs can persist for long periods of time in superconducting structures, which leads to long-range wakefields. Clear understanding of the long-range wakefield effects is a critical element for risk mitigation of future SCRF accelerators such as XFEL at DESY, LCLS-II XFEL, and MaRIE XFEL. We are currently developing numerical tools for simulating long-rangemore » wakefields in SCRF accelerators and plan to experimentally verify the tools by measuring these wakefields at the Fermilab Accelerator Science and Technology (FAST) facility. This paper previews the experimental conditions at the FAST 50 MeV beamline based on the simulation results.« less

  1. Linking memory and language: Evidence for a serial-order learning impairment in dyslexia.

    PubMed

    Bogaerts, Louisa; Szmalec, Arnaud; Hachmann, Wibke M; Page, Mike P A; Duyck, Wouter

    2015-01-01

    The present study investigated long-term serial-order learning impairments, operationalized as reduced Hebb repetition learning (HRL), in people with dyslexia. In a first multi-session experiment, we investigated both the persistence of a serial-order learning impairment as well as the long-term retention of serial-order representations, both in a group of Dutch-speaking adults with developmental dyslexia and in a matched control group. In a second experiment, we relied on the assumption that HRL mimics naturalistic word-form acquisition and we investigated the lexicalization of novel word-forms acquired through HRL. First, our results demonstrate that adults with dyslexia are fundamentally impaired in the long-term acquisition of serial-order information. Second, dyslexic and control participants show comparable retention of the long-term serial-order representations in memory over a period of 1 month. Third, the data suggest weaker lexicalization of newly acquired word-forms in the dyslexic group. We discuss the integration of these findings into current theoretical views of dyslexia. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Ozone Transport Aloft Drives Surface Ozone Maxima Across the Mojave Desert

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    VanCuren, R. A.

    2014-12-01

    A persistent layer of polluted air in the lower free troposphere over the Mojave Desert (California and Nevada) drives spring and summer surface ozone maxima as deep afternoon mixing delivers ozone and ozone precursors to surface measurement sites 200 km or more downwind of the mountains that separate the deserts from the heavily populated coastal areas of California. Pollutants in this elevated layer derive from California source regions (the Los Angeles megacity region and the intensive agricultural region of the San Joaquin Valley), and from long-range transport from Asia. Recognition of this poorly studied persistent layer explains and expands the significance of previously published reports of ozone and other pollutants observed in and over the Mojave Desert, resolves an apparent paradox in the timing of ozone peaks due to transport from the upwind basins, and provides a new perspective on the long-range downwind impacts of megacity pollution plumes.

  3. Uncertainty quantification of environmental performance metrics in heterogeneous aquifers with long-range correlations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moslehi, Mahsa; de Barros, Felipe P. J.

    2017-01-01

    We investigate how the uncertainty stemming from disordered porous media that display long-range correlation in the hydraulic conductivity (K) field propagates to predictions of environmental performance metrics (EPMs). In this study, the EPMs are quantities that are of relevance to risk analysis and remediation, such as peak flux-averaged concentration, early and late arrival times among others. By using stochastic simulations, we quantify the uncertainty associated with the EPMs for a given disordered spatial structure of the K-field and identify the probability distribution function (PDF) model that best captures the statistics of the EPMs of interest. Results indicate that the probabilistic distribution of the EPMs considered in this study follows lognormal PDF. Finally, through the use of information theory, we reveal how the persistent/anti-persistent correlation structure of the K-field influences the EPMs and corresponding uncertainties.

  4. LONG-TERM OUTCOME OF THE DIFFERENT TREATMENT ALTERNATIVES FOR RECURRENT AND PERSISTENT CUSHING DISEASE.

    PubMed

    Espinosa-de-Los-Monteros, Ana Laura; Sosa-Eroza, Ernesto; Espinosa, Etual; Mendoza, Victoria; Arreola, Rocio; Mercado, Moises

    2017-07-01

    Treatment alternatives for persistent and recurrent Cushing disease (CD) include pituitary surgical re-intervention, radiation therapy (RT), pharmacotherapy, and bilateral adrenalectomy (BA). The decision of which of these alternatives is better suited for the individual patient rests on clinical judgment and the availability of resources. This retrospective cohort study was performed at a referral center to evaluate the long-term efficacy of different secondary interventions for persistent and recurrent CD. We evaluated the hospital charts of 84 patients (77 female, median age 34 years, median follow up 6.3 years) with CD diagnosed, treated, and followed at our multidisciplinary clinic according to a pre-established protocol. Of the 81 patients who were initially treated with transsphenoidal surgery (TSS), 61.7% had a long-lasting remission, 16% had persistent disease, and 22% achieved remission but relapsed during follow-up. The most frequently used secondary treatment was pituitary re-intervention, followed by ketoconazole, RT, and BA. Early remissions were observed in 66.6% of the re-operated and in 58.3% of the radiated patients; long-lasting remission was achieved in 33.3% and 41.6% of these patients, respectively. Nelson syndrome developed in 41.6% of the patients who underwent BA. Upon last follow-up, 88% of all the patients are in remission, and 9.5% are biochemically controlled with ketoconazole. The efficacy of treatment alternatives for recurrent or persistent CD varies considerably among patients and multiple interventions are often required to achieve long-lasting remission. ACTH = adrenocorticotrophic hormone; BA = bilateral adrenalectomy; CBG = cabergoline; CD = Cushing disease; CV = coefficient of variation; DXM = dexamethasone; IQR = interquartile range; RT = radiation therapy; SRS = stereotactic radiosurgery; TSS = transsphenoidal surgery; UFC = urinary free cortisol; ULN = upper limit of normal.

  5. Synovial aspiration and serological testing in two-stage revision arthroplasty for prosthetic joint infection: evaluation before reconstruction with a mean follow-up of twenty seven months.

    PubMed

    Mühlhofer, Heinrich M L; Knebel, C; Pohlig, Florian; Feihl, Susanne; Harrasser, Norbert; Schauwecker, Johannes; von Eisenhart-Rothe, Rüdiger

    2018-02-01

    The two-stage revision protocol is the gold standard for controlling and treating low-grade prosthetic joint infections of total hip and total knee arthroplasty. The antibiotic pause for diagnostic reasons before reconstruction (stage two) is discussed in relation to the persistence of the infection and the development of resistant bacterial strains. Serological markers and a synovial analysis are commonly used to exclude the persistence of infection. Therefore, we asked (1) is the serological testing of C-reactive protein and leucocytes a valuable tool to predict a persistence of infection? and (2) what is the role of synovial aspiration of Plymethylmethacrylat (PMMA) spacers in hip and knee joints? One hundred twelve patients who were MSIS criteria-positive for a prosthetic joint infection were studied, including 45 total hip arthroplasties (THA) and 67 total knee artrhoplasties (TKA) patients. All patients were treated with a two-stage-protocol using a mobile PMMA spacer after a 14-day antibiotic-free interval, during which we measured serological markers (C-reactive protein and leucocytes) and performed synovial aspiration (white blood cell count, polymorphonuclear cell percentage, and microbiological culture) in these patients and compared the results with those of their long-term-follow-up (mean follow-up 27 months, range 24-36 months). Of the 112 patients, 89 patients (79.5%; 95% CI 72-86.9) exhibited infection control after a two-stage exchange, and we detected most methicillin-resistant, coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) in cases of a persistent infection. The mean sensitivity of serum C-reactive protein in the patients was 0.43 (range 0.23-0.64), and the mean specificity was 0.73 (range 0.64-0.82). For serum leucocytes, the mean sensitivity was 0.09 (range 0-0.29), and the mean specificity was 0.81 (range 0.7-0.92). The mean sensitivity for the WBC count in the synovial fluid (PMMA spacer aspiration) was 0.1 (range 0-0.29), and the mean specificity was 0.79 (range 0.68-0.92). For the PMN percentage, the mean sensitivity was 0.1 (range 0-0.29), and the mean specificity was 0.79 (range 0.68-0.92). No cut-off values could be established for C-reactive protein, leucocytes, WBC count and PMN percentage due to the low AUC. No reliable markers were identified for the long-term persistence of infection. C-reactive protein and leucocytes were often elevated, even when the infection was controlled. In addition, normalized serum markers did not exclude the persistence of infection during follow-up. The synovial analysis of the WBC count and PMN percentage did not predict the persistence of infection. However, microbiological synovial fluid analysis is often misleading due to false positive microbiological cultures, which results in overtreatment.

  6. Influence of the Southeast Asian biomass burnings on the atmospheric persistent organic pollutants observed at near sources and receptor site

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, Shun-Shiang; Lee, Wen-Jhy; Wang, Lin-Chi; Lin, Neng-Huei; Chang-Chien, Guo-Ping

    2013-10-01

    Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as PCDD/Fs, PCBs, PBDD/Fs, PBBs and PBDEs are bio-accumulative, toxic, and susceptible to long-range transport (LRT). This study is the first that comprehensively discusses the long-range atmospheric transport behavior of these five groups of POPs. The main goal is to investigate the atmospheric characteristics of these POPs at the biomass burning sites of Chiang Mai in Thailand, and Da Nang in Vietnam, as well as the influence of the Southeast Asian biomass burnings on the Lulin Atmospheric Background Station (LABS) in Taiwan. Biomass burning in Southeast Asia is usually carried to remove the residues of agricultural activities. The ambient air in Da Nang seems to be more seriously affected by the local biomass burnings than that in Chiang Mai. The elevated atmospheric brominated POP (PBDD/Fs, PBBs and PBDEs) concentrations in Da Nang were attributed to the biomass burning and viewed as mostly unrelated to the local use of brominated flame retardants. In the spring of 2010, the mean atmospheric concentrations in LABS during the first and second Intensive Observation Periods (IOPs) were 0.00428 and 0.00232 pg I-TEQ Nm-3 for PCDD/Fs, 0.000311 and 0.000282 pg WHO-TEQ m-3 for PCBs, 0.000379 and 0.000449 pg TEQ Nm-3 for total PBDD/Fs, 0.0208 and 0.0163 pg Nm-3 for total PBBs, and 109 and 18.2 pg Nm-3 for total PBDEs, respectively. These values represent the above concentrations due to the Southeast Asian biomass burnings. The affected atmospheric POP concentrations at the LABS were still at least one order lower than those in other atmospheric environments, except for the PBDE concentrations during the first IOP (109 pg Nm-3), which was surprisingly higher than those in Taiwanese metal complex areas (93.9 pg Nm-3) and urban areas (34.7 pg Nm-3). Atmospheric POP concentrations do not seem to dramatically decrease during long-range transport, and the reasons for this need to be further investigated.

  7. Fractional-order difference equations for physical lattices and some applications

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Tarasov, Vasily E., E-mail: tarasov@theory.sinp.msu.ru

    2015-10-15

    Fractional-order operators for physical lattice models based on the Grünwald-Letnikov fractional differences are suggested. We use an approach based on the models of lattices with long-range particle interactions. The fractional-order operators of differentiation and integration on physical lattices are represented by kernels of lattice long-range interactions. In continuum limit, these discrete operators of non-integer orders give the fractional-order derivatives and integrals with respect to coordinates of the Grünwald-Letnikov types. As examples of the fractional-order difference equations for physical lattices, we give difference analogs of the fractional nonlocal Navier-Stokes equations and the fractional nonlocal Maxwell equations for lattices with long-range interactions.more » Continuum limits of these fractional-order difference equations are also suggested.« less

  8. Absence of long-range order in the frustrated magnet SrDy2O4 due to trapped defects from a dimensionality crossover

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gauthier, N.; Fennell, A.; Prévost, B.; Uldry, A.-C.; Delley, B.; Sibille, R.; Désilets-Benoit, A.; Dabkowska, H. A.; Nilsen, G. J.; Regnault, L.-P.; White, J. S.; Niedermayer, C.; Pomjakushin, V.; Bianchi, A. D.; Kenzelmann, M.

    2017-04-01

    Magnetic frustration and low dimensionality can prevent long-range magnetic order and lead to exotic correlated ground states. SrDy2O4 consists of magnetic Dy3 + ions forming magnetically frustrated zigzag chains along the c axis and shows no long-range order to temperatures as low as T =60 mK. We carried out neutron scattering and ac magnetic susceptibility measurements using powder and single crystals of SrDy2O4 . Diffuse neutron scattering indicates strong one-dimensional (1D) magnetic correlations along the chain direction that can be qualitatively accounted for by the axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising model with nearest-neighbor and next-nearest-neighbor exchange J1=0.3 meV and J2=0.2 meV, respectively. Three-dimensional (3D) correlations become important below T*≈0.7 K. At T =60 mK, the short-range correlations are characterized by a putative propagation vector k1 /2=(0 ,1/2 ,1/2 ) . We argue that the absence of long-range order arises from the presence of slowly decaying 1D domain walls that are trapped due to 3D correlations. This stabilizes a low-temperature phase without long-range magnetic order, but with well-ordered chain segments separated by slowly moving domain walls.

  9. Heterogeneous fractionation profiles of meta-analytic coactivation networks.

    PubMed

    Laird, Angela R; Riedel, Michael C; Okoe, Mershack; Jianu, Radu; Ray, Kimberly L; Eickhoff, Simon B; Smith, Stephen M; Fox, Peter T; Sutherland, Matthew T

    2017-04-01

    Computational cognitive neuroimaging approaches can be leveraged to characterize the hierarchical organization of distributed, functionally specialized networks in the human brain. To this end, we performed large-scale mining across the BrainMap database of coordinate-based activation locations from over 10,000 task-based experiments. Meta-analytic coactivation networks were identified by jointly applying independent component analysis (ICA) and meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM) across a wide range of model orders (i.e., d=20-300). We then iteratively computed pairwise correlation coefficients for consecutive model orders to compare spatial network topologies, ultimately yielding fractionation profiles delineating how "parent" functional brain systems decompose into constituent "child" sub-networks. Fractionation profiles differed dramatically across canonical networks: some exhibited complex and extensive fractionation into a large number of sub-networks across the full range of model orders, whereas others exhibited little to no decomposition as model order increased. Hierarchical clustering was applied to evaluate this heterogeneity, yielding three distinct groups of network fractionation profiles: high, moderate, and low fractionation. BrainMap-based functional decoding of resultant coactivation networks revealed a multi-domain association regardless of fractionation complexity. Rather than emphasize a cognitive-motor-perceptual gradient, these outcomes suggest the importance of inter-lobar connectivity in functional brain organization. We conclude that high fractionation networks are complex and comprised of many constituent sub-networks reflecting long-range, inter-lobar connectivity, particularly in fronto-parietal regions. In contrast, low fractionation networks may reflect persistent and stable networks that are more internally coherent and exhibit reduced inter-lobar communication. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Heterogeneous fractionation profiles of meta-analytic coactivation networks

    PubMed Central

    Laird, Angela R.; Riedel, Michael C.; Okoe, Mershack; Jianu, Radu; Ray, Kimberly L.; Eickhoff, Simon B.; Smith, Stephen M.; Fox, Peter T.; Sutherland, Matthew T.

    2017-01-01

    Computational cognitive neuroimaging approaches can be leveraged to characterize the hierarchical organization of distributed, functionally specialized networks in the human brain. To this end, we performed large-scale mining across the BrainMap database of coordinate-based activation locations from over 10,000 task-based experiments. Meta-analytic coactivation networks were identified by jointly applying independent component analysis (ICA) and meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM) across a wide range of model orders (i.e., d = 20 to 300). We then iteratively computed pairwise correlation coefficients for consecutive model orders to compare spatial network topologies, ultimately yielding fractionation profiles delineating how “parent” functional brain systems decompose into constituent “child” sub-networks. Fractionation profiles differed dramatically across canonical networks: some exhibited complex and extensive fractionation into a large number of sub-networks across the full range of model orders, whereas others exhibited little to no decomposition as model order increased. Hierarchical clustering was applied to evaluate this heterogeneity, yielding three distinct groups of network fractionation profiles: high, moderate, and low fractionation. BrainMap-based functional decoding of resultant coactivation networks revealed a multi-domain association regardless of fractionation complexity. Rather than emphasize a cognitive-motor-perceptual gradient, these outcomes suggest the importance of inter-lobar connectivity in functional brain organization. We conclude that high fractionation networks are complex and comprised of many constituent sub-networks reflecting long-range, inter-lobar connectivity, particularly in fronto-parietal regions. In contrast, low fractionation networks may reflect persistent and stable networks that are more internally coherent and exhibit reduced inter-lobar communication. PMID:28222386

  11. Kinetics and Mechanism of the Oxidation of Cyclic Methylsiloxanes by Hydroxyl Radical in the Gas Phase: An Experimental and Theoretical Study.

    PubMed

    Xiao, Ruiyang; Zammit, Ian; Wei, Zongsu; Hu, Wei-Ping; MacLeod, Matthew; Spinney, Richard

    2015-11-17

    The ubiquitous presence of cyclic volatile methylsiloxanes (cVMS) in the global atmosphere has recently raised environmental concern. In order to assess the persistence and long-range transport potential of cVMS, their second-order rate constants (k) for reactions with hydroxyl radical ((•)OH) in the gas phase are needed. We experimentally and theoretically investigated the kinetics and mechanism of (•)OH oxidation of a series of cVMS, hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane (D3), octamethycyclotetrasiloxane (D4), and decamethycyclopentasiloxane (D5). Experimentally, we measured k values for D3, D4, and D5 with (•)OH in a gas-phase reaction chamber. The Arrhenius activation energies for these reactions in the temperature range from 313 to 353 K were small (-2.92 to 0.79 kcal·mol(-1)), indicating a weak temperature dependence. We also calculated the thermodynamic and kinetic behaviors for reactions at the M06-2X/6-311++G**//M06-2X/6-31+G** level of theory over a wider temperature range of 238-358 K that encompasses temperatures in the troposphere. The calculated Arrhenius activation energies range from -2.71 to -1.64 kcal·mol(-1), also exhibiting weak temperature dependence. The measured k values were approximately an order of magnitude higher than the theoretical values but have the same trend with increasing size of the siloxane ring. The calculated energy barriers for H-atom abstraction at different positions were similar, which provides theoretical support for extrapolating k for other cyclic siloxanes from the number of abstractable hydrogens.

  12. Capturing the crystalline phase of two-dimensional nanocrystal superlattices in action.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Zhang; Lin, Xiao-Min; Sprung, Michael; Narayanan, Suresh; Wang, Jin

    2010-03-10

    Critical photonic, electronic, and magnetic applications of two-dimensional nanocrystal superlattices often require nanostructures in perfect single-crystal phases with long-range order and limited defects. Here we discovered a crystalline phase with quasi-long-range positional order for two-dimensional nanocrystal superlattice domains self-assembled at the liquid-air interface during droplet evaporation, using in situ time-resolved X-ray scattering along with rigorous theories on two dimensional crystal structures. Surprisingly, it was observed that drying these superlattice domains preserved only an orientational order but not a long-range positional order, also supported by quantitative analysis of transmission electron microscopy images.

  13. Long-range correlations improve understanding of the influence of network structure on contact dynamics.

    PubMed

    Peyrard, N; Dieckmann, U; Franc, A

    2008-05-01

    Models of infectious diseases are characterized by a phase transition between extinction and persistence. A challenge in contemporary epidemiology is to understand how the geometry of a host's interaction network influences disease dynamics close to the critical point of such a transition. Here we address this challenge with the help of moment closures. Traditional moment closures, however, do not provide satisfactory predictions close to such critical points. We therefore introduce a new method for incorporating longer-range correlations into existing closures. Our method is technically simple, remains computationally tractable and significantly improves the approximation's performance. Our extended closures thus provide an innovative tool for quantifying the influence of interaction networks on spatially or socially structured disease dynamics. In particular, we examine the effects of a network's clustering coefficient, as well as of new geometrical measures, such as a network's square clustering coefficients. We compare the relative performance of different closures from the literature, with or without our long-range extension. In this way, we demonstrate that the normalized version of the Bethe approximation-extended to incorporate long-range correlations according to our method-is an especially good candidate for studying influences of network structure. Our numerical results highlight the importance of the clustering coefficient and the square clustering coefficient for predicting disease dynamics at low and intermediate values of transmission rate, and demonstrate the significance of path redundancy for disease persistence.

  14. High turnover drives prolonged persistence of influenza in managed pig herds

    PubMed Central

    Aguas, Ricardo; Riley, Steven; Loeffen, Willie L. A.; Wood, James L. N.; Grenfell, Bryan T.

    2016-01-01

    Pigs have long been hypothesized to play a central role in the emergence of novel human influenza A virus (IAV) strains, by serving as mixing vessels for mammalian and avian variants. However, the key issue of viral persistence in swine populations at different scales is ill understood. We address this gap using epidemiological models calibrated against seroprevalence data from Dutch finishing pigs to estimate the ‘critical herd size’ (CHS) for IAV persistence. We then examine the viral phylogenetic evidence for persistence by comparing human and swine IAV. Models suggest a CHS of approximately 3000 pigs above which influenza was likely to persist, i.e. orders of magnitude lower than persistence thresholds for IAV and other acute viruses in humans. At national and regional scales, we found much stronger empirical signatures of prolonged persistence of IAV in swine compared with human populations. These striking levels of persistence in small populations are driven by the high recruitment rate of susceptible piglets, and have significant implications for management of swine and for overall patterns of genetic diversity of IAV. PMID:27358277

  15. Statistical Significance of Periodicity and Log-Periodicity with Heavy-Tailed Correlated Noise

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Wei-Xing; Sornette, Didier

    We estimate the probability that random noise, of several plausible standard distributions, creates a false alarm that a periodicity (or log-periodicity) is found in a time series. The solution of this problem is already known for independent Gaussian distributed noise. We investigate more general situations with non-Gaussian correlated noises and present synthetic tests on the detectability and statistical significance of periodic components. A periodic component of a time series is usually detected by some sort of Fourier analysis. Here, we use the Lomb periodogram analysis, which is suitable and outperforms Fourier transforms for unevenly sampled time series. We examine the false-alarm probability of the largest spectral peak of the Lomb periodogram in the presence of power-law distributed noises, of short-range and of long-range fractional-Gaussian noises. Increasing heavy-tailness (respectively correlations describing persistence) tends to decrease (respectively increase) the false-alarm probability of finding a large spurious Lomb peak. Increasing anti-persistence tends to decrease the false-alarm probability. We also study the interplay between heavy-tailness and long-range correlations. In order to fully determine if a Lomb peak signals a genuine rather than a spurious periodicity, one should in principle characterize the Lomb peak height, its width and its relations to other peaks in the complete spectrum. As a step towards this full characterization, we construct the joint-distribution of the frequency position (relative to other peaks) and of the height of the highest peak of the power spectrum. We also provide the distributions of the ratio of the highest Lomb peak to the second highest one. Using the insight obtained by the present statistical study, we re-examine previously reported claims of ``log-periodicity'' and find that the credibility for log-periodicity in 2D-freely decaying turbulence is weakened while it is strengthened for fracture, for the ion-signature prior to the Kobe earthquake and for financial markets.

  16. Persistence of Soil Organic Carbon can be Explained as an Emergent Property of Microbial Ecology and Population Dynamics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Woolf, D.; Lehmann, J.

    2016-12-01

    The exchange of carbon between soils and the atmosphere represents an important uncertainty in climate predictions. Current Earth system models apply soil organic matter (SOM) models based on independent carbon pools with 1st order decomposition dynamics. It has been widely argued over the last decade that such models do not accurately describe soil processes and mechanisms. For example, the long term persistence of soil organic carbon (SOC) is only adequately described by such models by the post hoc assumption of passive or inert carbon pools. Further, such 1st order models also fail to account for microbially-mediated dynamics such as priming interactions. These shortcomings may limit their applicability to long term predictions under conditions of global environmental change. In addition to incorporating recent conceptual advances in the mechanisms of SOM decomposition and protection, next-generation SOM models intended for use in Earth system models need to meet further quality criteria. Namely, that they should (a) accurately describe historical data from long term trials and the current global distribution of soil organic carbon, (b) be computationally efficient for large number of iterations involved in climate modeling, and (c) have sufficiently simple parameterization that they can be run on spatially-explicit data available at global scale under varying conditions of global change over long time scales. Here we show that linking fundamental ecological principles and microbial population dynamics to SOC turnover rates results in a dynamic model that meets all of these quality criteria. This approach simultaneously eliminates the need to postulate biogeochemically-implausible passive or inert pools, instead showing how SOM persistence emerges from ecological principles, while also reproducing observed priming interactions.

  17. Active hydrodynamics of synchronization and ordering in moving oscillators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Banerjee, Tirthankar; Basu, Abhik

    2017-08-01

    The nature of emergent collective behaviors of moving interacting physical agents is a long-standing open issue in physical and biological systems alike. This calls for studies on the control of synchronization and the degree of order in a collection of diffusively moving noisy oscillators. We address this by constructing a generic hydrodynamic theory for active phase fluctuations in a collection of a large number of nearly-phase-coherent moving oscillators in two dimensions. Our theory describes the general situation where phase fluctuations and oscillator mobility mutually affect each other. We show that the interplay between the active effects and the mobility of the oscillators leads to a variety of phenomena, ranging from synchronization with long-range, nearly-long-range, and quasi-long-range orders to instabilities and desynchronization with short-range order of the oscillator phases. We highlight the complex dependences of synchronization on the active effects. These should be testable in wide-ranging systems, e.g., oscillating chemical reactions in the presence of different reaction inhibitors and facilitators, live oriented cytoskeletal extracts, and vertebrate segmentation clocks.

  18. Characterizing the human postural control system using detrended fluctuation analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Teresa Blázquez, M.; Anguiano, Marta; de Saavedra, Fernando Arias; Lallena, Antonio M.; Carpena, Pedro

    2010-01-01

    Detrended fluctuation analysis is used to study the behaviour of the time series of the position of the center of pressure, output from the activity of a human postural control system. The results suggest that these trajectories present a crossover in their scaling properties from persistent (for high frequencies, short-range time scale) to anti-persistent (for low frequencies, long-range time scale) behaviours. The values of the scaling exponent found for the persistent parts of the trajectories are very similar for all the cases analysed. The similarity of the results obtained for the measurements done with both eyes open and both eyes closed indicate either that the visual system may be disregarded by the postural control system, while maintaining quiet standing, or that the control mechanisms associated with each type of information (visual, vestibular and somatosensory) cannot be disentangled with this technique.

  19. First Gridded Spatial Field Reconstructions of Snow from Tree Rings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Coulthard, B. L.; Anchukaitis, K. J.; Pederson, G. T.; Alder, J. R.; Hostetler, S. W.; Gray, S. T.

    2017-12-01

    Western North America's mountain snowpacks provide critical water resources for human populations and ecosystems. Warmer temperatures and changing precipitation patterns will increasingly alter the quantity, extent, and persistence of snow in coming decades. A comprehensive understanding of the causes and range of long-term variability in this system is required for forecasting future anomalies, but snowpack observations are limited and sparse. While individual tree ring-based annual snowpack reconstructions have been developed for specific regions and mountain ranges, we present here the first collection of spatially-explicit gridded field reconstructions of seasonal snowpack within the American Rocky Mountains. Capitalizing on a new western North American snow-sensitive network of over 700 tree-ring chronologies, as well as recent advances in PRISM-based snow modeling, our gridded reconstructions offer a full space-time characterization of snow and associated water resource fluctuations over several centuries. The quality of reconstructions is evaluated against existing observations, proxy-records, and an independently-developed first-order monthly snow model.

  20. Lattice dynamics and thermal transport in multiferroic CuCrO2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bansal, Dipanshu; Niedziela, Jennifer L.; May, Andrew F.; Said, Ayman; Ehlers, Georg; Abernathy, Douglas L.; Huq, Ashfia; Kirkham, Melanie; Zhou, Haidong; Delaire, Olivier

    2017-02-01

    Inelastic neutron and x-ray scattering measurements of phonons and spin waves were performed in the delafossite compound CuCrO2 over a wide range of temperature, and complemented with first-principles lattice dynamics simulations. The phonon dispersions and density of states are well reproduced by our density functional calculations, and reveal a strong anisotropy of Cu vibrations, which exhibit low-frequency modes of large amplitude parallel to the basal plane of the layered delafossite structure. The low frequency in-plane modes also show a systematic temperature dependence of neutron and x-ray scattering intensities. In addition, we find that spin fluctuations persist above 300 K, far above the Néel temperature for long-range antiferromagnetic order, TN≃24 K . Our modeling of the thermal conductivity, based on our phonon measurements and simulations, reveals a significant anisotropy and indicates that spin fluctuations above TN constitute an important source of phonon scattering, considerably suppressing the thermal conductivity compared to that of the isostructural but nonmagnetic compound CuAlO2.

  1. Transition from disordered to long-range ordered nanoparticles on Al2O3/Ni3Al(111)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alyabyeva, N.; Ouvrard, A.; Zakaria, A.-M.; Charra, F.; Bourguignon, B.

    2018-06-01

    Application of preparation recipes of the literature failed to produce an ordered array of NPs on our particular Ni3Al sample. This has motivated a systematic survey of Pd NP nucleation as a function of experimental parameters. We have shown that the increase of oxidation temperature during the preparation of Al2O3 ultra-thin film on Ni3Al(111) leads to a transition from disordered to long-range ordered Pd nanoparticle (NP) nucleation. Alumina films were prepared at different temperatures ranging from 990 to 1140 K. Crystallinity, electronic structure of the alumina film and Pd nucleation and growth have been investigated using Low Energy Electron Diffraction and Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy. NP density and long-range order nucleation along the so-called "dot structure" of 4.2 nm periodicity, strongly increase for temperatures higher than a threshold value of 1070 ± 20 K. This transition relies on the alumina film improvement and suggests that the modulation of Pd adsorption energy at nucleation centres which is necessary to nucleate NPs at ordered sites, requires higher preparation temperature. Long-range ordered NPs with a high density were obtained 140 K above reported recipes in the literature. This optimized temperature has been tested on a fresh sample (issued from the same supplier) for which just a few cleanings were enough to obtain long-range ordered NPs. Presumably the variability of the optimal oxidation temperature for our samples with respect to the literature is related to fluctuations of the stoichiometry from sample to sample.

  2. Long-range ordering effect in electrodeposition of zinc and zinc oxide.

    PubMed

    Liu, Tao; Wang, Sheng; Shi, Zi-Liang; Ma, Guo-Bin; Wang, Mu; Peng, Ru-Wen; Hao, Xi-Ping; Ming, Nai-Ben

    2007-05-01

    In this paper, we report the long-range ordering effect observed in the electro-crystallization of Zn and ZnO from an ultrathin aqueous electrolyte layer of ZnSO4 . The deposition branches are regularly angled, covered with random-looking, scalelike crystalline platelets of ZnO. Although the orientation of each crystalline platelet of ZnO appears random, transmission electron microscopy shows that they essentially possess the same crystallographic orientation as the single-crystalline zinc electrodeposit underneath. Based on the experimental observations, we suggest that this unique long-range ordering effect results from an epitaxial nucleation effect in electrocrystallization.

  3. Premature rupture of the membranes at <26 weeks' gestation: role of amnioinfusion in the management of oligohydramnios.

    PubMed

    Vergani, Patrizia; Locatelli, Anna; Verderio, Maria; Assi, Francesca

    2004-01-01

    We sought to evaluate whether serial amnioinfusions for persistent oligohydramnios can affect the perinatal and long-term outcomes in extreme cases of preterm premature rupture of membranes. All singleton pregnancies with preterm premature rupture of membranes at <26 weeks'gestation and lasting >4 days between January 1991 and December 2001 were included. Amniotic fluid volume was assessed as the maximum cord-free pocket with serial ultrasonographic examinations. Consenting women with persistent (>4 days) oligohydramnios (amniotic fluid=2 cm) received serial transabdominal amnioinfusions to maintain an amniotic fluid pocket >2 cm. The pregnancy, neonatal, and long-term neurologic outcomes of the cases that spontaneously maintained a median amniotic fluid pocket >2 cm were compared with those of women with oligohydramnios who underwent amnioinfusion but continued to have persistent oligohydramnios and with those of women in whom oligohydramnios was alleviated. Statistical analysis included the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and the Fisher exact test with a 2-tailed P<0.05 considered significant. Stepwise logistic regression analysis with the Nagelkerke adaptation of the Cox-Snell R2 was performed to assess prenatal predictors of survival in the persistent ologohydramnios group. Among the 49 women included in the study, 13 (26.5%) did not have oligohydramnios, the neonatal survival rate was 92%, and normal fetal lung development and neurologic outcome were achieved in all survivors. The remaining 36 women had oligohydramnios, and all underwent serial amnioinfusions, which successfully restored a median amniotic fluid pocket >2 cm for =48 hours in 11 (30%) patients. This successful amnioinfusion group was comparable with the persistent oligohydramnios group (n=25) in gestational age at first amnioinfusion (median, 20.2 weeks; range, 16-25.6 weeks; vs median, 20.3 weeks; range, 16.5-24.2 weeks; P=.4), number of amnioinfusions (median, 3; range, 1-9; vs median, 3; range, 1-5; P=.4), and interval between amnioinfusions (median, 6 days; range, 4-14 days; vs median, 8 days; range, 6-43 days; P=.1). However, patients in the persistent oligohydramnios group had a significantly shorter interval to delivery, lower neonatal survival (20%), and higher rates of pulmonary hypoplasia (62%) and abnormal neurologic outcomes (60%) than the patients in the groups in which amnioinfusion was not necessary or was successful (all P=.01). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that after taking into consideration successful amnioinfusion (P=0.019) and administration of steroids (P=0.022), none of the other variables, including gestational age at delivery, contributed significantly to the prediction of perinatal survival in the persistent oligohydramnios group. Pregnancies with preterm premature rupture of membranes-related oligohydramnios at <26 weeks' gestation in which serial amnioinfusions successfully alleviate oligohydramnios have a perinatal outcome that is significantly better than the outcome in those with persistent oligohydramnios and is comparable with gestations with preterm premature rupture of membranes in which oligohydramnios never develops. In the persistent oligohydramnios group, successful procedures and prenatal administration of corticosteroids are the only independent predictors of perinatal survival.

  4. Field dependence of the magnetic correlations of the frustrated magnet SrDy 2 O 4

    DOE PAGES

    Gauthier, N.; Fennell, A.; Prévost, B.; ...

    2017-05-30

    Tmore » he frustrated magnet SrDy 2 O 4 exhibits a field-induced phase with a magnetization plateau at 1 / 3 of the saturation value for magnetic fields applied along the b axis. We report here a neutron scattering study of the nature and symmetry of the magnetic order in this field-induced phase. Below ≈ 0.5 K, there are strong hysteretic effects, and the order is short- or long-ranged for zero-field and field cooling, respectively. We find that the long-range ordered magnetic structure within the zigzag chains is identical to that expected for the one-dimensional axial next-nearest neighbor Ising (ANNNI) model in longitudinal fields. he long-range ordered structure in field contrasts with the short-range order found at zero field, and is most likely reached through enhanced quantum fluctuations with increasing fields.« less

  5. Field dependence of the magnetic correlations of the frustrated magnet SrDy2O4

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gauthier, N.; Fennell, A.; Prévost, B.; Désilets-Benoit, A.; Dabkowska, H. A.; Zaharko, O.; Frontzek, M.; Sibille, R.; Bianchi, A. D.; Kenzelmann, M.

    2017-05-01

    The frustrated magnet SrDy2O4 exhibits a field-induced phase with a magnetization plateau at 1 /3 of the saturation value for magnetic fields applied along the b axis. We report here a neutron scattering study of the nature and symmetry of the magnetic order in this field-induced phase. Below T ≈0.5 K, there are strong hysteretic effects, and the order is short- or long-ranged for zero-field and field cooling, respectively. We find that the long-range ordered magnetic structure within the zigzag chains is identical to that expected for the one-dimensional axial next-nearest neighbor Ising (ANNNI) model in longitudinal fields. The long-range ordered structure in field contrasts with the short-range order found at zero field, and is probably reached through enhanced quantum fluctuations with increasing fields.

  6. Revisiting long-range dependence in annual precipitation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Iliopoulou, Theano; Papalexiou, Simon Michael; Markonis, Yannis; Koutsoyiannis, Demetris

    2018-01-01

    Long-range dependence (LRD), the so-called Hurst-Kolmogorov behaviour, is considered to be an intrinsic characteristic of most natural processes. This behaviour manifests itself by the prevalence of slowly decaying autocorrelation function and questions the Markov assumption, often habitually employed in time series analysis. Herein, we investigate the dependence structure of annual rainfall using a large set, comprising more than a thousand stations worldwide of length 100 years or more, as well as a smaller number of paleoclimatic reconstructions covering the last 12,000 years. Our findings suggest weak long-term persistence for instrumental data (average H = 0.59), which becomes stronger with scale, i.e. in the paleoclimatic reconstructions (average H = 0.75).

  7. Detection range enhancement using circularly polarized light in scattering environments for infrared wavelengths

    DOE PAGES

    van der Laan, J. D.; Sandia National Lab.; Scrymgeour, D. A.; ...

    2015-03-13

    We find for infrared wavelengths there are broad ranges of particle sizes and refractive indices that represent fog and rain where the use of circular polarization can persist to longer ranges than linear polarization. Using polarization tracking Monte Carlo simulations for varying particle size, wavelength, and refractive index, we show that for specific scene parameters circular polarization outperforms linear polarization in maintaining the intended polarization state for large optical depths. This enhancement with circular polarization can be exploited to improve range and target detection in obscurant environments that are important in many critical sensing applications. Specifically, circular polarization persists bettermore » than linear for radiation fog in the short-wave infrared, for advection fog in the short-wave infrared and the long-wave infrared, and large particle sizes of Sahara dust around the 4 micron wavelength.« less

  8. Long-term monitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) at the Norwegian Troll station in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kallenborn, R.; Breivik, K.; Eckhardt, S.; Lunder, C. R.; Manø, S.; Schlabach, M.; Stohl, A.

    2013-07-01

    A first long-term monitoring of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Antarctic air has been conducted at the Norwegian research station Troll (Dronning Maud Land). As target contaminants 32 PCB congeners, α- and γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), trans- and cis-chlordane, trans- and cis-nonachlor, p,p'- and o,p-DDT, DDD, DDE as well as hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were selected. The monitoring program with weekly samples taken during the period 2007-2010 was coordinated with the parallel program at the Norwegian Arctic monitoring site (Zeppelin mountain, Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard) in terms of priority compounds, sampling schedule as well as analytical methods. The POP concentration levels found in Antarctica were considerably lower than Arctic atmospheric background concentrations. Similar to observations for Arctic samples, HCB is the predominant POP compound, with levels of around 22 pg m-3 throughout the entire monitoring period. In general, the following concentration distribution was found for the Troll samples analyzed: HCB > Sum HCH > Sum PCB > Sum DDT > Sum chlordanes. Atmospheric long-range transport was identified as a major contamination source for POPs in Antarctic environments. Several long-range transport events with elevated levels of pesticides and/or compounds with industrial sources were identified based on retroplume calculations with a Lagrangian particle dispersion model (FLEXPART).

  9. Experimental investigation of the ordering pathway in a Ni-33 at.%Cr alloy

    DOE PAGES

    Gwalani, B.; Alam, T.; Miller, C.; ...

    2016-06-17

    The present study involves a detailed experimental investigation of the concurrent compositional clustering and long-range ordering tendencies in a Ni-33 at.%Cr alloy, carried out by coupling synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atom probe tomography (APT). Synchrotron-based XRD results clearly exhibited progressively increasing lattice contraction in the matrix with increasing isothermal aging time, at 475 degrees C, eventually leading to the development of long-range ordering (LRO) of the Pt2Mo-type. Detailed TEM and APT investigations revealed that this LRO in the matrix is manifested in the form of nanometer-scale ordered domains, and the spatial distribution, size, morphology andmore » compositional evolution of these domains have been carefully investigated. Here, the APT results also revealed the early stages of compositional clustering prior to the onset of long-range ordering in this alloy and such compositional clustering can potentially be correlated to the lattice contraction and previously proposed short-range ordering tendencies.« less

  10. Positional short-range order in the nematic phase of n BABAs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Usha Deniz, K.; Pepy, G.; Parette, G.; Keller, P.

    1991-10-01

    The positional short-range order, SRO ⊥, perpendicular to the nematic director n̂ has been studied in the fibre-type nematics, nBABAs, by neutron diffraction. SRO ⊥ is found to be dependent on other types of nematic short-range order but not on the orientational long-range order.

  11. Facilitative Effect of a Generalist Herbivore on the Recovery of a Perennial Alga: Consequences for Persistence at the Edge of Their Geographic Range.

    PubMed

    Aguilera, Moisés A; Valdivia, Nelson; Broitman, Bernardo R

    2015-01-01

    Understanding the impacts of consumers on the abundance, growth rate, recovery and persistence of their resources across their distributional range can shed light on the role of trophic interactions in determining species range shifts. Here, we examined if consumptive effects of the intertidal grazer Scurria viridula positively influences the abundance and recovery from disturbances of the alga Mazzaella laminarioides at the edge of its geographic distributions in northern-central Chilean rocky shores. Through field experiments conducted at a site in the region where M. laminarioides overlaps with the polar range edge of S. viridula, we estimated the effects of grazing on different life stages of M. laminarioides. We also used long-term abundance surveys conducted across ~700 km of the shore to evaluate co-occurrence patterns of the study species across their range overlap. We found that S. viridula had positive net effects on M. laminarioides by increasing its cover and re-growth from perennial basal crusts. Probability of occurrence of M. laminarioides increased significantly with increasing density of S. viridula across the range overlap. The negative effect of S. viridula on the percentage cover of opportunistic green algae-shown to compete for space with corticated algae-suggests that competitive release may be part of the mechanism driving the positive effect of the limpet on the abundance and recovery from disturbance of M. laminarioides. We suggest that grazer populations contribute to enhance the abundance of M. laminarioides, facilitating its recolonization and persistence at its distributional range edge. Our study highlights that indirect facilitation can determine the recovery and persistence of a resource at the limit of its distribution, and may well contribute to the ecological mechanisms governing species distributions and range shifts.

  12. Facilitative Effect of a Generalist Herbivore on the Recovery of a Perennial Alga: Consequences for Persistence at the Edge of Their Geographic Range

    PubMed Central

    Aguilera, Moisés A.; Valdivia, Nelson; Broitman, Bernardo R.

    2015-01-01

    Understanding the impacts of consumers on the abundance, growth rate, recovery and persistence of their resources across their distributional range can shed light on the role of trophic interactions in determining species range shifts. Here, we examined if consumptive effects of the intertidal grazer Scurria viridula positively influences the abundance and recovery from disturbances of the alga Mazzaella laminarioides at the edge of its geographic distributions in northern-central Chilean rocky shores. Through field experiments conducted at a site in the region where M. laminarioides overlaps with the polar range edge of S. viridula, we estimated the effects of grazing on different life stages of M. laminarioides. We also used long-term abundance surveys conducted across ~700 km of the shore to evaluate co-occurrence patterns of the study species across their range overlap. We found that S. viridula had positive net effects on M. laminarioides by increasing its cover and re-growth from perennial basal crusts. Probability of occurrence of M. laminarioides increased significantly with increasing density of S. viridula across the range overlap. The negative effect of S. viridula on the percentage cover of opportunistic green algae—shown to compete for space with corticated algae—suggests that competitive release may be part of the mechanism driving the positive effect of the limpet on the abundance and recovery from disturbance of M. laminarioides. We suggest that grazer populations contribute to enhance the abundance of M. laminarioides, facilitating its recolonization and persistence at its distributional range edge. Our study highlights that indirect facilitation can determine the recovery and persistence of a resource at the limit of its distribution, and may well contribute to the ecological mechanisms governing species distributions and range shifts. PMID:26716986

  13. Coarse-grained representation of the quasi adiabatic propagator path integral for the treatment of non-Markovian long-time bath memory

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Richter, Martin; Fingerhut, Benjamin P.

    2017-06-01

    The description of non-Markovian effects imposed by low frequency bath modes poses a persistent challenge for path integral based approaches like the iterative quasi-adiabatic propagator path integral (iQUAPI) method. We present a novel approximate method, termed mask assisted coarse graining of influence coefficients (MACGIC)-iQUAPI, that offers appealing computational savings due to substantial reduction of considered path segments for propagation. The method relies on an efficient path segment merging procedure via an intermediate coarse grained representation of Feynman-Vernon influence coefficients that exploits physical properties of system decoherence. The MACGIC-iQUAPI method allows us to access the regime of biological significant long-time bath memory on the order of hundred propagation time steps while retaining convergence to iQUAPI results. Numerical performance is demonstrated for a set of benchmark problems that cover bath assisted long range electron transfer, the transition from coherent to incoherent dynamics in a prototypical molecular dimer and excitation energy transfer in a 24-state model of the Fenna-Matthews-Olson trimer complex where in all cases excellent agreement with numerically exact reference data is obtained.

  14. Persistence of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations after successful embolotherapy with Amplatzer vascular plug: long-term results

    PubMed Central

    Abdel-Aal, Ahmed Kamel; Ibrahim, Rafik Mohamed; Moustafa, Amr Soliman; Hamed, Maysoon Farouk; Saddekni, Souheil

    2016-01-01

    PURPOSE We aimed to evaluate the frequency of persistence and complication rates of pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVMs) treated with Amplatzer vascular plug (AVP) or Amplatzer vascular plug type 2 (AVP2). METHODS We retrospectively reviewed a total of 22 patients with 54 PAVMs between June 2004 and June 2014. We included 12 patients with 35 PAVMs who received percutaneous embolization using AVP or AVP2 only without the use of any other embolic devices. The mean follow-up was 54±24.3 months (range, 31–97 months). The primary end-points of the study were the efficacy of embolotherapy, the increase in oxygen saturation, and the persistence of PAVM on follow-up. Secondary end point was the incidence of complications. RESULTS The study included 10 female and two male patients with a mean age of 50.2±13.7 years (range, 21–66 years). All PAVMs had a simple angioarchitecture. The technical success of the procedure for PAVM occlusion was 100%. There was a significant increase in the oxygen saturation following embolotherapy (P < 0.0001). Follow-up computed tomography angiography revealed successful treatment in 34 PAVMs (97%) and failed treatment in one PAVM (3%). Twenty-three aneurysmal sacs (67%) showed complete disappearance. The failed treatment was due to persistence of PAVM caused by subsequent development of systemic reperfusion, which did not require further intervention. There were two minor complications but no major complications were encountered. CONCLUSION Embolotherapy of PAVMs using AVP or AVP2 devices is safe and effective, with high technical success rate, low persistence and complication rates, and with excellent long-term results. PMID:27244759

  15. Refusing to Twist: Demonstration of a Line Hexatic Phase in DNA Liquid Crystals

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Strey, H. H.; NICHD/LPSB, National Institutes of Health, Building 12A/2041, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-5626; Wang, J.

    2000-04-03

    We report conclusive high resolution small angle x-ray scattering evidence that long DNA fragments form an untwisted line hexatic phase between the cholesteric and the crystalline phases. The line hexatic phase is a liquid-crystalline phase with long-range hexagonal bond-orientational order, long-range nematic order, but liquidlike, i.e., short-range, positional order. So far, it has not been seen in any other three dimensional system. By line-shape analysis of x-ray scattering data we found that positional order decreases when the line hexatic phase is compressed. We suggest that such anomalous behavior is a result of the chiral nature of DNA molecules. (c) 2000more » The American Physical Society.« less

  16. A mini-review on econophysics: Comparative study of Chinese and western financial markets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, Bo; Jiang, Xiong-Fei; Ni, Peng-Yun

    2014-07-01

    We present a review of our recent research in econophysics, and focus on the comparative study of Chinese and western financial markets. By virtue of concepts and methods in statistical physics, we investigate the time correlations and spatial structure of financial markets based on empirical high-frequency data. We discover that the Chinese stock market shares common basic properties with the western stock markets, such as the fat-tail probability distribution of price returns, the long-range auto-correlation of volatilities, and the persistence probability of volatilities, while it exhibits very different higher-order time correlations of price returns and volatilities, spatial correlations of individual stock prices, and large-fluctuation dynamic behaviors. Furthermore, multi-agent-based models are developed to simulate the microscopic interaction and dynamic evolution of the stock markets.

  17. What are the taxonomic and evolutionary relationships of the Protozoa to the Protista?

    PubMed

    Corliss, J O

    1981-01-01

    In order to consider the problems of protist-protozoan interrelationships in proper perspective, a new "packaging" of phyla within the great kingdom Protista is proposed. Although it is based largely on historical groupings and is admittedly "unnatural" (nor are taxonomic names proposed for my five supraphyletic groupings), the arrangement may clarify some long-persisting problems, especially with regard to mixed algal-protozoan groups and/or phylogenies. Some three dozen phyla are recognized as comprising the kingdom, with the number that might be considered as "protozoan" ranging from 10 to 25, depending on one's viewpoint. No taxon should have the formal name "Protozoa", "Phytoflagellate" and "zooflagellate" are also misleading categories. Taxonomic and evolutionary relationships of phyla containing protozoa (with small "p") are inextricably intermeshed with those of other protist phyla, and thus no unified protozoan super-group exists.

  18. Home Reading: The Key to Proficiency.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henderson, Bill

    2000-01-01

    A Boston principal reflects on decade-long efforts to get students and their families to read together. Initiatives ranged from reading contests and upgraded reading materials to reading contracts, literacy shows, parent/home visiting programs, pizza parties, and off-site tutors. Persistence paid off in higher reading scores. (MLH)

  19. Infinitely robust order and local order-parameter tulips in Apollonian networks with quenched disorder

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kaplan, C. Nadir; Hinczewski, Michael; Berker, A. Nihat

    2009-06-01

    For a variety of quenched random spin systems on an Apollonian network, including ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic bond percolation and the Ising spin glass, we find the persistence of ordered phases up to infinite temperature over the entire range of disorder. We develop a renormalization-group technique that yields highly detailed information, including the exact distributions of local magnetizations and local spin-glass order parameters, which turn out to exhibit, as function of temperature, complex and distinctive tulip patterns.

  20. Dilute stuffing in the pyrochlore iridate Eu2Ir2O7

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Telang, Prachi; Mishra, Kshiti; Sood, A. K.; Singh, Surjeet

    2018-06-01

    The pyrochlore Eu2Ir2O7 has recently attracted significant attention as a candidate Weyl semimetal. The previous reports on this compound unanimously show a thermally induced metal-to-insulator (MI) transition, concomitant with antiferromagnetic long-range ordering of the Ir moments below TN˜120 K. However, there are contradictory reports concerning the slope d ρ /d T of the resistivity plots (ρ ) in the "metallic" state above the MI transition, and the value of ρ in the insulating state, both of which show significant sample dependence. Here, we explore this issue by investigating six different Eu2Ir2O7 samples with slightly varying Eu:Ir ratio. High-resolution synchrotron powder diffraction is done to probe minor variations in the cell parameters of the various Eu2Ir2O7 samples investigated here. Specific heat (Cp) and magnetic susceptibility of all the samples showed long-range antiferromagnetic ordering upon cooling below TN˜120 K. The transitions are, however, found to be smeared out for the off-stoichiometric samples. We show that the sign of d ρ /d T above the MI transition is highly sensitive to the unit-cell length, which, in turn, depends on the level of Eu stuffing at the Ir site. Samples with composition close to the ideal stoichiometry (Eu:Ir =1 ) showed a change of sign of d ρ /d T from negative to positive upon cooling below a certain temperature T*>TMI . With increasing Eu stuffing, T* decreased until a negative d ρ /d T persisted without any sign change down to TMI.

  1. Role of amnioinfusion in the management of premature rupture of the membranes at <26 weeks' gestation.

    PubMed

    Locatelli, A; Vergani, P; Di Pirro, G; Doria, V; Biffi, A; Ghidini, A

    2000-10-01

    We sought to evaluate whether serial amnioinfusions for persistent oligohydramnios can affect the perinatal and long-term outcomes in extreme cases of preterm premature rupture of membranes. All singleton pregnancies with preterm premature rupture of membranes at <26 weeks' gestation and lasting >4 days between January 1991 and June 1998 were included. Amniotic fluid volume was assessed as the maximum cord-free pocket with serial ultrasonographic examinations. Consenting women with persistent (>4 days) oligohydramnios (amniotic fluid 2 cm. The pregnancy, neonatal, and long-term neurologic outcomes of the cases that spontaneously maintained a median amniotic fluid pocket >2 cm (amnioinfusion-not-necessary group) were compared with those of women with oligohydramnios who underwent amnioinfusion but continued to have a median amniotic fluid pocket after preterm premature rupture of membranes 2 cm for >/=48 hours in 11 (30%) patients. This successful amnioinfusion group was comparable with the persistent oligohydramnios group (n = 25) in gestational age at first amnioinfusion (median, 20.2 weeks; range, 16-25.6 weeks; vs median, 20.3 weeks; range, 16.5-24.2 weeks; P =.4), number of amnioinfusions (median, 3; range, 1-9; vs median, 3; range, 1-5; P =.4), and interval between amnioinfusions (median, 6 days; range, 4-14 days; vs median, 8 days; range, 6-43 days; P =. 1). However, patients in the persistent oligohydramnios group had a significantly shorter interval to delivery, lower neonatal survival (20%), and higher rates of pulmonary hypoplasia (62%) and abnormal neurologic outcomes (60%) than the patients in the groups in which amnioinfusion was not necessary or was successful (all P

  2. Determination of hydrogen permeability in commercial and modified superalloys

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Bhattacharyya, S.; Peterman, W.

    1983-01-01

    The results of hydrogen permeability measurements on several iron- and cobalt-base alloys as well as on two long-ranged ordered alloys over the range of 705 to 870 C (1300 to 1600 F) are summarized. The test alloys included wrought alloys N-155, IN 800, A-286, 19-9DL, and 19-9DL modifications with aluminum, niobium, and misch metal. In addition, XF-818, CRM-6D, SA-F11, and HS-31 were evaluated. Two wrought long-range ordered alloys, Ni3Al and (Fe,Ni)3(V,Al) were also evaluated. All tests were conducted at 20.7 MPa pressure in either pure and/or 1% CO2-doped H2 for test periods as long as 133 h. Detailed analyses were conducted to determine the relative permeability rankings of these alloys and the effect of doping, exit surface oxidation, specimen design variations, and test duration on permeability coefficient, and permeation activation energies were determined. The two long-range ordered alloys had the lowest permeability coefficients in pure H2 when compared with the eight commercial alloys and their modifications. With CO2 doping, significant decrease in permeability was observed in commercial alloys--no doped tests were conducted with the long-range ordered alloys.

  3. Persistence of airline accidents.

    PubMed

    Barros, Carlos Pestana; Faria, Joao Ricardo; Gil-Alana, Luis Alberiko

    2010-10-01

    This paper expands on air travel accident research by examining the relationship between air travel accidents and airline traffic or volume in the period from 1927-2006. The theoretical model is based on a representative airline company that aims to maximise its profits, and it utilises a fractional integration approach in order to determine whether there is a persistent pattern over time with respect to air accidents and air traffic. Furthermore, the paper analyses how airline accidents are related to traffic using a fractional cointegration approach. It finds that airline accidents are persistent and that a (non-stationary) fractional cointegration relationship exists between total airline accidents and airline passengers, airline miles and airline revenues, with shocks that affect the long-run equilibrium disappearing in the very long term. Moreover, this relation is negative, which might be due to the fact that air travel is becoming safer and there is greater competition in the airline industry. Policy implications are derived for countering accident events, based on competition and regulation. © 2010 The Author(s). Journal compilation © Overseas Development Institute, 2010.

  4. Long-term mucosal recovery and healing in celiac disease is the rule - not the exception.

    PubMed

    Hære, Petter; Høie, Ole; Schulz, Tom; Schönhardt, Irina; Raki, Melinda; Lundin, Knut E A

    2016-12-01

    The prevalence of persistent villous atrophy (VA) in patients with celiac disease (CD) on a gluten-free diet (GFD) varies greatly between studies. Most studies show a relatively high prevalence of mucosal atrophy and inflammation in treated patients, a finding which have led to a concept of non-responsive CD. Few studies have examined the prevalence of long-term mucosal healing. Our study aimed to determine the extent of mucosal healing in a cohort of Norwegian patients with CD treated with GFD for several years. Adult patients diagnosed with VA between 1989 and 2009 were included. We performed a follow-up gastroscopy with duodenal biopsies. Two pathologists evaluated the biopsies according to the Marsh-Oberhuber classification. Mucosal healing was defined as Marsh 0 while mucosal recovery was defined as Marsh 0-2. Duodenal biopsies were obtained from 127 adult patients with established CD. After a follow-up time of 8.1 years (median, range 2.3-22.3), 103 (81%) of the patients showed mucosal healing, 120 patients (94%) showed mucosal recovery, and 7 patients (6%) showed persistent VA. In addition, 103 of the 127 patients (81%) had undergone a routine follow-up biopsy 12.6 months (median, range 5.2-28.8) after diagnosis. At the time of the routine follow-up, only 52 of these patients (50.5%) had achieved mucosal recovery. Although half of the patients had persistent VA at the time of routine follow-up, both long-term mucosal recovery and healing is possible for the vast majority of adult patients with CD.

  5. Long range ordered alloys modified by addition of niobium and cerium

    DOEpatents

    Liu, C.T.

    1984-08-22

    Long range ordered alloys are described having the nominal composition (Fe,Ni,Co)/sub 3/ (V,M) where M is a ductility enhancing metal selected from the group Ti, Zr, Hf with additions of small amounts of cerium and niobium to dramatically enhance the creep properties of the resulting alloys.

  6. Long range ordered alloys modified by addition of niobium and cerium

    DOEpatents

    Liu, Chain T.

    1987-01-01

    Long range ordered alloys are described having the nominal composition (Fe,Ni,Co).sub.3 (V,M) where M is a ductility enhancing metal selected from the group Ti, Zr, Hf with additions of small amounts of cerium and niobium to drammatically enhance the creep properties of the resulting alloys.

  7. The production effect in long-list recall: In no particular order?

    PubMed

    Lambert, Angela M; Bodner, Glen E; Taikh, Alexander

    2016-06-01

    The production effect reflects a memory advantage for words read aloud versus silently. We investigated how production influences free recall of a single long list of words. In each of 4 experiments, a production effect occurred in a mixed-list group but not across pure-list groups. When compared to the pure-list groups, the mixed-list effects typically reflected a cost to silent words rather than a benefit to aloud words. This cost persisted when participants had to perform a generation or imagery task for the silent items, ruling out a lazy reading explanation. This recall pattern challenges both distinctiveness and strength accounts, but is consistent with an item-order account. By this account, the aloud words in a mixed list disrupt the encoding of item-order information for the silent words, thus impairing silent word recall. However, item-order measures and a forced-choice order test did not provide much evidence that recall was guided by retrieval of item-order information. We discuss our pattern of results in light of another recent study of the effects of production on long-list recall. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. Climate-driven range shifts explain the distribution of extant gene pools and predict future loss of unique lineages in a marine brown alga.

    PubMed

    Assis, J; Serrão, E A; Claro, B; Perrin, C; Pearson, G A

    2014-06-01

    The climate-driven dynamics of species ranges is a critical research question in evolutionary ecology. We ask whether present intraspecific diversity is determined by the imprint of past climate. This is an ongoing debate requiring interdisciplinary examination of population genetic pools and persistence patterns across global ranges. Previously, contrasting inferences and predictions have resulted from distinct genomic coverage and/or geographical information. We aim to describe and explain the causes of geographical contrasts in genetic diversity and their consequences for the future baseline of the global genetic pool, by comparing present geographical distribution of genetic diversity and differentiation with predictive species distribution modelling (SDM) during past extremes, present time and future climate scenarios for a brown alga, Fucus vesiculosus. SDM showed that both atmospheric and oceanic variables shape the global distribution of intertidal species, revealing regions of persistence, extinction and expansion during glacial and postglacial periods. These explained the distribution and structure of present genetic diversity, consisting of differentiated genetic pools with maximal diversity in areas of long-term persistence. Most of the present species range comprises postglacial expansion zones and, in contrast to highly dispersive marine organisms, expansions involved only local fronts, leaving distinct genetic pools at rear edges. Besides unravelling a complex phylogeographical history and showing congruence between genetic diversity and persistent distribution zones, supporting the hypothesis of niche conservatism, range shifts and loss of unique genetic diversity at the rear edge were predicted for future climate scenarios, impoverishing the global gene pool. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Epstein-Barr virus: a paradigm for persistent infection - for real and in virtual reality.

    PubMed

    Thorley-Lawson, David A; Duca, Karen A; Shapiro, Michael

    2008-04-01

    The really interesting thing about herpesviruses is that they can establish lifelong persistant infections in immunocompetent hosts. At first glance, they would seem to have very different ways of doing this. Here we will use as a model our current understanding of how the human herpesvirus Epstein-Barr virus establishes and maintains such an infection. We apply information from a wide range of sources including laboratory experimentation, clinical observation, animal models and a new computer simulation. We propose that the detailed mechanisms for establishing infection are dependent on the virus and tissues involved, but the strategy is the same - to persist in a long-lived cell type where the virus is invisible to the immune system and nonpathogenic.

  10. Long-range memory and multifractality in gold markets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mali, Provash; Mukhopadhyay, Amitabha

    2015-03-01

    Long-range correlation and fluctuation in the gold market time series of the world's two leading gold consuming countries, namely China and India, are studied. For both the market series during the period 1985-2013 we observe a long-range persistence of memory in the sequences of maxima (minima) of returns in successive time windows of fixed length, but the series, as a whole, are found to be uncorrelated. Multifractal analysis for these series as well as for the sequences of maxima (minima) is carried out in terms of the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA) method. We observe a weak multifractal structure for the original series that mainly originates from the fat-tailed probability distribution function of the values, and the multifractal nature of the original time series is enriched into their sequences of maximal (minimal) returns. A quantitative measure of multifractality is provided by using a set of ‘complexity parameters’.

  11. Power law cross-correlations between price change and volume change of Indian stocks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hasan, Rashid; Mohammed Salim, M.

    2017-05-01

    We study multifractal long-range correlations and cross-correlations of daily price change and volume change of 50 stocks that comprise Nifty index of National Stock Exchange, Mumbai, using MF-DFA and MF-DCCA methods. We find that the time series of price change are uncorrelated, whereas anti-persistent long-range multifractal correlations are found in volume change series. We also find antipersistent long-range multifractal cross-correlations between the time series of price change and volume change. As multifractality is a signature of complexity, we estimate complexity parameters of the time series of price change, volume change, and cross-correlated price-volume change by fitting the fourth-degree polynomials to their multifractal spectra. Our results indicate that the time series of price change display high complexity, whereas the time series of volume change and cross-correlated price-volume change display low complexity.

  12. An integrative risk assessment approach for persistent chemicals: a case study on dioxins, furans and dioxin-like PCBs in France.

    PubMed

    Béchaux, Camille; Zeilmaker, Marco; Merlo, Mathilde; Bokkers, Bas; Crépet, Amélie

    2014-10-01

    For persistent chemicals slowly eliminated from the body, the accumulated concentration (body burden), rather than the daily exposure, is considered the proper starting point for the risk assessment. This work introduces an integrative approach for persistent chemical risk assessment by means of a dynamic body burden approach. To reach this goal a Kinetic Dietary Exposure Model (KDEM) was extended with the long term time trend in the exposure (historic exposure) and the comparison of bioaccumulation with body burden references for toxicity. The usefulness of the model was illustrated on the dietary exposure to PolyChlorinatedDibenzo-p-Dioxins (PCDDs), PolyChlorinatedDibenzoFurans (PCDFs) and PolyChlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in France. Firstly the dietary exposure to these compounds was determined in 2009 and combined with its long term time trend. In order to take differences between the kinetics of PCDD/F and dl-PCBs into account, three groups of congeners were considered i.e. PCDD/Fs, PCB 126 and remaining dl-PCBs. The body burden was compared with reference body burdens corresponding to reproductive, hepatic and thyroid toxicity. In the case of thyroid toxicity this comparison indicated that in 2009 the probability of the body burden to exceed its reference ranged from 2.8% (95% CI: 1.5-4.9%) up to 3.9% (95% CI: 2.7-7.1%) (18-29 vs. 60-79year olds). Notwithstanding the decreasing long-term time trend of the dietary dioxin exposure in France, this probability still is expected to be 1.5% (95% CI: 0.3-2.5%) in 2030 in 60-79 olds. In the case of reproductive toxicity the probability of the 2009 body burden to exceed its reference ranged from 3.1% (95% CI: 1.4-5.0%) (18-29year olds) to 3.5% (95% CI: 2.2-5.2%) (30-44year olds). In 2030 this probability is negligible in 18-29year olds, however small though significant in 30-44year olds (0.7%, 95% CI: 0-1.6%). In the case of hepatic toxicity the probability in 2009 even in 60-79year olds already was negligible. In conclusion this approach indicates that in France dioxin levels in food form a declining, though still present, future health risk with respect to thyroid and reproductive toxicity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Hybridized orbital states in spin-orbit coupled 3 d -5 d double perovskites studied by x-ray absorption spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Min-Cheol; Lee, Sanghyun; Won, C. J.; Lee, K. D.; Hur, N.; Chen, Jeng-Lung; Cho, Deok-Yong; Noh, T. W.

    2018-03-01

    We investigated the orbital hybridization mechanism in 3 d -5 d double perovskites (DPs) of La2CoIrO6 and La2CoPtO6 using x-ray absorption spectroscopy. It is clearly evidenced by O K -edge and Co K -edge x-ray absorption spectra that the Co 3 d orbitals hybridize not only with the half-filled Ir/Pt jeff states but also with the fully empty (unpolarized) Ir/Pt eg states in both DPs. The Co 3 d eg-Ir 5 d eg hybridization cannot contribute to the ferrimagnetic long-range order in La2CoIrO6 established by spin-selective Co 3 d t2 g-Ir 5 d jeff hybridization through the intermediate oxygen p state but could serve as an origin of paramagnetism. The strengths of such orbital hybridizations were found to be almost invariant to temperature, even far above the Curie temperature, implying persistent paramagnetism against the antiferromagnetic ordering in the spin-orbit entangled 3 d -5 d DPs.

  14. Dynamic analysis and pattern visualization of forest fires.

    PubMed

    Lopes, António M; Tenreiro Machado, J A

    2014-01-01

    This paper analyses forest fires in the perspective of dynamical systems. Forest fires exhibit complex correlations in size, space and time, revealing features often present in complex systems, such as the absence of a characteristic length-scale, or the emergence of long range correlations and persistent memory. This study addresses a public domain forest fires catalogue, containing information of events for Portugal, during the period from 1980 up to 2012. The data is analysed in an annual basis, modelling the occurrences as sequences of Dirac impulses with amplitude proportional to the burnt area. First, we consider mutual information to correlate annual patterns. We use visualization trees, generated by hierarchical clustering algorithms, in order to compare and to extract relationships among the data. Second, we adopt the Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) visualization tool. MDS generates maps where each object corresponds to a point. Objects that are perceived to be similar to each other are placed on the map forming clusters. The results are analysed in order to extract relationships among the data and to identify forest fire patterns.

  15. Dynamic Analysis and Pattern Visualization of Forest Fires

    PubMed Central

    Lopes, António M.; Tenreiro Machado, J. A.

    2014-01-01

    This paper analyses forest fires in the perspective of dynamical systems. Forest fires exhibit complex correlations in size, space and time, revealing features often present in complex systems, such as the absence of a characteristic length-scale, or the emergence of long range correlations and persistent memory. This study addresses a public domain forest fires catalogue, containing information of events for Portugal, during the period from 1980 up to 2012. The data is analysed in an annual basis, modelling the occurrences as sequences of Dirac impulses with amplitude proportional to the burnt area. First, we consider mutual information to correlate annual patterns. We use visualization trees, generated by hierarchical clustering algorithms, in order to compare and to extract relationships among the data. Second, we adopt the Multidimensional Scaling (MDS) visualization tool. MDS generates maps where each object corresponds to a point. Objects that are perceived to be similar to each other are placed on the map forming clusters. The results are analysed in order to extract relationships among the data and to identify forest fire patterns. PMID:25137393

  16. Temporal trends of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in arctic air: 20 years of monitoring under the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP).

    PubMed

    Hung, Hayley; Katsoyiannis, Athanasios A; Brorström-Lundén, Eva; Olafsdottir, Kristin; Aas, Wenche; Breivik, Knut; Bohlin-Nizzetto, Pernilla; Sigurdsson, Arni; Hakola, Hannele; Bossi, Rossana; Skov, Henrik; Sverko, Ed; Barresi, Enzo; Fellin, Phil; Wilson, Simon

    2016-10-01

    Temporal trends of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) measured in Arctic air are essential in understanding long-range transport to remote regions and to evaluate the effectiveness of national and international chemical control initiatives, such as the Stockholm Convention (SC) on POPs. Long-term air monitoring of POPs is conducted under the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) at four Arctic stations: Alert, Canada; Stórhöfði, Iceland; Zeppelin, Svalbard; and Pallas, Finland, since the 1990s using high volume air samplers. Temporal trends observed for POPs in Arctic air are summarized in this study. Most POPs listed for control under the SC, e.g. polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs) and chlordanes, are declining slowly in Arctic air, reflecting the reduction of primary emissions during the last two decades and increasing importance of secondary emissions. Slow declining trends also signifies their persistence and slow degradation under the Arctic environment, such that they are still detectable after being banned for decades in many countries. Some POPs, e.g. hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and lighter PCBs, showed increasing trends at specific locations, which may be attributable to warming in the region and continued primary emissions at source. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) do not decline in air at Canada's Alert station but are declining in European Arctic air, which may be due to influence of local sources at Alert and the much higher historical usage of PBDEs in North America. Arctic air samples are screened for chemicals of emerging concern to provide information regarding their environmental persistence (P) and long-range transport potential (LRTP), which are important criteria for classification as a POP under SC. The AMAP network provides consistent and comparable air monitoring data of POPs for trend development and acts as a bridge between national monitoring programs and SC's Global Monitoring Plan (GMP). Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Coexistence of long-range cycloidal order and spin-cluster glass state in the multiferroic BaYFeO4.

    PubMed

    Ghara, Somnath; Sundaresan, A

    2018-06-20

    We report the presence of spin glass state below the cycloidal spin ordering in the multiferroic BaYFeO 4 . This compound is known to crystallize in an orthorhombic structure with a centrosymmetric space group Pnma and exhibits two successive antiferromagnetic phase transitions. Upon cooling, it undergoes a spin density wave (SDW)-like antiferromagnetic ordering at T N1 ~ 48 K and a cycloidal ordering at T N2 ~ 35 K. Using dc magnetic memory effect and magnetization relaxation studies, we have shown that this oxide undergoes a reentrant spin glass transition below T * ~ 17 K. Our analysis suggests the presence of spin clusters in the glassy state. The coexistence of spin-cluster glass and long-range cycloidal ordered states results in an exchange bias effect at 2 K. The origin of the glassy state has been attributed to freezing of some Fe 3+ moments, which do not participate in the long-range ordering.

  18. Coexistence of long-range cycloidal order and spin-cluster glass state in the multiferroic BaYFeO4

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ghara, Somnath; Sundaresan, A.

    2018-06-01

    We report the presence of spin glass state below the cycloidal spin ordering in the multiferroic BaYFeO4. This compound is known to crystallize in an orthorhombic structure with a centrosymmetric space group Pnma and exhibits two successive antiferromagnetic phase transitions. Upon cooling, it undergoes a spin density wave (SDW)-like antiferromagnetic ordering at T N1 ~ 48 K and a cycloidal ordering at T N2 ~ 35 K. Using dc magnetic memory effect and magnetization relaxation studies, we have shown that this oxide undergoes a reentrant spin glass transition below T * ~ 17 K. Our analysis suggests the presence of spin clusters in the glassy state. The coexistence of spin-cluster glass and long-range cycloidal ordered states results in an exchange bias effect at 2 K. The origin of the glassy state has been attributed to freezing of some Fe3+ moments, which do not participate in the long-range ordering.

  19. Long Range In-Plane Order of Oriented Diblock Copolymer Thin Films by Graphoepitaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fontana, Scott; Dadmun, Mark; Lowndes, Douglas

    2003-03-01

    Previous work by Russell and coworkers has demonstrated that controlling the interfacial energies and wetting behavior of an asymmetric diblock copolymer enables the control of the orientation of its microphases. In particular the cylindrical phase can be readily aligned perpendicular to a substrate when it is placed on a surface that is neutral to both components of the copolymer. The minor phase, PMMA may then be removed using UV radiation leaving a nanoporous template. In this work, we will report long range, in-plane ordering of the hexagonally packed nanopores that is achieved using graphoepitaxy. The long range ordered and vertically aligned diblock copolymer film can be used to produce arrays of catalytic nickel dots, which grow vertically aligned carbon nano-fibers (VACNF), resulting in a well ordered array of VACNFs.

  20. Computationally derived rules for persistence of C60 nanowires on recumbent pentacene bilayers.

    PubMed

    Cantrell, Rebecca A; James, Christine; Clancy, Paulette

    2011-08-16

    The tendency for C(60) nanowires to persist on two monolayers of recumbent pentacene is studied using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. A review of existing experimental literature for the tilt angle adopted by pentacene on noble metal surfaces shows that studies cover a limited range from 55° to 90°, motivating simulation studies of essentially the entire range of tilt angles (10°-90°) to predict the optimum surface tilt angle for C(60) nanowire formation. The persistence of a 1D nanowire depends sensitively on this tilt angle, the amount of initial tensile strain, and the presence of surface step edges. At room temperature, C(60) nanowires oriented along the pentacene short axes persist for several nanoseconds and are more likely to occur if they reside between, or within, pentacene rows for ϕ ≤ ∼60°. The likelihood of this persistence increases the smaller the tilt angle. Nanowires oriented along the long axes of pentacene molecules are unlikely to form. The limit of stability of nanowires was tested by raising the temperature to 400 K. Nanowires located between pentacene rows survived this temperature rise, but those located initially within pentacene rows are only stable in the range ϕ(1) = 30°-50°. Flatter pentacene surfaces, that is, tilt angles above about 60°, are subject to disorder caused by C(60) molecules "burrowing" into the pentacene surface. An initial strain of 5% applied to the C(60) nanowires significantly decreases the likelihood of nanowire persistence. In contrast, any appreciable surface roughness, even by half a monolayer in height of a third pentacene monolayer, strongly enhances the likelihood of nanowire formation due to the strong binding energy of C(60) molecules to step edges.

  1. Downregulation of MicroRNA eca-mir-128 in Seminal Exosomes and Enhanced Expression of CXCL16 in the Stallion Reproductive Tract Are Associated with Long-Term Persistence of Equine Arteritis Virus.

    PubMed

    Carossino, Mariano; Dini, Pouya; Kalbfleisch, Theodore S; Loynachan, Alan T; Canisso, Igor F; Shuck, Kathleen M; Timoney, Peter J; Cook, R Frank; Balasuriya, Udeni B R

    2018-05-01

    Equine arteritis virus (EAV) can establish long-term persistent infection in the reproductive tract of stallions and is shed in the semen. Previous studies showed that long-term persistence is associated with a specific allele of the CXCL16 gene ( CXCL16S ) and that persistent infection is maintained despite the presence of a local inflammatory and humoral and mucosal antibody responses. In this study, we demonstrated that equine seminal exosomes (SEs) are enriched in a small subset of microRNAs (miRNAs). Most importantly, we demonstrated that long-term EAV persistence is associated with the downregulation of an SE-associated miRNA (eca-mir-128) and with an enhanced expression of CXCL16 in the reproductive tract, a putative target of eca-mir-128. The findings presented here suggest that SE eca-mir-128 is implicated in the regulation of the CXCL16/CXCR6 axis in the reproductive tract of persistently infected stallions, a chemokine axis strongly implicated in EAV persistence. This is a novel finding and warrants further investigation to identify its specific mechanism in modulating the CXCL16/CXCR6 axis in the reproductive tract of the EAV long-term carrier stallion. IMPORTANCE Equine arteritis virus (EAV) has the ability to establish long-term persistent infection in the stallion reproductive tract and to be shed in semen, which jeopardizes its worldwide control. Currently, the molecular mechanisms of viral persistence are being unraveled, and these are essential for the development of effective therapeutics to eliminate persistent infection. Recently, it has been determined that long-term persistence is associated with a specific allele of the CXCL16 gene ( CXCL16S ) and is maintained despite induction of local inflammatory, humoral, and mucosal antibody responses. This study demonstrated that long-term persistence is associated with the downregulation of seminal exosome miRNA eca-mir-128 and enhanced expression of its putative target, CXCL16, in the reproductive tract. For the first time, this study suggests complex interactions between eca-mir-128 and cellular elements at the site of EAV persistence and implicates this miRNA in the regulation of the CXCL16/CXCR6 axis in the reproductive tract during long-term persistence. Copyright © 2018 American Society for Microbiology.

  2. Persistent Infections with Diverse Co-Circulating Astroviruses in Pediatric Oncology Patients, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.

    PubMed

    Cortez, Valerie; Freiden, Pamela; Gu, Zhengming; Adderson, Elisabeth; Hayden, Randall; Schultz-Cherry, Stacey

    2017-02-01

    Human astroviruses are a major cause of pediatric gastroenteritis, especially in immunocompromised children. We conducted a retrospective study to demonstrate that diverse astrovirus genotypes can co-circulate in pediatric oncology patients. A subset of cases is associated with long-term virus shedding (range 17-183 days).

  3. Double-exponential decay of orientational correlations in semiflexible polyelectrolytes.

    PubMed

    Bačová, P; Košovan, P; Uhlík, F; Kuldová, J; Limpouchová, Z; Procházka, K

    2012-06-01

    In this paper we revisited the problem of persistence length of polyelectrolytes. We performed a series of Molecular Dynamics simulations using the Debye-Hückel approximation for electrostatics to test several equations which go beyond the classical description of Odijk, Skolnick and Fixman (OSF). The data confirm earlier observations that in the limit of large contour separations the decay of orientational correlations can be described by a single-exponential function and the decay length can be described by the OSF relation. However, at short countour separations the behaviour is more complex. Recent equations which introduce more complicated expressions and an additional length scale could describe the results very well on both the short and the long length scale. The equation of Manghi and Netz when used without adjustable parameters could capture the qualitative trend but deviated in a quantitative comparison. Better quantitative agreement within the estimated error could be obtained using three equations with one adjustable parameter: 1) the equation of Manghi and Netz; 2) the equation proposed by us in this paper; 3) the equation proposed by Cannavacciuolo and Pedersen. Two characteristic length scales can be identified in the data: the intrinsic or bare persistence length and the electrostatic persistence length. All three equations use a single parameter to describe a smooth crossover from the short-range behaviour dominated by the intrinsic stiffness of the chain to the long-range OSF-like behaviour.

  4. Access to long-term optical memories using photon echoes retrieved from semiconductor spins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Langer, L.; Poltavtsev, S. V.; Yugova, I. A.; Salewski, M.; Yakovlev, D. R.; Karczewski, G.; Wojtowicz, T.; Akimov, I. A.; Bayer, M.

    2014-11-01

    The ability to store optical information is important for both classical and quantum communication. Achieving this in a comprehensive manner (converting the optical field into material excitation, storing this excitation, and releasing it after a controllable time delay) is greatly complicated by the many, often conflicting, properties of the material. More specifically, optical resonances in semiconductor quantum structures with high oscillator strength are inevitably characterized by short excitation lifetimes (and, therefore, short optical memory). Here, we present a new experimental approach to stimulated photon echoes by transferring the information contained in the optical field into a spin system, where it is decoupled from the optical vacuum field and may persist much longer. We demonstrate this for an n-doped CdTe/(Cd,Mg)Te quantum well, the storage time of which could be increased by more than three orders of magnitude, from the picosecond range up to tens of nanoseconds.

  5. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Guo, Peijun; Xia, Yi; Gong, Jue

    Solution-processable metal-halide perovskites (MHPs) offer great promise for efficient light harvesting and emitting devices due to their long carrier lifetime and superior carrier transport characteristics. Ferroelectric effects, a hallmark of traditional oxide perovskites, was proposed to be a mechanism to suppress carrier recombination and enhance charge transport in MHPs, but the existence and influence of such polar order is still of considerable debate. Here we performed transient reflection measurements on single crystals of both inorganic and organic-inorganic (hybrid) MHPs over a range of temperatures, and demonstrate significant phonon softening in the cubic phases close to the cubic-to-tetragonal phase transition temperatures.more » Such phonon softening indicates the formation of polar domains, which grow in size upon cooling and can persist in the low-temperature tetragonal and orthorhombic phases. Our results link the extraordinary electronic properties of MHPs to the spontaneous polarizations which can contribute to more efficient charge separation and characteristics of an indirect bandgap.« less

  6. Importance-sampling computation of statistical properties of coupled oscillators

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gupta, Shamik; Leitão, Jorge C.; Altmann, Eduardo G.

    2017-07-01

    We introduce and implement an importance-sampling Monte Carlo algorithm to study systems of globally coupled oscillators. Our computational method efficiently obtains estimates of the tails of the distribution of various measures of dynamical trajectories corresponding to states occurring with (exponentially) small probabilities. We demonstrate the general validity of our results by applying the method to two contrasting cases: the driven-dissipative Kuramoto model, a paradigm in the study of spontaneous synchronization; and the conservative Hamiltonian mean-field model, a prototypical system of long-range interactions. We present results for the distribution of the finite-time Lyapunov exponent and a time-averaged order parameter. Among other features, our results show most notably that the distributions exhibit a vanishing standard deviation but a skewness that is increasing in magnitude with the number of oscillators, implying that nontrivial asymmetries and states yielding rare or atypical values of the observables persist even for a large number of oscillators.

  7. Long-Range Order in Nanocrystal Assemblies Determines Charge Transport of Films

    DOE PAGES

    Sainato, Michela; Shevitski, Brian; Sahu, Ayaskanta; ...

    2017-07-18

    Self-assembly of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) into two-dimensional patterns or three-dimensional (2- 3D) superstructures has emerged as a promising low-cost route to generate thin-film transistors and solar cells with superior charge transport because of enhanced electronic coupling between the NCs. Here, we show that lead sulfide (PbS) NCs solids featuring either short-range (disordered glassy solids, GSs) or long-range (superlattices, SLs) packing order are obtained solely by controlling deposition conditions of colloidal solution of NCs. In this study, we demonstrate the use of the evaporation-driven self-assembly method results in PbS NC SL structures that are observed over an area of 1 mmmore » × 100 μm, with long-range translational order of up to 100 nm. A number of ordered domains appear to have nucleated simultaneously and grown together over the whole area, imparting a polycrystalline texture to the 3D SL films. By contrast, a conventional, optimized spin-coating deposition method results in PbS NC glassy films with no translational symmetry and much shorter-range packing order in agreement with state-of-the-art reports. Further, we investigate the electronic properties of both SL and GS films, using a field-effect transistor configuration as a test platform. The long-range ordering of the PbS NCs into SLs leads to semiconducting NC-based solids, the mobility (μ) of which is 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of the disordered GSs. Furthemore, although spin-cast GSs of PbS NCs have weak ambipolar behavior with limited gate tunability, SLs of PbS NCs show a clear p-type behavior with significantly higher conductivities.« less

  8. Scale-dependent complementarity of climatic velocity and environmental diversity for identifying priority areas for conservation under climate change.

    PubMed

    Carroll, Carlos; Roberts, David R; Michalak, Julia L; Lawler, Joshua J; Nielsen, Scott E; Stralberg, Diana; Hamann, Andreas; Mcrae, Brad H; Wang, Tongli

    2017-11-01

    As most regions of the earth transition to altered climatic conditions, new methods are needed to identify refugia and other areas whose conservation would facilitate persistence of biodiversity under climate change. We compared several common approaches to conservation planning focused on climate resilience over a broad range of ecological settings across North America and evaluated how commonalities in the priority areas identified by different methods varied with regional context and spatial scale. Our results indicate that priority areas based on different environmental diversity metrics differed substantially from each other and from priorities based on spatiotemporal metrics such as climatic velocity. Refugia identified by diversity or velocity metrics were not strongly associated with the current protected area system, suggesting the need for additional conservation measures including protection of refugia. Despite the inherent uncertainties in predicting future climate, we found that variation among climatic velocities derived from different general circulation models and emissions pathways was less than the variation among the suite of environmental diversity metrics. To address uncertainty created by this variation, planners can combine priorities identified by alternative metrics at a single resolution and downweight areas of high variation between metrics. Alternately, coarse-resolution velocity metrics can be combined with fine-resolution diversity metrics in order to leverage the respective strengths of the two groups of metrics as tools for identification of potential macro- and microrefugia that in combination maximize both transient and long-term resilience to climate change. Planners should compare and integrate approaches that span a range of model complexity and spatial scale to match the range of ecological and physical processes influencing persistence of biodiversity and identify a conservation network resilient to threats operating at multiple scales. © 2017 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Ordering of two-dimensional crystals confined in strips of finite width

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ricci, A.; Nielaba, P.; Sengupta, S.; Binder, K.

    2007-01-01

    Monte Carlo simulations are used to study the effect of confinement on a crystal of point particles interacting with an inverse power law potential ∝r-12 in d=2 dimensions. This system can describe colloidal particles at the air-water interface, a model system for experimental study of two-dimensional melting. It is shown that the state of the system (a strip of width D ) depends very sensitively on the precise boundary conditions at the two “walls” providing the confinement. If one uses a corrugated boundary commensurate with the order of the bulk triangular crystalline structure, both orientational order and positional order is enhanced, and such surface-induced order persists near the boundaries also at temperatures where the system in the bulk is in its fluid state. However, using smooth repulsive boundaries as walls providing the confinement, only the orientational order is enhanced, but positional (quasi-)long range order is destroyed: The mean-square displacement of two particles n lattice parameters apart in the y direction along the walls then crosses over from the logarithmic increase (characteristic for d=2 ) to a linear increase with n (characteristic for d=1 ). The strip then exhibits a vanishing shear modulus. These results are interpreted in terms of a phenomenological harmonic theory. Also the effect of incommensurability of the strip width D with the triangular lattice structure is discussed, and a comparison with surface effects on phase transitions in simple Ising and XY models is made.

  10. Characterization of a water-solid interaction in a partially ordered system.

    PubMed

    Chakravarty, Paroma; Lubach, Joseph W

    2013-11-04

    GNE068-PC, a developmental compound, was previously characterized to be mesomorphous, i.e. having long-range order associated with significant local molecular disorder (Chakravarty et. al., Mol. Pharmaceutics, accepted). The compound was exposed to moisture under different relative humidity conditions ranging from 11% to 60% RH at room temperature (RT) for 7 days, and the resultant product phases were characterized. The partially ordered sample progressively lost crystallinity (long-range order) and birefringence (orientational order) upon exposure to increasing RH conditions, leading to the formation of a completely disordered amorphous phase at 60% RH (RT). Long-range positional order was irrecoverable even after moisture removal from the sample exposed to 60% RH. This was attributed to replacement of residual ethyl acetate by water, the former being critical for maintenance of long-range order in the material. In addition, water sorption appeared to irreversibly alter the molecular orientation, thereby affecting sample birefringence. Solid-state NMR revealed increases in (1)H and (13)C spin-lattice relaxation times (T1) going from the mesomorphous phase to the fully amorphous phase. This was indicative of reduction in lattice mobility, likely due to the decreased motion of the aromatic portions of the molecule, in particular C17, which showed the most dramatic increase in (13)C T1. This is likely due to decrease in available free volume upon water sorption. Drying of the hydrated disordered phase showed somewhat greater mobility than the hydrated phase, likely due to increased relative free volume through removal of water. A water-solid interaction therefore irreversibly changed the solid-state makeup of GNE068-PC.

  11. HIV-1 Latency: An Update of Molecular Mechanisms and Therapeutic Strategies

    PubMed Central

    Battistini, Angela; Sgarbanti, Marco

    2014-01-01

    The major obstacle towards HIV-1 eradication is the life-long persistence of the virus in reservoirs of latently infected cells. In these cells the proviral DNA is integrated in the host’s genome but it does not actively replicate, becoming invisible to the host immune system and unaffected by existing antiviral drugs. Rebound of viremia and recovery of systemic infection that follows interruption of therapy, necessitates life-long treatments with problems of compliance, toxicity, and untenable costs, especially in developing countries where the infection hits worst. Extensive research efforts have led to the proposal and preliminary testing of several anti-latency compounds, however, overall, eradication strategies have had, so far, limited clinical success while posing several risks for patients. This review will briefly summarize the more recent advances in the elucidation of mechanisms that regulates the establishment/maintenance of latency and therapeutic strategies currently under evaluation in order to eradicate HIV persistence. PMID:24736215

  12. Long-persistence blue phosphors

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Yen, William M. (Inventor); Jia, Weiyi (Inventor); Lu, Lizhu (Inventor); Yuan, Huabiao (Inventor)

    2000-01-01

    This invention relates to phosphors including long-persistence blue phosphors. Phosphors of the invention are represented by the general formula: MO . mAl.sub.2 O.sub.3 :Eu.sup.2+,R.sup.3+ wherein m is a number ranging from about 1.6 to about 2.2, M is Sr or a combination of Sr with Ca and Ba or both, R.sup.3+ is a trivalent metal ion or trivalent Bi or a mixture of these trivalent ions, Eu.sup.2+ is present at a level up to about 5 mol % of M, and R.sup.3+ is present at a level up to about 5 mol % of M. Phosphors of this invention include powders, ceramics, single crystals and single crystal fibers. A method of manufacturing improved phosphors and a method of manufacturing single crystal phosphors are also provided.

  13. The persistence of erroneous familiarity in an epileptic male: challenging perceptual theories of déjà vu activation.

    PubMed

    O'Connor, Akira R; Moulin, Christopher J A

    2008-11-01

    We report the case of a 39-year-old, temporal lobe epileptic male, MH. Prior to complex partial seizure, experienced up to three times a day, MH often experiences an aura experienced as a persistent sensation of déjà vu. Data-driven theories of déjà vu formation suggest that partial familiarity for the perceived stimulus is responsible for the sensation. Consequently, diverting attention away from this stimulus should cause the sensation to dissipate. MH, whose sensations of déjà vu persist long enough for him to shift his perceptual focus a number of times during the experience, spontaneously reports that these shifts make no difference to the sensation experienced. This novel observation challenges data-driven theories of déjà vu formation which have been used to explain the occurrence of déjà vu in those with temporal lobe epilepsy and the general population. Clearly, in epilepsy, erratic neuronal firing is the likely contributor, and in this paper we postulate that such brain firing causes higher-order erroneous 'cognitive feelings'. We tentatively extend this account to the general population. Rather than being a reaction to familiar elements in perceptual stimuli, déjà vu is likely to be the result of a cognitive feeling borne of the erroneous activation of neural familiarity circuits such as the parahippocampal gyrus, persisting as long as this activation persists.

  14. Uranyl peroxide nanoclusters at high-pressure

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Turner, Katlyn M.; Szymanowski, Jennifer E. S.; Zhang, Fuxiang

    Here, U 60 ([UO 2(O 2)(OH)] 60 60– in water) is a uranyl peroxide nanocluster with a fullerene topology and O h symmetry. U 60 clusters can exist in crystalline solids or in liquids; however, little is known of their behavior at high pressures. We compressed the U 60-bearing material: Li 68K 12(OH) 20[UO 2(O 2)(OH)] 60(H 2O) 310 ( Fm3¯; a = 37.884 Å) in a diamond anvil cell to determine its response to increasing pressure. Three length scales and corresponding structural features contribute to the compression response: uranyl peroxide bonds (<0.5 nm), isolated single nanoclusters (2.5 nm), andmore » the long-range periodicity of nanoclusters within the solid (>3.7 nm). Li 68K 12(OH) 20[UO 2(O 2)(OH)] 60(H 2O) 310 transformed to a tetragonal structure below 2 GPa and irreversibly amorphized between 9.6 and 13 GPa. The bulk modulus of the tetragonal U 60-bearing material was 25 ± 2 GPa. The pressure-induced amorphous phase contained intact U 60 clusters, which were preserved beyond the loss of long-range periodicity. The persistence of U 60 clusters at high pressure may have been enhanced by the interaction between U 60 nanoclusters and the alcohol pressure medium. Once formed, U 60 nanoclusters persist regardless of their associated long-range ordering—in crystals, amorphous solids, or solutions.« less

  15. Scale disparity and spectral transfer in anisotropic numerical turbulence

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Zhou, YE; Yeung, P. K.; Brasseur, James G.

    1994-01-01

    To study the effect of cancellations within long-range interactions on local isotropy at the small scales, we calculate explicitly the degree of cancellation in distant interactions in the simulations of Yeung & Brasseur and Yeung, Brasseur & Wang using the single scale disparity parameter 's' developed by Zhou. In the simulations, initially isotropic simulated turbulence was subjected to coherent anisotropic forcing at the large scales and the smallest scales were found to become anisotropic as a consequence of direct large-small scale couplings. We find that the marginally distant interactions in the simulation do not cancel out under summation and that the development of small-scale anisotropy is indeed a direct consequence of the distant triadic group, as argued by Yeung, et. al. A reduction of anisotropy at later times occurs as a result of the isotropizing influences of more local energy-cascading triadic interactions. Nevertheless, the local-to-nonlocal triadic group persists as an isotropizing influence at later times. We find that, whereas long-range interactions, in general, contribute little to net energy transfer into or out of a high wavenumber shell k, the anisotropic transfer of component energy within the shell increases with increasing scale separations. These results are consistent with results by Zhou, and Brasseur & Wei, and suggest that the anisotropizing influences of long range interactions should persist to higher Reynolds numbers. The residual effect of the forced distant group in this low-Reynolds number simulation is found to be forward cascading, on average.

  16. Uranyl peroxide nanoclusters at high-pressure

    DOE PAGES

    Turner, Katlyn M.; Szymanowski, Jennifer E. S.; Zhang, Fuxiang; ...

    2017-08-14

    Here, U 60 ([UO 2(O 2)(OH)] 60 60– in water) is a uranyl peroxide nanocluster with a fullerene topology and O h symmetry. U 60 clusters can exist in crystalline solids or in liquids; however, little is known of their behavior at high pressures. We compressed the U 60-bearing material: Li 68K 12(OH) 20[UO 2(O 2)(OH)] 60(H 2O) 310 ( Fm3¯; a = 37.884 Å) in a diamond anvil cell to determine its response to increasing pressure. Three length scales and corresponding structural features contribute to the compression response: uranyl peroxide bonds (<0.5 nm), isolated single nanoclusters (2.5 nm), andmore » the long-range periodicity of nanoclusters within the solid (>3.7 nm). Li 68K 12(OH) 20[UO 2(O 2)(OH)] 60(H 2O) 310 transformed to a tetragonal structure below 2 GPa and irreversibly amorphized between 9.6 and 13 GPa. The bulk modulus of the tetragonal U 60-bearing material was 25 ± 2 GPa. The pressure-induced amorphous phase contained intact U 60 clusters, which were preserved beyond the loss of long-range periodicity. The persistence of U 60 clusters at high pressure may have been enhanced by the interaction between U 60 nanoclusters and the alcohol pressure medium. Once formed, U 60 nanoclusters persist regardless of their associated long-range ordering—in crystals, amorphous solids, or solutions.« less

  17. Working group on future trends

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    ,; O'Shea, Thomas J.; Reeves, Randall R.; Long, Alison Kirk

    1999-01-01

    This working group did not divide into subgroups, and its report consists of a unified document in a format somewhat different than those of the other working groups. The group considered four major topics: (1) projected "new" contaminants of future concern; (2) future trends with contaminants currently known to be issues for marine mammals; (3) future needs to improve and insure consistency of sample collection and analyses; and (4) future management needs.The problems of persistent organic pollutants will remain well into the foreseeable future. A general decline in levels of persistent organic pollutants in the marine environment is not anticipated. there is every likelihood that the environmental trends of halogenated organic compounds, such as polybromated diphenyl ethers and chlorinated paraffins, will parallel production trends, as demonstrated with well known chemical contaminants such as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane). While the environmental levels of some compounds may be slowly declining, many are still within the ranges where subtle toxic effects are to be anticipated. Trends in contaminants must be placed in a regional context, and rates and directions of change are often region-specific. For example, in the Southern Hemisphere the concentrations of PCBs appear to be increasing. The rates of change of many contaminants in the Southern hemisphere are poorly known, and this region may be at future risk.Much of the research on contaminants and marine mammals has focused on the problem of persistent organochloride chemicals such as PCBs and DDT, which are a continuing and global problem. Potential problems caused by other persistent, toxic, and bioaccumulative substances (PTBSs) cannot currently be addressed due to the lack of basic information on their production, use, exposure, and effects (Environmental Protection Agency 1998). It is currently estimated that there are roughly 2400 lipophilic and persistent chemicals, of which 390 are PTBSs. In order to prevent long-term pollution from these largely unknown chemicals, chemical industries should disclose basic information on such compounds, and this information should be made widely available. This will require enhanced international cooperation, preferably within the existing framework of chemical contaminant programs, such as the Existing Chemicals Program of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (1991) and the Program on persistent Organic Pollutants of the United National Environmental Programme (1998).Monitoring studies are essential to the description and understanding of pollutants. It is necessary to exploit existing analytical techniques to identify as many anthropogenic compounds as possible in marine mammal tissues in order to expand the identification of existing and new chemicals that accumulate in, and pose threats to, these species.

  18. Survival and persistence of fecal host-specific Bacteroidales cells and their DNA assessed by PMA-qPCR

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bae, S.; Bombardelli, F.; Wuertz, S.

    2008-12-01

    Understanding and managing microbial pollutions in water is one of the foremost challenges of establishing effective managements and remediation strategies to impaired water bodies polluted by uncharacterized fecal sources. Quantitative microbial source tracking (MST) approaches using fecal Bacteroidales and quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays to measure gene copies of host-specific 16S rRNA genetic markers are promising because they can allow for identifying and quantifying fecal loadings from a particular animal host and understanding the fate and transport of host-specific Bacteroidales over a range of conditions in water bodies. Similar to the case of traditional fecal indicator bacteria, a relatively long persistence of target DNA may hamper applied MST studies, if genetic markers cannot be linked to recent fecal pollution in water. We report a successful approach to removing the qPCR signal derived from free DNA and dead host-specific Bacteroidales cells by selectively binding the DNA and consequently inhibiting PCR amplification using light- activated propidium monoazide (PMA). Optimal PMA-qPCR conditions were determined as 100 µM of PMA concentration and a 10-min light exposure time at different solids concentrations in order to mimic a range of water samples. Under these conditions, PMA-qPCR resulted in the selective exclusion of DNA from heat- treated cells of non-culturable Bacteroidales in human feces and wastewater influent and effluent samples. Also, the persistence of feces-derived host-specific Bacteroidales DNA and their cells (determined by universal, human-, cow- and dog-specific Bacteroidales qPCR assays) in seawater was investigated in microcosms at environmental conditions. The average T99 (two log reduction) value for host-specific viable Bacteroidales cells was 28 h, whereas that for total host-specific Bacteroidales DNA was 177 h. Natural sunlight did not have a strong influence on the fate of fecal Bacteroidales cells and their DNA, presumably because the presence of oxygen significantly affected the viability and persistence of these obligate anaerobes. In conclusion, measuring Bacteroidales DNA in viable cells is recommended in applied MST studies because extracellular Bacteroidales DNA persists longer in the environment. The methods and results presented are helpful to improve the accuracy of MST applications, to develop a model of fate and transport of host-specific Bacteroidales, and to implement management practices to protect water quality.

  19. Deterministic phase slips in mesoscopic superconducting rings

    PubMed Central

    Petković, I.; Lollo, A.; Glazman, L. I.; Harris, J. G. E.

    2016-01-01

    The properties of one-dimensional superconductors are strongly influenced by topological fluctuations of the order parameter, known as phase slips, which cause the decay of persistent current in superconducting rings and the appearance of resistance in superconducting wires. Despite extensive work, quantitative studies of phase slips have been limited by uncertainty regarding the order parameter's free-energy landscape. Here we show detailed agreement between measurements of the persistent current in isolated flux-biased rings and Ginzburg–Landau theory over a wide range of temperature, magnetic field and ring size; this agreement provides a quantitative picture of the free-energy landscape. We also demonstrate that phase slips occur deterministically as the barrier separating two competing order parameter configurations vanishes. These results will enable studies of quantum and thermal phase slips in a well-characterized system and will provide access to outstanding questions regarding the nature of one-dimensional superconductivity. PMID:27882924

  20. Deterministic phase slips in mesoscopic superconducting rings.

    PubMed

    Petković, I; Lollo, A; Glazman, L I; Harris, J G E

    2016-11-24

    The properties of one-dimensional superconductors are strongly influenced by topological fluctuations of the order parameter, known as phase slips, which cause the decay of persistent current in superconducting rings and the appearance of resistance in superconducting wires. Despite extensive work, quantitative studies of phase slips have been limited by uncertainty regarding the order parameter's free-energy landscape. Here we show detailed agreement between measurements of the persistent current in isolated flux-biased rings and Ginzburg-Landau theory over a wide range of temperature, magnetic field and ring size; this agreement provides a quantitative picture of the free-energy landscape. We also demonstrate that phase slips occur deterministically as the barrier separating two competing order parameter configurations vanishes. These results will enable studies of quantum and thermal phase slips in a well-characterized system and will provide access to outstanding questions regarding the nature of one-dimensional superconductivity.

  1. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Petković, Ivana; Lollo, A.; Glazman, L. I.

    The properties of one-dimensional superconductors are strongly influenced by topological fluctuations of the order parameter, known as phase slips, which cause the decay of persistent current in superconducting rings and the appearance of resistance in superconducting wires. Despite extensive work, quantitative studies of phase slips have been limited by uncertainty regarding the order parameter’s free-energy landscape. Here we show detailed agreement between measurements of the persistent current in isolated flux-biased rings and Ginzburg–Landau theory over a wide range of temperature, magnetic field and ring size; this agreement provides a quantitative picture of the free-energy landscape. Furthermore, we also demonstrate thatmore » phase slips occur deterministically as the barrier separating two competing order parameter configurations vanishes. These results will enable studies of quantum and thermal phase slips in a well-characterized system and will provide access to outstanding questions regarding the nature of one-dimensional superconductivity.« less

  2. Deterministic phase slips in mesoscopic superconducting rings

    DOE PAGES

    Petković, Ivana; Lollo, A.; Glazman, L. I.; ...

    2016-11-24

    The properties of one-dimensional superconductors are strongly influenced by topological fluctuations of the order parameter, known as phase slips, which cause the decay of persistent current in superconducting rings and the appearance of resistance in superconducting wires. Despite extensive work, quantitative studies of phase slips have been limited by uncertainty regarding the order parameter’s free-energy landscape. Here we show detailed agreement between measurements of the persistent current in isolated flux-biased rings and Ginzburg–Landau theory over a wide range of temperature, magnetic field and ring size; this agreement provides a quantitative picture of the free-energy landscape. Furthermore, we also demonstrate thatmore » phase slips occur deterministically as the barrier separating two competing order parameter configurations vanishes. These results will enable studies of quantum and thermal phase slips in a well-characterized system and will provide access to outstanding questions regarding the nature of one-dimensional superconductivity.« less

  3. CD4 is expressed on a heterogeneous subset of hematopoietic progenitors, which persistently harbor CXCR4 and CCR5-tropic HIV proviral genomes in vivo.

    PubMed

    Sebastian, Nadia T; Zaikos, Thomas D; Terry, Valeri; Taschuk, Frances; McNamara, Lucy A; Onafuwa-Nuga, Adewunmi; Yucha, Ryan; Signer, Robert A J; Riddell, James; Bixby, Dale; Markowitz, Norman; Morrison, Sean J; Collins, Kathleen L

    2017-07-01

    Latent HIV infection of long-lived cells is a barrier to viral clearance. Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells are a heterogeneous population of cells, some of which are long-lived. CXCR4-tropic HIVs infect a broad range of HSPC subtypes, including hematopoietic stem cells, which are multi-potent and long-lived. However, CCR5-tropic HIV infection is limited to more differentiated progenitor cells with life spans that are less well understood. Consistent with emerging data that restricted progenitor cells can be long-lived, we detected persistent HIV in restricted HSPC populations from optimally treated people. Further, genotypic and phenotypic analysis of amplified env alleles from donor samples indicated that both CXCR4- and CCR5-tropic viruses persisted in HSPCs. RNA profiling confirmed expression of HIV receptor RNA in a pattern that was consistent with in vitro and in vivo results. In addition, we characterized a CD4high HSPC sub-population that was preferentially targeted by a variety of CXCR4- and CCR5-tropic HIVs in vitro. Finally, we present strong evidence that HIV proviral genomes of both tropisms can be transmitted to CD4-negative daughter cells of multiple lineages in vivo. In some cases, the transmitted proviral genomes contained signature deletions that inactivated the virus, eliminating the possibility that coincidental infection explains the results. These data support a model in which both stem and non-stem cell progenitors serve as persistent reservoirs for CXCR4- and CCR5-tropic HIV proviral genomes that can be passed to daughter cells.

  4. Spatial and temporal dynamics of fucoid populations (Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus serratus): a comparison between central and range edge populations.

    PubMed

    Araújo, Rita M; Serrão, Ester A; Sousa-Pinto, Isabel; Åberg, Per

    2014-01-01

    Persistence of populations at range edges relies on local population dynamics and fitness, in the case of geographically isolated populations of species with low dispersal potential. Focusing on spatial variations in demography helps to predict the long-term capability for persistence of populations across the geographical range of species' distribution. The demography of two ecological and phylogenetically close macroalgal species with different life history characteristics was investigated by using stochastic, stage-based matrix models. Populations of Ascophyllum nodosum and Fucus serratus were sampled for up to 4 years at central locations in France and at their southern range limits in Portugal. The stochastic population growth rate (λ(s)) of A. nodosum was lower and more variable in central than in southern sites whilst for F. serratus this trend was reversed with λ(s) much lower and more variable in southern than in central populations. Individuals were larger in central than in southern populations for both species, which was reflected in the lower transition probabilities of individuals to larger size classes and higher probability of shrinkage in the southern populations. In both central and southern populations elasticity analysis (proportional sensitivity) of population growth rate showed that fertility elements had a small contribution to λ(s) that was more sensitive to changes in matrix transitions corresponding to survival. The highest elasticities were found for loop transitions in A. nodosum and for growth to larger size classes in F. serratus. Sensitivity analysis showed high selective pressure on individual growth for both species at both locations. The results of this study highlight the deterministic role of species-specific life-history traits in population demography across the geographical range of species. Additionally, this study demonstrates that individuals' life-transitions differ in vulnerability to environmental variability and shows the importance of vegetative compared to reproductive stages for the long-term persistence of populations.

  5. Long Persistent Light Emitting Diode Indicators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jia, Dongdong; Ma, Yiwei; Hunter, D. N.

    2007-01-01

    An undergraduate laboratory was designed for undergraduate students to make long persistent light emitting diode (LED) indicators using phosphors. Blue LEDs, which emit at 465 nm, were characterized and used as an excitation source. Long persistent phosphors, SrAl[subscript 2]O[subscript 4]:Eu[superscript 2+],Dy[superscript 3+] (green) and…

  6. Quantifying the short- and long-term controls exerted by the basal and lateral boundaries of the Slumgullion Landslide from creepmeters and 3-D surface deformation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Delbridge, B. G.; Bilham, R. G.; Wang, T.; Fielding, E. J.; Burgmann, R.

    2017-12-01

    The Slumgullion landslide is 3.9 km long, moves persistently with peak rates of up to 2 cm/day, and exhibits daily, seasonal, and decadal accelerations. In this study, we provide geodetic observations needed to test whether the short- and long-term variations are governed by the same physical mechanisms. Specific focus is placed on disentangling the roles played by the lateral and basal landslide surfaces. In order to provide surface geodetic measurements with dense spatial resolution (pixel spacing < 10 m) spanning timescales from weeks to years, we utilize the unique capabilities of the NASA/JPL Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) airborne repeat-pass radar interferometry system for the characterization of 3-D surface deformation. To better understand the seasonal variation in the velocity observed at the landslide, we have collected UAVSAR acquisitions in approximately week-long pairs along four look directions during three key phases of the landslide's seasonal cycle: (1) during the slow season (fall or winter), (2) during the acceleration phase (spring), and (3) during the deceleration phase (summer). First, we process the UAVSAR data using conventional 2-pass SAR interferometry techniques, which permit the highest resolution images. However, due to the rapid deformation rates, the analysis of image pairs with temporal baselines longer than 20 days is difficult because the change in phase from one pixel to the next exceeds half the radar wavelength ( 24 cm) at the landslide margins. In order to measure year-round using the pairs of UAVSAR and satellite SAR images with temporal baselines on the order of several months to years, we use the pixel offsets measured between two SAR amplitude images. Pixel offsets provide surface displacement measurements perpendicular to- (range) and parallel to- (azimuth) the along-track direction of flight. To examine deformation rates spanning minutes to days we have installed a surface creepmeter, similar to those currently monitoring actively creeping faults such as the Hayward Fault. A tensioned flexible wire is fastened obliquely across the lateral bounding fault and wrapped around a 100 mm wheel wheel whose angular position is monitored by a Hall effect sensor, resulting in resolution of 8 microns and with a 5 m range.

  7. Persistent increased PKMζ in long-term and remote spatial memory.

    PubMed

    Hsieh, Changchi; Tsokas, Panayiotis; Serrano, Peter; Hernández, A Iván; Tian, Dezhi; Cottrell, James E; Shouval, Harel Z; Fenton, André Antonio; Sacktor, Todd Charlton

    2017-02-01

    PKMζ is an autonomously active PKC isoform that is thought to maintain both LTP and long-term memory. Whereas persistent increases in PKMζ protein sustain the kinase's action in LTP, the molecular mechanism for the persistent action of PKMζ during long-term memory has not been characterized. PKMζ inhibitors disrupt spatial memory when introduced into the dorsal hippocampus from 1day to 1month after training. Therefore, if the mechanisms of PKMζ's persistent action in LTP maintenance and long-term memory were similar, persistent increases in PKMζ would last for the duration of the memory, far longer than most other learning-induced gene products. Here we find that spatial conditioning by aversive active place avoidance or appetitive radial arm maze induces PKMζ increases in dorsal hippocampus that persist from 1day to 1month, coinciding with the strength and duration of memory retention. Suppressing the increase by intrahippocampal injections of PKMζ-antisense oligodeoxynucleotides prevents the formation of long-term memory. Thus, similar to LTP maintenance, the persistent increase in the amount of autonomously active PKMζ sustains the kinase's action during long-term and remote spatial memory maintenance. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  8. Short bouts of vocalization induce long lasting fast gamma oscillations in a sensorimotor nucleus

    PubMed Central

    Lewandowski, Brian; Schmidt, Marc

    2011-01-01

    Performance evaluation is a critical feature of motor learning. In the vocal system, it requires the integration of auditory feedback signals with vocal motor commands. The network activity that supports such integration is unknown, but it has been proposed that vocal performance evaluation occurs offline. Recording from NIf, a sensorimotor structure in the avian song system, we show that short bouts of singing in adult male zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) induce persistent increases in firing activity and coherent oscillations in the fast gamma range (90–150 Hz). Single units are strongly phase-locked to these oscillations, which can last up to 30 s, often outlasting vocal activity by an order of magnitude. In other systems, oscillations often are triggered by events or behavioral tasks but rarely outlast the event that triggered them by more than 1 second. The present observations are the longest reported gamma oscillations triggered by an isolated behavioral event. In mammals, gamma oscillations have been associated with memory consolidation and are hypothesized to facilitate communication between brain regions. We suggest that the timing and persistent nature of NIf’s fast gamma oscillations make them well suited to facilitate the integration of auditory and vocal motor traces associated with vocal performance evaluation. PMID:21957255

  9. Neurofeedback Tunes Scale-Free Dynamics in Spontaneous Brain Activity.

    PubMed

    Ros, T; Frewen, P; Théberge, J; Michela, A; Kluetsch, R; Mueller, A; Candrian, G; Jetly, R; Vuilleumier, P; Lanius, R A

    2017-10-01

    Brain oscillations exhibit long-range temporal correlations (LRTCs), which reflect the regularity of their fluctuations: low values representing more random (decorrelated) while high values more persistent (correlated) dynamics. LRTCs constitute supporting evidence that the brain operates near criticality, a state where neuronal activities are balanced between order and randomness. Here, healthy adults used closed-loop brain training (neurofeedback, NFB) to reduce the amplitude of alpha oscillations, producing a significant increase in spontaneous LRTCs post-training. This effect was reproduced in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, where abnormally random dynamics were reversed by NFB, correlating with significant improvements in hyperarousal. Notably, regions manifesting abnormally low LRTCs (i.e., excessive randomness) normalized toward healthy population levels, consistent with theoretical predictions about self-organized criticality. Hence, when exposed to appropriate training, spontaneous cortical activity reveals a residual capacity for "self-tuning" its own temporal complexity, despite manifesting the abnormal dynamics seen in individuals with psychiatric disorder. Lastly, we observed an inverse-U relationship between strength of LRTC and oscillation amplitude, suggesting a breakdown of long-range dependence at high/low synchronization extremes, in line with recent computational models. Together, our findings offer a broader mechanistic framework for motivating research and clinical applications of NFB, encompassing disorders with perturbed LRTCs. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. Long Range Ferromagnetic Order in LaCoO 3-δ epitaxial films due to the interplay of epitaxial strain and oxygen vacancy ordering

    DOE PAGES

    Mehta, Virat; Biskup, Nevenko; Arenholz, E; ...

    2015-04-23

    We demonstrate that a combination of electronic structure modification and oxygen vacancy ordering can stabilize a long-range ferromagnetic ground state in epitaxial LaCoO 3 thin films. Highest saturation magnetization values are found in the thin films in tension on SrTiO 3 and (La,Sr)(Al,Ta)O 3 substrates and the lowest values are found in thin films in compression on LaAlO 3. Electron microscopy reveals oxygen vacancy ordering to varying degrees in all samples, although samples with the highest magnetization are the most defective. Element-specific x-ray absorption techniques reveal the presence of high spin Co 2+ and Co 3+ as well as lowmore » spin Co 3+ in different proportions depending on the strain state. The interactions among the high spin Co ions and the oxygen vacancy superstructure are correlated with the stabilization of the long-range ferromagnetic order.« less

  11. Long-range ferromagnetic order in LaCoO3 -δ epitaxial films due to the interplay of epitaxial strain and oxygen vacancy ordering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mehta, V. V.; Biskup, N.; Jenkins, C.; Arenholz, E.; Varela, M.; Suzuki, Y.

    2015-04-01

    We demonstrate that a combination of electronic structure modification and oxygen vacancy ordering can stabilize a long-range ferromagnetic ground state in epitaxial LaCoO3 thin films. Highest saturation magnetization values are found in the thin films in tension on SrTiO3 and (La ,Sr )(Al ,Ta )O3 substrates and the lowest values are found in thin films in compression on LaAlO3. Electron microscopy reveals oxygen vacancy ordering to varying degrees in all samples, although samples with the highest magnetization are the most defective. Element-specific x-ray absorption techniques reveal the presence of high spin Co2 + and Co3 + as well as low spin Co3 + in different proportions depending on the strain state. The interactions among the high spin Co ions and the oxygen vacancy superstructure are correlated with the stabilization of the long-range ferromagnetic order.

  12. Disentangling Stability, Variability and Adaptability in Human Performance: Focus on the Interplay between Local Variance and Serial Correlation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Torre, Kjerstin; Balasubramaniam, Ramesh

    2011-01-01

    We address the complex relationship between the stability, variability, and adaptability of psychological systems by decomposing the global variance of serial performance into two independent parts: the local variance (LV) and the serial correlation structure. For two time series with equal LV, the presence of persistent long-range correlations…

  13. Randomly diluted eg orbital-ordered systems.

    PubMed

    Tanaka, T; Matsumoto, M; Ishihara, S

    2005-12-31

    Dilution effects on the long-range ordered state of the doubly degenerate e(g) orbital are investigated. Quenched impurities without the orbital degree of freedom are introduced in the orbital model where the long-range order is realized by the order-from-disorder mechanism. It is shown by Monte Carlo simulations and the cluster-expansion method that a decrease in the orbital-ordering temperature by dilution is substantially larger than that in the randomly diluted spin models. Tilting of orbital pseudospins around impurities is the essence of this dilution effect. The present theory provides a new viewpoint for the recent resonant x-ray scattering experiments in KCu(1-x)Zn(x)F(3).

  14. Demographic rates and population viability of black bears in Louisiana

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Laufenberg, Jared S.; Clark, Joseph D.; Hooker, Michael J.; Lowe, Carrie L.; O'Connell-Goode, Kaitlin C.; Troxler, Jesse C.; Davidson, Maria M.; Chamberlain, Michael J.; Chandler, Richard B.

    2015-01-01

    The Louisiana black bear (Ursus americanus luteolus) was reduced to a few small, fragmented, and isolated subpopulations in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley by the mid-twentieth century resulting from loss and fragmentation of habitat. In 1992, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) granted the Louisiana black bear threatened status under the United States Endangered Species Act of 1973. Since that time, a recovery plan was developed, a reintroduced population was established, and habitat recovery has occurred. The Recovery Plan states that a minimum of 2 populations must be viable (i.e., persistence probabilities over 100 years >0.95), 1 in the Tensas River Basin and 1 in the Atchafalaya River Basin. Consequently, our objectives were to 1) estimate demographic rates of Louisiana black bear subpopulations, 2) develop data-driven stochastic population projection models, and 3) determine how different projection model assumptions affect population trajectories and predictions about long-term persistence. Our overall goal was to assess long-term persistence of the bear subpopulations in Louisiana, individually and as a whole. We collected data using varying combinations of non-invasive DNA sampling, live capture, winter den visits, and radio monitoring from 2002 to 2012 in the 4 areas currently supporting breeding subpopulations in Louisiana: Tensas River Basin (TRB), Upper Atchafalaya River Basin (UARB), Lower Atchafalaya River Basin (LARB), and a recently reintroduced population at the Three Rivers Complex (TRC). From 2002 to 2012, we radio monitored fates of 86 adult females within the TRB and 43 in the TRC. Mean estimates of annual adult survival for the TRB and TRC were 0.997 and 0.990, respectively, when unknown fates were assumed alive and 0.970 and 0.926 when unknown fates were assumed dead. From 2003 to 2013, we observed 130 cub litters from 74 females in the TRB, and 74 cub litters from 45 females in the TRC. During the same period, we observed 43 yearling litters for 33 females in the TRB and 21 yearling litters for 19 females in the TRC. The estimated number of cubs and number of yearlings produced per breeding adult female was 0.47 and 0.20, respectively, in the TRB and 0.32 and 0.18 in the TRC. On the basis of matrix projection models, asymptotic growth rates ranged from 1.053 to 1.078 for the TRB and from 1.005 to 1.062 for the TRC, depending on how we treated unresolved fates of adult females. Persistence probabilities estimated from stochastic population models based on telemetry data ranged from 0.997 to 0.998 for the TRC subpopulation depending on model assumptions and were >0.999 for the TRB regardless of model assumptions. We extracted DNA from hair collected at baited, barbed-wire enclosures in the TRB, UARB, and LARB to determine individual identities for capture-mark-recapture (CMR) analysis. We used those detection histories to estimate apparent survival (φ), per-capita recruitment (f), abundance (N), realized growth rate (λ), and long-term viability, based on Bayesian hierarchical modeling methods that allowed estimation of temporal process variance and parameter uncertainty. Based on 23,312 hair samples, annual N for females in the TRB ranged from 133 to 164 during 2006–2012, depending on year and how detection heterogeneity was modeled. Geometric mean of λ ranged from 0.996 to 1.002. In the UARB, we collected 11,643 hair samples from 2007 to 2012, from which estimates of N for females ranged from 23 to 43 during the study period, depending on detection heterogeneity model. The geometric mean of λ ranged from 1.038 to 1.059. Estimated N for females in LARB ranged from 69 to 96, and annual λ ranged from 0.80 to 1.11 based on 3,698 hair samples collected during 2010–2012, also depending on year and heterogeneity model. Probabilities of persistence over 100 years for the TRC and TRB based on stochastic matrix projection models that used vital rate estimates from telemetry data were >0.95 for all scenarios. Probability of persistence at the TRB and the UARB based on projection models that used vital rate estimates from CMR analyses ranged from 0.928 to 0.954 and from 0.906 to 0.959, respectively, depending on model assumptions. Data from the LARB were insufficient for a viability assessment. Thus, individual persistence probabilities for TRB and UARB did not meet the strict definition of viability (i.e., >0.95) under some model assumptions. However, the joint probability of bears persisting either in the TRB or UARB was >0.993 assuming individual population dynamics were independent and was >0.958 assuming dynamics were perfectly correlated. Furthermore, including the TRC increased the joint probability of bears persisting somewhere in the TRB, UARB, or TRC to >0.999 based on the most pessimistic individual persistence estimates from those subpopulations. Therefore, if the intent of specifying that 2 subpopulations should be viable was to ensure the persistence of Louisiana black bears somewhere within its historical range, then the viability threshold was met. © 2016 The Wildlife Society.

  15. Persistence of yellow fever vaccine-induced antibodies after solid organ transplantation.

    PubMed

    Wyplosz, B; Burdet, C; François, H; Durrbach, A; Duclos-Vallée, J C; Mamzer-Bruneel, M-F; Poujol, P; Launay, O; Samuel, D; Vittecoq, D; Consigny, P H

    2013-09-01

    Immunization using live attenuated vaccines represents a contra-indication after solid organ transplantation (SOT): consequently, transplant candidates planning to travel in countries where yellow fever is endemic should be vaccinated prior to transplantation. The persistence of yellow fever vaccine-induced antibodies after transplantation has not been studied yet. We measured yellow-fever neutralizing antibodies in 53 SOT recipients vaccinated prior to transplantation (including 29 kidney recipients and 18 liver recipients). All but one (98%) had protective titers of antibodies after a median duration of 3 years (min.: 0.8, max.: 21) after transplantation. The median antibody level was 40 U/L (interquartile range: 40-80). For the 46 patients with a known or estimated date of vaccination, yellow-fever antibodies were still detectable after a median time of 13 years (range: 2-32 years) post-immunization. Our data suggest there is long-term persistence of antibodies to yellow fever in SOT recipients who have been vaccinated prior to transplantation. © Copyright 2013 The American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons.

  16. Inferring the colonization of a mountain range--refugia vs. nunatak survival in high alpine ground beetles.

    PubMed

    Lohse, Konrad; Nicholls, James A; Stone, Graham N

    2011-01-01

    It has long been debated whether high alpine specialists survived ice ages in situ on small ice-free islands of habitat, so-called nunataks, or whether glacial survival was restricted to larger massifs de refuge at the periphery. We evaluate these alternative hypotheses in a local radiation of high alpine carabid beetles (genus Trechus) in the Orobian Alps, Northern Italy. While summits along the northern ridge of this mountain range were surrounded by the icesheet as nunataks during the last glacial maximum, southern areas remained unglaciated. We analyse a total of 1366 bp of mitochondrial (Cox1 and Cox2) data sampled from 150 individuals from twelve populations and 530 bp of nuclear (PEPCK) sequence sampled for a subset of 30 individuals. Using Bayesian inference, we estimate ancestral location states in the gene trees, which in turn are used to infer the most likely order of recolonization under a model of sequential founder events from a massif de refuge from the mitochondrial data. We test for the paraphyly expected under this model and for reciprocal monophyly predicted by a contrasting model of prolonged persistence of nunatak populations. We find that (i) only three populations are incompatible with the paraphyly of the massif de refuge model, (ii) both mitochondrial and nuclear data support separate refugial origins for populations on the western and eastern ends of the northern ridge, and (iii) mitochondrial node ages suggest persistence on the northern ridge for part of the last ice age. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  17. Long range ordered alloys modified by group IV-B metals

    DOEpatents

    Liu, Chain T.; Inouye, Henry; Schaffhauser, Anthony C.

    1983-01-01

    Ductile long range ordered alloys having high critical ordering temperatures exist in the (V,M)(Fe,Ni,Co).sub.3 system having the composition comprising by weight 20.6%-22.6% V, 14-50% Fe, 0-64% Co, and 0-40% Ni, and 0.4-1.4% M, where M is a metal selected from the group consisting of Ti, Zr, Hf, and their mixtures. These modified alloys have an electron density no greater than 8.00 and exhibit marked increases at elevated temperature in ductility and other mechanical properties over previously known ordered alloys.

  18. Multifractal analysis of Moroccan family business stock returns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lahmiri, Salim

    2017-11-01

    In this paper, long-range temporal correlations at different scales in Moroccan family business stock returns are investigated. For comparison purpose, presence of multifractality is also investigated in Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) major indices: MASI which is the all shares index and MADEX which is the index of most liquid shares. It is found that return series of both family business companies and major stock market indices show strong evidence of multifractality. In particular, empirical results reveal that short (long) fluctuations in family business stock returns are less (more) persistent (anti-persistent) than short fluctuations in market indices. In addition, both serial correlation and distribution characteristics significantly influence the strength of the multifractal spectrums of CSE and family business stocks returns. Furthermore, results from multifractal spectrum analysis suggest that family business stocks are less risky. Thus, such differences in price dynamics could be exploited by investors and forecasters in active portfolio management.

  19. Dopamine modulates episodic memory persistence in old age

    PubMed Central

    Chowdhury, Rumana; Guitart-Masip, Marc; Bunzeck, Nico; Dolan, Raymond J; Düzel, Emrah

    2013-01-01

    Activation of the hippocampus is required in order to encode memories for new events (or episodes). Observations from animal studies suggest that for these memories to persist beyond 4 to 6 hours, a release of dopamine generated by strong hippocampal activation is needed. This predicts that dopaminergic enhancement should improve human episodic memory persistence also for events encoded with weak hippocampal activation. Here, using pharmacological fMRI in an elderly population where there is a loss of dopamine neurons as part of normal aging, we show this very effect. The dopamine precursor levodopa led to a dose-dependent (inverted U-shape) persistent episodic memory benefit for images of scenes when tested after 6 hours, independent of whether encoding-related hippocampal fMRI activity was weak or strong (U-shaped dose-response relationship). This lasting improvement even for weakly encoded events supports a role for dopamine in human episodic memory consolidation albeit operating within a narrow dose range. PMID:23055489

  20. On the structure of the disordered Bi 2Te 4O 11 phase

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Masson, O.; Thomas, P.; Durand, O.; Hansen, T.; Champarnaud, J. C.; Mercurio, D.

    2004-06-01

    The structure of the disordered metastable Bi 2Te 4O 11 phase has been investigated using both neutron powder diffraction and reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) modelling. The average structure, of fluorite-type (space group Fm 3¯m ), is characterized by very high Debye-Waller parameters, especially for oxygen. Whereas the cations form a fairly well-defined FCC lattice, the oxygen sublattice is very disordered. It is shown that the local order is similar to that present in the stable monoclinic Bi 2Te 4O 11 phase. Clear differences are observed for the intermediate range order. The present phase is analogous to the "anti-glass" phases reported by Trömel in other tellurium-based mixed oxides. However, whereas Trömel defines anti-glass as having long range order but no short range order, it is shown here that this phase is best described as an intermediate state between the amorphous and crystalline states, i.e. having short and medium range order similar to that of tellurite glasses and a premise of long range order with the cations only.

  1. Real-world persistence with fingolimod for the treatment of multiple sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    PubMed

    Kantor, Daniel; Johnson, Kristen; Vieira, Maria Cecilia; Signorovitch, James; Li, Nanxin; Gao, Wei; Koo, Valerie; Duchesneau, Emilie; Herrera, Vivian

    2018-05-15

    To systematically review reports of fingolimod persistence in the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) across data sources and practice settings, and to develop a consensus estimate of the 1-year real-world persistence rate. A systematic literature review was conducted (MEDLINE, EMBASE, and abstracts from selected conferences [2013-2015]) to identify observational studies reporting 1-year fingolimod persistence among adult patients with RRMS (sample size ≥50). A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to estimate a synthesized 1-year persistence rate and to assess heterogeneity across studies. Of 527 publications identified, 25 real-world studies reporting 1-year fingolimod persistence rates were included. The studies included patients from different data sources (e.g., administrative claims, electronic medical records, or registries), used different definitions of persistence (e.g., based on prescriptions refills, patient report, or prescription orders), and spanned multiple geographic regions. Reported 1-year persistence rates ranged from 72%-100%, and exhibited statistical evidence of heterogeneity (I 2  = 93% of the variability due to heterogeneity across studies). The consensus estimate of the 1-year persistence rate was 82% (95% confidence interval: 79%-85%). Across heterogeneous study designs and patient populations found in real-world studies, the consensus 1-year fingolimod persistence rate exceeded 80%, consistent with persistence rates identified in the recently-completed trial, PREFERMS. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  2. Distribution and environmental persistence of the causative agent of white-nose syndrome, Geomyces destructans, in bat hibernacula of the eastern United States

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Muller, Laura K.; Russell, Robin E.; O'Connor, Michael; Lindner, Daniel L.; Blehert, David S.

    2013-01-01

    White-nose syndrome (WNS) is an emerging disease of hibernating bats caused by the recently described fungus Geomyces destructans. First isolated in 2008, the origins of this fungus in North America and its ability to persist in the environment remain undefined. To investigate the correlation between manifestation of WNS and distribution of G. destructans in the U.S., we analyzed sediment samples collected from 55 bat hibernacula (caves and mines) both within and outside the known range of WNS using a newly developed real-time PCR assay. Geomyces destructans was detected in 17 of 21 sites within the known range of WNS at the time the samples were collected; the fungus was not found in 28 sites beyond the known range of the disease at the time that environmental samples were collected. These data indicate that distribution of G. destructans is correlated with disease in hibernating bats and support the hypothesis that the fungus is likely an exotic species in North America. Additionally, we examined whether G. destructans persists in infested bat hibernacula when bats are absent. Sediment samples were collected from 14 WNS-positive hibernacula, and the samples were screened for viable fungus using a culture technique. Viable G. destructans was cultivated from 7 of the 14 sites sampled during late summer when bats were no longer in hibernation, suggesting the fungus can persist in the environment in the absence of bat hosts for long periods of time.

  3. Modification of PBDEs (BDE-15, BDE-47, BDE-85 and BDE-126) biological toxicity, bio-concentration, persistence and atmospheric long-range transport potential based on the pharmacophore modeling assistant with the full factor experimental design.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Long; Li, Yu

    2016-04-15

    In this study, the properties of AhR binding affinity, bio-concentration factor, half-life and vapor pressure were selected as the typical indicators of biological toxicity, bio-concentration, persistence and atmospheric long-range transport potential for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), respectively. A three-dimensional pharmacophore modeling assistant with a full factor experimental design for each property was used to reveal the significant pharmacophore features and the substituent effects to obtain reasonable modified schemes for the selected target PBDEs. Finally, the performances of the persistent organic pollutant (POP) properties, the synthesis feasibility and the fire resistance of the modified compounds were evaluated. The most influential pharmacophore feature for all POP properties was the hydrophobic group, especially the vinyl and propyl groups. Modified compounds with two additional hydrophobic groups exhibited a better regulatory performance. The average reduction in the proportions of the four POP properties for the modified compounds (except for 3-phenyl-BDE-15) was 70.60%, 52.44%, 47.04% and 70.88%. In addition, the energy and the C-Br bond dissociation enthalpy of the four typical PBDEs were higher than those of the modified compounds (except for 3-phenyl-BDE-15), indicating the synthesis feasibility and the lower energy barrier of the modified compounds to release Br free radicals to provide fire resistance. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Switching plastic crystals of colloidal rods with electric fields

    PubMed Central

    Liu, Bing; Besseling, Thijs H.; Hermes, Michiel; Demirörs, Ahmet F.; Imhof, Arnout; van Blaaderen, Alfons

    2014-01-01

    When a crystal melts into a liquid both long-ranged positional and orientational order are lost, and long-time translational and rotational self-diffusion appear. Sometimes, these properties do not change at once, but in stages, allowing states of matter such as liquid crystals or plastic crystals with unique combinations of properties. Plastic crystals/glasses are characterized by long-ranged positional order/frozen-in-disorder but short-ranged orientational order, which is dynamic. Here we show by quantitative three-dimensional studies that charged rod-like colloidal particles form three-dimensional plastic crystals and glasses if their repulsions extend significantly beyond their length. These plastic phases can be reversibly switched to full crystals by an electric field. These new phases provide insight into the role of rotations in phase behaviour and could be useful for photonic applications. PMID:24446033

  5. Switching plastic crystals of colloidal rods with electric fields

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Bing; Besseling, Thijs H.; Hermes, Michiel; Demirörs, Ahmet F.; Imhof, Arnout; van Blaaderen, Alfons

    2014-01-01

    When a crystal melts into a liquid both long-ranged positional and orientational order are lost, and long-time translational and rotational self-diffusion appear. Sometimes, these properties do not change at once, but in stages, allowing states of matter such as liquid crystals or plastic crystals with unique combinations of properties. Plastic crystals/glasses are characterized by long-ranged positional order/frozen-in-disorder but short-ranged orientational order, which is dynamic. Here we show by quantitative three-dimensional studies that charged rod-like colloidal particles form three-dimensional plastic crystals and glasses if their repulsions extend significantly beyond their length. These plastic phases can be reversibly switched to full crystals by an electric field. These new phases provide insight into the role of rotations in phase behaviour and could be useful for photonic applications.

  6. Evolution of short range order in Ar: Liquid to glass and solid transitions-A computational study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shor, Stanislav; Yahel, Eyal; Makov, Guy

    2018-04-01

    The evolution of the short range order (SRO) as a function of temperature in a Lennard-Jones model liquid with Ar parameters was determined and juxtaposed with thermodynamic and kinetic properties obtained as the liquid was cooled (heated) and transformed between crystalline solid or glassy states and an undercooled liquid. The Lennard-Jones system was studied by non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations of large supercells (approximately 20000 atoms) rapidly cooled or heated at selected quenching rates and at constant pressure. The liquid to solid transition was identified by discontinuities in the atomic volume and molar enthalpy; the glass transition temperature range was identified from the temperature dependence of the self-diffusion. The SRO was studied within the quasi-crystalline model (QCM) framework and compared with the Steinhardt bond order parameters. Within the QCM it was found that the SRO evolves from a bcc-like order in the liquid through a bct-like short range order (c/a=1.2) in the supercooled liquid which persists into the glass and finally to a fcc-like ordering in the crystalline solid. The variation of the SRO that results from the QCM compares well with that obtained with Steinhardt's bond order parameters. The hypothesis of icosahedral order in liquids and glasses is not supported by our results.

  7. A Simple Evolutional Model of the UV Habitable Zone and the Possibility of the Persistent Life Existence: The Effects of Mass and Metallicity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Oishi, Midori; Kamaya, Hideyuki

    2016-12-01

    In addition to the habitable zone (HZ), the UV habitable zone (UV-HZ) is important when considering the existence of persistent life in the universe. The UV-HZ is defined as the area where the UV radiation field from a host star is moderate for persistent life existence. This is because UV is necessary for the synthesis of biochemical compounds. The UV-HZ must overlap the HZ when life appears and evolves. In this paper, following our previous study of the HZ, we examine the UV-HZ in cases with a stellar mass range from 0.08 to 4.00 M ⊙ with various metallicities during the main sequence phase. This mass range was chosen because we are interested in an environment similar to that of Earth. The effect of metallicity is reflected in the spectrum of the host stars, and we reexamine it in the context of the UV-HZ. The present work shows the effect of metallicity when that in the UV-HZ is less than that in the HZ. Furthermore, we find that the chance of persistent life existence declines as the metallicity decreases, as long as the UV radiation is not protected and/or boosted by any mechanisms. This is because the overlapped region of a persistent HZ and UV-HZ decreases. We find that the most appropriate stellar mass for the persistence of life existence is from 1.0 to 1.5 M ⊙ with metallicity Z = 0.02, and only about 1.2 M ⊙ with Z = 0.002. When Z = 0.0002, the chance of persistent life existence is very low, assuming that the ocean does not protect the life from UV radiation.

  8. Soil organic matter persistence as a stochastic process: age and transit time distributions of carbon in soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sierra, Carlos

    2017-04-01

    The question of why some organic matter is more persistent than other that decomposes quickly in soils has sparkled a large amount of research in recent years. Persistence is commonly characterized as the turnover or mean residence time of specific compounds or soil organic matter (SOM) pools. However, turnover and residence times are ambiguous measures of persistence, which is better characterized by the probability distribution of ages in the system and in particular pools. We calculated age distributions for a wide range of SOM models, which showed long-tail distributions far from the mean value. Age and transit time distributions from a variety of models also showed: 1) transit times are lower than ages of SOM, 2) turnover times differ significantly from mean ages in slow cycling pools, 3) change in the inputs, without changes in the allocation of photosynthetic products, has no effect on transit times, but does affect system and pool ages. We propose an index to assess persistence of C in soils that can be derived from observations alone or from models. We also ask whether random chance is an important contributor to the persistence of SOM.

  9. Long-range ordered vorticity patterns in living tissue induced by cell division

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rossen, Ninna S.; Tarp, Jens M.; Mathiesen, Joachim; Jensen, Mogens H.; Oddershede, Lene B.

    2014-12-01

    In healthy blood vessels with a laminar blood flow, the endothelial cell division rate is low, only sufficient to replace apoptotic cells. The division rate significantly increases during embryonic development and under halted or turbulent flow. Cells in barrier tissue are connected and their motility is highly correlated. Here we investigate the long-range dynamics induced by cell division in an endothelial monolayer under non-flow conditions, mimicking the conditions during vessel formation or around blood clots. Cell divisions induce long-range, well-ordered vortex patterns extending several cell diameters away from the division site, in spite of the system’s low Reynolds number. Our experimental results are reproduced by a hydrodynamic continuum model simulating division as a local pressure increase corresponding to a local tension decrease. Such long-range physical communication may be crucial for embryonic development and for healing tissue, for instance around blood clots.

  10. Culturomics meets random fractal theory: insights into long-range correlations of social and natural phenomena over the past two centuries

    PubMed Central

    Gao, Jianbo; Hu, Jing; Mao, Xiang; Perc, Matjaž

    2012-01-01

    Culturomics was recently introduced as the application of high-throughput data collection and analysis to the study of human culture. Here, we make use of these data by investigating fluctuations in yearly usage frequencies of specific words that describe social and natural phenomena, as derived from books that were published over the course of the past two centuries. We show that the determination of the Hurst parameter by means of fractal analysis provides fundamental insights into the nature of long-range correlations contained in the culturomic trajectories, and by doing so offers new interpretations as to what might be the main driving forces behind the examined phenomena. Quite remarkably, we find that social and natural phenomena are governed by fundamentally different processes. While natural phenomena have properties that are typical for processes with persistent long-range correlations, social phenomena are better described as non-stationary, on–off intermittent or Lévy walk processes. PMID:22337632

  11. Loss and in situ production of perfluoroalkyl chemicals in outdoor biosolids-soil mesocosms

    PubMed Central

    Venkatesan, Arjun K.; Halden, Rolf U.

    2014-01-01

    An outdoor mesocosm study was conducted in Baltimore, Maryland, to explore the fate of thirteen perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) over the course of three years in biosolids/soil mixtures (1:2) exposed to ambient outdoor conditions. Analysis by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry showed perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) to be the most abundant analyte found early in the soil weathering experiment at 24.1 ng/g dry weight (dw), followed by perfluoroundecanoate (PFUnDA) and perfluorodecanoate (PFDA) at 18.4 and 17.4 ng/g dw, respectively. Short-chain perfluorinated carboxylates (PFCAs; C4-C8) showed observable loss from biosolids/soil mixtures, with experimentally determined first-order half-lives in soil ranging from 385 to 866 days. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorononaoate (PFNA) and PFUnDA levels in biosolids/soil mixtures remained stable, while other long-chain PFCAs [PFDA, perfluorododecanoate (PFDoDA)] and perfluorooctane sulfonamide (PFOSA) levels increased over time, presumably due to the breakdown of unidentified precursors in a process analogous to that reported previously for wastewater treatment plants. This study informs risk assessment initiatives by furnishing data on the environmental persistence of PFASs while also constituting the first report on in situ production of long-chained PFASs in terrestrial environments. PMID:24834828

  12. Destabilization of Magnetic Order in a Dilute Kitaev Spin Liquid Candidate

    DOE PAGES

    Lampen-Kelley, Paige; Banerjee, Arnab; Aczel, Adam A.; ...

    2017-12-06

    The insulating honeycomb magnet α–RuCl 3 exhibits fractionalized excitations that signal its proximity to a Kitaev quantum spin liquid state; however, at T=0, fragile long-range magnetic order arises from non-Kitaev terms in the Hamiltonian. Spin vacancies in the form of Ir 3+ substituted for Ru are found to destabilize this long-range order. Neutron diffraction and bulk characterization of Ru 1–xIr xCl 3 show that the magnetic ordering temperature is suppressed with increasing x, and evidence of zizag magnetic order is absent for x > 0.3. Inelastic neutron scattering demonstrates that the signature of fractionalized excitations is maintained over the fullmore » range of x investigated. In conclusion, the depleted lattice without magnetic order thus hosts a spin-liquid-like ground state that may indicate the relevance of Kitaev physics in the magnetically dilute limit of RuCl 3.« less

  13. Destabilization of Magnetic Order in a Dilute Kitaev Spin Liquid Candidate

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lampen-Kelley, P.; Banerjee, A.; Aczel, A. A.; Cao, H. B.; Stone, M. B.; Bridges, C. A.; Yan, J.-Q.; Nagler, S. E.; Mandrus, D.

    2017-12-01

    The insulating honeycomb magnet α -RuCl3 exhibits fractionalized excitations that signal its proximity to a Kitaev quantum spin liquid state; however, at T =0 , fragile long-range magnetic order arises from non-Kitaev terms in the Hamiltonian. Spin vacancies in the form of Ir3 + substituted for Ru are found to destabilize this long-range order. Neutron diffraction and bulk characterization of Ru1 -xIrxCl3 show that the magnetic ordering temperature is suppressed with increasing x , and evidence of zizag magnetic order is absent for x >0.3 . Inelastic neutron scattering demonstrates that the signature of fractionalized excitations is maintained over the full range of x investigated. The depleted lattice without magnetic order thus hosts a spin-liquid-like ground state that may indicate the relevance of Kitaev physics in the magnetically dilute limit of RuCl3 .

  14. Dynamics and statistics of the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam β-model with different ranges of particle interactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Christodoulidi, Helen; Bountis, Tassos; Tsallis, Constantino; Drossos, Lambros

    2016-12-01

    In the present work we study the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam (FPU) β -model involving long-range interactions (LRI) in both the quadratic and quartic potentials, by introducing two independent exponents {α1} and {α2} respectively, which make the forces decay with distance r. Our results demonstrate that weak chaos, in the sense of decreasing Lyapunov exponents, and q-Gaussian probability density functions (pdfs) of sums of the momenta, occurs only when long-range interactions are included in the quartic part. More importantly, for 0≤slant {α2}<1 , we obtain extrapolated values for q\\equiv {{q}∞}>1 , as N\\to ∞ , suggesting that these pdfs persist in that limit. On the other hand, when long-range interactions are imposed only on the quadratic part, strong chaos and purely Gaussian pdfs are always obtained for the momenta. We have also focused on similar pdfs for the particle energies and have obtained q E -exponentials (with q E   >  1) when the quartic-term interactions are long-ranged, otherwise we get the standard Boltzmann-Gibbs weight, with q  =  1. The values of q E coincide, within small discrepancies, with the values of q obtained by the momentum distributions.

  15. Historical data as a baseline for conservation: reconstructing long-term faunal extinction dynamics in Late Imperial–modern China

    PubMed Central

    Turvey, Samuel T.; Crees, Jennifer J.; Di Fonzo, Martina M. I.

    2015-01-01

    Extinction events typically represent extended processes of decline that cannot be reconstructed using short-term studies. Long-term archives are necessary to determine past baselines and the extent of human-caused biodiversity change, but the capacity of historical datasets to provide predictive power for conservation must be assessed within a robust analytical framework. Local Chinese gazetteers represent a more than 400-year country-level dataset containing abundant information on past environmental conditions and include extensive records of gibbons, which have a restricted present-day distribution but formerly occurred across much of China. Gibbons show pre-twentieth century range contraction, with significant fragmentation by the mid-eighteenth century and population loss escalating in the late nineteenth century. Isolated gibbon populations persisted for about 40 years before local extinction. Populations persisted for longer at higher elevations, and disappeared earlier from northern and eastern regions, with the biogeography of population loss consistent with the contagion model of range collapse in response to human demographic expansion spreading directionally across China. The long-term Chinese historical record can track extinction events and human interactions with the environment across much longer timescales than are usually addressed in ecology, contributing novel baselines for conservation and an increased understanding of extinction dynamics and species vulnerability or resilience to human pressures. PMID:26246553

  16. Historical data as a baseline for conservation: reconstructing long-term faunal extinction dynamics in Late Imperial-modern China.

    PubMed

    Turvey, Samuel T; Crees, Jennifer J; Di Fonzo, Martina M I

    2015-08-22

    Extinction events typically represent extended processes of decline that cannot be reconstructed using short-term studies. Long-term archives are necessary to determine past baselines and the extent of human-caused biodiversity change, but the capacity of historical datasets to provide predictive power for conservation must be assessed within a robust analytical framework. Local Chinese gazetteers represent a more than 400-year country-level dataset containing abundant information on past environmental conditions and include extensive records of gibbons, which have a restricted present-day distribution but formerly occurred across much of China. Gibbons show pre-twentieth century range contraction, with significant fragmentation by the mid-eighteenth century and population loss escalating in the late nineteenth century. Isolated gibbon populations persisted for about 40 years before local extinction. Populations persisted for longer at higher elevations, and disappeared earlier from northern and eastern regions, with the biogeography of population loss consistent with the contagion model of range collapse in response to human demographic expansion spreading directionally across China. The long-term Chinese historical record can track extinction events and human interactions with the environment across much longer timescales than are usually addressed in ecology, contributing novel baselines for conservation and an increased understanding of extinction dynamics and species vulnerability or resilience to human pressures. © 2015 The Authors.

  17. Long-term outcomes of fertility-sparing treatment of atypical polypoid adenomyoma with medroxyprogesterone acetate.

    PubMed

    Nomura, Hidetaka; Sugiyama, Yuko; Tanigawa, Terumi; Matoda, Maki; Kanao, Hiroyuki; Kondo, Eiji; Takeshima, Nobuhiro

    2016-01-01

    Our objective was to analyze the long-term oncologic outcomes of fertility-preserving hormonal treatment with medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) in patients with APA. In a retrospective chart review, we identified patients with APA who were treated with MPA for fertility preservation at our hospital between 2001 and 2011. Eighteen patients with histologically diagnosed APA were identified. Clinical data including treatment, obstetrical, and oncologic outcomes were recorded. The mean observation period was 77.6 months (median 73.5, range 22-142), and the mean age was 33.6 years. Four patients also developed well-differentiated endometrial carcinoma. After the treatment, 14 patients (77.8 %) achieved either a complete response or partial response. Eight patients experienced recurrence, while four experienced persistent disease. Ten patients (55.6 %) eventually underwent hysterectomy. The median time to hysterectomy was 40.3 months (range 24-68). Nine patients progressed to endometrial cancer, and one experienced persistent APA. Among younger patients (<35 years of age), four out of five patients who were married could have children. Seven patients (38.9 %) showed no evidence of the disease during the observation period (median 60 months, range 22-117 months). No one died because of the disease during the observation period. MPA yields a high response rate in APA, and if only younger patients are considered, a favorable pregnancy rate can be obtained. However, because recurrence rate is high, long-term follow-up under supervision of a trained gynecologic oncologist is required. To confirm MPA's utility, multi-center collaboration would be warranted.

  18. Stream water quality concerns linger long after the smoke clears: Learning from Front Range wildfires

    Treesearch

    Chuck Rhoades; Susan Miller; Tim Covino; Alex Chow; Frank McCormick

    2017-01-01

    Large, high-severity wildfires alter the ecological processes that determine how watersheds retain and release nutrients and affect stream water quality. These changes usually abate a few years after a fire but recent studies indicate they may persist longer than previously expected. Wildfires are a natural disturbance agent, but due to the increased frequency and...

  19. Long-Range Order in Cylindrical Block Copolymer Thin Films using Graphoepitaxy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dadmun, Mark; Lowndes, Doug

    2005-03-01

    A block copolymer thin film of polystyrene and methyl methacrylate on a neutral surface forms cylinders that are removed by UV exposure and rinsing, creating a template for the deposition of nickel nanodots, which are subsequently used to grow carbon nanofibers. Additionally, graphoepitaxy is used to successfully induce long-range order in hexagonally packed cylinders. The kinetics of the ordering process, limitations on this technique, and specific sample preparation conditions for successful transfer of the porous template to the deposited nanodots will also be discussed

  20. Evolutionary history of a vanishing radiation: isolation-dependent persistence and diversification in Pacific Island partulid tree snails.

    PubMed

    Lee, Taehwan; Li, Jingchun; Churchill, Celia K C; Foighil, Diarmaid Ó

    2014-09-24

    Partulid tree snails are endemic to Pacific high islands and have experienced extraordinary rates of extinction in recent decades. Although they collectively range across a 10,000 km swath of Oceania, half of the family's total species diversity is endemic to a single Eastern Pacific hot spot archipelago (the Society Islands) and all three partulid genera display highly distinctive distributions. Our goal was to investigate broad scale (range wide) and fine scale (within-Society Islands) molecular phylogenetic relationships of the two widespread genera, Partula and Samoana. What can such data tell us regarding the genesis of such divergent generic distribution patterns, and nominal species diversity levels across Oceania? Museum, captive (zoo) and contemporary field specimens enabled us to genotype 54 of the ~120 recognized species, including many extinct or extirpated taxa, from 14 archipelagoes. The genera Partula and Samoana are products of very distinct diversification processes. Originating at the western edge of the familial range, the derived genus Samoana is a relatively recent arrival in the far eastern archipelagoes (Society, Austral, Marquesas) where it exhibits a stepping-stone phylogenetic pattern and has proven adept at both intra-and inter- archipelago colonization. The pronounced east-west geographic disjunction exhibited by the genus Partula stems from a much older long-distance dispersal event and its high taxonomic diversity in the Society Islands is a product of a long history of within-archipelago diversification. The central importance of isolation for partulid lineage persistence and diversification is evident in time-calibrated phylogenetic trees that show that remote archipelagoes least impacted by continental biotas bear the oldest clades and/or the most speciose radiations. In contemporary Oceania, that isolation is being progressively undermined and these tree snails are now directly exposed to introduced continental predators throughout the family's range. Persistence of partulids in the wild will require proactive exclusion of alien predators in at least some designated refuge islands.

  1. Phase diagram for a two-dimensional, two-temperature, diffusive XY model.

    PubMed

    Reichl, Matthew D; Del Genio, Charo I; Bassler, Kevin E

    2010-10-01

    Using Monte Carlo simulations, we determine the phase diagram of a diffusive two-temperature conserved order parameter XY model. When the two temperatures are equal the system becomes the equilibrium XY model with the continuous Kosterlitz-Thouless (KT) vortex-antivortex unbinding phase transition. When the two temperatures are unequal the system is driven by an energy flow from the higher temperature heat-bath to the lower temperature one and reaches a far-from-equilibrium steady state. We show that the nonequilibrium phase diagram contains three phases: A homogenous disordered phase and two phases with long range, spin texture order. Two critical lines, representing continuous phase transitions from a homogenous disordered phase to two phases of long range order, meet at the equilibrium KT point. The shape of the nonequilibrium critical lines as they approach the KT point is described by a crossover exponent φ=2.52±0.05. Finally, we suggest that the transition between the two phases with long-range order is first-order, making the KT-point where all three phases meet a bicritical point.

  2. Dichlorobenzene in ground water: Evidence for long-term persistence

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Barber, L.B.

    1988-01-01

    Hydrologic and geochemical evidence were used to establish the long-term persistence of dichlorobenzene in ground water that has been contaminated from 50 years of rapid-infiltration sewage disposal. An extensive plume of dichlorobenzene extends more than 3,500 meters downgradient from the disposal beds, with concentrations of the combined isomers ranging from less than 0.01 to over 1.0 ??g/l. Based on estimates of maximum ground-water flow velocities, a minimum age of 20 years was established for the farthest downgradient zone of dichlorobenzene contamination. Branched-chained, alkylbenzenesulfonic acid surfactants, that were introduced into the ground water prior to 1966, occur along with dichlorobenzene in the downgradient part of the plume, further establish residence of the compounds in the aquifer for at least 20 years. Although dichlorobenzene can be biologically degraded under aerobic conditions, its persistence at this field site is attributed to the dynamics of the ground-water system. Denitrifying conditions, resulting from the degradation of organic compounds in the aquifer near the disposal beds, appear to have enhanced the persistence of dichlorobenzene, which is not degraded by anaerobic bacteria. Biological degradation of dichlorobenzene in the aerobic part of the plume downgradient from the source is probably limited by the paucity of a suitable organic-carbon substrate and the low concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the contaminated ground water.

  3. Swift observations of GS 1826-238

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ji, L.; Santangelo, A.; Zhang, S.; Ducci, L.; Suleimanov, V.

    2018-02-01

    GS 1826-238 is a well-studied low-mass X-ray binary neutron star. This source was in a persistent hard state since its discovery in 1988 and until 2014 June. After that, the source exhibited several softer periods of enhanced intensity in the energy range 2-20 keV. We studied the long-term light curves of MAXI (Monitor of All Sky X-ray Image) and Swift/BAT, and found clearly two branches in the MAXI-BAT and hardness-intensity diagrams, which correspond to the persistent state and softer periods, respectively. We analysed 21 Swift/XRT observations, of which four were located in the persistent state while the others were in softer periods or in a state between them. The XRT spectra could be generally fitted by using an absorbed Comptonization model with no other components required. We found a peculiar relationship between the luminosity and the hardness in the energy range of 0.6-10 keV: when the luminosity is larger (smaller) than 4 per cent-6 per cent Ledd, the hardness is anti-correlated (correlated) with luminosity. We also estimated the variability for each observation by using the fractional rms in the 0.1-10 Hz range. We found that the observations in the persistent state had a large fractional rms of ˜25 per cent, similar to other low-mass X-ray binaries. However, the variability is mainly found in the range of 5 per cent-20 per cent during softer periods. We suggest that GS 1826-238 did not evolve into the soft state of atoll sources, and all the observed XRT observations during the softer periods resemble a peculiar intermediate state of atoll sources.

  4. Stretched exponential dynamics of coupled logistic maps on a small-world network

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mahajan, Ashwini V.; Gade, Prashant M.

    2018-02-01

    We investigate the dynamic phase transition from partially or fully arrested state to spatiotemporal chaos in coupled logistic maps on a small-world network. Persistence of local variables in a coarse grained sense acts as an excellent order parameter to study this transition. We investigate the phase diagram by varying coupling strength and small-world rewiring probability p of nonlocal connections. The persistent region is a compact region bounded by two critical lines where band-merging crisis occurs. On one critical line, the persistent sites shows a nonexponential (stretched exponential) decay for all p while for another one, it shows crossover from nonexponential to exponential behavior as p → 1 . With an effectively antiferromagnetic coupling, coupling to two neighbors on either side leads to exchange frustration. Apart from exchange frustration, non-bipartite topology and nonlocal couplings in a small-world network could be a reason for anomalous relaxation. The distribution of trap times in asymptotic regime has a long tail as well. The dependence of temporal evolution of persistence on initial conditions is studied and a scaling form for persistence after waiting time is proposed. We present a simple possible model for this behavior.

  5. Disturbance affects short-term facilitation, but not long-term saturation, of exotic plant invasion in New Zealand forest

    PubMed Central

    Spence, Laura A.; Ross, Joshua V.; Wiser, Susan K.; Allen, Robert B.; Coomes, David A.

    2011-01-01

    We investigate the spread of an exotic herb, Hieracium lepidulum, into a New Zealand Nothofagus forest with the aim of understanding how stand-development of tree populations, propagule pressure and invader persistence, affect invasion across the landscape and within communities. Using data repeatedly collected over 35 years, from 250 locations, we parametrize continuous-time Markov chain models and use these models to examine future projections of the invasion under a range of hypothetical scenarios. We found that the probability of invasion into a stand was relatively high following canopy disturbance and that local abundance of Hieracium was promoted by minor disturbances. However, model predictions extrapolated 45 years into the future show that neither the rate of landscape-level invasion, nor local population growth of Hieracium, was affected much by changing the frequency of canopy disturbance events. Instead, invasion levels were strongly affected by the ability of Hieracium to persist in the understorey following forest canopy closure, and by propagule supply from streams, forest edges and plants already established within the stand. Our results show that disturbance frequency has surprisingly little influence on the long-term trajectory of invasion, while invader persistence strongly determines invasion patterns. PMID:20980298

  6. Coupling of Crystal Structure and Magnetism in the Layered, Ferromagnetic Insulator CrI 3

    DOE PAGES

    McGuire, Michael A.; Dixit, Hemant; Cooper, Valentino R.; ...

    2014-12-23

    Here, we examine the crystallographic and magnetic properties of single crystals of CrI 3, an easily cleavable, layered and insulating ferromagnet with a Curie temperature of 61 K. Our X-ray diffraction studies reveal a first-order crystallographic phase transition occurring near 210–220 K upon warming, with significant thermal hysteresis. The low-temperature structure is rhombohedral (Rmore » $$\\bar{3}$$, BiI 3-type) and the high-temperature structure is monoclinic (C2/m, AlCl 3-type). Evidence for coupling between the crystallographic and magnetic degrees of freedom in CrI 3 was found; we observed an anomaly in the interlayer spacing at the Curie temperature and an anomaly in the magnetic susceptibility at the structural transition. First-principles calculations reveal the importance of proper treatment of the long-ranged interlayer forces, and van der Waals density functional theory does an excellent job of predicting the crystal structures and their relative stability. Our calculations suggest that the ferromagnetic order found in the bulk material may persist into monolayer form, suggesting that CrI 3 and other chromium trihalides may be promising materials for spintronic and magnetoelectronic research.« less

  7. Energy Harvesting for Self-Powered, Ultra-Low Power Microsystems With a Focus on Vibration-Based Electromechanical Conversion

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2009-09-01

    harmonic frequency of the system , ωn, given as ,n k m   (5) must equal the excitation frequency in order to achieve maximum power. Because of ...characteristic of persistence in mind, a management system is required to mediate the profiles of energy generation and consumption. 53 V. CONCLUSION...they do have a long-term negative environmental impact . An alternative to

  8. Pseudoproxy Experiments Using the BARCAST Reconstruction Technique: Effects on Spatiotemporal Persistence Properties

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nilsen, T.; Divine, D.; Rypdal, M.; Werner, J.; Rypdal, K.

    2016-12-01

    A modified two-dimensional stochastic-diffusive energy balance model (EBM) defined on a sphere was used for generating pseudoproxy/instrumental data and target data for surface temperature. The EBM is described in Rypdal et al. (2015). The target field has prescribed long-range memory (LRM) properties in time, and a frequency-dependent autocorrelation function in space. The Bayesian hierarchical model BARCAST, was used to generate surface temperature field reconstructions of an area corresponding to the European landmass for the past millennium. BARCAST has a built-in multivariate AR(1) model for the evolution of the temperature field, with an exponential, spatial covariance function, (Tingley & Huybers, 2010). The AR(1) process has a short-range memory, and we seek to find out how the competing spatiotemporal models influence the persistence of the reconstruction. A number of pseudoproxy experiments were performed with a fixed proxy network, using different signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) and colors of noise, (white/red). To study the persistence properties, the power-law relation of the power spectral density for LRM processes was used: S(f) f-β. The spectral exponent β was estimated both for local data and the spatial mean of the full region. The local β for the target varies between (0.1, 0.4), and for the spatial mean β 0.6. Results for the reconstructions show that the local and global memory is influenced by the noise color and level. Low noise levels or absence of noise results in reconstructions that exhibit similar properties as the target, while for higher noise levels the reconstructions have memory properties of a white/red character, (SNR=0.3 by standard deviation). Since an SNR of 0.5-0.25 is considered realistic for real proxy records, this implies that estimates of temporal persistence from proxy-based reconstructions reflect the proxy noise to a high degree, and not the signal as desired. Rypdal et al., 2015: Spatiotemporal Long-Range Persistence in Earth's Temperature Field: Analysis of Stochastic-Diffusive Energy Balance Models. J. Climate, 28, 8379-8395. Tingley & Huybers, 2010: A Bayesian algorithm for reconstructing climate anomalies in space and time. Part I: Development and applications to paleoclimate reconstruction problems. J. Climate, 23, 2759-2781.

  9. Cooperative rearrangements leading to long range order in monolayers of supramolecular polymers.

    PubMed

    Vonau, F; Aubel, D; Bouteiller, L; Reiter, G; Simon, L

    2007-08-24

    Using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), we followed the self-organization process of a supramolecular polymer monolayer deposited on a gold surface. During the growth of ordered domains from small to large scales, the molecule-molecule interactions were found to overrule the coupling to the substrate, causing a reorientation of the monolayer. The flexibility at the molecular level, due to reversible hydrogen bonds, was directly visualized by STM. The supramolecules were able to slide and insert between neighboring molecules, allowing the annihilation of domain boundaries and improving long range order. Large domains were found to cross monoatomic steps on the substrate without perturbation of their order.

  10. Surface and finite size effect on fluctuations dynamics in nanoparticles with long-range order

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Morozovska, A. N.; Eliseev, E. A.

    2010-02-01

    The influence of surface and finite size on the dynamics of the order parameter fluctuations and critical phenomena in the three-dimensional (3D)-confined systems with long-range order was not considered theoretically. In this paper, we study the influence of surface and finite size on the dynamics of the order parameter fluctuations in the particles of arbitrary shape. We consider concrete examples of the spherical and cylindrical ferroic nanoparticles within Landau-Ginzburg-Devonshire phenomenological approach. Allowing for the strong surface energy contribution in micro and nanoparticles, the analytical expressions derived for the Ornstein-Zernike correlator of the long-range order parameter spatial-temporal fluctuations, dynamic generalized susceptibility, relaxation times, and correlation radii discrete spectra are different from those known for bulk systems. Obtained analytical expressions for the correlation function of the order parameter spatial-temporal fluctuations in micro and nanosized systems can be useful for the quantitative analysis of the dynamical structural factors determined from magnetic resonance diffraction and scattering spectra. Besides the practical importance of the correlation function for the analysis of the experimental data, derived expressions for the fluctuations strength determine the fundamental limits of phenomenological theories applicability for 3D-confined systems.

  11. Long-term persistence of solar activity

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ruzmaikin, Alexander; Feynman, Joan; Robinson, Paul

    1994-01-01

    We examine the question of whether or not the non-periodic variations in solar activity are caused by a white-noise, random process. The Hurst exponent, which characterizes the persistence of a time series, is evaluated for the series of C-14 data for the time interval from about 6000 BC to 1950 AD. We find a constant Hurst exponent, suggesting that solar activity in the frequency range from 100 to 3000 years includes an important continuum component in addition to the well-known periodic variations. The value we calculate, H approximately 0.8, is significantly larger than the value of 0.5 that would correspond to variations produced by a white-noise process. This value is in good agreement with the results for the monthly sunspot data reported elsewhere, indicating that the physics that produces the continuum is a correlated random process and that it is the same type of process over a wide range of time interval lengths.

  12. Magnetism in La₂O₃(Fe₁₋ xMn x)₂Se₂ tuned by Fe/Mn ratio

    DOE PAGES

    Lei, Hechang; Bozin, Emil S.; Llobet, A.; ...

    2012-09-17

    We report the evolution of structural and magnetic properties in La₂O₃(Fe₁₋ xMn x)₂Se₂. Heat capacity and bulk magnetization indicate an increased ferromagnetic component of the long-range magnetic order and possible increased degree of frustration. Atomic disorder on Fe(Mn) sites suppresses the temperature of the long-range order whereas intermediate alloys show a rich magnetic phase diagram.

  13. Self-organized molecular films with long-range quasiperiodic order.

    PubMed

    Fournée, Vincent; Gaudry, Émilie; Ledieu, Julian; de Weerd, Marie-Cécile; Wu, Dongmei; Lograsso, Thomas

    2014-04-22

    Self-organized molecular films with long-range quasiperiodic order have been grown by using the complex potential energy landscape of quasicrystalline surfaces as templates. The long-range order arises from a specific subset of quasilattice sites acting as preferred adsorption sites for the molecules, thus enforcing a quasiperiodic structure in the film. These adsorption sites exhibit a local 5-fold symmetry resulting from the cut by the surface plane through the cluster units identified in the bulk solid. Symmetry matching between the C60 fullerene and the substrate leads to a preferred adsorption configuration of the molecules with a pentagonal face down, a feature unique to quasicrystalline surfaces, enabling efficient chemical bonding at the molecule-substrate interface. This finding offers opportunities to investigate the physical properties of model 2D quasiperiodic systems, as the molecules can be functionalized to yield architectures with tailor-made properties.

  14. Short range smectic order driving long range nematic order: Example of cuprates

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Markiewicz, R. S.; Lorenzana, J.; Seibold, G.

    We present a model for describing the combined presence of nematic and ‘smectic’ or stripe-like orders seen in recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments on cuprates. The smectic order is treated as an electronic charge density wave with an associated Peierls distortion or a ‘Pomeranchuk wave’. This primary order is restricted to nanoscale domains by disorder effects, while the secondary coupling to strain generates the nematic order with a considerably longer range. Lastly, a variety of experimental results are shown to be consistent with our theoretical predictions.

  15. Short range smectic order driving long range nematic order: Example of cuprates

    DOE PAGES

    Markiewicz, R. S.; Lorenzana, J.; Seibold, G.; ...

    2016-01-27

    We present a model for describing the combined presence of nematic and ‘smectic’ or stripe-like orders seen in recent scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) experiments on cuprates. The smectic order is treated as an electronic charge density wave with an associated Peierls distortion or a ‘Pomeranchuk wave’. This primary order is restricted to nanoscale domains by disorder effects, while the secondary coupling to strain generates the nematic order with a considerably longer range. Lastly, a variety of experimental results are shown to be consistent with our theoretical predictions.

  16. Diluting the founder effect: cryptic invasions expand a marine invader's range

    PubMed Central

    Roman, Joe

    2006-01-01

    Most invasion histories include an estimated arrival time, followed by range expansion. Yet, such linear progression may not tell the entire story. The European green crab (Carcinus maenas) was first recorded in the US in 1817, followed by an episodic expansion of range to the north. Its population has recently exploded in the Canadian Maritimes. Although it has been suggested that this northern expansion is the result of warming sea temperatures or cold-water adaptation, Canadian populations have higher genetic diversity than southern populations, indicating that multiple introductions have occurred in the Maritimes since the 1980s. These new genetic lineages, probably from the northern end of the green crab's native range in Europe, persist in areas that were once thought to be too cold for the original southern invasion front. It is well established that ballast water can contain a wide array of nonindigenous species. Ballast discharge can also deliver genetic variation on a level comparable to that of native populations. Such gene flow not only increases the likelihood of persistence of invasive species, but it can also rapidly expand the range of long-established nonindigenous species. PMID:16959635

  17. Relative phase asynchrony and long-range correlation of long-term solar magnetic activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deng, Linhua

    2017-07-01

    Statistical signal processing is one of the most important tasks in a large amount of areas of scientific studies, such as astrophysics, geophysics, and space physics. Phase recurrence analysis and long-range persistence are the two dynamical structures of the underlying processes for the given natural phenomenon. Linear and nonlinear time series analysis approaches (cross-correlation analysis, cross-recurrence plot, wavelet coherent transform, and Hurst analysis) are combined to investigate the relative phase interconnection and long-range correlation between solar activity and geomagnetic activity for the time interval from 1932 January to 2017 January. The following prominent results are found: (1) geomagnetic activity lags behind sunspot numbers with a phase shift of 21 months, and they have a high level of asynchronous behavior; (2) their relative phase interconnections are in phase for the periodic scales during 8-16 years, but have a mixing behavior for the periodic belts below 8 years; (3) both sunspot numbers and geomagnetic activity can not be regarded as a stochastic phenomenon because their dynamical behaviors display a long-term correlation and a fractal nature. We believe that the presented conclusions could provide further information on understanding the dynamical coupling of solar dynamo process with geomagnetic activity variation, and the crucial role of solar and geomagnetic activity in the long-term climate change.

  18. Imposing long-range ferromagnetic order in rare-earth-doped magnetic topological-insulator heterostructures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Duffy, L. B.; Frisk, A.; Burn, D. M.; Steinke, N.-J.; Herrero-Martin, J.; Ernst, A.; van der Laan, G.; Hesjedal, T.

    2018-05-01

    The combination of topological properties and magnetic order can lead to new quantum states and exotic physical phenomena, such as the quantum anomalous Hall (QAH) effect. The size of the magnetic gap in the topological surface states, key for the robust observation of the QAH state, scales with the magnetic moment of the doped three-dimensional topological insulator (TI). The pioneering transition-metal doped (Sb,Bi ) 2(Se,Te ) 3 thin films only allow for the observation of the QAH effect up to some 100 mK, despite the much higher magnetic ordering temperatures. On the other hand, high magnetic moment materials, such as rare-earth-doped (Sb,Bi ) 2(Se,Te ) 3 thin films, show large moments but no long-range magnetic order. Proximity coupling and interfacial effects, multiplied in artificial heterostructures, allow for the engineering of the electronic and magnetic properties. Here, we show the successful growth of high-quality Dy:Bi2Te3 /Cr:Sb2Te3 thin film heterostructures. Using x-ray magnetic spectroscopy we demonstrate that high transition temperature Cr:Sb2Te3 can introduce long-range magnetic order in high-moment Dy:Bi2Te3 —up to a temperature of 17 K—in excellent agreement with first-principles calculations, which reveal the origin of the long-range magnetic order in a strong antiferromagnetic coupling between Dy and Cr magnetic moments at the interface extending over several layers. Engineered magnetic TI heterostructures may be an ideal materials platform for observing the QAH effect at liquid He temperatures and above.

  19. Direct Immersion Annealing of Thin Block Copolymer Films.

    PubMed

    Modi, Arvind; Bhaway, Sarang M; Vogt, Bryan D; Douglas, Jack F; Al-Enizi, Abdullah; Elzatahry, Ahmed; Sharma, Ashutosh; Karim, Alamgir

    2015-10-07

    We demonstrate ordering of thin block copolymer (BCP) films via direct immersion annealing (DIA) at enhanced rate leading to stable morphologies. The BCP films are immersed in carefully selected mixtures of good and marginal solvents that can impart enhanced polymer mobility, while inhibiting film dissolution. DIA is compatible with roll-to-roll assembly manufacturing and has distinct advantages over conventional thermal annealing and batch processing solvent-vapor annealing methods. We identify three solvent composition-dependent BCP film ordering regimes in DIA for the weakly interacting polystyrene-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS-PMMA) system: rapid short-range order, optimal long-range order, and a film instability regime. Kinetic studies in the "optimal long-range order" processing regime as a function of temperature indicate a significant reduction of activation energy for BCP grain growth compared to oven annealing at conventional temperatures. An attractive feature of DIA is its robustness to ordering other BCP (e.g. PS-P2VP) and PS-PMMA systems exhibiting spherical, lamellar and cylindrical ordering.

  20. Magnetic order of intermetallic FeGa3 -yGey studied by μ SR and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Munevar, J.; Cabrera-Baez, M.; Alzamora, M.; Larrea, J.; Bittar, E. M.; Baggio-Saitovitch, E.; Litterst, F. J.; Ribeiro, R. A.; Avila, M. A.; Morenzoni, E.

    2017-03-01

    Temperature-dependent magnetization, muon spin rotation, and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy experiments performed on crystals of intermetallic FeGa3 -yGey (y =0.11 ,0.14 ,0.17 ,0.22 ,0.27 ,0.29 ,0.32 ) are reported. Whereas at y =0.11 even a sensitive magnetic microprobe such as μ SR does not detect magnetism, all other samples display weak ferromagnetism with a magnetic moment of up to 0.22 μB per Fe atom. As a function of doping and of temperature, a crossover from short-range to long-range magnetic order is observed, characterized by a broadly distributed spontaneous internal field. However, y =0.14 and 0.17 remain in the short-range-ordered state down to the lowest investigated temperature. The transition from short-range to long-range order appears to be accompanied by a change of the character of the spin fluctuations, which exhibit a spin-wave excitation signature in the long-range-order part of the phase diagram. Mössbauer spectroscopy for y =0.27 and 0.32 indicates that the internal field lies in the plane perpendicular to the crystallographic c axis. The field distribution and its evolution with doping suggest that the details of the Fe magnetic moment formation and the consequent magnetic state are determined not only by the dopant concentration, but also by the way the replacement of the Ga atoms surrounding the Fe is accomplished.

  1. Occurrence of Legacy and New Persistent Organic Pollutants in Avian Tissues from King George Island, Antarctica.

    PubMed

    Kim, Jun-Tae; Son, Min-Hui; Kang, Jung-Ho; Kim, Jeong-Hoon; Jung, Jin-Woo; Chang, Yoon-Seok

    2015-11-17

    Legacy and new persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), Dechlorane Plus (DPs) and related compounds (Dechloranes), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), were analyzed in avian tissue samples from King George Island, Antarctica. The avian species consisted of the Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papua), the Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae), the South polar skua (Stercorarius maccormicki), and the Brown skua (Stercorarius antarcticus). HBCDs were detected in all samples and ranged from 1.67-713 pg/g-lipid. In the penguin samples, the concentrations of PCNs ranged from 0.69-2.07 ng/g-lipid, whereas those in the skua samples ranged from 7.41-175 ng/g-lipid. The levels of Dechloranes ranged from 0.60-1.30 ng/g-lipid in the penguin samples and from 6.57-47.4 ng/g-lipid in the skua samples. The concentrations and congener distributions of OCPs and PCBs were similar to the results of previous reports. The three new POPs were detected in all samples, and this study was one of the first reports on the occurrence of these pollutants in the Antarctic biota. Because Antarctica is one of the most pristine places on Earth, the detection of new POPs in the Antarctic birds, especially penguins, is direct evidence of the long-range transport of pollutants. Furthermore, the concentration ratios of the penguin to the skua samples (BMFs-p) were greater than 1 in most legacy and new POPs, and the BMFs-p values of the new POPs were comparable to those of some OCPs, suggesting a possibility of biomagnification. Despite the small sample size, the results of this study identified POP contamination of the Antarctic avian species and long-range transport and biomagnification of HBCDs, Dechloranes, and PCNs.

  2. A model based on Rock-Eval thermal analysis to quantify the size of the centennially persistent organic carbon pool in temperate soils

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cécillon, Lauric; Baudin, François; Chenu, Claire; Houot, Sabine; Jolivet, Romain; Kätterer, Thomas; Lutfalla, Suzanne; Macdonald, Andy; van Oort, Folkert; Plante, Alain F.; Savignac, Florence; Soucémarianadin, Laure N.; Barré, Pierre

    2018-05-01

    Changes in global soil carbon stocks have considerable potential to influence the course of future climate change. However, a portion of soil organic carbon (SOC) has a very long residence time ( > 100 years) and may not contribute significantly to terrestrial greenhouse gas emissions during the next century. The size of this persistent SOC reservoir is presumed to be large. Consequently, it is a key parameter required for the initialization of SOC dynamics in ecosystem and Earth system models, but there is considerable uncertainty in the methods used to quantify it. Thermal analysis methods provide cost-effective information on SOC thermal stability that has been shown to be qualitatively related to SOC biogeochemical stability. The objective of this work was to build the first quantitative model of the size of the centennially persistent SOC pool based on thermal analysis. We used a unique set of 118 archived soil samples from four agronomic experiments in northwestern Europe with long-term bare fallow and non-bare fallow treatments (e.g., manure amendment, cropland and grassland) as a sample set for which estimating the size of the centennially persistent SOC pool is relatively straightforward. At each experimental site, we estimated the average concentration of centennially persistent SOC and its uncertainty by applying a Bayesian curve-fitting method to the observed declining SOC concentration over the duration of the long-term bare fallow treatment. Overall, the estimated concentrations of centennially persistent SOC ranged from 5 to 11 g C kg-1 of soil (lowest and highest boundaries of four 95 % confidence intervals). Then, by dividing the site-specific concentrations of persistent SOC by the total SOC concentration, we could estimate the proportion of centennially persistent SOC in the 118 archived soil samples and the associated uncertainty. The proportion of centennially persistent SOC ranged from 0.14 (standard deviation of 0.01) to 1 (standard deviation of 0.15). Samples were subjected to thermal analysis by Rock-Eval 6 that generated a series of 30 parameters reflecting their SOC thermal stability and bulk chemistry. We trained a nonparametric machine-learning algorithm (random forests multivariate regression model) to predict the proportion of centennially persistent SOC in new soils using Rock-Eval 6 thermal parameters as predictors. We evaluated the model predictive performance with two different strategies. We first used a calibration set (n = 88) and a validation set (n = 30) with soils from all sites. Second, to test the sensitivity of the model to pedoclimate, we built a calibration set with soil samples from three out of the four sites (n = 84). The multivariate regression model accurately predicted the proportion of centennially persistent SOC in the validation set composed of soils from all sites (R2 = 0.92, RMSEP = 0.07, n = 30). The uncertainty of the model predictions was quantified by a Monte Carlo approach that produced conservative 95 % prediction intervals across the validation set. The predictive performance of the model decreased when predicting the proportion of centennially persistent SOC in soils from one fully independent site with a different pedoclimate, yet the mean error of prediction only slightly increased (R2 = 0.53, RMSEP = 0.10, n = 34). This model based on Rock-Eval 6 thermal analysis can thus be used to predict the proportion of centennially persistent SOC with known uncertainty in new soil samples from different pedoclimates, at least for sites that have similar Rock-Eval 6 thermal characteristics to those included in the calibration set. Our study reinforces the evidence that there is a link between the thermal and biogeochemical stability of soil organic matter and demonstrates that Rock-Eval 6 thermal analysis can be used to quantify the size of the centennially persistent organic carbon pool in temperate soils.

  3. Near-infrared long-persistent phosphor of Zn₃Ga ₂Ge ₂O₁₀: Cr³⁺ sintered in different atmosphere.

    PubMed

    Wu, Yiling; Li, Yang; Qin, Xixi; Chen, Ruchun; Wu, Dakun; Liu, Shijian; Qiu, Jianrong

    2015-01-01

    A variety of materials sintered in different atmosphere have been well investigated, but there are few reports on the long-persistent phosphorescent materials, especially the near-infrared long-persistent phosphorescent materials sintered in various atmosphere. Changing the surrounding atmosphere is an effective method to improve the afterglow properties of the materials. In this work, we fabricate a typical kind of near-infrared long-persistent phosphorescent materials of Zn3Ga2Ge2O10: 0.5% Cr(3+) in neutral, oxidizing, and reducing atmosphere. By analyzing the XRD patterns, afterglow spectra, decay and thermo-luminescence curves, we discuss the great effects on the structure, long persistent properties and trap properties of the phosphor. This work of obtaining the Zn3Ga2Ge2O10: 0.5% Cr(3+) is of great potential in the applications in night-vision surveillance and in vivo bio-imaging. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Effect of film multi-scale structure on the water vapor permeability in hydroxypropyl starch (HPS)/Na-MMT nanocomposites.

    PubMed

    Liu, Siyuan; Cai, Panfu; Li, Xiaoxi; Chen, Ling; Li, Lin; Li, Bing

    2016-12-10

    To improve the water vapor resistance of starch-based films, Na-MMT (Na-montmorillonite) as nanofillers were fabricated into hydroxypropyl starch and the multi-scale structural changes (including intermolecular interaction, short-range conformation, long-range ordered structure and the aggregated structure of the film) were revealed. The elongation of the water vapor molecule pathway by tortuous path is generally recognized as the main reason for the improvement of water resistance. However this study observed the lowest water vapor permeability (WVP) was at the 3% Na-MMT/hydroxypropyl starch (HPS) ratio instead of 5% even nanofillers were partially exfoliated at both ratio. Except for the "tortuous path" caused by nanofillers, this observation proposed that the short-range conformation of HPS chains, long-range ordered structure and the aggregated structure likely influenced the water barrier property. The relationship between WVP and multi-scale structure of the film was investigated. The results suggested that a good balance of short-range conformationin the amorphous region, long-range ordered structure and the aggregated structure of the film was required for the improvement of water vapor barrier property. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Mother goats do not forget their kids’ calls

    PubMed Central

    Briefer, Elodie F.; Padilla de la Torre, Monica; McElligott, Alan G.

    2012-01-01

    Parent–offspring recognition is crucial for offspring survival. At long distances, this recognition is mainly based on vocalizations. Because of maturation-related changes to the structure of vocalizations, parents have to learn successive call versions produced by their offspring throughout ontogeny in order to maintain recognition. However, because of the difficulties involved in following the same individuals over years, it is not clear how long this vocal memory persists. Here, we investigated long-term vocal recognition in goats. We tested responses of mothers to their kids’ calls 7–13 months after weaning. We then compared mothers’ responses to calls of their previous kids with their responses to the same calls at five weeks postpartum. Subjects tended to respond more to their own kids at five weeks postpartum than 11–17 months later, but displayed stronger responses to their previous kids than to familiar kids from other females. Acoustic analyses showed that it is unlikely that mothers were responding to their previous kids simply because they confounded them with the new kids they were currently nursing. Therefore, our results provide evidence for strong, long-term vocal memory capacity in goats. The persistence of offspring vocal recognition beyond weaning could have important roles in kin social relationships and inbreeding avoidance. PMID:22719031

  6. Mother goats do not forget their kids' calls.

    PubMed

    Briefer, Elodie F; Padilla de la Torre, Monica; McElligott, Alan G

    2012-09-22

    Parent-offspring recognition is crucial for offspring survival. At long distances, this recognition is mainly based on vocalizations. Because of maturation-related changes to the structure of vocalizations, parents have to learn successive call versions produced by their offspring throughout ontogeny in order to maintain recognition. However, because of the difficulties involved in following the same individuals over years, it is not clear how long this vocal memory persists. Here, we investigated long-term vocal recognition in goats. We tested responses of mothers to their kids' calls 7-13 months after weaning. We then compared mothers' responses to calls of their previous kids with their responses to the same calls at five weeks postpartum. Subjects tended to respond more to their own kids at five weeks postpartum than 11-17 months later, but displayed stronger responses to their previous kids than to familiar kids from other females. Acoustic analyses showed that it is unlikely that mothers were responding to their previous kids simply because they confounded them with the new kids they were currently nursing. Therefore, our results provide evidence for strong, long-term vocal memory capacity in goats. The persistence of offspring vocal recognition beyond weaning could have important roles in kin social relationships and inbreeding avoidance.

  7. Order-disorder effects in structure and color relation of photonic-crystal-type nanostructures in butterfly wing scales.

    PubMed

    Márk, Géza I; Vértesy, Zofia; Kertész, Krisztián; Bálint, Zsolt; Biró, László P

    2009-11-01

    In order to study local and global order in butterfly wing scales possessing structural colors, we have developed a direct space algorithm, based on averaging the local environment of the repetitive units building up the structure. The method provides the statistical distribution of the local environments, including the histogram of the nearest-neighbor distance and the number of nearest neighbors. We have analyzed how the different kinds of randomness present in the direct space structure influence the reciprocal space structure. It was found that the Fourier method is useful in the case of a structure randomly deviating from an ordered lattice. The direct space averaging method remains applicable even for structures lacking long-range order. Based on the first Born approximation, a link is established between the reciprocal space image and the optical reflectance spectrum. Results calculated within this framework agree well with measured reflectance spectra because of the small width and moderate refractive index contrast of butterfly scales. By the analysis of the wing scales of Cyanophrys remus and Albulina metallica butterflies, we tested the methods for structures having long-range order, medium-range order, and short-range order.

  8. Order-disorder effects in structure and color relation of photonic-crystal-type nanostructures in butterfly wing scales

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Márk, Géza I.; Vértesy, Zofia; Kertész, Krisztián; Bálint, Zsolt; Biró, László P.

    2009-11-01

    In order to study local and global order in butterfly wing scales possessing structural colors, we have developed a direct space algorithm, based on averaging the local environment of the repetitive units building up the structure. The method provides the statistical distribution of the local environments, including the histogram of the nearest-neighbor distance and the number of nearest neighbors. We have analyzed how the different kinds of randomness present in the direct space structure influence the reciprocal space structure. It was found that the Fourier method is useful in the case of a structure randomly deviating from an ordered lattice. The direct space averaging method remains applicable even for structures lacking long-range order. Based on the first Born approximation, a link is established between the reciprocal space image and the optical reflectance spectrum. Results calculated within this framework agree well with measured reflectance spectra because of the small width and moderate refractive index contrast of butterfly scales. By the analysis of the wing scales of Cyanophrys remus and Albulina metallica butterflies, we tested the methods for structures having long-range order, medium-range order, and short-range order.

  9. Infinitely Robust Order and Local Order-Parameter Tulips in Apollonian Networks with Quenched Disorder

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nadir Kaplan, C.; Hinczewski, Michael; Berker, A. Nihat

    2009-03-01

    For a variety of quenched random spin systems on an Apollonian network, including ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic bond percolation and the Ising spin glass, we find the persistence of ordered phases up to infinite temperature over the entire range of disorder.[1] We develop a renormalization-group technique that yields highly detailed information, including the exact distributions of local magnetizations and local spin-glass order parameters, which turn out to exhibit, as function of temperature, complex and distinctive tulip patterns. [1] C.N. Kaplan, M. Hinczewski, and A.N. Berker, arXiv:0811.3437v1 [cond-mat.dis-nn] (2008).

  10. Evaluation of the persistence of vaccine-induced protection with human vaccines.

    PubMed

    Vidor, E

    2010-01-01

    The persistence of protection induced by vaccines is a key aspect of the implementation of human vaccination policies, particularly for ageing populations. At the time of initial licensure, the duration of protection induced by a vaccine is generally only documented by longitudinal follow up of cohorts of subjects enrolled in the pre-licensure trials over a period of 1-5 years. The follow up of these cohorts provides two types of data: antibody kinetics (or another clinically relevant immunological parameter) over time and the disease incidence. Generally, the latter trials, if implemented during the pre-licensure period, are designed to follow-up cohorts in order to demonstrate vaccine efficacy above the minimal level required for the license. For vaccines already licensed, additional tools exist. The use of immunological surrogate markers of protection is a practical way to monitor the duration of protection. Measuring the persistence of circulating antibodies is widely used in human vaccines. For several vaccines, observed data have allowed the creation of mathematical models to predict the antibody persistence over periods of time longer than those effectively documented. Clinical trials assessing the capacity of the immune system to mount a quick anamnestic response upon re-stimulation a long time after initial priming (measurement of immune memory) is also a tool employed to document the duration of protection. The waning of protection can also be demonstrated by an increase of disease incidence in the subsequent 'time-to-last-vaccine administration' age segments. Seroprevalence studies in a given age group of people that were vaccinated under real-life conditions are another way to document the persistence of protection. Finally, case-control studies in outbreak situations or in situations of persisting endemicity can also be used to document the persistence of the vaccine efficacy. All of these tools are used in the development of new vaccines, and also during their use in the field, in order to develop the best (re)vaccination policies. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Dominant frequency increase rate predicts transition from paroxysmal to long-term persistent atrial fibrillation.

    PubMed

    Martins, Raphael P; Kaur, Kuljeet; Hwang, Elliot; Ramirez, Rafael J; Willis, B Cicero; Filgueiras-Rama, David; Ennis, Steven R; Takemoto, Yoshio; Ponce-Balbuena, Daniela; Zarzoso, Manuel; O'Connell, Ryan P; Musa, Hassan; Guerrero-Serna, Guadalupe; Avula, Uma Mahesh R; Swartz, Michael F; Bhushal, Sandesh; Deo, Makarand; Pandit, Sandeep V; Berenfeld, Omer; Jalife, José

    2014-04-08

    Little is known about the mechanisms underlying the transition from paroxysmal to persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). In an ovine model of long-standing persistent AF we tested the hypothesis that the rate of electric and structural remodeling, assessed by dominant frequency (DF) changes, determines the time at which AF becomes persistent. Self-sustained AF was induced by atrial tachypacing. Seven sheep were euthanized 11.5±2.3 days after the transition to persistent AF and without reversal to sinus rhythm; 7 sheep were euthanized after 341.3±16.7 days of long-standing persistent AF. Seven sham-operated animals were in sinus rhythm for 1 year. DF was monitored continuously in each group. Real-time polymerase chain reaction, Western blotting, patch clamping, and histological analyses were used to determine the changes in functional ion channel expression and structural remodeling. Atrial dilatation, mitral valve regurgitation, myocyte hypertrophy, and atrial fibrosis occurred progressively and became statistically significant after the transition to persistent AF, with no evidence for left ventricular dysfunction. DF increased progressively during the paroxysmal-to-persistent AF transition and stabilized when AF became persistent. Importantly, the rate of DF increase correlated strongly with the time to persistent AF. Significant action potential duration abbreviation, secondary to functional ion channel protein expression changes (CaV1.2, NaV1.5, and KV4.2 decrease; Kir2.3 increase), was already present at the transition and persisted for 1 year of follow up. In the sheep model of long-standing persistent AF, the rate of DF increase predicts the time at which AF stabilizes and becomes persistent, reflecting changes in action potential duration and densities of sodium, L-type calcium, and inward rectifier currents.

  12. Fertile fathoms: Deep reproductive refugia for threatened shallow corals

    PubMed Central

    Holstein, Daniel M.; Smith, Tyler B.; Gyory, Joanna; Paris, Claire B.

    2015-01-01

    The persistence of natural metapopulations may depend on subpopulations that exist at the edges of species ranges, removed from anthropogenic stress. Mesophotic coral ecosystems (30–150 m) are buffered from disturbance by depth and distance, and are potentially massive reservoirs of coral diversity and fecundity; yet we know little about the reproductive capabilities of their constituent species and the potential for these marginal environments to influence patterns of coral reef persistence. We investigated the reproductive performance of the threatened depth-generalist coral Orbicella faveolata over the extent of its vertical range to assess mesophotic contributions to regional larval pools. Over equal habitat area, mesophotic coral populations were found to produce over an order of magnitude more eggs than nearby shallow populations. Positive changes with depth in both population abundance and polyp fecundity contributed to this discrepancy. Relative larval pool contributions of deeper living corals will likely increase as shallow habitats further degrade due to climate change and local habitat degradation. This is a compelling example of the potential for marginal habitat to be critical to metapopulation persistence as reproductive refugia. PMID:26196243

  13. Modeling rainfall-runoff relationship using multivariate GARCH model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Modarres, R.; Ouarda, T. B. M. J.

    2013-08-01

    The traditional hydrologic time series approaches are used for modeling, simulating and forecasting conditional mean of hydrologic variables but neglect their time varying variance or the second order moment. This paper introduces the multivariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (MGARCH) modeling approach to show how the variance-covariance relationship between hydrologic variables varies in time. These approaches are also useful to estimate the dynamic conditional correlation between hydrologic variables. To illustrate the novelty and usefulness of MGARCH models in hydrology, two major types of MGARCH models, the bivariate diagonal VECH and constant conditional correlation (CCC) models are applied to show the variance-covariance structure and cdynamic correlation in a rainfall-runoff process. The bivariate diagonal VECH-GARCH(1,1) and CCC-GARCH(1,1) models indicated both short-run and long-run persistency in the conditional variance-covariance matrix of the rainfall-runoff process. The conditional variance of rainfall appears to have a stronger persistency, especially long-run persistency, than the conditional variance of streamflow which shows a short-lived drastic increasing pattern and a stronger short-run persistency. The conditional covariance and conditional correlation coefficients have different features for each bivariate rainfall-runoff process with different degrees of stationarity and dynamic nonlinearity. The spatial and temporal pattern of variance-covariance features may reflect the signature of different physical and hydrological variables such as drainage area, topography, soil moisture and ground water fluctuations on the strength, stationarity and nonlinearity of the conditional variance-covariance for a rainfall-runoff process.

  14. Obesity therapy: altering the energy intake-and-expenditure balance sheet.

    PubMed

    Crowley, Vivion E F; Yeo, Giles S H; O'Rahilly, Stephen

    2002-04-01

    Obesity is associated with numerous health complications, which range from non-fatal debilitating conditions such as osteoarthritis, to life-threatening chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. The psychological consequences of obesity can range from lowered self-esteem to clinical depression. Despite the high prevalence of obesity and the many advances in our understanding of how it develops, current therapies have persistently failed to achieve long-term success. This review focuses on how fat mass can be reduced by altering the balance between energy intake and expenditure.

  15. Order of wetting transitions in electrolyte solutions.

    PubMed

    Ibagon, Ingrid; Bier, Markus; Dietrich, S

    2014-05-07

    For wetting films in dilute electrolyte solutions close to charged walls we present analytic expressions for their effective interface potentials. The analysis of these expressions renders the conditions under which corresponding wetting transitions can be first- or second-order. Within mean field theory we consider two models, one with short- and one with long-ranged solvent-solvent and solvent-wall interactions. The analytic results reveal in a transparent way that wetting transitions in electrolyte solutions, which occur far away from their critical point (i.e., the bulk correlation length is less than half of the Debye length) are always first-order if the solvent-solvent and solvent-wall interactions are short-ranged. In contrast, wetting transitions close to the bulk critical point of the solvent (i.e., the bulk correlation length is larger than the Debye length) exhibit the same wetting behavior as the pure, i.e., salt-free, solvent. If the salt-free solvent is governed by long-ranged solvent-solvent as well as long-ranged solvent-wall interactions and exhibits critical wetting, adding salt can cause the occurrence of an ion-induced first-order thin-thick transition which precedes the subsequent continuous wetting as for the salt-free solvent.

  16. Strong self-limitation promotes the persistence of rare species.

    PubMed

    Yenni, Glenda; Adler, Peter B; Ernest, S K Morgan

    2012-03-01

    Theory has recognized a combination of niche and neutral processes each contributing, with varying importance, to species coexistence. However, long-term persistence of rare species has been difficult to produce in trait-based models of coexistence that incorporate stochastic dynamics, raising questions about how rare species persist despite such variability. Following recent evidence that rare species may experience significantly different population dynamics than dominant species, we use a plant community model to simulate the effect of disproportionately strong negative frequency dependence on the long-term persistence of the rare species in a simulated community. This strong self-limitation produces long persistence times for the rare competitors, which otherwise succumb quickly to stochastic extinction. The results suggest that the mechanism causing species to be rare in this case is the same mechanism allowing those species to persist.

  17. A spatial risk assessment of bighorn sheep extirpation by grazing domestic sheep on public lands.

    PubMed

    Carpenter, Tim E; Coggins, Victor L; McCarthy, Clinton; O'Brien, Chans S; O'Brien, Joshua M; Schommer, Timothy J

    2014-04-01

    Bighorn sheep currently occupy just 30% of their historic distribution, and persist in populations less than 5% as abundant overall as their early 19th century counterparts. Present-day recovery of bighorn sheep populations is in large part limited by periodic outbreaks of respiratory disease, which can be transmitted to bighorn sheep via contact with domestic sheep grazing in their vicinity. In order to assess the viability of bighorn sheep populations on the Payette National Forest (PNF) under several alternative proposals for domestic sheep grazing, we developed a series of interlinked models. Using telemetry and habitat data, we characterized herd home ranges and foray movements of bighorn sheep from their home ranges. Combining foray model movement estimates with known domestic sheep grazing areas (allotments), a Risk of Contact Model estimated bighorn sheep contact rates with domestic sheep allotments. Finally, we used demographic and epidemiologic data to construct population and disease transmission models (Disease Model), which we used to estimate bighorn sheep persistence under each alternative grazing scenario. Depending on the probability of disease transmission following interspecies contact, extirpation probabilities for the seven bighorn sheep herds examined here ranged from 20% to 100%. The Disease Model allowed us to assess the probabilities that varied domestic sheep management scenarios would support persistent populations of free-ranging bighorn sheep. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Using torsional forces to explain the gradient temperature Raman spectra of endosulfan isomers and its irreversible isomerization

    USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

    Since the 1950's, the broad-spectrum, organochlorine insecticide endosulfan (6,7,8, 9,10,10-hexachloro-1,5,5a,6,9,9a-hexahydro-6,9-methano-2,4,3-benzodioxathiepine-3-oxide) has been used on numerous crops. Due to its persistence, bioaccumulation, long-range transport, and adverse effects to human he...

  19. Case study of water-soluble metal containing organic constituents of biomass burning aerosol

    Treesearch

    Alexandra L. Chang-Graham; Luisa T. M. Profeta; Timothy J. Johnson; Robert J. Yokelson; Alexander Laskin; Julia Laskin

    2011-01-01

    Natural and prescribed biomass fires are a major source of aerosols that may persist in the atmosphere for several weeks. Biomass burning aerosols (BBA) can be associated with long-range transport of water-soluble N-, S-, P-, and metal-containing species. In this study, BBA samples were collected using a particle-into-liquid sampler (PILS) from laboratory burns of...

  20. Modified round block mastopexy versus traditional round block mastopexy.

    PubMed

    Sterodimas, A; Nicaretta, B; Boriani, F

    2015-01-01

    Breast ptosis may be caused by several factors, including significant weight loss, pregnancy, long breastfeeding periods, and involution of the postmenopausal breast tissue. The authors performed a prospective study to evaluate patient satisfaction and the rate of complications after modified round block mastopexy versus traditional round block mastopexy. Forty-four patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria for undergoing round block mastopexy in a prospective randomized controlled study performed from 2007 to 2008. All the patients received polyurethane silicone implants. Group A included patients who underwent the traditional round block technique described by Benelli. Group B included patients who underwent the traditional round block and 4 cardinal glando-glandular permanent sutures. The overall satisfaction with body appearance after breast mastopexy was rated on a scale of 1 (poor), 2 (fair), 3 (good), 4 (very good), and 5 (excellent). Group A patient ages ranged from 28 to 52 years and in Group B ranged from 29 to 49 years. The mean implant volume was 215 cc in both Groups. The complication and satisfaction rates for both Groups are reported. The combination of the cardinal glandulo-glandular sutures along with the traditional round block appears to be key to preventing the areolar enlargement and persistent breast ptosis. The satisfaction rates in patients who underwent the modified round mastopexy appear superior when compared to the traditional round block mastopexy. Furhter long-term follow-up need to be performed in order to confirm the favorable results seen in this series of cases.

  1. Detection and Estimation of 2-D Distributions of Greenhouse Gas Source Concentrations and Emissions over Complex Urban Environments and Industrial Sites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zaccheo, T. S.; Pernini, T.; Dobler, J. T.; Blume, N.; Braun, M.

    2017-12-01

    This work highlights the use of the greenhouse-gas laser imaging tomography experiment (GreenLITETM) data in conjunction with a sparse tomography approach to identify and quantify both urban and industrial sources of CO2 and CH4. The GreenLITETM system provides a user-defined set of time-sequenced intersecting chords or integrated column measurements at a fixed height through a quasi-horizontal plane of interest. This plane, with unobstructed views along the lines of sight, may range from complex industrial facilities to a small city scale or urban sector. The continuous time phased absorption measurements are converted to column concentrations and combined with a plume based model to estimate the 2-D distribution of gas concentration over extended areas ranging from 0.04-25 km2. Finally, these 2-D maps of concentration are combined with ancillary meteorological and atmospheric data to identify potential emission sources and provide first order estimates of their associated fluxes. In this presentation, we will provide a brief overview of the systems and results from both controlled release experiments and a long-term system deployment in Paris, FR. These results provide a quantitative assessment of the system's ability to detect and estimate CO2 and CH4 sources, and demonstrate its ability to perform long-term autonomous monitoring and quantification of either persistent or sporadic emissions that may have both health and safety as well as environmental impacts.

  2. Range-wide patterns of greater sage-grouse persistence

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Aldridge, Cameron L.; Nielsen, Scott E.; Beyer, Hawthorne L.; Boyce, Mark S.; Connelly, John W.; Knick, Steven T.; Schroeder, Michael A.

    2008-01-01

    Aim: Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), a shrub-steppe obligate species of western North America, currently occupies only half its historical range. Here we examine how broad-scale, long-term trends in landscape condition have affected range contraction. Location: Sagebrush biome of the western USA. Methods: Logistic regression was used to assess persistence and extirpation of greater sage-grouse range based on landscape conditions measured by human population (density and population change), vegetation (percentage of sagebrush habitat), roads (density of and distance to roads), agriculture (cropland, farmland and cattle density), climate (number of severe and extreme droughts) and range periphery. Model predictions were used to identify areas where future extirpations can be expected, while also explaining possible causes of past extirpations. Results: Greater sage-grouse persistence and extirpation were significantly related to sagebrush habitat, cultivated cropland, human population density in 1950, prevalence of severe droughts and historical range periphery. Extirpation of sage-grouse was most likely in areas having at least four persons per square kilometre in 1950, 25% cultivated cropland in 2002 or the presence of three or more severe droughts per decade. In contrast, persistence of sage-grouse was expected when at least 30 km from historical range edge and in habitats containing at least 25% sagebrush cover within 30 km. Extirpation was most often explained (35%) by the combined effects of peripherality (within 30 km of range edge) and lack of sagebrush cover (less than 25% within 30 km). Based on patterns of prior extirpation and model predictions, we predict that 29% of remaining range may be at risk. Main Conclusions: Spatial patterns in greater sage-grouse range contraction can be explained by widely available landscape variables that describe patterns of remaining sagebrush habitat and loss due to cultivation, climatic trends, human population growth and peripherality of populations. However, future range loss may relate less to historical mechanisms and more to recent changes in land use and habitat condition, including energy developments and invasions by non-native species such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) and West Nile virus. In conjunction with local measures of population performance, landscape-scale predictions of future range loss may be useful for prioritizing management and protection. Our results suggest that initial conservation efforts should focus on maintaining large expanses of sagebrush habitat, enhancing quality of existing habitats, and increasing habitat connectivity.

  3. Seasonal drought predictability in Portugal using statistical-dynamical techniques

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ribeiro, A. F. S.; Pires, C. A. L.

    2016-08-01

    Atmospheric forecasting and predictability are important to promote adaption and mitigation measures in order to minimize drought impacts. This study estimates hybrid (statistical-dynamical) long-range forecasts of the regional drought index SPI (3-months) over homogeneous regions from mainland Portugal, based on forecasts from the UKMO operational forecasting system, with lead-times up to 6 months. ERA-Interim reanalysis data is used for the purpose of building a set of SPI predictors integrating recent past information prior to the forecast launching. Then, the advantage of combining predictors with both dynamical and statistical background in the prediction of drought conditions at different lags is evaluated. A two-step hybridization procedure is performed, in which both forecasted and observed 500 hPa geopotential height fields are subjected to a PCA in order to use forecasted PCs and persistent PCs as predictors. A second hybridization step consists on a statistical/hybrid downscaling to the regional SPI, based on regression techniques, after the pre-selection of the statistically significant predictors. The SPI forecasts and the added value of combining dynamical and statistical methods are evaluated in cross-validation mode, using the R2 and binary event scores. Results are obtained for the four seasons and it was found that winter is the most predictable season, and that most of the predictive power is on the large-scale fields from past observations. The hybridization improves the downscaling based on the forecasted PCs, since they provide complementary information (though modest) beyond that of persistent PCs. These findings provide clues about the predictability of the SPI, particularly in Portugal, and may contribute to the predictability of crops yields and to some guidance on users (such as farmers) decision making process.

  4. Two modes of longe-range orientation of DNA bases realized upon compaction.

    PubMed Central

    Yevdokimov YuM; Salyanov, V I; Berg, H

    1981-01-01

    Formation of compact particles from linear DNA-anthracycline complexes is accompanied by appearance of intense bands in the CD spectra in the region of absorption of DNA bases (UV-region) and in the region of absorption of anthracycline chromophores (visible region). The intense (positive or negative) bands in the region of anthracycline absorption demonstrate an ordered helical location of anthracycline molecules on the DNA template. This fact, in its turn, is related to formation of the DNA superstructure in PEG-containing water-salt solutions with a long-range orientation of nitrogen bases. Possible types of DNA superstructures and the relation between the local- and the long-range order of bases in the DNA superstructure are discussed. PMID:6938929

  5. The Sleeping Giant, NuSTAR Observations of magnetar SGR 1806-20

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Younes, George; Baring, Matthew; Kouveliotou, Chryssa; Harding, Alice; Donavan, Sophia; Gogus, Ersin; Kaspi, Victoria; Granot, Jonathan

    2018-01-01

    Magnetars are a subclass of isolated neutron stars known for their extreme transient behavior, on different time-scales ranging from milliseconds to years. On the seconds time-scales, almost all magnetars have been observed to enter bursting episodes where they emit 10s to 100s of short (~0.1 s), bright (1.0e37-1.0e41 erg), hard X-ray bursts within the span of days to weeks. These episodes are usually accompanied by an alteration of the source persistent X-ray emission, during which the spectral and temporal properties of the magnetar change drastically. The source persistent X-ray flux increases, occasionally by as many as three orders of magnitude, while its timing properties vary, either in the form of a glitch or a more gradual change in the spin-down rate. Three magnetars have so far shown a Gaint Flare, an immense flare of energy (E~1.0e46 erg) lasting for few hundred seconds. I will report on the analysis of 5 NuSTAR observations of SGR 1806-20, the last magnetar to emit a giant flare (December 2004), taken between April 2015 to April 2016. I will discuss the long-term temporal and spectral behavior of the source from 1993 to 2016, i.e., prior, during, and after its major bursting bursting episode of 2004.

  6. High throughput parallel backside contacting and periodic texturing for high-efficiency solar cells

    DOEpatents

    Daniel, Claus; Blue, Craig A.; Ott, Ronald D.

    2014-08-19

    Disclosed are configurations of long-range ordered features of solar cell materials, and methods for forming same. Some features include electrical access openings through a backing layer to a photovoltaic material in the solar cell. Some features include textured features disposed adjacent a surface of a solar cell material. Typically the long-range ordered features are formed by ablating the solar cell material with a laser interference pattern from at least two laser beams.

  7. Stochastic and compensatory effects limit persistence of variation in body mass of young caribou

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Dale, Bruce W.; Adams, Layne G.; Collins, William B.; Joly, Kyle; Valkenburg, Patrick; Tobey, Robert

    2008-01-01

    Nutritional restriction during growth can have short- and long-term effects on fitness; however, animals inhabiting uncertain environments may exhibit adaptations to cope with variation in food availability. We examined changes in body mass in free-ranging female caribou (Rangifer tarandus) by measuring mass at birth and at 4, 11, and 16 months of age to evaluate the relative importance of seasonal nutrition to growth, the persistence of cohort-specific variation in body mass through time, and compensatory growth of individuals. Relative mean body mass of cohorts did not persist through time. Compensatory growth of smaller individuals was not observed in summer; however, small calves exhibited more positive change in body mass than did large calves. Compensation occurred during periods of nutritional restriction (winter) rather than during periods of rapid growth (summer) thus differing from the conventional view of compensatory growth.

  8. Understanding the multifractality in portfolio excess returns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Cheng; Wang, Yudong

    2017-01-01

    The multifractality in stock returns have been investigated extensively. However, whether the autocorrelations in portfolio returns are multifractal have not been considered in the literature. In this paper, we detect multifractal behavior of returns of portfolios constructed based on two popular trading rules, size and book-to-market (BM) ratio. Using the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis, we find that the portfolio returns are significantly multifractal and the multifractality is mainly attributed to long-range dependence. We also investigate the multifractal cross-correlation between portfolio return and market average return using the detrended cross-correlation analysis. Our results show that the cross-correlations of small fluctuations are persistent, while those of large fluctuations are anti-persistent.

  9. How to Sync to the Beat of a Persistent Fractal Metronome without Falling Off the Treadmill?

    PubMed Central

    Roerdink, Melvyn; Daffertshofer, Andreas; Marmelat, Vivien; Beek, Peter J.

    2015-01-01

    In rehabilitation, rhythmic acoustic cues are often used to improve gait. However, stride-time fluctuations become anti-persistent with such pacing, thereby deviating from the characteristic persistent long-range correlations in stride times of self-paced walking healthy adults. Recent studies therefore experimented with metronomes with persistence in interbeat intervals and successfully evoked persistent stride-time fluctuations. The objective of this study was to examine how participants couple their gait to a persistent metronome, evoking persistently longer or shorter stride times over multiple consecutive strides, without wandering off the treadmill. Twelve healthy participants walked on a treadmill in self-paced, isochronously paced and non-isochronously paced conditions, the latter with anti-persistent, uncorrelated and persistent correlations in interbeat intervals. Stride-to-stride fluctuations of stride times, stride lengths and stride speeds were assessed with detrended fluctuation analysis, in conjunction with an examination of the coupling between stride times and stride lengths. Stride-speed fluctuations were anti-persistent for all conditions. Stride-time and stride-length fluctuations were persistent for self-paced walking and anti-persistent for isochronous pacing. Both stride times and stride lengths changed from anti-persistence to persistence over the four non-isochronous metronome conditions, accompanied by an increasingly stronger coupling between these gait parameters, with peak values for the persistent metronomes. These results revealed that participants were able to follow the beat of a persistent metronome without falling off the treadmill by strongly coupling stride-length fluctuations to the stride-time fluctuations elicited by persistent metronomes, so as to prevent large positional displacements along the treadmill. For self-paced walking, in contrast, this coupling was very weak. In combination, these results challenge the premise that persistent metronomes in gait rehabilitation would evoke stride-to-stride dynamics reminiscent of self-paced walking healthy adults. Future studies are recommended to include an analysis of the interrelation between stride times and stride lengths in addition to the correlational structure of either one in isolation. PMID:26230254

  10. How to Sync to the Beat of a Persistent Fractal Metronome without Falling Off the Treadmill?

    PubMed

    Roerdink, Melvyn; Daffertshofer, Andreas; Marmelat, Vivien; Beek, Peter J

    2015-01-01

    In rehabilitation, rhythmic acoustic cues are often used to improve gait. However, stride-time fluctuations become anti-persistent with such pacing, thereby deviating from the characteristic persistent long-range correlations in stride times of self-paced walking healthy adults. Recent studies therefore experimented with metronomes with persistence in interbeat intervals and successfully evoked persistent stride-time fluctuations. The objective of this study was to examine how participants couple their gait to a persistent metronome, evoking persistently longer or shorter stride times over multiple consecutive strides, without wandering off the treadmill. Twelve healthy participants walked on a treadmill in self-paced, isochronously paced and non-isochronously paced conditions, the latter with anti-persistent, uncorrelated and persistent correlations in interbeat intervals. Stride-to-stride fluctuations of stride times, stride lengths and stride speeds were assessed with detrended fluctuation analysis, in conjunction with an examination of the coupling between stride times and stride lengths. Stride-speed fluctuations were anti-persistent for all conditions. Stride-time and stride-length fluctuations were persistent for self-paced walking and anti-persistent for isochronous pacing. Both stride times and stride lengths changed from anti-persistence to persistence over the four non-isochronous metronome conditions, accompanied by an increasingly stronger coupling between these gait parameters, with peak values for the persistent metronomes. These results revealed that participants were able to follow the beat of a persistent metronome without falling off the treadmill by strongly coupling stride-length fluctuations to the stride-time fluctuations elicited by persistent metronomes, so as to prevent large positional displacements along the treadmill. For self-paced walking, in contrast, this coupling was very weak. In combination, these results challenge the premise that persistent metronomes in gait rehabilitation would evoke stride-to-stride dynamics reminiscent of self-paced walking healthy adults. Future studies are recommended to include an analysis of the interrelation between stride times and stride lengths in addition to the correlational structure of either one in isolation.

  11. Investigating the Hurst-Kolmogorov behavior of Sicily's climatological time series

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giglioni, M.; Lombardo, F.; Mineo, C.

    2017-07-01

    There is evidence that many geophysical processesexhibit long-term persistence(LTP, also calledlong-range dependence). Overlooking this type of behaviorcan lead to wrong inferences and false claims about the properties of processes studied in the fields of hydrology, hydraulics, meteorology, and engineering. In this light, the present study investigates the statistical properties of precipitation and temperature datasets from Sicily (Italy),in order to analyzethe presence of LTP. The case study region(i.e., the largest island in the Mediterranean)is characterized by typical Mediterranean climate with mild winter and severe drought conditions in summer time. The latter have become one of the most challenging issuesall over the Mediterranean region due to the growth of population, contamination of water supplies, and expansion of agricultural, energy and industrial sectors. The severity and duration of the drought eventsare clearly influenced by the presence of LTP in precipitation and temperature processes. Improving understanding ofsuch phenomenonis therefore central to new research challenges related to the estimation and management of water resources.

  12. Polar Fluctuations in Metal Halide Perovskites Uncovered by Acoustic Phonon Anomalies

    DOE PAGES

    Guo, Peijun; Xia, Yi; Gong, Jue; ...

    2017-09-28

    Solution-processable metal-halide perovskites (MHPs) offer great promise for efficient light harvesting and emitting devices due to their long carrier lifetime and superior carrier transport characteristics. Ferroelectric effects, a hallmark of traditional oxide perovskites, was proposed to be a mechanism to suppress carrier recombination and enhance charge transport in MHPs, but the existence and influence of such polar order is still of considerable debate. Here we performed transient reflection measurements on single crystals of both inorganic and organic-inorganic (hybrid) MHPs over a range of temperatures, and demonstrate significant phonon softening in the cubic phases close to the cubic-to-tetragonal phase transition temperatures.more » Such phonon softening indicates the formation of polar domains, which grow in size upon cooling and can persist in the low-temperature tetragonal and orthorhombic phases. Our results link the extraordinary electronic properties of MHPs to the spontaneous polarizations which can contribute to more efficient charge separation and characteristics of an indirect bandgap.« less

  13. Escape from harm: linking affective vision and motor responses during active avoidance

    PubMed Central

    Keil, Andreas

    2014-01-01

    When organisms confront unpleasant objects in their natural environments, they engage in behaviors that allow them to avoid aversive outcomes. Here, we linked visual processing of threat to its behavioral consequences by including a motor response that terminated exposure to an aversive event. Dense-array steady-state visual evoked potentials were recorded in response to conditioned threat and safety signals viewed in active or passive behavioral contexts. The amplitude of neuronal responses in visual cortex increased additively, as a function of emotional value and action relevance. The gain in local cortical population activity for threat relative to safety cues persisted when aversive reinforcement was behaviorally terminated, suggesting a lingering emotionally based response amplification within the visual system. Distinct patterns of long-range neural synchrony emerged between the visual cortex and extravisual regions. Increased coupling between visual and higher-order structures was observed specifically during active perception of threat, consistent with a reorganization of neuronal populations involved in linking sensory processing to action preparation. PMID:24493849

  14. Exploring a strongly non-Markovian behavior

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Alba, Vasyl; Berman, Gordon; Bialek, William; Shaevitz, Joshua

    Is there some simplicity or universality underlying the complexities of natural animal behavior? Using the walking fruit fly as a model system, we have shown that unconstrained behaviors can be categorized into roughly one hundred discrete states, which all individuals from a single species visit repeatedly. In each state, the fly executes stereotyped movements, and the transitions between states are organized hierarchically. The sequences of states, however, are strongly non-Markovian: correlations persist for orders of magnitude longer than expected from the state-to-state transition probabilities, and there are hints of power law decay. But with 100 states, further analysis is difficult. Here we develop a generalization of the information bottleneck method to compress these states into a more compact description that preserves as much of the temporal correlations as possible. We find that, even on compressing down to just two states, this coarse grained description of behavior captures the long ranged correlations. Power law decays are clearer in this reduced representation, which opens the way for more quantitative analysis.

  15. Configurations and Dynamics of Semi-Flexible Polymers in Good and Poor Solvents

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Larson, Ronald

    We develop coarse-graining procedures for determining the conformational and dynamic behavior of semi-flexible chains with and without flow using Brownian dynamics (BD) simulations that are insensitive to the degree of coarse-graining. In the absence of flow, in a poor solvent, we find three main collapsed states: torus, bundle, and globule over a range of dimensionless ratios of the three energy parameters, namely solvent-polymer surface energy, energy of polymer folds, and polymer bending energy or persistence length. A theoretical phase diagram, confirmed by BD simulations, captures the general phase behavior of a single long chain (>10 Kuhn lengths) at moderately high (order unity) dimensionless temperature, which is the ratio of thermal energy to the attractive interaction between neighboring monomers. We also find converged results for polymer conformations in shear or extensional flow in solvents of various qualities and determine scaling laws for chain dimensions for low, moderate, and high Weissenberg numbers Wi. We also derive scaling laws to describe chains dimensions and tumbling rates in these regimes.

  16. Electron spin resonance for the detection of long-range spin nematic order

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Furuya, Shunsuke C.; Momoi, Tsutomu

    2018-03-01

    Spin nematic phase is a quantum magnetic phase characterized by a quadrupolar order parameter. Since the quadrupole operators are directly coupled to neither the magnetic field nor the neutron, currently, it is an important issue to develop a method for detecting the long-range spin nematic order. In this paper, we propose that electron spin resonance (ESR) measurements enable us to detect the long-range spin nematic order. We show that the frequency of the paramagnetic resonance peak in the ESR spectrum is shifted by the ferroquadrupolar order parameter together with other quantities. The ferroquadrupolar order parameter is extractable from the angular dependence of the frequency shift. In contrast, the antiferroquadrupolar order parameter is usually invisible in the frequency shift. Instead, the long-range antiferroquadrupolar order yields a characteristic resonance peak in the ESR spectrum, which we call a magnon-pair resonance peak. This resonance corresponds to the excitation of the bound magnon pair at the wave vector k =0 . Reflecting the condensation of bound magnon pairs, the field dependence of the magnon-pair resonance frequency shows a singular upturn at the saturation field. Moreover, the intensity of the magnon-pair resonance peak shows a characteristic angular dependence and it vanishes when the magnetic field is parallel to one of the axes that diagonalize the weak anisotropic interactions. We confirm these general properties of the magnon-pair resonance peak in the spin nematic phase by studying an S =1 bilinear-biquadratic model on the square lattice in the linear flavor-wave approximation. In addition, we argue applications to the S =1/2 frustrated ferromagnets and also the S =1/2 orthogonal dimer spin system SrCu2(BO3)2, both of which are candidate materials of spin nematics. Our theory for the antiferroquadrupolar ordered phase is consistent with many features of the magnon-pair resonance peak experimentally observed in the low-magnetization regime of SrCu2(BO3)2.

  17. Effects of Ionic Dependence of DNA Persistence Length on the DNA Condensation at Room Temperature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mao, Wei; Liu, Yan-Hui; Hu, Lin; Xu, Hou-Qiang

    2016-05-01

    DNA persistence length is a key parameter for quantitative interpretation of the conformational properties of DNA and related to the bending rigidity of DNA. A series of experiments pointed out that, in the DNA condensation process by multivalent cations, the condensed DNA takes elongated coil or compact globule states and the population of the compact globule states increases with an increase in ionic concentration. At the same time, single molecule experiments carried out in solution with multivalent cations (such as spermidine, spermine) indicated that DNA persistence length strongly depends on the ionic concentration. In order to revolve the effects of ionic concentration dependence of persistence length on DNA condensation, a model including the ionic concentration dependence of persistence length and strong correlation of multivalent cation on DNA is provided. The autocorrelation function of the tangent vectors is found as an effective way to detect the ionic concentration dependence of toroidal conformations. With an increase in ion concentration, the first periodic oscillation contained in the autocorrelation function shifts, the number of segment contained in the first periodic oscillation decreases gradually. According to the experiments, the average long-axis length is defined to estimate the ionic concentration dependence of condensation process further. The relation between long-axis length and ionic concentration matches the experimental results qualitatively. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant Nos. 11047022, 11204045, 11464004 and 31360215; The Research Foundation from Ministry of Education of China (212152), Guizhou Provincial Tracking Key Program of Social Development (SY20123089, SZ20113069); The General Financial Grant from the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2014M562341); The Research Foundation for Young University Teachers from Guizhou University (201311); The West Light Foundation (2015) and College Innovation Talent Team of Guizhou Province, (2014) 32

  18. Long-Range Rapidity Correlations in Heavy-Light Ion Collisions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kovchegov, Yuri; Wertepny, Douglas

    2013-04-01

    We study two-particle long-range rapidity correlations arising in the early stages of heavy ion collisions in the saturation/Color Glass Condensate framework, assuming for simplicity that one colliding nucleus is much larger than the other. We calculate the two-gluon production cross section while including all-order saturation effects in the heavy nucleus with the lowest-order rescattering in the lighter nucleus. We find four types of correlations in the two-gluon production cross section: (i) geometric correlations, (ii) HBT correlations, (iii) back-to-back correlations, and (iv) near-side azimuthal correlations which are long-range in rapidity. The geometric correlations (i) are due to the fact that nucleons are correlated by simply being confined within the same nucleus and may lead to long-range rapidity correlations for the produced particles without strong azimuthal angle dependence. Somewhat surprisingly, long-range rapidity correlations (iii) and (iv) have exactly the same amplitudes along with azimuthal and rapidity shapes: one centered around δφ=π with the other one centered around δφ=0 (here δφ is the azimuthal angle between the two produced gluons). This prediction is in agreement with the recent ALICE p+Pb data.

  19. Short, intermediate and long range order in amorphous ices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martelli, Fausto; Torquato, Salvatore; Giovanbattista, Nicolas; Car, Roberto

    Water exhibits polyamorphism, i.e., it exists in more than one amorphous state. The most common forms of glassy water are the low-density amorphous (LDA) and the high-density amorphous (HDA) ices. LDA, the most abundant form of ice in the Universe, transforms into HDA upon isothermal compression. We model the transformation of LDA into HDA under isothermal compression with classical molecular dynamics simulations. We analyze the molecular structures with a recently introduced scalar order metric to measure short and intermediate range order. In addition, we rank the structures by their degree of hyperuniformity, i.e.,the extent to which long range density fluctuations are suppressed. F.M. and R.C. acknowledge support from the Department of Energy (DOE) under Grant No. DE-SC0008626.

  20. Charge ordering in ionic fluids mediate repulsive surface interactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dasbiswas, Kinjal; Ludwig, Nicholas B.; Zhang, Hao; Talapin, Dmitri; Vaikuntanathan, Suri

    Recent experiments on ionic fluids, such as surface force measurements in organic ionic liquids and the observation of colloidal stability in inorganic molten salts, suggest the presence of long-ranged repulsive forces. These cannot be explained within the classical Debye-Hückel theory for dilute electrolytes. We argue that such repulsive interactions can arise from long-range (several nm) charge density oscillations induced by a surface that preferentially binds one of the ionic species in an ionic fluid. We present a continuum theory that accounts for such charge layering based on a frustrated Ising model that incorporates both long-range Coulombic and short-range steric interactions. The mean-field analytic treatment qualitatively matches results from molecular simulations. A careful analysis of the ionic correlation functions arising from such charge ordering may also explain the long electrostatic screening lengths observed in various ionic fluids and their non-monotonic dependence on the electrolyte concentration. We acknowledge the University of Chicago for support.

  1. Direct Immersion Annealing of Thin Block Copolymer Films

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Modi, Arvind; Bhaway, Sarang M.; Vogt, Bryan D.

    2015-09-09

    We demonstrate ordering of thin block copolymer (BCP) films via direct immersion annealing (DIA) at enhanced rate leading to stable morphologies. The BCP films are immersed in carefully selected mixtures of good and marginal solvents that can impart enhanced polymer mobility, while inhibiting film dissolution. DIA is compatible with roll-to-roll assembly manufacturing and has distinct advantages over conventional thermal annealing and batch processing solvent-vapor annealing methods. We identify three solvent composition-dependent BCP film ordering regimes in DIA for the weakly interacting polystyrene–poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS–PMMA) system: rapid short-range order, optimal long-range order, and a film instability regime. Kinetic studies in themore » “optimal long-range order” processing regime as a function of temperature indicate a significant reduction of activation energy for BCP grain growth compared to oven annealing at conventional temperatures. An attractive feature of DIA is its robustness to ordering other BCP (e.g. PS-P2VP) and PS-PMMA systems exhibiting spherical, lamellar and cylindrical ordering.« less

  2. BDNF is essential to promote persistence of long-term memory storage

    PubMed Central

    Bekinschtein, Pedro; Cammarota, Martín; Katche, Cynthia; Slipczuk, Leandro; Rossato, Janine I.; Goldin, Andrea; Izquierdo, Ivan; Medina, Jorge H.

    2008-01-01

    Persistence is a characteristic attribute of long-term memories (LTMs). However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms that mediate this process. We recently showed that persistence of LTM requires a late protein synthesis- and BDNF-dependent phase in the hippocampus. Here, we show that intrahippocampal delivery of BDNF reverses the deficit in memory persistence caused by inhibition of hippocampal protein synthesis. Importantly, we demonstrate that BDNF induces memory persistence by itself, transforming a nonlasting LTM trace into a persistent one in an ERK-dependent manner. Thus, BDNF is not only necessary, but sufficient to induce a late postacquisition phase in the hippocampus essential for persistence of LTM storage. PMID:18263738

  3. Fe-based long range ordered alloys

    DOEpatents

    Liu, Chain T; Inouye, Henry; Schaffhauser, Anthony C.

    1980-01-01

    Malleable long range ordered alloys having high critical ordering temperatures exist in the V(Co,Fe).sub.3 and V(Co,Fe,Ni).sub.3 system having the composition comprising by weight 22-23% V, 35-50% Fe, 0-22% Co and 19-40% Ni with an electron density no greater than 8.00. Excellent high temperature properties occur in alloys having compositions comprising by weight 22-23% V, 35-45% Fe, 0-10% Co, 25-35% Ni; 22-23% V, 28-33% Ni and the remainder Fe; and 22-23% V, 19-22% Ni, 19-22% Co and the remainder Fe. The alloys are fabricable by casting, deforming and annealing for sufficient time to provide ordered structure.

  4. Extinction debt: a challenge for biodiversity conservation.

    PubMed

    Kuussaari, Mikko; Bommarco, Riccardo; Heikkinen, Risto K; Helm, Aveliina; Krauss, Jochen; Lindborg, Regina; Ockinger, Erik; Pärtel, Meelis; Pino, Joan; Rodà, Ferran; Stefanescu, Constantí; Teder, Tiit; Zobel, Martin; Steffan-Dewenter, Ingolf

    2009-10-01

    Local extinction of species can occur with a substantial delay following habitat loss or degradation. Accumulating evidence suggests that such extinction debts pose a significant but often unrecognized challenge for biodiversity conservation across a wide range of taxa and ecosystems. Species with long generation times and populations near their extinction threshold are most likely to have an extinction debt. However, as long as a species that is predicted to become extinct still persists, there is time for conservation measures such as habitat restoration and landscape management. Standardized long-term monitoring, more high-quality empirical studies on different taxa and ecosystems and further development of analytical methods will help to better quantify extinction debt and protect biodiversity.

  5. Impacts of persistent general and site-specific pain on activities of daily living and physical performance: A prospective analysis of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

    PubMed

    Yiengprugsawan, Vasoontara; Steptoe, Andrew

    2018-03-23

    Pain is an increasingly common phenomenon as people age; pain over a long period can result in limited functioning. The present study investigated the impacts of general and multisite-specific pain on activities of daily living and physical performance among older adults. Data were analyzed from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a representative sample of the population aged ≥50 years. Face-to-face interview and nurse records were used from waves 2-6 (2004-2012) for analyses. General and site-specific pain (back, hip and knee) were measured biennially between 2004 and 2008 (n = 5010). Impaired activity of daily living and physical performance measures (chair rise and grip strength) between 2008 and 2012 were aggregated across assessments as outcomes. Multinomial logistic regressions were used for the former and linear regression for the latter, adjusting for potential covariates. General pain (moderate-to-severe) was prevalent, with close to one-quarter of participants reporting pain at least twice during the follow-up period. Multisite pain reports were strong predictors of subsequent limited activities of daily living (adjusted odds ratio range 1.86-3.97 for back and hip, 2.04-4.19 for back and knee, and 2.08-5.16 for hip and knee). Persistent pain was also strongly associated with worse physical performance outcomes. Our data confirm the longitudinal impacts of persistent pain among older adults. The findings highlight the value of monitoring and management of both general and site-specific pain in order to promote sustained independence at older ages. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; ••: ••-••. © 2018 Japan Geriatrics Society.

  6. 3D seismic evidence of buried iceberg ploughmarks from the mid-Norwegian continental margin reveals largely persistent North Atlantic Current through the Quaternary.

    PubMed

    Montelli, A; Dowdeswell, J A; Ottesen, D; Johansen, S E

    2018-05-01

    Over 7500 buried linear and curvilinear depressions interpreted as iceberg ploughmarks were identified within the Quaternary Naust Formation from an extensive three-dimensional seismic dataset that covers ~ 40,000 km 2 of the mid-Norwegian continental margin. The morphology and net orientation of ploughmarks were mapped and analysed. These features are up to 28 km long, 700 m wide and are incised up to 31 m deep. On average, ploughmarks are incised 5 m deep, with median width of 185 m and median lengths ranging from 1.2 to 2.7 km for individual palaeo-surfaces. Width to depth ratio ranges from 8:1 to 400:1 and is on average 36:1. The presence of ploughmarks buried deeply within some palaeo-slope surfaces implies the occasional presence of very large icebergs since the middle Quaternary, suggesting that thick ice-sheet margins with fast-flowing ice streams were present in order to calve icebergs of such dimensions into the Norwegian Sea. The wide geographical distribution of ploughmarks suggests unrestricted iceberg drift and an open Norwegian Sea during the periods of iceberg calving since the early Quaternary. Ploughmark trajectory analysis demonstrates that the ocean current circulation, now dominated by the northeasterly flowing Norwegian Atlantic Current (NwAC), has largely persisted throughout the Quaternary. Despite the overall strikingly consistent pattern of iceberg drift, ploughmark mapping also shows evidence for short-lived NwAC reductions possibly related to major phases of iceberg discharge and/or meltwater pulses from the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet during the middle and late Quaternary.

  7. Improving Limits on Exotic Spin Dependent Long Range Forces using Double Boson Exchange

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aldaihan, Sheakha; Snow, William Michael; Krause, Dennis; Long, Joshua

    2016-03-01

    The existence of very light weakly interacting particles that mediate new long range forces has been suggested in many extensions of the Standard Model. Such particles span a length scale between a μm and a few meters and include axions, familons, Majorons,and arions. Parameterizations of forces in this range show that they are composite-dependent, have a Yukawa shape, and have both spin-dependent as well as spin independent components. Very stringent limits on spin-independent couplings exist. For long range spin dependent forces, limits are weaker by 20 orders of magnitude compared to their spin independent analogs. The disparity in the limits raises the question of whether interesting limits on spin dependent couplings can be inferred from spin independent searches for long range forces. We show that this is possible using higher order contributions corresponding to double boson exchange and report the limits placed on spin dependent couplings using this method. We gratefully acknowledge the support of Indiana University and the National Science Foundation. The first author also acknowdges King Abdullah scholarship program.

  8. Persistence in eye movement during visual search

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Amor, Tatiana A.; Reis, Saulo D. S.; Campos, Daniel; Herrmann, Hans J.; Andrade, José S.

    2016-02-01

    As any cognitive task, visual search involves a number of underlying processes that cannot be directly observed and measured. In this way, the movement of the eyes certainly represents the most explicit and closest connection we can get to the inner mechanisms governing this cognitive activity. Here we show that the process of eye movement during visual search, consisting of sequences of fixations intercalated by saccades, exhibits distinctive persistent behaviors. Initially, by focusing on saccadic directions and intersaccadic angles, we disclose that the probability distributions of these measures show a clear preference of participants towards a reading-like mechanism (geometrical persistence), whose features and potential advantages for searching/foraging are discussed. We then perform a Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MF-DFA) over the time series of jump magnitudes in the eye trajectory and find that it exhibits a typical multifractal behavior arising from the sequential combination of saccades and fixations. By inspecting the time series composed of only fixational movements, our results reveal instead a monofractal behavior with a Hurst exponent , which indicates the presence of long-range power-law positive correlations (statistical persistence). We expect that our methodological approach can be adopted as a way to understand persistence and strategy-planning during visual search.

  9. Probing the antiferromagnetic long-range order with Glauber spin states

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Cabrera, Guillermo G.

    1994-01-01

    It is well known that the ground state of low-dimensional antiferromagnets deviates from Neel states due to strong quantum fluctuations. Even in the presence of long-range order, those fluctuations produce a substantial reduction of the magnetic moment from its saturation value. Numerical simulations in anisotropic antiferromagnetic chains suggest that quantum fluctuations over Neel order appear in the form of localized reversal of pairs of neighboring spins. In this paper, we propose a coherent state representation for the ground state to describe the above situation. In the one-dimensional case, our wave function corresponds to a two-mode Glauber state, when the Neel state is used as a reference, while the boson fields are associated to coherent flip of spin pairs. The coherence manifests itself through the antiferromagnetic long-range order that survives the action of quantum fluctuations. The present representation is different from the standard zero-point spin wave state, and is asymptotically exact in the limit of strong anisotropy. The fermionic version of the theory, obtained through the Jordan-Wigner transformation, is also investigated.

  10. Evidence for the Risks and Consequences of Adolescent Cannabis Exposure.

    PubMed

    Levine, Amir; Clemenza, Kelly; Rynn, Moira; Lieberman, Jeffrey

    2017-03-01

    This review of the scientific literature examines the potential adult sequelae of exposure to cannabis and related synthetic cannabinoids in adolescence. We examine the four neuropsychiatric outcomes that are likely most vulnerable to alteration by early cannabinoid use, as identified within both the clinical and preclinical research: cognition, emotional functioning, risk for psychosis, and addiction. A literature search was conducted through PubMed, PsychInfo, and Google Scholar with no publication date restrictions. The search terms used were "adolescent" and "adult," and either "cannabis," "marijuana," "delta-9-tetra-hydrocannabinol," or "cannabinoid," which was then crossed with one or more of the following terms: "deficit," "impairment," "alteration," "long-term," "persistent," "development," "maturation," and "pubescent." The majority of the clinical and preclinical data point to a strong correlation between adolescent cannabinoid exposure and persistent, adverse neuropsychiatric outcomes in adulthood. Although the literature supports the hypothesis that adolescent cannabis use is connected to impaired cognition and mental health in adults, it does not conclusively demonstrate that cannabis consumption alone is sufficient to cause these deficits in humans. The animal literature, however, clearly indicates that adolescent-onset exposure to cannabinoids can catalyze molecular processes that lead to persistent functional deficits in adulthood, deficits that are not found to follow adult-onset exposure and that model some of the adverse outcomes reported in humans among adult populations of early-onset cannabis users. Based on the data in the current literature, a strong association is found between early, frequent, and heavy adolescent cannabis exposure and poor cognitive and psychiatric outcomes in adulthood, yet definite conclusions cannot yet be made as to whether cannabis use alone has a negative impact on the human adolescent brain. Future research will require animal models and longitudinal studies to be carefully designed with a focus on integrating assessments of molecular, structural, and behavioral outcomes in order to elucidate the full range of potential adverse and long-term consequences of cannabinoid exposure in adolescence. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Understanding Women's Differing Experiences of Distress after Colposcopy: A Qualitative Interview Study.

    PubMed

    O'Connor, Mairead; Waller, Jo; Gallagher, Pamela; Martin, Cara M; O'Leary, John J; D'Arcy, Tom; Prendiville, Walter; Flannelly, Grainne; Sharp, Linda

    2015-01-01

    Women who have an abnormal cervical cytology test may be referred for a colposcopy. Accumulating evidence suggests some women may experience distress after colposcopy. This exploratory study examined women's differing experiences of post-colposcopy distress with the aim of identifying factors that are predictive of, or protective against, distress. We carried out semistructured, qualitative interviews with 23 women who had undergone colposcopies. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed thematically. The Framework Approach was used to summarize and organize the data and identify emerging higher order themes. Two forms of post-colposcopy distress emerged: 1) short term and 2) long term. Short-term distress was experienced immediately after the colposcopy and in the days afterward, and was usually related to the physical experience of the colposcopy. Long-term distress typically persisted over time and was related to concerns about fertility, cervical cancer, and sexual intercourse. The drivers of short-term and long-term distress differed. Factors related to short-term distress were feeling unprepared for the procedure, having a negative experience of the procedure, and attending the clinic alone. Factors related to long-term distress were future intentions to have (more) children, having physical after-effects of the procedure that impacted on the woman's life, and being under on-going clinic surveillance. Absence of these factors (e.g., being accompanied to the clinic) was protective against short- and long-term distress. Colposcopy can lead to short- and long-term post-procedural distress for some women. We identified a range of factors, some potentially modifiable, that seem to influence the chances of experiencing distress. These results may inform the development of strategies or interventions aimed at preventing or minimizing distress after colposcopy and related procedures. Copyright © 2015 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Persistent recovery of normal left ventricular function and dimension in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy during long‐term follow‐up: does real healing exist?

    PubMed

    Merlo, Marco; Stolfo, Davide; Anzini, Marco; Negri, Francesco; Pinamonti, Bruno; Barbati, Giulia; Ramani, Federica; Lenarda, Andrea Di; Sinagra, Gianfranco

    2015-01-13

    An important number of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy have dramatically improved left ventricular function with optimal treatment; however, little is known about the evolution and long-term outcome of this subgroup, which shows apparent healing. This study assesses whether real healing actually exists in dilated cardiomyopathy. Persistent apparent healing was evaluated among 408 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy receiving tailored medical treatment and followed over the very long-term. Persistent apparent healing was defined as left ventricular ejection fraction ≥50% and indexed left ventricular end-diastolic diameter ≤33 mm/m(2) at both mid-term (19±4 months) and long-term (103±9 months) follow-up. At mid-term, 63 of 408 patients (15%) were apparently healed; 38 (60%; 9%of the whole population) showed persistent apparent healing at long-term evaluation. No predictors of persistent apparent healing were found. Patients with persistent apparent healing showed better heart transplant–free survival at very long-term follow-up (95% versus 71%; P=0.014) compared with nonpersistently normalized patients. Nevertheless, in the very longterm, 37% of this subgroup experienced deterioration of left ventricular systolic function, and 5% died or had heart transplantation. Persistent long-term apparent healing was evident in a remarkable proportion of dilated cardiomyopathy patients receiving optimal medical treatment and was associated with stable normalization of main clinical and laboratory features. This condition can be characterized by a decline of left ventricular function over the very long term, highlighting the relevance of serial nd individualized follow-up in all patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, especially considering the absence of predictors for longterm apparent healing.

  13. UAVSAR derived 3-D surface deformation from repeat-pass interferometry and pixel tracking at the Slumgullion Landslide

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Delbridge, B. G.; Burgmann, R.; Fielding, E. J.; Hensley, S.; Wang, T.

    2016-12-01

    In order to provide surface geodetic measurements with dense spatial resolution (pixel spacing < 10 m) spanning timescales from days to years, we develop and validate methods for the characterization of 3-D surface deformation using the unique capabilities of the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) airborne repeat-pass radar interferometry system. We apply our method at the well-studied Slumgullion Landslide, which is 3.9 km long and moves persistently with peak rates of up to 2 cm/day. To better understand the seasonal variation in the velocity observed at the landslide, we have collected UAVSAR acquisitions in approximately week-long pairs along four look directions during three key phases of the landslide's seasonal cycle: (1) during the slow season (fall or winter), (2) during the acceleration phase (spring), and (3) during the deceleration phase (summer). First, we process the UAVSAR data using conventional 2-pass techniques, which permit the highest resolution images. We process 160 SLC images to form 80 interferograms along four look directions acquired between 2011—2016, which are combined to create 20 weeklong 3-D surface deformation measurements. However, due to the rapid deformation rates, the formation of image pairs with temporal baselines longer than 10 days fail because the change in phase from one pixel to the next exceeds half the radar wavelength ( 24 cm). In order to measure the surface deformation year-round using the pairs of SAR images with temporal baselines on the order of several months to years, which span the time periods between the week-long acquisition pairs, we use the pixel offsets measured between two SAR amplitude images. Pixel offsets provide surface displacement measurements perpendicular to- (range) and parallel to- (azimuth) the along-track direction of flight. A comparison with concurrent GPS measurements validates these methods. In order to constrain the mechanics controlling landslide motion from surface velocity measurements, we present an inversion framework for the extraction of slide thickness and basal geometry from dense 3-D surface velocity fields.

  14. A discrete Markov metapopulation model for persistence and extinction of species.

    PubMed

    Thompson, Colin J; Shtilerman, Elad; Stone, Lewi

    2016-09-07

    A simple discrete generation Markov metapopulation model is formulated for studying the persistence and extinction dynamics of a species in a given region which is divided into a large number of sites or patches. Assuming a linear site occupancy probability from one generation to the next we obtain exact expressions for the time evolution of the expected number of occupied sites and the mean-time to extinction (MTE). Under quite general conditions we show that the MTE, to leading order, is proportional to the logarithm of the initial number of occupied sites and in precise agreement with similar expressions for continuous time-dependent stochastic models. Our key contribution is a novel application of generating function techniques and simple asymptotic methods to obtain a second order asymptotic expression for the MTE which is extremely accurate over the entire range of model parameter values. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Absence of long range order in SrDy2O4 frustrated magnet due to trapped defects from a dimensionality crossover

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gauthier, Nicolas; Fennell, Amy; Uldry, Anne-Christine; Delley, Bernard; Sibille, Romain; White, Jonathan; Niedermayer, Christof; Pomjakushin, Vladimir; Kenzelmann, Michel; Prevost, Bobby; Desilets-Benoit, Alexandre; Bianchi, Andrea D.; Dabkowska, Hanna A.; Nilsen, Goran; Regnault, Louis-Pierre

    The simultaneous occurence of geometrical frustration and low dimensionality can lead to strongly correlated fluctuating ground states. In the SrLn2O4 compounds, the Ln magnetic ions form one-dimensional (1D) zig-zag chains that have both of these characteristics, offering a playground to study novel states of matter. In SrDy2O4, the two inequivalent Dy3+ sites are Ising-like with perpendicular easy-axes, favouring the decoupling of neighbouring zig-zag chains. No long range order is observed down to T = 60 mK in zero field but diffuse neutron scattering indicates short range correlations that are consistent with those of the 1D Ising zig-zag chain model. AC susceptibility measurements indicate a slowing down of the fluctuations at low temperatures. We attribute this behaviour to the domain walls in the zig-zag chains. Experimental evidence of a dimensionality crossover at low temperatures in SrDy2O4 suggest that the domains walls are trapped because of interchain interactions, precluding long-range order to the lowest temperatures.

  16. Structural characteristics and properties of the regenerated silk fibroin prepared from formic acid.

    PubMed

    Um, I C; Kweon, H Y; Park, Y H; Hudson, S

    2001-08-20

    Structural characteristics and thermal and solution properties of the regenerated silk fibroin (SF) prepared from formic acid (FU) were compared with those of SF from water (AU). According to the turbidity and shear viscosity measurement, SF formic acid solution was stable and transparent, no molecular aggregations occurred. The sample FU exhibited the beta-sheet structure, while AU random coil conformation using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and differential scanning calorimetry. The effects of methanol treatment on samples were also examined. According to the measurement of crystallinity (XRD) and crystallinity index (FTIR), the concept of long/short-range ordered structure formation was proposed. Long-range ordered crystallites are predominantly formed for methanol treated SF film while SF film cast from formic acid favors the formation of short-range ordered structure. The relaxation temperatures of SF films measured by dynamic thermomechanical analysis supported the above mechanism due to the sensitivity of relaxation temperature on the short-range order.

  17. Long-term persistence of oral human papillomavirus type 16: the HPV Infection in Men (HIM) study.

    PubMed

    Pierce Campbell, Christine M; Kreimer, Aimée R; Lin, Hui-Yi; Fulp, William; O'Keefe, Michael T; Ingles, Donna J; Abrahamsen, Martha; Villa, Luisa L; Lazcano-Ponce, Eduardo; Giuliano, Anna R

    2015-03-01

    Persistent infection with oral HPV16 is believed to drive the development of most oropharyngeal cancers. However, patterns of oral HPV16 persistence remain understudied, particularly among HIV-negative individuals. Oral HPV16 persistence was evaluated among 1,626 participants of the HPV Infection in Men (HIM) Study. Twenty-three oral HPV16-positive men who provided an oral gargle sample on ≥2 study visits were included in the analysis. Archived oral samples from all follow-up visits were tested for HPV16 using Linear Array and INNO-LiPA detection methods. Persistence was evaluated using consecutive HPV16-positive visits held approximately 6 months apart and using the Kaplan-Meier method. Oral HPV16-positive men were aged 18 to 64 years [median, 36 years; interquartile range (IQR), 25-42] and were followed for a median of 44.4 months (IQR, 29.9-49.5). Of 13 incident infections, 4 (30.8%) persisted ≥12 months, 1 (10.0%) persisted ≥24 months, and none persisted ≥36 months [median infection duration, 7.3 months; 95% confidence interval (CI), 6.4-NA)]. Of 10 prevalent infections, 9 (90.0%) persisted ≥12 months, 8 (80.0%) persisted ≥24 months, 4 (57.1%) persisted ≥36 months, and 2 (40.0%) persisted ≥48 months (median infection duration, NA). Twelve-month persistence of incident infections increased significantly with age (Ptrend = 0.028). Prevalent oral HPV16 infections in men persisted longer than newly acquired infections, and persistence appeared to increase with age. These findings may explain the high prevalence of oral HPV observed at older ages. Understanding oral HPV16 persistence will aid in the identification of men at high-risk of developing HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer. ©2015 American Association for Cancer Research.

  18. Migrating Myeloid Cells Sense Temporal Dynamics of Chemoattractant Concentrations.

    PubMed

    Petrie Aronin, Caren E; Zhao, Yun M; Yoon, Justine S; Morgan, Nicole Y; Prüstel, Thorsten; Germain, Ronald N; Meier-Schellersheim, Martin

    2017-11-21

    Chemoattractant-mediated recruitment of hematopoietic cells to sites of pathogen growth or tissue damage is critical to host defense and organ homeostasis. Chemotaxis is typically considered to rely on spatial sensing, with cells following concentration gradients as long as these are present. Utilizing a microfluidic approach, we found that stable gradients of intermediate chemokines (CCL19 and CXCL12) failed to promote persistent directional migration of dendritic cells or neutrophils. Instead, rising chemokine concentrations were needed, implying that temporal sensing mechanisms controlled prolonged responses to these ligands. This behavior was found to depend on G-coupled receptor kinase-mediated negative regulation of receptor signaling and contrasted with responses to an end agonist chemoattractant (C5a), for which a stable gradient led to persistent migration. These findings identify temporal sensing as a key requirement for long-range myeloid cell migration to intermediate chemokines and provide insights into the mechanisms controlling immune cell motility in complex tissue environments. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  19. Characterization of organochlorine pesticides, brominated flame retardants and dioxin-like compounds in shellfish and eel from Fiji.

    PubMed

    Lal, Vincent; Bridgen, Phil; Votadroka, Waisea; Raju, Rupantri; Aalbersberg, William

    2014-09-01

    This article gives an overview of a range of persistent organic pollutant chemical levels in shellfish (Batissa violacea and Anadara antiquata) species and eel (Gymnothorax flavimarginatus) from Fiji. As there is limited data in published literature to date, this paper reports first data on a range of persistent organic pollutants and highlights the more prominent POP chemicals present in marine biota in Fiji. A significant number of POP chemicals were detected (e.g. 17 PCDD/PCDF, 12dl-PCBs, organochlorine pesticides and brominated flame retardants), the concentrations found were generally low (e.g. parts per billion level). The low levels of contamination are indicative of a low input from long range and short-range transport as well as few local point sources. Also concentrations of POPs in eel and shellfish from Fiji are low in comparison to wild species in other regions and are within acceptable limits for POP chemicals in fish and fishery products set by the European Union. It describes also results of early studies on basic POPs levels in shellfish in several Pacific Island Countries, which generally show relatively low levels. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Adaptive responses to cool climate promotes persistence of a non-native lizard

    PubMed Central

    While, Geoffrey M.; Williamson, Joseph; Prescott, Graham; Horváthová, Terézia; Fresnillo, Belén; Beeton, Nicholas J.; Halliwell, Ben; Michaelides, Sozos; Uller, Tobias

    2015-01-01

    Successful establishment and range expansion of non-native species often require rapid accommodation of novel environments. Here, we use common-garden experiments to demonstrate parallel adaptive evolutionary response to a cool climate in populations of wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) introduced from southern Europe into England. Low soil temperatures in the introduced range delay hatching, which generates directional selection for a shorter incubation period. Non-native lizards from two separate lineages have responded to this selection by retaining their embryos for longer before oviposition—hence reducing the time needed to complete embryogenesis in the nest—and by an increased developmental rate at low temperatures. This divergence mirrors local adaptation across latitudes and altitudes within widely distributed species and suggests that evolutionary responses to climate can be very rapid. When extrapolated to soil temperatures encountered in nests within the introduced range, embryo retention and faster developmental rate result in one to several weeks earlier emergence compared with the ancestral state. We show that this difference translates into substantial survival benefits for offspring. This should promote short- and long-term persistence of non-native populations, and ultimately enable expansion into areas that would be unattainable with incubation duration representative of the native range. PMID:25694617

  1. Tuning Into Brown Dwarfs: Long-Term Radio Monitoring of Two Very Low Mass Dwarfs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Van Linge, Russell; Burgasser, Adam J.; Melis, Carl; Williams, Peter K. G.

    2017-01-01

    The very lowest-mass (VLM) stars and brown dwarfs, with effective temperatures T < 3000 K, exhibit mixed magnetic activity trends, with H-alpha and X-ray emission that declines rapidly beyond type M7/M8, but persistent radio emission in roughly 10-20% of sources. The dozen or so VLM radio emitters known show a broad range of emission characteristics and time-dependent behavior, including steady persistent emission, periodic oscillations, periodic polarized bursts, and aperiodic flares. Understanding the evolution of these variability patterns, and in particular whether they undergo solar-like cycles, requires long-term monitoring. We report the results of a long-term JVLA monitoring program of two magnetically-active VLM dwarf binaries, the young M7 2MASS 1314+1320AB and older L5 2MASS 1315-2649AB. On the bi-weekly cadence, 2MASS 1314 continues to show variability by revealing regular flaring while 2MASS 1315 continues to be a quiescent emitter. On the daily time scale, both sources show a mean flux density that can vary significantly just over a few days. These results suggest long-term radio behavior in radio-emitting VLM dwarfs is just as diverse and complex as short-term behavior.

  2. Roles of chromatin insulator proteins in higher-order chromatin organization and transcription regulation

    PubMed Central

    Vogelmann, Jutta; Valeri, Alessandro; Guillou, Emmanuelle; Cuvier, Olivier; Nollmann, Marcelo

    2013-01-01

    Eukaryotic chromosomes are condensed into several hierarchical levels of complexity: DNA is wrapped around core histones to form nucleosomes, nucleosomes form a higher-order structure called chromatin, and chromatin is subsequently compartmentalized in part by the combination of multiple specific or unspecific long-range contacts. The conformation of chromatin at these three levels greatly influences DNA metabolism and transcription. One class of chromatin regulatory proteins called insulator factors may organize chromatin both locally, by setting up barriers between heterochromatin and euchromatin, and globally by establishing platforms for long-range interactions. Here, we review recent data revealing a global role of insulator proteins in the regulation of transcription through the formation of clusters of long-range interactions that impact different levels of chromatin organization. PMID:21983085

  3. Identification of Left Atrial Appendage Thrombi in Patients With Persistent and Long-Standing Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Using Intra-Cardiac Echocardiography and Cardiac Computed Tomography.

    PubMed

    Ikegami, Yukinori; Tanimoto, Kojiro; Inagawa, Kohei; Shiraishi, Yasuyuki; Fuse, Jun; Sakamoto, Munehisa; Momiyama, Yukihiko; Takatsuki, Seiji

    2017-12-25

    Intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) and cardiac computed tomography (CCT), in addition to standard transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), have been used to identify left atrial (LA) thrombi prior to ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF). The clinical advantages of this, however, remain unclear. This study therefore investigated the advantages of additional pre-procedural LA appendage (LAA) thrombus evaluation using ICE and the clinical value of CCT in persistent and long-standing persistent AF.Methods and Results:We analyzed data from 108 consecutive patients with persistent and long-standing persistent AF who were scheduled to undergo AF ablation. TEE was performed within 24 h prior to ablation. ICE was performed for 97 patients in whom a thrombus was not detected on TEE. CCT was performed in 95 patients. Thrombus or sludge was detected on TEE in 11 patients (10.3%), for whom ablation was cancelled. Four additional patients were diagnosed with LAA thrombus on ICE. When TEE and ICE were used as the reference for thrombus detection, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CCT for identifying contrast defects in the LAA were 100%, 81.0%, 40.7%, and 100%, respectively. ICE combined with TEE increased the detection rate of LAA thrombi in patients with persistent and long-standing persistent AF. Moreover, CCT had high sensitivity and negative predictive value for LAA thrombus detection.

  4. Formula for the Transition Probability Induced by Long-range Potential Terms Varying as R-8 and R-10 for Atom-dimer Collisions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matthews, N. F.; Robson, D.; Grant, M. A.

    1990-12-01

    An explicit formula is derived for the transition probability between two different states of the atom-dimer collisional system governed by second-order long-range interaction potential terms varying as R-8 and R-10.

  5. Polariton Chimeras: Bose-Einstein Condensates with Intrinsic Chaoticity and Spontaneous Long-Range Ordering

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gavrilov, S. S.

    2018-01-01

    The system of cavity polaritons driven by a plane electromagnetic wave is found to undergo the spontaneous breaking of spatial symmetry, which results in a lifted phase locking with respect to the driving field and, consequently, in the possibility of internal ordering. In particular, periodic spin and intensity patterns arise in polariton wires; they exhibit strong long-range order and can serve as media for signal transmission. Such patterns have the properties of dynamical chimeras: they are formed spontaneously in perfectly homogeneous media and can be partially chaotic. The reported new mechanism of chimera formation requires neither time-delayed feedback loops nor nonlocal interactions.

  6. Artificial 3D hierarchical and isotropic porous polymeric materials

    PubMed Central

    Musteata, Valentina-Elena; Behzad, Ali Reza

    2018-01-01

    Hierarchical porous materials that replicate complex living structures are attractive for a wide variety of applications, ranging from storage and catalysis to biological and artificial systems. However, the preparation of structures with a high level of complexity and long-range order at the mesoscale and microscale is challenging. We report a simple, nonextractive, and nonreactive method used to prepare three-dimensional porous materials that mimic biological systems such as marine skeletons and honeycombs. This method exploits the concurrent occurrence of the self-assembly of block copolymers in solution and macrophase separation by nucleation and growth. We obtained a long-range order of micrometer-sized compartments. These compartments are interconnected by ordered cylindrical nanochannels. The new approach is demonstrated using polystyrene-b-poly(t-butyl acrylate), which can be further explored for a broad range of applications, such as air purification filters for viruses and pollution particle removal or growth of bioinspired materials for bone regeneration.

  7. Artificial 3D hierarchical and isotropic porous polymeric materials.

    PubMed

    Chisca, Stefan; Musteata, Valentina-Elena; Sougrat, Rachid; Behzad, Ali Reza; Nunes, Suzana P

    2018-05-01

    Hierarchical porous materials that replicate complex living structures are attractive for a wide variety of applications, ranging from storage and catalysis to biological and artificial systems. However, the preparation of structures with a high level of complexity and long-range order at the mesoscale and microscale is challenging. We report a simple, nonextractive, and nonreactive method used to prepare three-dimensional porous materials that mimic biological systems such as marine skeletons and honeycombs. This method exploits the concurrent occurrence of the self-assembly of block copolymers in solution and macrophase separation by nucleation and growth. We obtained a long-range order of micrometer-sized compartments. These compartments are interconnected by ordered cylindrical nanochannels. The new approach is demonstrated using polystyrene- b -poly( t -butyl acrylate), which can be further explored for a broad range of applications, such as air purification filters for viruses and pollution particle removal or growth of bioinspired materials for bone regeneration.

  8. A SIMPLE EVOLUTIONAL MODEL OF THE UV HABITABLE ZONE AND THE POSSIBILITY OF PERSISTENT LIFE EXISTENCE: THE EFFECTS OF MASS AND METALLICITY

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Oishi, Midori; Kamaya, Hideyuki

    In addition to the habitable zone (HZ), the UV habitable zone (UV-HZ) is important when considering the existence of persistent life in the universe. The UV-HZ is defined as the area where the UV radiation field from a host star is moderate for persistent life existence. This is because UV is necessary for the synthesis of biochemical compounds. The UV-HZ must overlap the HZ when life appears and evolves. In this paper, following our previous study of the HZ, we examine the UV-HZ in cases with a stellar mass range from 0.08 to 4.00 M {sub ☉} with various metallicities during the main sequencemore » phase. This mass range was chosen because we are interested in an environment similar to that of Earth. The effect of metallicity is reflected in the spectrum of the host stars, and we reexamine it in the context of the UV-HZ. The present work shows the effect of metallicity when that in the UV-HZ is less than that in the HZ. Furthermore, we find that the chance of persistent life existence declines as the metallicity decreases, as long as the UV radiation is not protected and/or boosted by any mechanisms. This is because the overlapped region of a persistent HZ and UV-HZ decreases. We find that the most appropriate stellar mass for the persistence of life existence is from 1.0 to 1.5 M {sub ☉} with metallicity Z  = 0.02, and only about 1.2 M {sub ☉} with Z  = 0.002. When Z  = 0.0002, the chance of persistent life existence is very low, assuming that the ocean does not protect the life from UV radiation.« less

  9. Transport aloft drives peak ozone in the Mojave Desert

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    VanCuren, Richard

    2015-05-01

    Transport of anthropogenic pollution eastward out of the Los Angeles megacity region in California has been periodically observed to reach the Colorado River and the Colorado Plateau region beyond. In the 1980s, anthropogenic halocarbon tracers measured in and near the Las Angeles urban area and at a mountain-top site near the Colorado River, 400 km downwind, were shown to have a correlated seven-day cycle explainable by transport from the urban area with a time lag of 1-2 days. Recent short term springtime intensive studies using aircraft observations and regional modeling of long range transport of ozone from the Southern California megacity region showed frequent and persistent ozone impacts at surface sites across the Colorado Plateau and Southern Rocky Mountain region, at distances up to 1500 km, also with time lags of 1-2 days. However, the timing of ozone peaks at low altitude monitoring sites within the Mojave Desert, at distances from 100 to 400 km from the South Coast and San Joaquin Valley ozone source regions, does not show the expected time-lag behavior seen in the larger transport studies. This discrepancy is explained by recognizing ozone transport across the Mojave Desert to occur in a persistent layer of polluted air in the lower free troposphere with a base level at approximately 1 km MSL. This layer impacts elevated downwind sites directly, but only influences low altitude surface ozone maxima through deep afternoon mixing. Pollutants in this elevated layer derive from California source regions (the Los Angeles megacity region and the intensive agricultural region of the San Joaquin Valley), from long-range transport from Asia, and stratospheric down-mixing. Recognition of the role of afternoon mixing during spring and summer over the Mojave explains and expands the significance of previously published reports of ozone and other pollutants observed in and over the Mojave Desert, and resolves an apparent paradox in the timing of ozone peaks due to short-range and long-range transport from the upwind basins.

  10. A modulation wave approach to the order hidden in disorder

    PubMed Central

    Withers, Ray

    2015-01-01

    The usefulness of a modulation wave approach to understanding and interpreting the highly structured continuous diffuse intensity distributions characteristic of the reciprocal spaces of the very large family of inherently flexible materials which exhibit ordered ‘disorder’ is pointed out. It is shown that both longer range order and truly short-range order are simultaneously encoded in highly structured diffuse intensity distributions. The long-range ordered crystal chemical rules giving rise to such diffuse distributions are highlighted, along with the existence and usefulness of systematic extinction conditions in these types of structured diffuse distributions. PMID:25610629

  11. Statistical properties of solar Hα flare activity

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deng, Linhua; Zhang, Xiaojuan; An, Jianmei; Cai, Yunfang

    2017-12-01

    Magnetic field structures on the solar atmosphere are not symmetric distribution in the northern and southern hemispheres, which is an important aspect of quasi-cyclical evolution of magnetic activity indicators that are related to solar dynamo theories. Three standard analysis techniques are applied to analyze the hemispheric coupling (north-south asymmetry and phase asynchrony) of monthly averaged values of solar Hα flare activity over the past 49 years (from 1966 January to 2014 December). The prominent results are as follows: (1) from a global point of view, solar Hα flare activity on both hemispheres are strongly correlated with each other, but the northern hemisphere precedes the southern one with a phase shift of 7 months; (2) the long-range persistence indeed exists in solar Hα flare activity, but the dynamical complexities in the two hemispheres are not identical; (3) the prominent periodicities of Hα flare activity are 17 years full-disk activity cycle and 11 years Schwabe solar cycle, but the short- and mid-term periodicities cannot determined by monthly time series; (4) by comparing the non-parametric rescaling behavior on a point-by-point basis, the hemispheric asynchrony of solar Hα flare activity are estimated to be ranging from several months to tens of months with an average value of 8.7 months. The analysis results could promote our knowledge on the long-range persistence, the quasi-periodic variation, and the hemispheric asynchrony of solar Hα flare activity on both hemispheres, and possibly provide valuable information for the hemispheric interrelation of solar magnetic activity.

  12. High-energy X-ray powder diffraction and atomic-pair distribution-function studies of charged/discharged structures in carbon-hybridized Li2MnSiO4 nanoparticles as a cathode material for lithium-ion batteries

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moriya, Maki; Miyahara, Masahiko; Hokazono, Mana; Sasaki, Hirokazu; Nemoto, Atsushi; Katayama, Shingo; Akimoto, Yuji; Hirano, Shin-ichi; Ren, Yang

    2014-10-01

    The stable cycling performance with a high discharge capacity of ∼190 mAh g-1 in a carbon-hybridized Li2MnSiO4 nanostructured powder has prompted an experimental investigation of the charged/discharged structures using synchrotron-based and laboratory-based X-rays and atomic-pair distribution-function (PDF) analyses. A novel method of in-situ spray pyrolysis of a precursor solution with glucose as a carbon source enabled the successful synthesis of the carbon-hybridized Li2MnSiO4 nanoparticles. The XRD patters of the discharged (lithiated) samples exhibit a long-range ordered structure characteristic of the (β) Li2MnSiO4 crystalline phase (space group Pmn21) which dissipates in the charged (delithiated) samples. However, upon discharging the long-range ordered structure recovers in each cycle. The disordered structure, according to the PDF analysis, is mainly due to local distortions of the MnO4 tetrahedra which show a mean Mn-O nearest neighbor distance shorter than that of the long-range ordered phase. These results corroborate the notion of the smaller Mn3+/Mn4+ ionic radii in the Li extracted phase versus the larger Mn2+ ionic radius in Li inserted phase. Thus Li extraction/insertion drives the fluctuation between the disordered and the long-range ordered structures.

  13. Long-range and short-range dihadron angular correlations in central PbPb collisions at sqrt {{{s_{text{NN}}}}} = 2.76 TeV

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chatrchyan, S.; Khachatryan, V.; Sirunyan, A. M.; Tumasyan, A.; Adam, W.; Bergauer, T.; Dragicevic, M.; Erö, J.; Fabjan, C.; Friedl, M.; Frühwirth, R.; Ghete, V. M.; Hammer, J.; Hänsel, S.; Hoch, M.; Hörmann, N.; Hrubec, J.; Jeitler, M.; Kiesenhofer, W.; Krammer, M.; Liko, D.; Mikulec, I.; Pernicka, M.; Rohringer, H.; Schöfbeck, R.; Strauss, J.; Taurok, A.; Teischinger, F.; Wagner, P.; Waltenberger, W.; Walzel, G.; Widl, E.; Wulz, C.-E.; Mossolov, V.; Shumeiko, N.; Gonzalez, J. Suarez; Bansal, S.; Benucci, L.; De Wolf, E. A.; Janssen, X.; Maes, J.; Maes, T.; Mucibello, L.; Ochesanu, S.; Roland, B.; Rougny, R.; Selvaggi, M.; Van Haevermaet, H.; Van Mechelen, P.; Van Remortel, N.; Blekman, F.; Blyweert, S.; D'Hondt, J.; Devroede, O.; Suarez, R. Gonzalez; Kalogeropoulos, A.; Maes, M.; Van Doninck, W.; Van Mulders, P.; Van Onsem, G. P.; Villella, I.; Charaf, O.; Clerbaux, B.; De Lentdecker, G.; Dero, V.; Gay, A. P. R.; Hammad, G. H.; Hreus, T.; Marage, P. E.; Thomas, L.; Velde, C. Vander; Vanlaer, P.; Adler, V.; Cimmino, A.; Costantini, S.; Grunewald, M.; Klein, B.; Lellouch, J.; Marinov, A.; Mccartin, J.; Ryckbosch, D.; Thyssen, F.; Tytgat, M.; Vanelderen, L.; Verwilligen, P.; Walsh, S.; Zaganidis, N.; Basegmez, S.; Bruno, G.; Caudron, J.; Ceard, L.; Cortina Gil, E.; De Favereau De Jeneret, J.; Delaere, C.; Favart, D.; Giammanco, A.; Grégoire, G.; Hollar, J.; Lemaitre, V.; Liao, J.; Militaru, O.; Ovyn, S.; Pagano, D.; Pin, A.; Piotrzkowski, K.; Schul, N.; Beliy, N.; Caebergs, T.; Daubie, E.; Alves, G. A.; De Jesus Damiao, D.; Pol, M. E.; Souza, M. H. G.; Carvalho, W.; Da Costa, E. M.; De Oliveira Martins, C.; Fonseca De Souza, S.; Mundim, L.; Nogima, H.; Oguri, V.; Prado Da Silva, W. L.; Santoro, A.; Silva Do Amaral, S. M.; Sznajder, A.; Bernardes, C. A.; Dias, F. A.; Fernandez Perez Tomei, T. R.; Gregores, E. M.; Lagana, C.; Marinho, F.; Mercadante, P. G.; Novaes, S. F.; Padula, Sandra S.; Darmenov, N.; Dimitrov, L.; Genchev, V.; Iaydjiev, P.; Piperov, S.; Rodozov, M.; Stoykova, S.; Sultanov, G.; Tcholakov, V.; Trayanov, R.; Vankov, I.; Dimitrov, A.; Hadjiiska, R.; Karadzhinova, A.; Kozhuharov, V.; Litov, L.; Mateev, M.; Pavlov, B.; Petkov, P.; Bian, J. G.; Chen, G. M.; Chen, H. S.; Jiang, C. H.; Liang, D.; Liang, S.; Meng, X.; Tao, J.; Wang, J.; Wang, J.; Wang, X.; Wang, Z.; Xiao, H.; Xu, M.; Zang, J.; Zhang, Z.; Ban, Y.; Guo, S.; Guo, Y.; Li, W.; Mao, Y.; Qian, S. J.; Teng, H.; Zhang, L.; Zhu, B.; Zou, W.; Cabrera, A.; Moreno, B. Gomez; Ocampo Rios, A. A.; Osorio Oliveros, A. F.; Sanabria, J. C.; Godinovic, N.; Lelas, D.; Lelas, K.; Plestina, R.; Polic, D.; Puljak, I.; Antunovic, Z.; Dzelalija, M.; Brigljevic, V.; Duric, S.; Kadija, K.; Morovic, S.; Attikis, A.; Galanti, M.; Mousa, J.; Nicolaou, C.; Ptochos, F.; Razis, P. A.; Finger, M.; Finger, M.; Assran, Y.; Khalil, S.; Mahmoud, M. A.; Hektor, A.; Kadastik, M.; Müntel, M.; Raidal, M.; Rebane, L.; Azzolini, V.; Eerola, P.; Fedi, G.; Czellar, S.; Härkönen, J.; Heikkinen, A.; Karimäki, V.; Kinnunen, R.; Kortelainen, M. J.; Lampén, T.; Lassila-Perini, K.; Lehti, S.; Lindén, T.; Luukka, P.; Mäenpää, T.; Tuominen, E.; Tuominiemi, J.; Tuovinen, E.; Ungaro, D.; Wendland, L.; Banzuzi, K.; Korpela, A.; Tuuva, T.; Sillou, D.; Besancon, M.; Choudhury, S.; Dejardin, M.; Denegri, D.; Fabbro, B.; Faure, J. L.; Ferri, F.; Ganjour, S.; Gentit, F. X.; Givernaud, A.; Gras, P.; de Monchenault, G. Hamel; Jarry, P.; Locci, E.; Malcles, J.; Marionneau, M.; Millischer, L.; Rander, J.; Rosowsky, A.; Shreyber, I.; Titov, M.; Verrecchia, P.; Baffioni, S.; Beaudette, F.; Benhabib, L.; Bianchini, L.; Bluj, M.; Broutin, C.; Busson, P.; Charlot, C.; Dahms, T.; Dobrzynski, L.; Elgammal, S.; Granier de Cassagnac, R.; Haguenauer, M.; Miné, P.; Mironov, C.; Ochando, C.; Paganini, P.; Sabes, D.; Salerno, R.; Sirois, Y.; Thiebaux, C.; Wyslouch, B.; Zabi, A.; Agram, J.-L.; Andrea, J.; Bloch, D.; Bodin, D.; Brom, J.-M.; Cardaci, M.; Chabert, E. C.; Collard, C.; Conte, E.; Drouhin, F.; Ferro, C.; Fontaine, J.-C.; Gelé, D.; Goerlach, U.; Greder, S.; Juillot, P.; Karim, M.; Le Bihan, A.-C.; Mikami, Y.; Van Hove, P.; Fassi, F.; Mercier, D.; Baty, C.; Beauceron, S.; Beaupere, N.; Bedjidian, M.; Bondu, O.; Boudoul, G.; Boumediene, D.; Brun, H.; Chasserat, J.; Chierici, R.; Contardo, D.; Depasse, P.; El Mamouni, H.; Fay, J.; Gascon, S.; Ille, B.; Kurca, T.; LeGrand, T.; Lethuillier, M.; Mirabito, L.; Perries, S.; Sordini, V.; Tosi, S.; Tschudi, Y.; Verdier, P.; Lomidze, D.; Anagnostou, G.; Edelhoff, M.; Feld, L.; Heracleous, N.; Hindrichs, O.; Jussen, R.; Klein, K.; Merz, J.; Mohr, N.; Ostapchuk, A.; Perieanu, A.; Raupach, F.; Sammet, J.; Schael, S.; Sprenger, D.; Weber, H.; Weber, M.; Wittmer, B.; Ata, M.; Bender, W.; Dietz-Laursonn, E.; Erdmann, M.; Frangenheim, J.; Hebbeker, T.; Hinzmann, A.; Hoepfner, K.; Klimkovich, T.; Klingebiel, D.; Kreuzer, P.; Lanske, D.; Magass, C.; Merschmeyer, M.; Meyer, A.; Papacz, P.; Pieta, H.; Reithler, H.; Schmitz, S. A.; Sonnenschein, L.; Steggemann, J.; Teyssier, D.; Bontenackels, M.; Davids, M.; Duda, M.; Flügge, G.; Geenen, H.; Giffels, M.; Haj Ahmad, W.; Heydhausen, D.; Kress, T.; Kuessel, Y.; Linn, A.; Nowack, A.; Perchalla, L.; Pooth, O.; Rennefeld, J.; Sauerland, P.; Stahl, A.; Thomas, M.; Tornier, D.; Zoeller, M. H.; Martin, M. Aldaya; Behrenhoff, W.; Behrens, U.; Bergholz, M.; Bethani, A.; Borras, K.; Cakir, A.; Campbell, A.; Castro, E.; Dammann, D.; Eckerlin, G.; Eckstein, D.; Flossdorf, A.; Flucke, G.; Geiser, A.; Hauk, J.; Jung, H.; Kasemann, M.; Katkov, I.; Katsas, P.; Kleinwort, C.; Kluge, H.; Knutsson, A.; Krämer, M.; Krücker, D.; Kuznetsova, E.; Lange, W.; Lohmann, W.; Mankel, R.; Marienfeld, M.; Melzer-Pellmann, I.-A.; Meyer, A. B.; Mnich, J.; Mussgiller, A.; Olzem, J.; Pitzl, D.; Raspereza, A.; Raval, A.; Rosin, M.; Schmidt, R.; Schoerner-Sadenius, T.; Sen, N.; Spiridonov, A.; Stein, M.; Tomaszewska, J.; Walsh, R.; Wissing, C.; Autermann, C.; Blobel, V.; Bobrovskyi, S.; Draeger, J.; Enderle, H.; Gebbert, U.; Kaschube, K.; Kaussen, G.; Klanner, R.; Lange, J.; Mura, B.; Naumann-Emme, S.; Nowak, F.; Pietsch, N.; Sander, C.; Schettler, H.; Schleper, P.; Schröder, M.; Schum, T.; Schwandt, J.; Stadie, H.; Steinbrück, G.; Thomsen, J.; Barth, C.; Bauer, J.; Berger, J.; Buege, V.; Chwalek, T.; De Boer, W.; Dierlamm, A.; Dirkes, G.; Feindt, M.; Gruschke, J.; Hackstein, C.; Hartmann, F.; Heinrich, M.; Held, H.; Hoffmann, K. H.; Honc, S.; Komaragiri, J. R.; Kuhr, T.; Martschei, D.; Mueller, S.; Müller, Th.; Niegel, M.; Oberst, O.; Oehler, A.; Ott, J.; Peiffer, T.; Quast, G.; Rabbertz, K.; Ratnikov, F.; Ratnikova, N.; Renz, M.; Saout, C.; Scheurer, A.; Schieferdecker, P.; Schilling, F.-P.; Schott, G.; Simonis, H. J.; Stober, F. M.; Troendle, D.; Wagner-Kuhr, J.; Weiler, T.; Zeise, M.; Zhukov, V.; Ziebarth, E. B.; Daskalakis, G.; Geralis, T.; Kesisoglou, S.; Kyriakis, A.; Loukas, D.; Manolakos, I.; Markou, A.; Markou, C.; Mavrommatis, C.; Ntomari, E.; Petrakou, E.; Gouskos, L.; Mertzimekis, T. J.; Panagiotou, A.; Stiliaris, E.; Evangelou, I.; Foudas, C.; Kokkas, P.; Manthos, N.; Papadopoulos, I.; Patras, V.; Triantis, F. A.; Aranyi, A.; Bencze, G.; Boldizsar, L.; Hajdu, C.; Hidas, P.; Horvath, D.; Kapusi, A.; Krajczar, K.; Sikler, F.; Veres, G. I.; Vesztergombi, G.; Beni, N.; Molnar, J.; Palinkas, J.; Szillasi, Z.; Veszpremi, V.; Raics, P.; Trocsanyi, Z. L.; Ujvari, B.; Beri, S. B.; Bhatnagar, V.; Dhingra, N.; Gupta, R.; Jindal, M.; Kaur, M.; Kohli, J. M.; Mehta, M. Z.; Nishu, N.; Saini, L. K.; Sharma, A.; Singh, A. P.; Singh, J. B.; Singh, S. P.; Ahuja, S.; Bhattacharya, S.; Choudhary, B. C.; Gomber, B.; Gupta, P.; Jain, S.; Jain, S.; Khurana, R.; Kumar, A.; Naimuddin, M.; Ranjan, K.; Shivpuri, R. K.; Choudhury, R. K.; Dutta, D.; Kailas, S.; Kumar, V.; Mehta, P.; Mohanty, A. K.; Pant, L. M.; Shukla, P.; Aziz, T.; Guchait, M.; Gurtu, A.; Maity, M.; Majumder, D.; Majumder, G.; Mazumdar, K.; Mohanty, G. B.; Saha, A.; Sudhakar, K.; Wickramage, N.; Banerjee, S.; Dugad, S.; Mondal, N. K.; Arfaei, H.; Bakhshiansohi, H.; Etesami, S. M.; Fahim, A.; Hashemi, M.; Jafari, A.; Khakzad, M.; Mohammadi, A.; Najafabadi, M. Mohammadi; Mehdiabadi, S. Paktinat; Safarzadeh, B.; Zeinali, M.; Abbrescia, M.; Barbone, L.; Calabria, C.; Colaleo, A.; Creanza, D.; De Filippis, N.; De Palma, M.; Fiore, L.; Iaselli, G.; Lusito, L.; Maggi, G.; Maggi, M.; Manna, N.; Marangelli, B.; My, S.; Nuzzo, S.; Pacifico, N.; Pierro, G. A.; Pompili, A.; Pugliese, G.; Romano, F.; Roselli, G.; Selvaggi, G.; Silvestris, L.; Trentadue, R.; Tupputi, S.; Zito, G.; Abbiendi, G.; Benvenuti, A. C.; Bonacorsi, D.; Braibant-Giacomelli, S.; Brigliadori, L.; Capiluppi, P.; Castro, A.; Cavallo, F. R.; Cuffiani, M.; Dallavalle, G. M.; Fabbri, F.; Fanfani, A.; Fasanella, D.; Giacomelli, P.; Giunta, M.; Grandi, C.; Marcellini, S.; Masetti, G.; Meneghelli, M.; Montanari, A.; Navarria, F. L.; Odorici, F.; Perrotta, A.; Primavera, F.; Rossi, A. M.; Rovelli, T.; Siroli, G.; Travaglini, R.; Albergo, S.; Cappello, G.; Chiorboli, M.; Costa, S.; Tricomi, A.; Tuve, C.; Barbagli, G.; Ciulli, V.; Civinini, C.; D'Alessandro, R.; Focardi, E.; Frosali, S.; Gallo, E.; Gonzi, S.; Lenzi, P.; Meschini, M.; Paoletti, S.; Sguazzoni, G.; Tropiano, A.; Benussi, L.; Bianco, S.; Colafranceschi, S.; Fabbri, F.; Piccolo, D.; Fabbricatore, P.; Musenich, R.; Benaglia, A.; De Guio, F.; Di Matteo, L.; Gennai, S.; Ghezzi, A.; Malvezzi, S.; Martelli, A.; Massironi, A.; Menasce, D.; Moroni, L.; Paganoni, M.; Pedrini, D.; Ragazzi, S.; Redaelli, N.; Sala, S.; de Fatis, T. Tabarelli; Buontempo, S.; Montoya, C. A. Carrillo; Cavallo, N.; De Cosa, A.; Fabozzi, F.; Iorio, A. O. M.; Lista, L.; Merola, M.; Paolucci, P.; Azzia, P.; Bacchetta, N.; Bellan, P.; Bellato, M.; Biasotto, M.; Bisello, D.; Branca, A.; Checchia, P.; De Mattia, M.; Dorigo, T.; Gasparini, F.; Gonella, F.; Gozzelino, A.; Gulmini, M.; Lacaprara, S.; Lazzizzera, I.; Margoni, M.; Maron, G.; Meneguzzo, A. T.; Nespolo, M.; Passaseo, M.; Perrozzi, L.; Pozzobon, N.; Ronchese, P.; Simonetto, F.; Torassa, E.; Tosi, M.; Triossi, A.; Vanini, S.; Baesso, P.; Berzano, U.; Ratti, S. P.; Riccardi, C.; Torre, P.; Vitulo, P.; Viviani, C.; Biasini, M.; Bilei, G. M.; Caponeri, B.; Fanò, L.; Lariccia, P.; Lucaroni, A.; Mantovani, G.; Menichelli, M.; Nappi, A.; Romeo, F.; Santocchia, A.; Taroni, S.; Valdata, M.; Azzurri, P.; Bagliesi, G.; Bernardini, J.; Boccali, T.; Broccolo, G.; Castaldi, R.; D'Agnolo, R. T.; Dell'Orso, R.; Fiori, F.; Foò, L.; Giassi, A.; Kraan, A.; Ligabue, F.; Lomtadze, T.; Martini, L.; Messineo, A.; Palla, F.; Segneri, G.; Serban, A. T.; Spagnolo, P.; Tenchini, R.; Tonelli, G.; Venturi, A.; Verdini, P. G.; Barone, L.; Cavallari, F.; Del Re, D.; Di Marco, E.; Diemoz, M.; Franci, D.; Grassi, M.; Longo, E.; Nourbakhsh, S.; Organtini, G.; Pandolfi, F.; Paramatti, R.; Rahatlou, S.; Rovelli, C.; Amapane, N.; Arcidiacono, R.; Argiro, S.; Arneodo, M.; Biino, C.; Botta, C.; Cartiglia, N.; Castello, R.; Costa, M.; Demaria, N.; Graziano, A.; Mariotti, C.; Marone, M.; Maselli, S.; Migliore, E.; Mila, G.; Monaco, V.; Musich, M.; Obertino, M. M.; Pastrone, N.; Pelliccioni, M.; Romero, A.; Ruspa, M.; Sacchi, R.; Sola, V.; Solano, A.; Staiano, A.; Vilela Pereira, A.; Belforte, S.; Cossutti, F.; Della Ricca, G.; Gobbo, B.; Montanino, D.; Penzo, A.; Heo, S. G.; Nam, S. K.; Chang, S.; Chung, J.; Kim, D. H.; Kim, G. N.; Kim, J. E.; Kong, D. J.; Park, H.; Ro, S. R.; Son, D.; Son, D. C.; Son, T.; Kim, Zero; Kim, J. Y.; Song, S.; Choi, S.; Hong, B.; Jeong, M. S.; Jo, M.; Kim, H.; Kim, J. H.; Kim, T. J.; Lee, K. S.; Moon, D. H.; Park, S. K.; Rhee, H. B.; Seo, E.; Shin, S.; Sim, K. S.; Choi, M.; Kang, S.; Kim, H.; Park, C.; Park, I. C.; Park, S.; Ryu, G.; Choi, Y.; Choi, Y. K.; Goh, J.; Kim, M. S.; Kwon, E.; Lee, J.; Lee, S.; Seo, H.; Yu, I.; Bilinskas, M. J.; Grigelionis, I.; Janulis, M.; Martisiute, D.; Petrov, P.; Sabonis, T.; Castilla-Valdez, H.; De La Cruz-Burelo, E.; Heredia-de La Cruz, I.; Lopez-Fernandez, R.; Magaña Villalba, R.; Sánchez-Hernández, A.; Villasenor-Cendejas, L. M.; Carrillo Moreno, S.; Vazquez Valencia, F.; Salazar Ibarguen, H. A.; Casimiro Linares, E.; Morelos Pineda, A.; Reyes-Santos, M. A.; Krofcheck, D.; Tam, J.; Butler, P. H.; Doesburg, R.; Silverwood, H.; Ahmad, M.; Ahmed, I.; Asghar, M. I.; Hoorani, H. R.; Khan, W. A.; Khurshid, T.; Qazi, S.; Brona, G.; Cwiok, M.; Dominik, W.; Doroba, K.; Kalinowski, A.; Konecki, M.; Krolikowski, J.; Frueboes, T.; Gokieli, R.; Górski, M.; Kazana, M.; Nawrocki, K.; Romanowska-Rybinska, K.; Szleper, M.; Wrochna, G.; Zalewski, P.; Almeida, N.; Bargassa, P.; David, A.; Faccioli, P.; Ferreira Parracho, P. G.; Gallinaro, M.; Musella, P.; Nayak, A.; Ribeiro, P. Q.; Seixas, J.; Varela, J.; Afanasiev, S.; Belotelov, I.; Bunin, P.; Golutvin, I.; Kamenev, A.; Karjavin, V.; Kozlov, G.; Lanev, A.; Moisenz, P.; Palichik, V.; Perelygin, V.; Shmatov, S.; Smirnov, V.; Volodko, A.; Zarubin, A.; Golovtsov, V.; Ivanov, Y.; Kim, V.; Levchenko, P.; Murzin, V.; Oreshkin, V.; Smirnov, I.; Sulimov, V.; Uvarov, L.; Vavilov, S.; Vorobyev, A.; Vorobyev, A.; Andreev, Yu.; Dermenev, A.; Gninenko, S.; Golubev, N.; Kirsanov, M.; Krasnikov, N.; Matveev, V.; Pashenkov, A.; Toropin, A.; Troitsky, S.; Epshteyn, V.; Gavrilov, V.; Kaftanov, V.; Kossov, M.; Krokhotin, A.; Lychkovskaya, N.; Popov, V.; Safronov, G.; Semenov, S.; Stolin, V.; Vlasov, E.; Zhokin, A.; Boos, E.; Ershov, A.; Gribushin, A.; Kodolova, O.; Korotkikh, V.; Lokhtin, I.; Markina, A.; Obraztsov, S.; Perfilov, M.; Petrushanko, S.; Sarycheva, L.; Savrin, V.; Snigirev, A.; Vardanyan, I.; Andreev, V.; Azarkin, M.; Dremin, I.; Kirakosyan, M.; Leonidov, A.; Rusakov, S. V.; Vinogradov, A.; Azhgirey, I.; Bitioukov, S.; Grishin, V.; Kachanov, V.; Konstantinov, D.; Korablev, A.; Krychkine, V.; Petrov, V.; Ryutin, R.; Slabospitsky, S.; Sobol, A.; Tourtchanovitch, L.; Troshin, S.; Tyurin, N.; Uzunian, A.; Volkov, A.; Adzic, P.; Djordjevic, M.; Krpic, D.; Milosevic, J.; Aguilar-Benitez, M.; Alcaraz Maestre, J.; Arce, P.; Battilana, C.; Calvo, E.; Cepeda, M.; Cerrada, M.; Chamizo Llatas, M.; Colino, N.; De La Cruz, B.; Delgado Peris, A.; Diez Pardos, C.; Domínguez Vázquez, D.; Fernandez Bedoya, C.; Fernández Ramos, J. P.; Ferrando, A.; Flix, J.; Fouz, M. C.; Garcia-Abia, P.; Gonzalez Lopez, O.; Goy Lopez, S.; Hernandez, J. M.; Josa, M. I.; Merino, G.; Puerta Pelayo, J.; Redondo, I.; Romero, L.; Santaolalla, J.; Soares, M. S.; Willmott, C.; Albajar, C.; Codispoti, G.; de Trocóniz, J. F.; Cuevas, J.; Fernandez Menendez, J.; Folgueras, S.; Caballero, I. Gonzalez; Lloret Iglesias, L.; Vizan Garcia, J. M.; Brochero Cifuentes, J. A.; Cabrillo, I. J.; Calderon, A.; Chuang, S. H.; Campderros, J. Duarte; Felcini, M.; Fernandez, M.; Gomez, G.; Gonzalez Sanchez, J.; Jorda, C.; Lobelle Pardo, P.; Lopez Virto, A.; Marco, J.; Marco, R.; Martinez Rivero, C.; Matorras, F.; Munoz Sanchez, F. J.; Piedra Gomez, J.; Rodrigo, T.; Rodríguez-Marrero, A. Y.; Ruiz-Jimeno, A.; Scodellaro, L.; Sanudo, M. Sobron; Vila, I.; Vilar Cortabitarte, R.; Abbaneo, D.; Auffray, E.; Auzinger, G.; Baillon, P.; Ball, A. H.; Barney, D.; Bell, A. J.; Benedetti, D.; Bernet, C.; Bialas, W.; Bloch, P.; Bocci, A.; Bolognesi, S.; Bona, M.; Breuker, H.; Bunkowski, K.; Camporesi, T.; Cerminara, G.; Coarasa Perez, J. A.; Curé, B.; D'Enterria, D.; De Roeck, A.; Di Guida, S.; Dupont-Sagorin, N.; Elliott-Peisert, A.; Frisch, B.; Funk, W.; Gaddi, A.; Georgiou, G.; Gerwig, H.; Gigi, D.; Gill, K.; Giordano, D.; Glege, F.; Gomez-Reino Garrido, R.; Gouzevitch, M.; Govoni, P.; Gowdy, S.; Guiducci, L.; Hansen, M.; Hartl, C.; Harvey, J.; Hegeman, J.; Hegner, B.; Hoffmann, H. F.; Honma, A.; Innocente, V.; Janot, P.; Kaadze, K.; Karavakis, E.; Lecoq, P.; Lourenço, C.; Mäki, T.; Malberti, M.; Malgeri, L.; Mannelli, M.; Masetti, L.; Maurisset, A.; Meijers, F.; Mersi, S.; Meschi, E.; Moser, R.; Mozer, M. U.; Mulders, M.; Nesvold, E.; Nguyen, M.; Orimoto, T.; Orsini, L.; Perez, E.; Petrilli, A.; Pfeiffer, A.; Pierini, M.; Pimiä, M.; Piparo, D.; Polese, G.; Racz, A.; Rodrigues Antunes, J.; Rolandi, G.; Rommerskirchen, T.; Rovere, M.; Sakulin, H.; Schäfer, C.; Schwick, C.; Segoni, I.; Sharma, A.; Siegrist, P.; Simon, M.; Sphicas, P.; Spiropulu, M.; Stoye, M.; Tadel, M.; Tropea, P.; Tsirou, A.; Vichoudis, P.; Voutilainen, M.; Zeuner, W. D.; Bertl, W.; Deiters, K.; Erdmann, W.; Gabathuler, K.; Horisberger, R.; Ingram, Q.; Kaestli, H. C.; König, S.; Kotlinski, D.; Langenegger, U.; Meier, F.; Renker, D.; Rohe, T.; Sibille, J.; Starodumov, A.; Bortignon, P.; Caminada, L.; Chanon, N.; Chen, Z.; Cittolin, S.; Dissertori, G.; Dittmar, M.; Eugster, J.; Freudenreich, K.; Grab, C.; Hintz, W.; Lecomte, P.; Lustermann, W.; Marchica, C.; Martinez Ruiz del Arbol, P.; Meridiani, P.; Milenovic, P.; Moortgat, F.; Nägeli, C.; Nef, P.; Nessi-Tedaldi, F.; Pape, L.; Pauss, F.; Punz, T.; Rizzi, A.; Ronga, F. J.; Rossini, M.; Sala, L.; Sanchez, A. K.; Sawley, M.-C.; Stieger, B.; Tauscher, L.; Thea, A.; Theofilatos, K.; Treille, D.; Urscheler, C.; Wallny, R.; Weber, M.; Wehrli, L.; Weng, J.; Aguiló, E.; Amsler, C.; Chiochia, V.; De Visscher, S.; Favaro, C.; Ivova Rikova, M.; Millan Mejias, B.; Otiougova, P.; Regenfus, C.; Robmann, P.; Schmidt, A.; Snoek, H.; Chang, Y. H.; Chen, K. H.; Dutta, S.; Kuo, C. M.; Li, S. W.; Lin, W.; Liu, Z. K.; Lu, Y. J.; Mekterovic, D.; Volpe, R.; Wu, J. H.; Yu, S. S.; Bartalini, P.; Chang, P.; Chang, Y. H.; Chang, Y. W.; Chao, Y.; Chen, K. F.; Hou, W.-S.; Hsiung, Y.; Kao, K. Y.; Lei, Y. J.; Lu, R.-S.; Shiu, J. G.; Tzeng, Y. M.; Wang, M.; Adiguzel, A.; Bakirci, M. N.; Cerci, S.; Dozen, C.; Dumanoglu, I.; Ekenel, A.; Eskut, E.; Girgis, S.; Gokbulut, G.; Hos, I.; Kangal, E. E.; Kayis Topaksu, A.; Onengut, G.; Ozdemir, K.; Ozturk, S.; Polatoz, A.; Sogut, K.; Sunar Cerci, D.; Tali, B.; Topakli, H.; Uzun, D.; Vergili, L. N.; Vergili, M.; Yilmaz, S.; Akin, I. V.; Aliev, T.; Bilmis, S.; Deniz, M.; Gamsizkan, H.; Guler, A. M.; Ocalan, K.; Ozpineci, A.; Serin, M.; Sever, R.; Surat, U. E.; Yildirim, E.; Zeyrek, M.; Deliomeroglu, M.; Demir, D.; Gülmez, E.; Isildak, B.; Kaya, M.; Kaya, O.; Ozkorucuklu, S.; Sonmez, N.; Levchuk, L.; Bostock, F.; Brooke, J. J.; Cheng, T. L.; Clement, E.; Cussans, D.; Frazier, R.; Goldstein, J.; Grimes, M.; Hansen, M.; Hartley, D.; Heath, G. P.; Heath, H. F.; Kreczko, L.; Metson, S.; Newbold, D. M.; Nirunpong, K.; Poll, A.; Senkin, S.; Smith, V. J.; Ward, S.; Basso, L.; Belyaev, A.; Brew, C.; Brown, R. M.; Camanzi, B.; Cockerill, D. J. A.; Coughlan, J. A.; Harder, K.; Harper, S.; Jackson, J.; Kennedy, B. W.; Olaiya, E.; Petyt, D.; Radburn-Smith, B. C.; Shepherd-Themistocleous, C. H.; Tomalin, I. R.; Womersley, W. J.; Worm, S. D.; Bainbridge, R.; Ball, G.; Ballin, J.; Beuselinck, R.; Buchmuller, O.; Colling, D.; Cripps, N.; Cutajar, M.; Davies, G.; Della Negra, M.; Ferguson, W.; Fulcher, J.; Futyan, D.; Gilbert, A.; Guneratne Bryer, A.; Hall, G.; Hatherell, Z.; Hays, J.; Iles, G.; Jarvis, M.; Karapostoli, G.; Lyons, L.; MacEvoy, B. C.; Magnan, A.-M.; Marrouche, J.; Mathias, B.; Nandi, R.; Nash, J.; Nikitenko, A.; Papageorgiou, A.; Pesaresi, M.; Petridis, K.; Pioppi, M.; Raymond, D. M.; Rogerson, S.; Rompotis, N.; Rose, A.; Ryan, M. J.; Seez, C.; Sharp, P.; Sparrow, A.; Tapper, A.; Tourneur, S.; Vazquez Acosta, M.; Virdee, T.; Wakefield, S.; Wardle, N.; Wardrope, D.; Whyntie, T.; Barrett, M.; Chadwick, M.; Cole, J. E.; Hobson, P. R.; Khan, A.; Kyberd, P.; Leslie, D.; Martin, W.; Reid, I. D.; Teodorescu, L.; Hatakeyama, K.; Liu, H.; Bose, T.; Carrera Jarrin, E.; Fantasia, C.; Heister, A.; St. John, J.; Lawson, P.; Lazic, D.; Rohlf, J.; Sperka, D.; Sulak, L.; Avetisyan, A.; Bhattacharya, S.; Chou, J. P.; Cutts, D.; Ferapontov, A.; Heintz, U.; Jabeen, S.; Kukartsev, G.; Landsberg, G.; Luk, M.; Narain, M.; Nguyen, D.; Segala, M.; Sinthuprasith, T.; Speer, T.; Tsang, K. V.; Breedon, R.; Calderon De La Barca Sanchez, M.; Chauhan, S.; Chertok, M.; Conway, J.; Cox, P. T.; Dolen, J.; Erbacher, R.; Friis, E.; Ko, W.; Kopecky, A.; Lander, R.; Liu, H.; Maruyama, S.; Miceli, T.; Nikolic, M.; Pellett, D.; Robles, J.; Salur, S.; Schwarz, T.; Searle, M.; Smith, J.; Squires, M.; Tripathi, M.; Vasquez Sierra, R.; Veelken, C.; Andreev, V.; Arisaka, K.; Cline, D.; Cousins, R.; Deisher, A.; Duris, J.; Erhan, S.; Farrell, C.; Hauser, J.; Ignatenko, M.; Jarvis, C.; Plager, C.; Rakness, G.; Schlein, P.; Tucker, J.; Valuev, V.; Babb, J.; Chandra, A.; Clare, R.; Ellison, J.; Gary, J. W.; Giordano, F.; Hanson, G.; Jeng, G. Y.; Kao, S. C.; Liu, F.; Liu, H.; Long, O. R.; Luthra, A.; Nguyen, H.; Shen, B. C.; Stringer, R.; Sturdy, J.; Sumowidagdo, S.; Wilken, R.; Wimpenny, S.; Andrews, W.; Branson, J. G.; Cerati, G. B.; Evans, D.; Golf, F.; Holzner, A.; Kelley, R.; Lebourgeois, M.; Letts, J.; Mangano, B.; Padhi, S.; Palmer, C.; Petrucciani, G.; Pi, H.; Pieri, M.; Ranieri, R.; Sani, M.; Sharma, V.; Simon, S.; Sudano, E.; Tu, Y.; Vartak, A.; Wasserbaech, S.; Würthwein, F.; Yagil, A.; Yoo, J.; Barge, D.; Bellan, R.; Campagnari, C.; D'Alfonso, M.; Danielson, T.; Flowers, K.; Geffert, P.; Incandela, J.; Justus, C.; Kalavase, P.; Koay, S. A.; Kovalskyi, D.; Krutelyov, V.; Lowette, S.; Mccoll, N.; Pavlunin, V.; Rebassoo, F.; Ribnik, J.; Richman, J.; Rossin, R.; Stuart, D.; T, W.; Vlimant, J. R.; Apresyan, A.; Bornheim, A.; Bunn, J.; Chen, Y.; Gataullin, M.; Ma, Y.; Mott, A.; Newman, H. B.; Rogan, C.; Shin, K.; Timciuc, V.; Traczyk, P.; Veverka, J.; Wilkinson, R.; Yang, Y.; Zhu, R. Y.; Akgun, B.; Carroll, R.; Ferguson, T.; Iiyama, Y.; Jang, D. W.; Jun, S. Y.; Liu, Y. F.; Paulini, M.; Russ, J.; Vogel, H.; Vorobiev, I.; Cumalat, J. P.; Dinardo, M. E.; Drell, B. R.; Edelmaier, C. J.; Ford, W. T.; Gaz, A.; Heyburn, B.; Luiggi Lopez, E.; Nauenberg, U.; Smith, J. G.; Stenson, K.; Ulmer, K. A.; Wagner, S. R.; Zang, S. L.; Agostino, L.; Alexander, J.; Cassel, D.; Chatterjee, A.; Das, S.; Eggert, N.; Gibbons, L. K.; Heltsley, B.; Hopkins, W.; Khukhunaishvili, A.; Kreis, B.; Kaufman, G. Nicolas; Patterson, J. R.; Puigh, D.; Ryd, A.; Salvati, E.; Shi, X.; Sun, W.; Teo, W. D.; Thom, J.; Thompson, J.; Vaughan, J.; Weng, Y.; Winstrom, L.; Wittich, P.; Biselli, A.; Cirino, G.; Winn, D.; Abdullin, S.; Albrow, M.; Anderson, J.; Apollinari, G.; Atac, M.; Bakken, J. A.; Banerjee, S.; Bauerdick, L. A. T.; Beretvas, A.; Berryhill, J.; Bhat, P. C.; Bloch, I.; Borcherding, F.; Burkett, K.; Butler, J. N.; Chetluru, V.; Cheung, H. W. K.; Chlebana, F.; Cihangir, S.; Cooper, W.; Eartly, D. P.; Elvira, V. D.; Esen, S.; Fisk, I.; Freeman, J.; Gao, Y.; Gottschalk, E.; Green, D.; Gunthoti, K.; Gutsche, O.; Hanlon, J.; Harris, R. M.; Hirschauer, J.; Hooberman, B.; Jensen, H.; Johnson, M.; Joshi, U.; Khatiwada, R.; Klima, B.; Kousouris, K.; Kunori, S.; Kwan, S.; Leonidopoulos, C.; Limon, P.; Lincoln, D.; Lipton, R.; Lykken, J.; Maeshima, K.; Marraffino, J. M.; Mason, D.; McBride, P.; Miao, T.; Mishra, K.; Mrenna, S.; Musienko, Y.; Newman-Holmes, C.; O'Dell, V.; Pordes, R.; Prokofyev, O.; Saoulidou, N.; Sexton-Kennedy, E.; Sharma, S.; Spalding, W. J.; Spiegel, L.; Tan, P.; Taylor, L.; Tkaczyk, S.; Uplegger, L.; Vaandering, E. W.; Vidal, R.; Whitmore, J.; Wu, W.; Yang, F.; Yumiceva, F.; Yun, J. C.; Acosta, D.; Avery, P.; Bourilkov, D.; Chen, M.; De Gruttola, M.; Di Giovanni, G. P.; Dobur, D.; Drozdetskiy, A.; Field, R. D.; Fisher, M.; Fu, Y.; Furic, I. K.; Gartner, J.; Kim, B.; Konigsberg, J.; Korytov, A.; Kropivnitskaya, A.; Kypreos, T.; Matchev, K.; Mitselmakher, G.; Muniz, L.; Prescott, C.; Remington, R.; Schmitt, M.; Scurlock, B.; Sellers, P.; Skhirtladze, N.; Snowball, M.; Wang, D.; Yelton, J.; Zakaria, M.; Ceron, C.; Gaultney, V.; Kramer, L.; Lebolo, L. M.; Linn, S.; Markowitz, P.; Martinez, G.; Mesa, D.; Rodriguez, J. L.; Adams, T.; Askew, A.; Bochenek, J.; Chen, J.; Diamond, B.; Gleyzer, S. V.; Haas, J.; Hagopian, S.; Hagopian, V.; Jenkins, M.; Johnson, K. F.; Prosper, H.; Quertenmont, L.; Sekmen, S.; Veeraraghavan, V.; Baarmand, M. M.; Dorney, B.; Guragain, S.; Hohlmann, M.; Kalakhety, H.; Ralich, R.; Vodopiyanov, I.; Adams, M. R.; Anghel, I. M.; Apanasevich, L.; Bai, Y.; Bazterra, V. E.; Betts, R. R.; Callner, J.; Cavanaugh, R.; Dragoiu, C.; Gauthier, L.; Gerber, C. E.; Hamdan, S.; Hofman, D. J.; Khalatyan, S.; Kunde, G. J.; Lacroix, F.; Malek, M.; O'Brien, C.; Silvestre, C.; Smoron, A.; Strom, D.; Varelas, N.; Akgun, U.; Albayrak, E. A.; Bilki, B.; Clarida, W.; Duru, F.; Lae, C. K.; McCliment, E.; Merlo, J.-P.; Mermerkaya, H.; Mestvirishvili, A.; Moeller, A.; Nachtman, J.; Newsom, C. R.; Norbeck, E.; Olson, J.; Onel, Y.; Ozok, F.; Sen, S.; Wetzel, J.; Yetkin, T.; Yi, K.; Barnett, B. A.; Blumenfeld, B.; Bonato, A.; Eskew, C.; Fehling, D.; Giurgiu, G.; Gritsan, A. V.; Guo, Z. J.; Hu, G.; Maksimovic, P.; Rappoccio, S.; Swartz, M.; Tran, N. V.; Whitbeck, A.; Baringer, P.; Bean, A.; Benelli, G.; Grachov, O.; Kenny, R. P.; Murray, M.; Noonan, D.; Sanders, S.; Wood, J. S.; Zhukova, V.; Barfuss, A. f.; Bolton, T.; Chakaberia, I.; Ivanov, A.; Khalil, S.; Makouski, M.; Maravin, Y.; Shrestha, S.; Svintradze, I.; Wan, Z.; Gronberg, J.; Lange, D.; Wright, D.; Baden, A.; Boutemeur, M.; Eno, S. C.; Ferencek, D.; Gomez, J. A.; Hadley, N. J.; Kellogg, R. G.; Kirn, M.; Lu, Y.; Mignerey, A. C.; Rossato, K.; Rumerio, P.; Santanastasio, F.; Skuja, A.; Temple, J.; Tonjes, M. B.; Tonwar, S. C.; Twedt, E.; Alver, B.; Bauer, G.; Bendavid, J.; Busza, W.; Butz, E.; Cali, I. A.; Chan, M.; Dutta, V.; Everaerts, P.; Ceballos, G. Gomez; Goncharov, M.; Hahn, K. A.; Harris, P.; Kim, Y.; Klute, M.; Lee, Y.-J.; Li, W.; Loizides, C.; Luckey, P. D.; Ma, T.; Nahn, S.; Paus, C.; Ralph, D.; Roland, C.; Roland, G.; Rudolph, M.; Stephans, G. S. F.; Stöckli, F.; Sumorok, K.; Sung, K.; Wenger, E. A.; Xie, S.; Yang, M.; Yilmaz, Y.; Yoon, A. S.; Zanetti, M.; Cooper, S. I.; Cushman, P.; Dahmes, B.; DeBenedetti, A.; Dudero, P. R.; Franzoni, G.; Haupt, J.; Klapoetke, K.; Kubota, Y.; Mans, J.; Rekovic, V.; Rusack, R.; Sasseville, M.; Singovsky, A.; Cremaldi, L. M.; Godang, R.; Kroeger, R.; Perera, L.; Rahmat, R.; Sanders, D. A.; Summers, D.; Bloom, K.; Bose, S.; Butt, J.; Claes, D. R.; Dominguez, A.; Eads, M.; Keller, J.; Kelly, T.; Kravchenko, I.; Lazo-Flores, J.; Malbouisson, H.; Malik, S.; Snow, G. R.; Baur, U.; Godshalk, A.; Iashvili, I.; Jain, S.; Kharchilava, A.; Kumar, A.; Shipkowski, S. P.; Smith, K.; Alverson, G.; Barberis, E.; Baumgartel, D.; Boeriu, O.; Chasco, M.; Reucroft, S.; Swain, J.; Trocino, D.; Wood, D.; Zhang, J.; Anastassov, A.; Kubik, A.; Odell, N.; Ofierzynski, R. A.; Pollack, B.; Pozdnyakov, A.; Schmitt, M.; Stoynev, S.; Velasco, M.; Won, S.; Antonelli, L.; Berry, D.; Hildreth, M.; Jessop, C.; Karmgard, D. J.; Kolb, J.; Kolberg, T.; Lannon, K.; Luo, W.; Lynch, S.; Marinelli, N.; Morse, D. M.; Pearson, T.; Ruchti, R.; Slaunwhite, J.; Valls, N.; Wayne, M.; Ziegler, J.; Bylsma, B.; Durkin, L. S.; Gu, J.; Hill, C.; Killewald, P.; Kotov, K.; Ling, T. Y.; Rodenburg, M.; Williams, G.; Adam, N.; Berry, E.; Elmer, P.; Gerbaudo, D.; Halyo, V.; Hebda, P.; Hunt, A.; Jones, J.; Laird, E.; Lopes Pegna, D.; Marlow, D.; Medvedeva, T.; Mooney, M.; Olsen, J.; Piroué, P.; Quan, X.; Saka, H.; Stickland, D.; Tully, C.; Werner, J. S.; Zuranski, A.; Acosta, J. G.; Huang, X. T.; Lopez, A.; Mendez, H.; Oliveros, S.; Ramirez Vargas, J. E.; Zatserklyaniy, A.; Alagoz, E.; Barnes, V. E.; Bolla, G.; Borrello, L.; Bortoletto, D.; Everett, A.; Garfinkel, A. F.; Gutay, L.; Hu, Z.; Jones, M.; Koybasi, O.; Kress, M.; Laasanen, A. T.; Leonardo, N.; Liu, C.; Maroussov, V.; Merkel, P.; Miller, D. H.; Neumeister, N.; Shipsey, I.; Silvers, D.; Svyatkovskiy, A.; Yoo, H. D.; Zablocki, J.; Zheng, Y.; Jindal, P.; Parashar, N.; Boulahouache, C.; Cuplov, V.; Ecklund, K. M.; Geurts, F. J. M.; Padley, B. P.; Redjimi, R.; Roberts, J.; Zabel, J.; Betchart, B.; Bodek, A.; Chung, Y. S.; Covarelli, R.; de Barbaro, P.; Demina, R.; Eshaq, Y.; Flacher, H.; Garcia-Bellido, A.; Goldenzweig, P.; Gotra, Y.; Han, J.; Harel, A.; Miner, D. C.; Orbaker, D.; Petrillo, G.; Vishnevskiy, D.; Zielinski, M.; Bhatti, A.; Ciesielski, R.; Demortier, L.; Goulianos, K.; Lungu, G.; Malik, S.; Mesropian, C.; Yan, M.; Atramentov, O.; Barker, A.; Duggan, D.; Gershtein, Y.; Gray, R.; Halkiadakis, E.; Hidas, D.; Hits, D.; Lath, A.; Panwalkar, S.; Patel, R.; Richards, A.; Rose, K.; Schnetzer, S.; Somalwar, S.; Stone, R.; Thomas, S.; Cerizza, G.; Hollingsworth, M.; Spanier, S.; Yang, Z. C.; York, A.; Eusebi, R.; Gilmore, J.; Gurrola, A.; Kamon, T.; Khotilovich, V.; Montalvo, R.; Osipenkov, I.; Pakhotin, Y.; Pivarski, J.; Safonov, A.; Sengupta, S.; Tatarinov, A.; Toback, D.; Weinberger, M.; Akchurin, N.; Bardak, C.; Damgov, J.; Jeong, C.; Kovitanggoon, K.; Lee, S. W.; Mane, P.; Roh, Y.; Sill, A.; Volobouev, I.; Wigmans, R.; Yazgan, E.; Appelt, E.; Brownson, E.; Engh, D.; Florez, C.; Gabella, W.; Issah, M.; Johns, W.; Kurt, P.; Maguire, C.; Melo, A.; Sheldon, P.; Snook, B.; Tuo, S.; Velkovska, J.; Arenton, M. W.; Balazs, M.; Boutle, S.; Cox, B.; Francis, B.; Hirosky, R.; Ledovskoy, A.; Lin, C.; Neu, C.; Yohay, R.; Gollapinni, S.; Harr, R.; Karchin, P. E.; Lamichhane, P.; Mattson, M.; Milstène, C.; Sakharov, A.; Anderson, M.; Bachtis, M.; Bellinger, J. N.; Carlsmith, D.; Dasu, S.; Efron, J.; Flood, K.; Gray, L.; Grogg, K. S.; Grothe, M.; Hall-Wilton, R.; Herndon, M.; Hervé, A.; Klabbers, P.; Klukas, J.; Lanaro, A.; Lazaridis, C.; Leonard, J.; Loveless, R.; Mohapatra, A.; Palmonari, F.; Reeder, D.; Ross, I.; Savin, A.; Smith, W. H.; Swanson, J.; Weinberg, M.

    2011-07-01

    First measurements of dihadron correlationsfor charged particles are presented for central PbPb collisions at a nucleon-nucleon center-of-mass energy of 2.76TeV over a broad range in relative pseudorapidity (∆η) and the full range of relative azimuthal angle (∆ϕ). The data were collected with the CMS detector, at the LHC. A broadening of the away-side (∆ϕ ≈ π) azimuthal correlation is observed at all ∆η, as compared to the measurements in pp collisions. Furthermore, long-range dihadron correlations in ∆η are observed for particles with similar ϕ values. This phenomenon, also known as the "ridge", persists up to at least |∆η| = 4. For particles with transverse momenta ( p T) of2-4 GeV/ c, the ridge is found to be most prominent when these particles are correlated with particles of p T = 2-6 GeV/ c, and to be much reduced when paired with particles of p T = 10-12 GeV/ c.

  14. Fe-based long range ordered alloys

    DOEpatents

    Liu, C.T.

    Malleable long range ordered alloys with high critical ordering temperatures exist in the V(Co,Fe)/sub 3/ and V(Co,Fe,Ni)/sub 3/ system. The composition comprising by weight 22 to 23% V, 35 to 50% Fe, 0 to 22% Co and 19 to 40% Ni with an electron density no greater than 8.00. Excellent high temperature properties occur in alloys having compositions comprising by weight 22 to 23% V, 35 to 45% Fe, 0 to 10% Co, 25 to 35% Ni; 22 to 23% V, 28 to 33% Ni and the remainder Fe; and 22 to 23% V, 19 to 22% Co and the remainder Fe. The alloys are fabricable by casting, deforming and annealing for sufficient time to provide ordered structure.

  15. Long-Term Occupancy Trends in a Data-Poor Dugong Population in the Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago

    PubMed Central

    D’Souza, Elrika; Patankar, Vardhan; Arthur, Rohan; Alcoverro, Teresa; Kelkar, Nachiket

    2013-01-01

    Prioritizing efforts for conserving rare and threatened species with limited past data and lacking population estimates is predicated on robust assessments of their occupancy rates. This is particularly challenging for elusive, long-lived and wide-ranging marine mammals. In this paper we estimate trends in long-term (over 50years) occupancy, persistence and extinction of a vulnerable and data-poor dugong (Dugong dugon) population across multiple seagrass meadows in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago (India). For this we use hierarchical Bayesian dynamic occupancy models accounting for false negatives (detection probability<1), persistence and extinction, to two datasets: a) fragmentary long-term occurrence records from multiple sources (1959–2004, n = 40 locations), and b) systematic detection/non-detection data from current surveys (2010–2012, n = 57). Dugong occupancy across the archipelago declined by 60% (from 0.45 to 0.18) over the last 20 years and present distribution was largely restricted to sheltered bays and channels with seagrass meadows dominated by Halophila and Halodule sp. Dugongs were not found in patchy meadows with low seagrass cover. In general, seagrass habitat availability was not limiting for dugong occupancy, suggesting that anthropogenic factors such as entanglement in gillnets and direct hunting may have led to local extinction of dugongs from locations where extensive seagrass meadows still thrive. Effective management of these remnant dugong populations will require a multi-pronged approach, involving 1) protection of areas where dugongs still persist, 2) monitoring of seagrass habitats that dugongs could recolonize, 3) reducing gillnet use in areas used by dugongs, and 4) engaging with indigenous/settler communities to reduce impacts of hunting. PMID:24143180

  16. Monitoring of persistent organic pollutants in Africa. Part 2: design of a network to monitor the continental and intercontinental background.

    PubMed

    Lammel, G; Dobrovolný, P; Dvorská, A; Chromá, K; Brázdil, R; Holoubek, I; Hosek, J

    2009-11-01

    A network for the study of long-term trends of the continental background in Africa and the intercontinental background of persistent organic pollutants as resulting from long-range transport of contaminants from European, South Asian, and other potential source regions, as well as by watching supposedly pristine regions, i.e. the Southern Ocean and Antarctica is designed. The results of a pilot phase sampling programme in 2008 and meteorological and climatological information from the period 1961-2007 was used to apply objective criteria for the selection of stations for the monitoring network: out the original 26 stations six have been rejected because of suggested strong local sources of POPs and three others because of local meteorological effects, which may prevent part of the time long-range transported air to reach the sampling site. Representativeness of the meteorological patterns during the pilot phase with respect to climatology was assessed by comparison of the more local airflow situation as given by climatological vs. observed wind roses and by comparison of backward trajectories with the climatological wind (NCEP/NCAR re-analyses). With minor exceptions advection to nine inspected stations was typical for present-day climate during the pilot phase, 2008. Six to nine stations would cover satisfyingly large and densely populated regions of North-eastern, West and East Africa and its neighbouring seas, the Mediterranean, Northern and Equatorial Atlantic Ocean, the Western Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean. Among the more densely populated areas Southern Cameroon, parts of the Abessinian plateau and most of the Great Lakes area would not be covered. The potential of the network is not hampered by on-going long-term changes of the advection to the selected stations, as these do hardly affect the coverage of target areas.

  17. Long-term monitoring of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) at the Norwegian Troll station in Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kallenborn, R.; Breivik, K.; Eckhardt, S.; Lunder, C. R.; Manø, S.; Schlabach, M.; Stohl, A.

    2013-03-01

    A first long-term monitoring of selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Antarctic air has been conducted at the Norwegian Research station Troll (Dronning Maud Land). As target contaminants 32 PCB congeners, a- and g-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), trans- and cis-chlordane, trans- and cis-nonachlor, p,p'- and o,p-DDT, DDD, DDE as well as hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were selected. The monitoring program with weekly samples taken during the period 2007-2010 was coordinated with the parallel program at the Norwegian Arctic monitoring site (Zeppelin mountain, Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard) in terms of priority compounds, sampling schedule as well as analytical methods. The POP concentration levels found in Antarctica were considerably lower than Arctic atmospheric background concentrations. Similar as observed for Arctic samples, HCB is the predominant POP compound with levels of around 22 pg m-3 throughout the entire monitoring period. In general, the following concentration distribution was found for the Troll samples analyzed: HCB > Sum HCH > Sum PCB > Sum DDT > Sum chlordanes. Atmospheric long-range transport was identified as a major contamination source for POPs in Antarctic environments. Several long-range transport events with elevated levels of pesticides and/or compounds with industrial sources were identified based on retroplume calculations with a Lagrangian particle dispersion model (FLEXPART). The POP levels determined in Troll air were compared with 1 concentrations found in earlier measurement campaigns at other Antarctic research stations from the past 18 yr. Except for HCB for which similar concentration distributions were observed in all sampling campaigns, concentrations in the recent Troll samples were lower than in samples collected during the early 1990s. These concentration reductions are obviously a direct consequence of international regulations restricting the usage of POP-like chemicals on a worldwide scale.

  18. Transport and fate of hexachlorocyclohexanes in the oceanic air and surface seawater

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xie, Z.; Koch, B. P.; Möller, A.; Sturm, R.; Ebinghaus, R.

    2011-06-01

    Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) are ubiquitous organic pollutants derived from pesticide application. They are subject to long-range transport, persistent in the environment, and capable of accumulation in biota. Shipboard measurements of HCH isomers (α-, γ- and β-HCH) in surface seawater and boundary layer atmospheric samples were conducted in the Atlantic and the Southern Ocean in October to December of 2008. ΣHCHs concentrations (the sum of α-, γ- and β-HCH) in the lower atmosphere ranged from 11.8 to 36.9 pg m-3 (mean: 26.6 ± 11.0 pg m-3) in the Northern Hemisphere (NH), and from 1.5 to 4.0 pg m-3 (mean: 2.8 ± 1.1 pg m-3) in the Southern Hemisphere (SH), respectively. Water concentrations were: α-HCH 0.33-46.8 pg l-1, γ-HCH 0.02-33.2 pg l-1 and β-HCH 0.11-2 pg l-1. HCH concentrations decreased from the North Atlantic to the Southern Ocean, indicating historical use of HCHs in the NH. Spatial distribution showed increasing concentrations from the equator towards North and South latitudes illustrating the concept of cold condensation and less interhemispheric mixing process. In comparison to concentrations measured in 1987-1999/2000, gaseous HCHs were slightly lower, while dissolved HCHs decreased by factor of 2-3 orders of magnitude. Air-water exchange gradients suggested net deposition for α-HCH (mean: 3759 pg m-2 day-1) and γ-HCH (mean: 1987 pg m-2 day-1), whereas β-HCH varied between equilibrium (volatilization: <0-12 pg m-2 day-1) and net deposition (range: 6-687 pg m-2 day-1), indicating a multi-hopper transport behavior. Climate change may significantly accelerate the releasing process of "old" HCHs from continental storage (e.g. soil, vegetation and high mountains) and drive long-range transport from sources to deposition in the open oceans. Biological productivities may interfere with the air-water exchange process as well. Consequently, further investigation is necessary to elucidate the long term trends and the biogeochemical turnover of HCHs in the oceanic environment.

  19. Transport and fate of hexachlorocyclohexanes in the oceanic air and surface seawater

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xie, Z.; Koch, B. P.; Möller, A.; Sturm, R.; Ebinghaus, R.

    2011-09-01

    Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) are ubiquitous organic pollutants derived from pesticide application. They are subject to long-range transport, persistent in the environment, and capable of accumulation in biota. Shipboard measurements of HCH isomers (α-, γ- and β-HCH) in surface seawater and boundary layer atmospheric samples were conducted in the Atlantic and the Southern Ocean in October to December of 2008. ΣHCHs concentrations (the sum of α-, γ- and β-HCH) in the lower atmosphere ranged from 12 to 37 pg m-3 (mean: 27 ± 11 pg m-3) in the Northern Hemisphere (NH), and from 1.5 to 4.0 pg m-3 (mean: 2.8 ± 1.1 pg m-3) in the Southern Hemisphere (SH), respectively. Water concentrations were: α-HCH 0.33-47 pg l-1, γ-HCH 0.02-33 pg l-1 and β-HCH 0.11-9.5 pg l-1. Dissolved HCH concentrations decreased from the North Atlantic to the Southern Ocean, indicating historical use of HCHs in the NH. Spatial distribution showed increasing concentrations from the equator towards North and South latitudes illustrating the concept of cold trapping in high latitudes and less interhemispheric mixing process. In comparison to concentrations measured in 1987-1999/2000, gaseous HCHs were slightly lower, while dissolved HCHs decreased by factor of 2-3 orders of magnitude. Air-water exchange gradients suggested net deposition for α-HCH (mean: 3800 pg m-2 day-1) and γ-HCH (mean: 2000 pg m-2 day-1), whereas β-HCH varied between equilibrium (volatilization: <0-12 pg m-2 day-1) and net deposition (range: 6-690 pg m-2 day-1). Climate change may significantly accelerate the release of "old" HCHs from continental storage (e.g. soil, vegetation and high mountains) and drive long-range transport from sources to deposition in the open oceans. Biological productivities may interfere with the air-water exchange process as well. Consequently, further investigation is necessary to elucidate the long term trends and the biogeochemical turnover of HCHs in the oceanic environment.

  20. Population maintenance among tropical reef fishes: Inferences from small-island endemics

    PubMed Central

    Robertson, D. Ross

    2001-01-01

    To what extent do local populations of tropical reef fishes persist through the recruitment of pelagic larvae to their natal reef? Endemics from small, isolated islands can help answer that question by indicating whether special biological attributes are needed for long-term survival under enforced localization in high-risk situations. Taxonomically and biologically, the endemics from seven such islands are broadly representative of their regional faunas. As natal-site recruitment occurs among reef fishes in much less isolated situations, these characteristics of island endemics indicate that a wide range of reef fishes could have persistent self-sustaining local populations. Because small islands regularly support substantial reef fish faunas, regional systems of small reserves could preserve much of the diversity of these fishes. PMID:11331752

  1. Linkage disequilibrium, persistence of phase, and effective population size in Spanish local beef cattle breeds assessed through a high-density single nucleotide polymorphism chip.

    PubMed

    Cañas-Álvarez, J J; Mouresan, E F; Varona, L; Díaz, C; Molina, A; Baro, J A; Altarriba, J; Carabaño, M J; Casellas, J; Piedrafita, J

    2016-07-01

    Linkage disequilibrium (LD) and persistence of phase are fundamental approaches for exploring the genetic basis of economically important traits in cattle, including the identification of QTL for genomic selection and the estimation of effective population size () to determine the size of the training populations. In this study, we have used the Illumina BovineHD chip in 168 trios of 7 Spanish beef cattle breeds to obtain an overview of the magnitude of LD and the persistence of LD phase through the physical distance between markers. Also, we estimated the time of divergence based on the persistence of the LD phase and calculated past from LD estimates using different alternatives to define the recombination rate. Estimates of average (as a measure of LD) for adjacent markers were close to 0.52 in the 7 breeds and decreased with the distance between markers, although in long distances, some LD still remained (0.07 and 0.05 for markers 200 kb and 1 Mb apart, respectively). A panel with a lower boundary of 38,000 SNP would be necessary to launch a successful within-breed genomic selection program. Persistence of phase, measured as the pairwise correlations between estimates of in 2 breeds at short distances (10 kb), was in the 0.89 to 0.94 range and decreased from 0.33 to 0.52 to a range of 0.01 to 0.08 when marker distance increased from 200 kb to 1 Mb, respectively. The magnitude of the persistence of phase between the Spanish beef breeds was similar to those found in dairy breeds. For across-breed genomic selection, the size of the SNP panels must be in the range of 50,000 to 83,000 SNP. Estimates of past showed values ranging from 26 to 31 for 1 generation ago in all breeds. The divergence among breeds occurred between 129 and 207 generations ago. The results of this study are relevant for the future implementation of within- and across-breed genomic selection programs in the Spanish beef cattle populations. Our results suggest that a reduced subset of the SNP panel would be enough to achieve an adequate precision of the genomic predictions.

  2. Effects of long memory in the order submission process on the properties of recurrence intervals of large price fluctuations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Meng, Hao; Ren, Fei; Gu, Gao-Feng; Xiong, Xiong; Zhang, Yong-Jie; Zhou, Wei-Xing; Zhang, Wei

    2012-05-01

    Understanding the statistical properties of recurrence intervals (also termed return intervals in econophysics literature) of extreme events is crucial to risk assessment and management of complex systems. The probability distributions and correlations of recurrence intervals for many systems have been extensively investigated. However, the impacts of microscopic rules of a complex system on the macroscopic properties of its recurrence intervals are less studied. In this letter, we adopt an order-driven stock model to address this issue for stock returns. We find that the distributions of the scaled recurrence intervals of simulated returns have a power-law scaling with stretched exponential cutoff and the intervals possess multifractal nature, which are consistent with empirical results. We further investigate the effects of long memory in the directions (or signs) and relative prices of the order flow on the characteristic quantities of these properties. It is found that the long memory in the order directions (Hurst index Hs) has a negligible effect on the interval distributions and the multifractal nature. In contrast, the power-law exponent of the interval distribution increases linearly with respect to the Hurst index Hx of the relative prices, and the singularity width of the multifractal nature fluctuates around a constant value when Hx<0.7 and then increases with Hx. No evident effects of Hs and Hx are found on the long memory of the recurrence intervals. Our results indicate that the nontrivial properties of the recurrence intervals of returns are mainly caused by traders' behaviors of persistently placing new orders around the best bid and ask prices.

  3. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sainato, Michela; Shevitski, Brian; Sahu, Ayaskanta

    Self-assembly of semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) into two-dimensional patterns or three-dimensional (2- 3D) superstructures has emerged as a promising low-cost route to generate thin-film transistors and solar cells with superior charge transport because of enhanced electronic coupling between the NCs. Here, we show that lead sulfide (PbS) NCs solids featuring either short-range (disordered glassy solids, GSs) or long-range (superlattices, SLs) packing order are obtained solely by controlling deposition conditions of colloidal solution of NCs. In this study, we demonstrate the use of the evaporation-driven self-assembly method results in PbS NC SL structures that are observed over an area of 1 mmmore » × 100 μm, with long-range translational order of up to 100 nm. A number of ordered domains appear to have nucleated simultaneously and grown together over the whole area, imparting a polycrystalline texture to the 3D SL films. By contrast, a conventional, optimized spin-coating deposition method results in PbS NC glassy films with no translational symmetry and much shorter-range packing order in agreement with state-of-the-art reports. Further, we investigate the electronic properties of both SL and GS films, using a field-effect transistor configuration as a test platform. The long-range ordering of the PbS NCs into SLs leads to semiconducting NC-based solids, the mobility (μ) of which is 3 orders of magnitude higher than that of the disordered GSs. Furthemore, although spin-cast GSs of PbS NCs have weak ambipolar behavior with limited gate tunability, SLs of PbS NCs show a clear p-type behavior with significantly higher conductivities.« less

  4. Direct Immersion Annealing of Block Copolymer Thin Films

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karim, Alamgir

    We demonstrate ordering of thin block copolymer (BCP) films via direct immersion annealing (DIA) at enhanced rate leading to stable morphologies. The BCP films are immersed in carefully selected mixtures of good and marginal solvents that can impart enhanced polymer mobility, while inhibiting film dissolution. DIA is compatible with roll-to-roll assembly manufacturing and has distinct advantages over conventional thermal annealing and batch processing solvent-vapor annealing methods. We identify three solvent composition-dependent BCP film ordering regimes in DIA for the weakly interacting polystyrene -poly(methyl methacrylate) (PS -PMMA) system: rapid short range order, optimal long-range order, and a film instability regime. Kinetic studies in the ``optimal long-range order'' processing regime as a function of temperature indicate a significant reduction of activation energy for BCP grain growth compared to oven annealing at conventional temperatures. An attractive feature of DIA is its robustness to ordering other BCP (e.g. PS-P2VP) and PS-PMMA systems exhibiting spherical, lamellar and cylindrical ordering. Inclusion of nanoparticles in these films at high concentrations and fast ordering kinetics study with neutron reflectivity and SANS will be discussed. This is (late) Contributed Talk Abstract for Dillon Medal Symposium at DPOLY - discussed with DPOLY Chair Dvora Perahia.

  5. Aldicarb-pesticide contamination of ground water in eastern Suffolk County, Long Island, New York

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Soren, Julian; Stelz, W.G.

    1984-01-01

    Aldicarb, a toxic oxime-carbamate pesticide that was believed incapable of reaching ground water, was used in potato-farming areas of eastern Suffolk County, New York during 1975-80. In 1979, aldicarb was found in substantial concentrations in ground water throughout the area. The New York State Department of Health set a limit of 7 micrograms per liter for aldicarb in drinking water. Extensive ground-water sampling into 1980 showed widespread contamination ranging from small amounts to as much as 515 micrograms per liter. In 1980, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency banned the use of aldicarb on Long Island at the manufacturer 's request. A 1982 sampling study found aldicarb to have penetrated to about 40 feet below the water table in concentrations ranging from below detection limit to 239 micrograms per liter. Despite reputed toxicity, no instance of aldicarb poisoning on Long Island has been documented. The excessive aldicarb concentrations in the ground water of eastern Long Island may persist for decades; the duration has not been precisely determined and remains under investigation. (USGS)

  6. Pressure induced enhancement of the magnetic ordering temperature in rhenium(IV) monomers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Woodall, Christopher H.; Craig, Gavin A.; Prescimone, Alessandro; Misek, Martin; Cano, Joan; Faus, Juan; Probert, Michael R.; Parsons, Simon; Moggach, Stephen; Martínez-Lillo, José; Murrie, Mark; Kamenev, Konstantin V.; Brechin, Euan K.

    2016-12-01

    Materials that demonstrate long-range magnetic order are synonymous with information storage and the electronics industry, with the phenomenon commonly associated with metals, metal alloys or metal oxides and sulfides. A lesser known family of magnetically ordered complexes are the monometallic compounds of highly anisotropic d-block transition metals; the `transformation' from isolated zero-dimensional molecule to ordered, spin-canted, three-dimensional lattice being the result of through-space interactions arising from the combination of large magnetic anisotropy and spin-delocalization from metal to ligand which induces important intermolecular contacts. Here we report the effect of pressure on two such mononuclear rhenium(IV) compounds that exhibit long-range magnetic order under ambient conditions via a spin canting mechanism, with Tc controlled by the strength of the intermolecular interactions. As these are determined by intermolecular distance, `squeezing' the molecules closer together generates remarkable enhancements in ordering temperatures, with a linear dependence of Tc with pressure.

  7. Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless crossover in a trapped atomic gas.

    PubMed

    Hadzibabic, Zoran; Krüger, Peter; Cheneau, Marc; Battelier, Baptiste; Dalibard, Jean

    2006-06-29

    Any state of matter is classified according to its order, and the type of order that a physical system can possess is profoundly affected by its dimensionality. Conventional long-range order, as in a ferromagnet or a crystal, is common in three-dimensional systems at low temperature. However, in two-dimensional systems with a continuous symmetry, true long-range order is destroyed by thermal fluctuations at any finite temperature. Consequently, for the case of identical bosons, a uniform two-dimensional fluid cannot undergo Bose-Einstein condensation, in contrast to the three-dimensional case. However, the two-dimensional system can form a 'quasi-condensate' and become superfluid below a finite critical temperature. The Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless (BKT) theory associates this phase transition with the emergence of a topological order, resulting from the pairing of vortices with opposite circulation. Above the critical temperature, proliferation of unbound vortices is expected. Here we report the observation of a BKT-type crossover in a trapped quantum degenerate gas of rubidium atoms. Using a matter wave heterodyning technique, we observe both the long-wavelength fluctuations of the quasi-condensate phase and the free vortices. At low temperatures, the gas is quasi-coherent on the length scale set by the system size. As the temperature is increased, the loss of long-range coherence coincides with the onset of proliferation of free vortices. Our results provide direct experimental evidence for the microscopic mechanism underlying the BKT theory, and raise new questions regarding coherence and superfluidity in mesoscopic systems.

  8. Isolation of a new two-dimensional honeycomb carbonato-bridged copper(II) complex exhibiting long-range ferromagnetic ordering.

    PubMed

    Majumder, Arpi; Choudhury, Chirantan Roy; Mitra, Samiran; Rosair, Georgina M; El Fallah, M Salah; Ribas, Joan

    2005-04-28

    Atmospheric CO2 fixation by an aqueous solution containing Cu(ClO4)2.6H2O and 4-aminopyridine (4-apy) yields a novel example of a two-dimensional mu3-CO3 bridged copper(II) complex {[Cu(4-apy)2]3(mu3-CO3)2(ClO4)2.(1/2)CH3OH}n that has been characterized by IR, UV and X-ray crystallography; preliminary magnetic measurements show that complex exhibits long-range ordered ferromagnetic coupling.

  9. Long-Term Persistence of Prevalently Detected Human Papillomavirus Infections in the Absence of Detectable Cervical Precancer and Cancer

    PubMed Central

    Rodríguez, Ana Cecilia; Burk, Robert D.; Herrero, Rolando; Wacholder, Sholom; Hildesheim, Allan; Morales, Jorge; Rydzak, Greg; Schiffman, Mark

    2011-01-01

    Background. Detailed descriptions of long-term persistence of human papillomavirus (HPV) in the absence of cervical precancer are lacking. Methods. In a large, population-based natural study conducted in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, we studied a subset of 810 initially HPV-positive women with ≥3 years of active follow-up with ≥3 screening visits who had no future evidence of cervical precancer. Cervical specimens were tested for >40 HPV genotypes using a MY09/11 L1-targeted polymerase chain reaction method. Results. Seventy-two prevalently-detected HPV infections (5%) in 58 women (7%) persisted until the end of the follow-up period (median duration of follow-up, 7 years) without evidence of cervical precancer. At enrollment, women with long-term persistence were more likely to have multiple prevalently-detected HPV infections (P <.001) than were women who cleared their baseline HPV infections during follow-up. In a logistic regression model, women with long-term persistence were more likely than women who cleared infections to have another newly-detected HPV infection detectable at ≥3 visits (odds ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.2–5.6). Conclusions. Women with long-term persistence of HPV infection appear to be generally more susceptible to other HPV infections, especially longer-lasting infections, than are women who cleared their HPV infections. PMID:21343148

  10. Sigma Factor SigB Is Crucial to Mediate Staphylococcus aureus Adaptation during Chronic Infections.

    PubMed

    Tuchscherr, Lorena; Bischoff, Markus; Lattar, Santiago M; Noto Llana, Mariangeles; Pförtner, Henrike; Niemann, Silke; Geraci, Jennifer; Van de Vyver, Hélène; Fraunholz, Martin J; Cheung, Ambrose L; Herrmann, Mathias; Völker, Uwe; Sordelli, Daniel O; Peters, Georg; Löffler, Bettina

    2015-04-01

    Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen that causes a range of infections from acute invasive to chronic and difficult-to-treat. Infection strategies associated with persisting S. aureus infections are bacterial host cell invasion and the bacterial ability to dynamically change phenotypes from the aggressive wild-type to small colony variants (SCVs), which are adapted for intracellular long-term persistence. The underlying mechanisms of the bacterial switching and adaptation mechanisms appear to be very dynamic, but are largely unknown. Here, we analyzed the role and the crosstalk of the global S. aureus regulators agr, sarA and SigB by generating single, double and triple mutants, and testing them with proteome analysis and in different in vitro and in vivo infection models. We were able to demonstrate that SigB is the crucial factor for adaptation in chronic infections. During acute infection, the bacteria require the simultaneous action of the agr and sarA loci to defend against invading immune cells by causing inflammation and cytotoxicity and to escape from phagosomes in their host cells that enable them to settle an infection at high bacterial density. To persist intracellularly the bacteria subsequently need to silence agr and sarA. Indeed agr and sarA deletion mutants expressed a much lower number of virulence factors and could persist at high numbers intracellularly. SigB plays a crucial function to promote bacterial intracellular persistence. In fact, ΔsigB-mutants did not generate SCVs and were completely cleared by the host cells within a few days. In this study we identified SigB as an essential factor that enables the bacteria to switch from the highly aggressive phenotype that settles an acute infection to a silent SCV-phenotype that allows for long-term intracellular persistence. Consequently, the SigB-operon represents a possible target to develop preventive and therapeutic strategies against chronic and therapy-refractory infections.

  11. Helping Low-Wage Workers Persist in Education Programs: Lessons from Research on Welfare Training Programs and Two Promising Community College Strategies. MDRC Working Paper

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Richburg-Hayes, Lashawn

    2008-01-01

    Employment has long been held to be an important deterrent against poverty, and work is a core component of a range of federal efforts to improve the economic well-being of low-income families. However, recent trends in earnings and research both confirm that work alone is not sufficient to prevent poverty. While there is compelling evidence that…

  12. Compensation for PKMζ in long-term potentiation and spatial long-term memory in mutant mice.

    PubMed

    Tsokas, Panayiotis; Hsieh, Changchi; Yao, Yudong; Lesburguères, Edith; Wallace, Emma Jane Claire; Tcherepanov, Andrew; Jothianandan, Desingarao; Hartley, Benjamin Rush; Pan, Ling; Rivard, Bruno; Farese, Robert V; Sajan, Mini P; Bergold, Peter John; Hernández, Alejandro Iván; Cottrell, James E; Shouval, Harel Z; Fenton, André Antonio; Sacktor, Todd Charlton

    2016-05-17

    PKMζ is a persistently active PKC isoform proposed to maintain late-LTP and long-term memory. But late-LTP and memory are maintained without PKMζ in PKMζ-null mice. Two hypotheses can account for these findings. First, PKMζ is unimportant for LTP or memory. Second, PKMζ is essential for late-LTP and long-term memory in wild-type mice, and PKMζ-null mice recruit compensatory mechanisms. We find that whereas PKMζ persistently increases in LTP maintenance in wild-type mice, PKCι/λ, a gene-product closely related to PKMζ, persistently increases in LTP maintenance in PKMζ-null mice. Using a pharmacogenetic approach, we find PKMζ-antisense in hippocampus blocks late-LTP and spatial long-term memory in wild-type mice, but not in PKMζ-null mice without the target mRNA. Conversely, a PKCι/λ-antagonist disrupts late-LTP and spatial memory in PKMζ-null mice but not in wild-type mice. Thus, whereas PKMζ is essential for wild-type LTP and long-term memory, persistent PKCι/λ activation compensates for PKMζ loss in PKMζ-null mice.

  13. Structures, phase transitions and microwave dielectric properties of the 6H perovskites Ba 3BSb 2O 9, B=Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ling, Chris D.; Rowda, Budwy; Avdeev, Maxim; Pullar, Robert

    2009-03-01

    We present a complete temperature-composition phase diagram for Ba 3BSb 2O 9, B=Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, along with their electrical behavior as a function of B. These compounds have long been recognized as 6H-type perovskites, but (with the exception of B=Mg) their exact structures and properties were unknown due to their low symmetries, temperature-dependent phase transitions, and difficulties in synthesizing pure samples. The full range of possible space group symmetries is observed, from ideal hexagonal P6 3/ mmc to monoclinic C2/ c to triclinic P1¯. Direct second-order transitions between these phases are plausible according to group theory, and no evidence was seen for any further intermediate phases. The phase diagram with respect to temperature and the effective ionic radius of B is remarkably symmetrical for B=Mg, Ca, and Sr. For B=Ba, a first-order phase transition to a locally distorted phase allows a metastable hexagonal phase to persist to lower temperatures than expected before decomposing around 600 K. Electrical measurements revealed that dielectric permittivity corrected for porosity does not change significantly as a function of B and is in a good agreement with the values predicted by the Clausius-Mossotti equation.

  14. Theoretical and Computational Studies of Condensed-Phase Phenomena: The Origin of Biological Homochirality, and the Liquid-Liquid Phase Transition in Network-Forming Fluids

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ricci, Francesco

    This dissertation describes theoretical and computational studies of the origin of biological homochirality, and the existence of a liquid-liquid phase transition in pure-component network-forming fluids. A common theme throughout these studies is the use of sophisticated computer simulation and statistical mechanics techniques to study complex condensed-phase phenomena. In the first part of this dissertation, we use an elementary lattice model with molecular degrees of freedom, and satisfying microscopic reversibility, to investigate the effect of reaction reversibility on the evolution of stochastic symmetry breaking via autocatalysis and mutual inhibition in a closed system. We identify conditions under which the system's evolution towards racemic equilibrium becomes extremely slow, allowing for long-time persistence of a symmetry-broken state. We also identify a "monomer purification" mechanism, due to which a nearly homochiral state can persist for long times, even in the presence of significant reverse reaction rates. Order of magnitude estimates show that with reasonable physical parameters a symmetry broken state could persist over geologically-relevant time scales. In the second part of this dissertation, we study a chiral-symmetry breaking mechanism known as Viedma ripening. We develop a Monte Carlo model to gain further insights into the mechanisms capable of reproducing key experimental signatures associated with this phenomenon. We also provide a comprehensive investigation of how the model parameters impact the system's overall behavior. It is shown that size-dependent crystal solubility alone is insufficient to reproduce most experimental signatures, and that some form of a solid-phase chiral feedback mechanism (e.g., agglomeration) must be invoked in our model. In the third part of this dissertation, we perform rigorous free energy calculations to investigate the possibility of a liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) in the Stillinger-Weber (SW) model of silicon. A similar analysis is also presented for the generalized SW family of models by varying the "tetrahedrality" of the potential. Contrary to previously published findings, we do not find any evidence of the existence of an LLPT for SW silicon, nor for the generalized family of SW models over the range of parameters studied. Our results for the original parameterization of SW silicon are in semi-quantitative agreement with previous free energy calculations for this model, which were only provided at three state points. Explanations for the discrepancies between previous independent studies are provided, along with explicit demonstrations of how these discrepancies may have occurred. Finally, in the fourth part of this dissertation, we perform free energy calculations to demonstrate the existence of an LLPT in the Jagla potential. We also utilize finite-size scaling analysis to calculate the surface tension associated with the LLPT. In addition to the thermodynamics of the model, we investigate the relaxation times for density and bond-orientational order and show that, contrary to assertions in the literature, the characteristic relaxation time of bond-orientational order is not orders of magnitude slower than that of density. We compare our results for the Jagla model with those found in the literature for the ST2 model of water (which has also been rigorously shown to exhibit an LLPT) in order to emphasize key similarities and differences between two models that exhibit pure-component liquid-liquid phase separation.

  15. Exploiting immune cell metabolic machinery for functional HIV cure and the prevention of inflammaging.

    PubMed

    Palmer, Clovis S; Palchaudhuri, Riya; Albargy, Hassan; Abdel-Mohsen, Mohamed; Crowe, Suzanne M

    2018-01-01

    An emerging paradigm in immunology suggests that metabolic reprogramming and immune cell activation and functions are intricately linked. Viral infections, such as HIV infection, as well as cancer force immune cells to undergo major metabolic challenges. Cells must divert energy resources in order to mount an effective immune response. However, the fact that immune cells adopt specific metabolic programs to provide host defense against intracellular pathogens and how this metabolic shift impacts immune cell functions and the natural course of diseases have only recently been appreciated. A clearer insight into how these processes are inter-related will affect our understanding of several fundamental aspects of HIV persistence. Even in patients with long-term use of anti-retroviral therapies, HIV infection persists and continues to cause chronic immune activation and inflammation, ongoing and cumulative damage to multiple organs systems, and a reduction in life expectancy. HIV-associated fundamental changes to the metabolic machinery of the immune system can promote a state of "inflammaging", a chronic, low-grade inflammation with specific immune changes that characterize aging, and can also contribute to the persistence of HIV in its reservoirs. In this commentary, we will bring into focus evolving concepts on how HIV modulates the metabolic machinery of immune cells in order to persist in reservoirs and how metabolic reprogramming facilitates a chronic state of inflammation that underlies the development of age-related comorbidities. We will discuss how immunometabolism is facilitating the changing paradigms in HIV cure research and outline the novel therapeutic opportunities for preventing inflammaging and premature development of age-related conditions in HIV + individuals.

  16. An Avoidance Model for Short-Range Order Induced by Soft Repulsions in Systems of Rigid Rods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, Jining; Herzfeld, Judith

    1996-03-01

    The effects of soft repulsions on hard particle systems are calculated using an avoidance model which improves upon the simple mean field approximation. Avoidance reduces, but does not eliminate, the energy due to soft repulsions. On the other hand, it also reduces the configurational entropy. Under suitable conditions, this simple trade-off yields a free energy that is lower than the mean field value. In these cases, the variationally determined avoidance gives an estimate for the short-range positional order induced by soft repulsions. The results indicate little short-range order for isotropically oriented rods. However, for parallel rods, short-range order increases to significant levels as the particle axial ratio increases. The implications for long- range positional ordering are also discussed. In particular, avoidance may explain the smectic ordering of tobacco mosaic virus at volume fractions lower than those necessary for smectic ordering of hard particles.

  17. Magnetic structure in Mn1 -xCoxGe compounds

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Altynbaev, E.; Siegfried, S.-A.; Strauß, P.; Menzel, D.; Heinemann, A.; Fomicheva, L.; Tsvyashchenko, A.; Grigoriev, S.

    2018-04-01

    The magnetic system of the pseudobinary compound Mn1 -xCoxGe has been studied using small-angle neutron scattering and susceptibility measurements. It is found that Mn1 -xCoxGe orders magnetically at low temperatures in the whole concentration range of x ∈[0 /0.9 ] . Four different states of the magnetic structure have been found at low temperatures: the long-range-ordered (LRO) short-period helical magnetic structure at x

  18. Simultaneous occurrence of multiferroism and short-range magnetic order in DyFeO 3

    DOE PAGES

    Wang, Jinchen; Liu, Juanjuan; Sheng, Jieming; ...

    2016-04-06

    In this paper, we present a combined neutron scattering and magnetization study on the multiferroic DyFeO 3, which shows a very strong magnetoelectric effect. Applying magnetic field along the c axis, the weak ferromagnetic order of the Fe ions is quickly recovered from a spin reorientation transition, and the long-range antiferromagnetic order of Dy becomes a short-range one. We found that the short-range order concurs with the multiferroic phase and is responsible for its sizable hysteresis. In conclusion, our H-T phase diagram suggests that the strong magnetoelectric effect in DyFeO 3 has to be understood with not only the weakmore » ferromagnetism of Fe but also the short-range antiferromagnetic order of Dy.« less

  19. Long-term persistence of the spatial organization of plume lifetime in turbulent air avalanches

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crouzeix, C.; Le Mouël, J.; Perrier, F.; Shnirman, M. G.

    2005-12-01

    Temperature measurements have been performed in the vertical access pit of an underground quarry in winter, when outside temperature is low and induce turbulent avalanches of cold air in the pit. The measured time series are studied with a non-linear method based on absolute differences, which has been recently proposed as an adequate tool in the case of modulated jitter: a high-frequency signal multiplied by a long-term component (for example the sunspot number). The thermal fluctuations associated with the turbulent plumes are proved to offer an almost perfect realization of a modulated jitter. The lifetime, estimated from the method as a function of time and position in the pit, is of the order of 10 to 25 minutes, remarkably constant in time for each sensor and independent of the forcing. A significant and persistent spatial variation is also observed, indicating a long-term intrinsic organization of the turbulent air flow in the pit. Such stable organization may be a universal feature of chaotic phenomena. Furthermore, the properties of turbulent air avalanches and of sunspots determined by this method appear similar. This may be due to a common underlying physical mechanism. Modulated jitter, which are probably present in numerous natural processes, can be studied using the method presented here.

  20. Assessing in situ rates of anaerobic hydrocarbon bioremediation

    PubMed Central

    Gieg, Lisa M.; Alumbaugh, Robert E.; Field, Jennifer; Jones, Jesse; Istok, Jonathon D.; Suflita, Joseph M.

    2009-01-01

    Summary Identifying metabolites associated with anaerobic hydrocarbon biodegradation is a reliable way to garner evidence for the intrinsic bioremediation of problem contaminants. While such metabolites have been detected at numerous sites, the in situ rates of anaerobic hydrocarbon decay remain largely unknown. Yet, realistic rate information is critical for predicting how long individual contaminants will persist and remain environmental threats. Here, single‐well push–pull tests were conducted at two fuel‐contaminated aquifers to determine the in situ biotransformation rates of a suite of hydrocarbons added as deuterated surrogates, including toluene‐d8, o‐xylene‐d10, m‐xylene‐d10, ethylbenzene‐d5 (or ‐d10), 1, 2, 4‐trimethylbenzene‐d12, 1, 3, 5‐trimethylbenzene‐d12, methylcyclohexane‐d14 and n‐hexane‐d14. The formation of deuterated fumarate addition and downstream metabolites was quantified and found to be somewhat variable among wells in each aquifer, but generally within an order of magnitude. Deuterated metabolites formed in one aquifer at rates that ranged from 3 to 50 µg l−1 day−1, while the comparable rates at another aquifer were slower and ranged from 0.03 to 15 µg l−1 day−1. An important observation was that the deuterated hydrocarbon surrogates were metabolized in situ within hours or days at both sites, in contrast to many laboratory findings suggesting that long lag periods of weeks to months before the onset of anaerobic biodegradation are typical. It seems clear that highly reduced conditions are not detrimental to the intrinsic bioremediation of fuel‐contaminated aquifers. PMID:21261916

  1. Home Range, Movement, and Distribution Patterns of the Threatened Dragonfly Sympetrum depressiusculum (Odonata: Libellulidae): A Thousand Times Greater Territory to Protect?

    PubMed Central

    Dolný, Aleš; Harabiš, Filip; Mižičová, Hana

    2014-01-01

    Dragonflies are good indicators of environmental health and biodiversity. Most studies addressing dragonfly ecology have focused on the importance of aquatic habitats, while the value of surrounding terrestrial habitats has often been overlooked. However, species associated with temporary aquatic habitats must persist in terrestrial environments for long periods. Little is known about the importance of terrestrial habitat patches for dragonflies, or about other factors that initiate or influence dispersal behaviour. The aim of this study was to reveal the relationship between population dynamics of the threatened dragonfly species Sympetrum depressiusculum at its natal site and its dispersal behaviour or routine movements within its terrestrial home range. We used a mark–release–recapture method (marking 2,881 adults) and exuviae collection with the Jolly–Seber model and generalized linear models to analyse seasonal and spatial patterns of routine movement in a heterogeneous Central European landscape. Our results show that utilisation of terrestrial habitat patches by adult dragonflies is not random and may be relatively long term (approximately 3 mo). Adult dragonflies were present only in areas with dense vegetation that provided sufficient resources; the insects were absent from active agricultural patches (p = 0.019). These findings demonstrate that even a species tightly linked to its natal site utilises an area that is several orders of magnitude larger than the natal site. Therefore, negative trends in the occurrence of various dragonfly species may be associated not only with disturbances to their aquatic habitats, but also with changes in the surrounding terrestrial landscape. PMID:25006671

  2. Long-range correlations in an online betting exchange for a football tournament

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hardiman, Stephen J.; Richmond, Peter; Hutzler, Stefan

    2010-10-01

    We analyze the changes in the market odds of football matches in an online betting exchange, Betfair.com. We identify the statistical differences between the returns that occur when the game play is under way, which we argue are driven by match events, and the returns that occur during half-time, which we ascribe to a trader-driven noise. Furthermore, using detrended fluctuation analysis we identify anti-persistence (Hurst exponent H<0.5) in odds returns and long memory (H>0.5) in the volatilities, which we attribute to the trader-driven noise. The time series of trading volume are found to be short-memory processes.

  3. Short- and long-term effects of unemployment on fertility

    PubMed Central

    Currie, Janet; Schwandt, Hannes

    2014-01-01

    Scholars have been examining the relationship between fertility and unemployment for more than a century. Most studies find that fertility falls with unemployment in the short run, but it is not known whether these negative effects persist, because women simply may postpone childbearing to better economic times. Using more than 140 million US birth records for the period 1975–2010, we analyze both the short- and long-run effects of unemployment on fertility. We follow fixed cohorts of US-born women defined by their own state and year of birth, and relate their fertility to the unemployment rate experienced by each cohort at different ages. We focus on conceptions that result in a live birth. We find that women in their early 20s are most affected by high unemployment rates in the short run and that the negative effects on fertility grow over time. A one percentage point increase in the average unemployment rate experienced between the ages of 20 and 24 reduces the short-run fertility of women in this age range by six conceptions per 1,000 women. When we follow these women to age 40, we find that a one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate experienced at ages 20–24 leads to an overall loss of 14.2 conceptions. This long-run effect is driven largely by women who remain childless and thus do not have either first births or higher-order births. PMID:25267622

  4. Long-distance dispersal via ocean currents connects Omani clownfish populations throughout entire species range.

    PubMed

    Simpson, Stephen D; Harrison, Hugo B; Claereboudt, Michel R; Planes, Serge

    2014-01-01

    Dispersal is a crucial ecological process, driving population dynamics and defining the structure and persistence of populations. Measuring demographic connectivity between discreet populations remains a long-standing challenge for most marine organisms because it involves tracking the movement of pelagic larvae. Recent studies demonstrate local connectivity of reef fish populations via the dispersal of planktonic larvae, while biogeography indicates some larvae must disperse 100-1000 s kilometres. To date, empirical measures of long-distance dispersal are lacking and the full scale of dispersal is unknown. Here we provide the first measure of long-distance dispersal in a coral reef fish, the Omani clownfish Amphiprion omanensis, throughout its entire species range. Using genetic assignment tests we demonstrate bidirectional exchange of first generation migrants, with subsequent social and reproductive integration, between two populations separated by over 400 km. Immigration was 5.4% and 0.7% in each region, suggesting a biased southward exchange, and matched predictions from a physically-coupled dispersal model. This rare opportunity to measure long-distance dispersal demonstrates connectivity of isolated marine populations over distances of 100 s of kilometres and provides a unique insight into the processes of biogeography, speciation and adaptation.

  5. Long-Distance Dispersal via Ocean Currents Connects Omani Clownfish Populations throughout Entire Species Range

    PubMed Central

    Claereboudt, Michel R.; Planes, Serge

    2014-01-01

    Dispersal is a crucial ecological process, driving population dynamics and defining the structure and persistence of populations. Measuring demographic connectivity between discreet populations remains a long-standing challenge for most marine organisms because it involves tracking the movement of pelagic larvae. Recent studies demonstrate local connectivity of reef fish populations via the dispersal of planktonic larvae, while biogeography indicates some larvae must disperse 100–1000 s kilometres. To date, empirical measures of long-distance dispersal are lacking and the full scale of dispersal is unknown. Here we provide the first measure of long-distance dispersal in a coral reef fish, the Omani clownfish Amphiprion omanensis, throughout its entire species range. Using genetic assignment tests we demonstrate bidirectional exchange of first generation migrants, with subsequent social and reproductive integration, between two populations separated by over 400 km. Immigration was 5.4% and 0.7% in each region, suggesting a biased southward exchange, and matched predictions from a physically-coupled dispersal model. This rare opportunity to measure long-distance dispersal demonstrates connectivity of isolated marine populations over distances of 100 s of kilometres and provides a unique insight into the processes of biogeography, speciation and adaptation. PMID:25229550

  6. Dyssynergic defecation may play an important role in postoperative Hirschsprung's disease patients with severe persistent constipation: analysis of a case series.

    PubMed

    Meinds, Rob J; Eggink, Maura C; Heineman, Erik; Broens, Paul M A

    2014-10-01

    After surgery for Hirschsprung's disease (HD) the majority of patients have satisfactory clinical outcomes. Nevertheless, a substantial number of patients remain who suffer from severe persistent constipation. Current consensus attributes these complaints to the hallmarks of HD. In non-HD patients a cause for severe constipation is dyssynergic defecation. Retrospectively, we reviewed the medical records of ten postoperative HD patients with severe persistent constipation who had undergone extensive anorectal function tests to diagnose the reason for the constipation. We analyzed the results of these tests. During the last three years, ten postoperative HD patients with severe persistent constipation were given extensive anorectal function tests. All ten patients were diagnosed with dyssynergic defecation. The ages at the time of diagnosis ranged from 7 to 19years with a median age of 12years. Signs of an enlarged rectum were seen in all ten patients, with a maximum measured value of 845mL. Patients with HD may also suffer from dyssynergic defecation. It is important to consider this possibility when dealing with severe persistent constipation in postoperative HD patients. Viable options for treating dyssynergic defecation are available that could prevent irreversible long-term complications. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Incidence, size and spatial structure of clones in second-growth stands of coast redwood, Sequoia sempervirens (Cupressaceae).

    PubMed

    Douhovnikoff, Vladimir; Cheng, Adelaide M; Dodd, Richard S

    2004-07-01

    The ecology and evolutionary potential of coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is significantly influenced by the important role clonal spread plays in its reproduction and site persistence. In nine second-growth stands, amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) were used to identify redwood clonal architecture. Clones (multistem genets) dominated sites by representing an average of 70% of stems measured, ranging in size from two to 20 stems. As a result, a relatively small number of genets can monopolize a disproportionate amount of site resources, are more likely to persist over time, and have greater on-site genetic representation. Clones were not limited to fairy-ring structures, but consisted of a wide range of shapes including concentric rings, ring chains, disjunct, and linear structures. Between-ramet distances of up to 40 m were measured, indicating that clonal reproduction is not limited to basal stump resprouting. Clonal structure in second-growth stands was similar to earlier reports from old growth, emphasizing the importance of site persistence and long-term, gradual site development. Smaller ramet numbers per genet in old growth is probably due to local within-genet self thinning. Management and conservation of redwoods will benefit from a better understanding of the dynamics and structure of clonal spread in these forests.

  8. Neonicotinoid contamination of global surface waters and associated risk to aquatic invertebrates: a review.

    PubMed

    Morrissey, Christy A; Mineau, Pierre; Devries, James H; Sanchez-Bayo, Francisco; Liess, Matthias; Cavallaro, Michael C; Liber, Karsten

    2015-01-01

    Neonicotinoids, broad-spectrum systemic insecticides, are the fastest growing class of insecticides worldwide and are now registered for use on hundreds of field crops in over 120 different countries. The environmental profile of this class of pesticides indicate that they are persistent, have high leaching and runoff potential, and are highly toxic to a wide range of invertebrates. Therefore, neonicotinoids represent a significant risk to surface waters and the diverse aquatic and terrestrial fauna that these ecosystems support. This review synthesizes the current state of knowledge on the reported concentrations of neonicotinoids in surface waters from 29 studies in 9 countries world-wide in tandem with published data on their acute and chronic toxicity to 49 species of aquatic insects and crustaceans spanning 12 invertebrate orders. Strong evidence exists that water-borne neonicotinoid exposures are frequent, long-term and at levels (geometric means=0.13μg/L (averages) and 0.63μg/L (maxima)) which commonly exceed several existing water quality guidelines. Imidacloprid is by far the most widely studied neonicotinoid (66% of the 214 toxicity tests reviewed) with differences in sensitivity among aquatic invertebrate species ranging several orders of magnitude; other neonicotinoids display analogous modes of action and similar toxicities, although comparative data are limited. Of the species evaluated, insects belonging to the orders Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera and Diptera appear to be the most sensitive, while those of Crustacea (although not universally so) are less sensitive. In particular, the standard test species Daphnia magna appears to be very tolerant, with 24-96hour LC50 values exceeding 100,000μg/L (geometric mean>44,000μg/L), which is at least 2-3 orders of magnitude higher than the geometric mean of all other invertebrate species tested. Overall, neonicotinoids can exert adverse effects on survival, growth, emergence, mobility, and behavior of many sensitive aquatic invertebrate taxa at concentrations at or below 1μg/L under acute exposure and 0.1μg/L for chronic exposure. Using probabilistic approaches (species sensitivity distributions), we recommend here that ecological thresholds for neonicotinoid water concentrations need to be below 0.2μg/L (short-term acute) or 0.035μg/L (long-term chronic) to avoid lasting effects on aquatic invertebrate communities. The application of safety factors may still be warranted considering potential issues of slow recovery, additive or synergistic effects and multiple stressors that can occur in the field. Our analysis revealed that 81% (22/27) and 74% (14/19) of global surface water studies reporting maximum and average individual neonicotinoid concentrations respectively, exceeded these thresholds of 0.2 and 0.035μg/L. Therefore, it appears that environmentally relevant concentrations of neonicotinoids in surface waters worldwide are well within the range where both short- and long-term impacts on aquatic invertebrate species are possible over broad spatial scales. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. A modeling assessment of the physicochemical properties and environmental fate of emerging and novel per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

    PubMed

    Gomis, Melissa Ines; Wang, Zhanyun; Scheringer, Martin; Cousins, Ian T

    2015-02-01

    Long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkane sulfonic acids (PFSAs) are persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic contaminants that are globally present in the environment, wildlife and humans. Phase-out actions and use restrictions to reduce the environmental release of long-chain PFCAs, PFSAs and their precursors have been taken since 2000. In particular, long-chain poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are being replaced with shorter-chain homologues or other fluorinated or non-fluorinated alternatives. A key question is: are these alternatives, particularly the structurally similar fluorinated alternatives, less hazardous to humans and the environment than the substances they replace? Several fluorinated alternatives including perfluoroether carboxylic acids (PFECAs) and perfluoroether sulfonic acids (PFESAs) have been recently identified. However, the scarcity of experimental data prevents hazard and risk assessments for these substances. In this study, we use state-of-the-art in silico tools to estimate key properties of these newly identified fluorinated alternatives. [i] COSMOtherm and SPARC are used to estimate physicochemical properties. The US EPA EPISuite software package is used to predict degradation half-lives in air, water and soil. [ii] In combination with estimated chemical properties, a fugacity-based multimedia mass-balance unit-world model - the OECD Overall Persistence (POV) and Long-Range Transport Potential (LRTP) Screening Tool - is used to assess the likely environmental fate of these alternatives. Even though the fluorinated alternatives contain some structural differences, their physicochemical properties are not significantly different from those of their predecessors. Furthermore, most of the alternatives are estimated to be similarly persistent and mobile in the environment as the long-chain PFASs. The models therefore predict that the fluorinated alternatives will become globally distributed in the environment similar to their predecessors. Although such in silico methods are coupled with uncertainties, this preliminary assessment provides enough cause for concern to warrant experimental work to better determine the properties of these fluorinated alternatives. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Characterization of in vitro phenotypes of Burkholderia pseudomallei and Burkholderia mallei strains potentially associated with persistent infection in mice.

    PubMed

    Bernhards, R C; Cote, C K; Amemiya, K; Waag, D M; Klimko, C P; Worsham, P L; Welkos, S L

    2017-03-01

    Burkholderia pseudomallei (Bp) and Burkholderia mallei (Bm), the agents of melioidosis and glanders, respectively, are Tier 1 biothreats. They infect humans and animals, causing disease ranging from acute and fatal to protracted and chronic. Chronic infections are especially challenging to treat, and the identification of in vitro phenotypic markers which signal progression from acute to persistent infection would be extremely valuable. First, a phenotyping strategy was developed employing colony morphotyping, chemical sensitivity testing, macrophage infection, and lipopolysaccharide fingerprint analyses to distinguish Burkholderia strains. Then mouse spleen isolates collected 3-180 days after infection were characterized phenotypically. Isolates from long-term infections often exhibited increased colony morphology differences and altered patterns of antimicrobial sensitivity and macrophage infection. Some of the Bp and Bm persistent infection isolates clearly displayed enhanced virulence in mice. Future studies will evaluate the potential role and significance of these phenotypic markers in signaling the establishment of a chronic infection.

  11. ActA Promotes Listeria monocytogenes Aggregation, Intestinal Colonization and Carriage

    PubMed Central

    Travier, Laetitia; Guadagnini, Stéphanie; Gouin, Edith; Dufour, Alexandre; Chenal-Francisque, Viviane; Cossart, Pascale; Olivo-Marin, Jean-Christophe; Ghigo, Jean-Marc; Disson, Olivier; Lecuit, Marc

    2013-01-01

    Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a ubiquitous bacterium able to survive and thrive within the environment and readily colonizes a wide range of substrates, often as a biofilm. It is also a facultative intracellular pathogen, which actively invades diverse hosts and induces listeriosis. So far, these two complementary facets of Lm biology have been studied independently. Here we demonstrate that the major Lm virulence determinant ActA, a PrfA-regulated gene product enabling actin polymerization and thereby promoting its intracellular motility and cell-to-cell spread, is critical for bacterial aggregation and biofilm formation. We show that ActA mediates Lm aggregation via direct ActA-ActA interactions and that the ActA C-terminal region, which is not involved in actin polymerization, is essential for aggregation in vitro. In mice permissive to orally-acquired listeriosis, ActA-mediated Lm aggregation is not observed in infected tissues but occurs in the gut lumen. Strikingly, ActA-dependent aggregating bacteria exhibit an increased ability to persist within the cecum and colon lumen of mice, and are shed in the feces three order of magnitude more efficiently and for twice as long than bacteria unable to aggregate. In conclusion, this study identifies a novel function for ActA and illustrates that in addition to contributing to its dissemination within the host, ActA plays a key role in Lm persistence within the host and in transmission from the host back to the environment. PMID:23382675

  12. Two-dimensional melting of colloids with long-range attractive interactions.

    PubMed

    Du, Di; Doxastakis, Manolis; Hilou, Elaa; Biswal, Sibani Lisa

    2017-02-22

    The solid-liquid melting transition in a two-dimensional (2-D) attractive colloidal system is visualized using superparamagnetic colloids that interact through a long-range isotropic attractive interaction potential, which is induced using a high-frequency rotating magnetic field. Various experiments, supported by Monte Carlo simulations, are carried out over a range of interaction potentials and densities to determine structure factors, Lindermann parameters, and translational and orientational order parameters. The system shows a first-order solid-liquid melting transition. Simulations and experiments suggest that dislocations and disclinations simultaneously unbind during melting. This is in direct contrast with reports of 2-D melting of paramagnetic particles that interact with a repulsive interaction potential.

  13. Implicitly Defined Neural Networks for Sequence Labeling

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2017-07-31

    network are coupled together, in order to improve perfor- mance on complex, long-range dependencies in either direction of a sequence. We contrast our...struc- ture. 1.1 Related Work Long-range dependencies have been an issue as long as there have been NLP tasks, and there are many ef- fective approaches...retain informa- tion about dependencies . The Bidirectional LSTM (b- LSTM) (Graves and Schmidhuber, 2005), a natural ex- tension of (Schuster and Paliwal

  14. Uranus' Persistent Patterns and Features from High-SNR Imaging in 2012-2014

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fry, Patrick M.; Sromovsky, Lawrence A.; de Pater, Imke; Hammel, Heidi B.; Marcus, Phillip

    2015-11-01

    Since 2012, Uranus has been the subject of an observing campaign utilizing high signal-to-noise imaging techniques at Keck Observatory (Fry et al. 2012, Astron. J. 143, 150-161). High quality observing conditions on four observing runs of consecutive nights allowed longitudinally-complete coverage of the atmosphere over a period of two years (Sromovsky et al. 2015, Icarus 258, 192-223). Global mosaic maps made from images acquired on successive nights in August 2012, November 2012, August 2013, and August 2014, show persistent patterns, and six easily distinguished long-lived cloud features, which we were able to track for long periods that ranged from 5 months to over two years. Two at similar latitudes are associated with dark spots, and move with the atmospheric zonal flow close to the location of their associated dark spot instead of following the flow at the latitude of the bright features. These features retained their morphologies and drift rates in spite of several close interactions. A second pair of features at similar latitudes also survived several close approaches. Several of the long-lived features also exhibited equatorward drifts and latitudinal oscillations. Also persistent are a remarkable near-equatorial wave feature and global zonal band structure. We will present imagery, maps, and analyses of these phenomena.PMF and LAS acknowledge support from NASA Planetary Astronomy Program; PMF and LAS acknowledge funding and technical support from W. M. Keck Observatory. We thank those of Hawaiian ancestry on whose sacred mountain we are privileged to be guests. Without their generous hospitality none of our groundbased observations would have been possible.

  15. Real-World Clinical Effectiveness and Cost Savings of Liraglutide Versus Sitagliptin in Treating Type 2 Diabetes for 1 and 2 Years.

    PubMed

    Li, Qian; Ganguly, Rahul; Ganz, Michael L; Gamble, Cory; Dang-Tan, Tam

    2018-06-01

    This study compared the clinical and economic outcomes of long-term use of liraglutide versus sitagliptin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in real-world practice in the USA. We identified adult patients (≥ 18 years old) with T2DM who initiated liraglutide or sitagliptin in 2010-2014 using a large claims database. Quarterly glycemic control measures and annual healthcare costs were assessed during the 1st and 2nd years of persistent medication use. Their associations with medication use (liraglutide or sitagliptin) were estimated using multivariable regression models adjusted for patient demographic and clinical characteristics. A total of 3113 patients persistently used liraglutide (N = 493) or sitagliptin (N = 2620) for ≥ 1 year [mean age (standard deviation, SD): 53 (8.5) vs. 56 (9.7) years; 48.3% vs. 62.3% males; both p < 0.05]; 911 (including 113 liraglutide users) were persistent users for ≥ 2 years. During the 1st-year follow-up, liraglutide users (versus sitagliptin users, after adjustment) experienced larger glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) reductions from baseline (ranging from 0.34%-point in quarter 1 to 0.21%-point in quarter 4); higher likelihoods of obtaining HbA1c reductions of ≥ 1%-points or ≥ 2%-points [odds ratios (ORs) range 1.47-2.04]; and higher likelihoods of reaching HbA1c goals of < 6.5% or < 7% (ORs range 1.51-2.12) (all p < 0.05). Liraglutide users also experienced HbA1c reductions from baseline in the 2nd-year follow-up (0.53-0.33%-point, all p < 0.05). Although liraglutide users incurred higher healthcare costs than sitagliptin users during the 1st-year follow-up, they had $2674 (per patient) lower all-cause medical costs (adjusted cost ratio: 0.67, p < 0.05) and similar total costs (all-cause and diabetes-related) in the 2nd year. Long-term use of liraglutide for 1 or 2 years was associated with better glycemic control than using sitagliptin. Savings in medical costs were realized for liraglutide users during the 2nd year of persistent treatment, which offset differences in pharmacy costs. Novo Nordisk Inc.

  16. Afterglow luminescence in sol-gel/Pechini grown oxide materials: persistence or phosphorescence process? (Conference Presentation)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sontakke, Atul; Ferrier, Alban; Viana, Bruno

    2017-03-01

    Persistent luminescence and phosphorescence, both yields afterglow luminescence, but are completely different mechanisms. Persistent luminescence involves a slow thermal release of trapped electrons stored in defect states, whereas the phosphorescence is caused due to triplet to singlet transition [1,2]. Many persistent luminescence phosphors are based on oxide inorganic hosts, and exhibit long afterglow luminescence after ceasing the excitation. We observed intense and long afterglow luminescence in sol-gel/pechini grown inorganic oxides, and as a first interpretation thought to be due to persistence mechanism. However, some of these materials do not exhibit defect trap centers, and a detailed investigation suggested it is due to phosphorescence, but not the persistence. Phosphorescence is not common in inorganic solids, and that too at room temperature, and therefore usually misinterpreted as persistence luminescence [3]. Here we present a detailed methodology to distinguish phosphorescence from persistence luminescence in inorganic solids, and the process to harvest highly efficient long phosphorescence afterglow at room temperature. 1. Jian Xu, Setsuhisa Tanabe, Atul D. Sontakke, Jumpei Ueda, Appl. Phys. Lett. 107, 081903 (2015) 2. Sebastian Reineke, Marc A. Baldo, Scientific Reports, 4, 3797 (2014) 3. Pengchong Xue, Panpan Wang, Peng Chen, Boqi Yao, Peng Gong, Jiabao Sun, Zhenqi Zhang, Ran Lu, Chem. Sci. (2016) DOI: 10.1039/C5SC03739E

  17. A Long Range Planning Study for the El Paso Community College, El Paso, Texas.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colvert, C. C.

    This planning study was undertaken in order to determine the long-range financial needs of El Paso Community College (Texas) and present them to the Board of Trustees. The document outlines a budget of income and expenditures, projects student enrollment by academic and vocational-technical program areas, and projects total educational costs per…

  18. Look Ahead: Long-Range Learning Plans

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Weinstein, Margery

    2010-01-01

    Faced with an unsteady economy and fluctuating learning needs, planning a learning strategy designed to last longer than the next six months can be a tall order. But a long-range learning plan can provide a road map for success. In this article, four companies (KPMG LLP, CarMax, DPR Construction, and EMC Corp.) describe their learning plans, and…

  19. Long-Term Persistence of Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the Causative Agent of White-Nose Syndrome, in the Absence of Bats.

    PubMed

    Hoyt, Joseph R; Langwig, Kate E; Okoniewski, Joseph; Frick, Winifred F; Stone, Ward B; Kilpatrick, A Marm

    2015-06-01

    Wildlife diseases have been implicated in the declines and extinctions of several species. The ability of a pathogen to persist outside its host, existing as an "environmental reservoir", can exacerbate the impact of a disease and increase the likelihood of host extinction. Pseudogymnoascus destructans, the fungal pathogen that causes white-nose syndrome in bats, has been found in cave soil during the summer when hibernating bats had likely been absent for several months. However, whether the pathogen can persist over multiple years in the absence of bats is unknown, and long-term persistence of the pathogen can influence whether hibernacula where bats have been locally extirpated due to disease can be subsequently recolonized. Here, we show that P. destructans is capable of long-term persistence in the laboratory in the absence of bats. We cultured P. destructans from dried agar plates that had been kept at 5°C and low humidity conditions (30-40% RH) for more than 5 years. This suggests that P. destructans can persist in the absence of bats for long periods which may prevent the recolonization of hibernation, sites where bat populations were extirpated. This increases the extinction risk of bats affected by this disease.

  20. Pre/post-closure assessment of groundwater pharmaceutical fate in a wastewater-facility-impacted stream reach.

    PubMed

    Bradley, Paul M; Barber, Larry B; Clark, Jimmy M; Duris, Joseph W; Foreman, William T; Furlong, Edward T; Givens, Carrie E; Hubbard, Laura E; Hutchinson, Kasey J; Journey, Celeste A; Keefe, Steffanie H; Kolpin, Dana W

    2016-10-15

    Pharmaceutical contamination of contiguous groundwater is a substantial concern in wastewater-impacted streams, due to ubiquity in effluent, high aqueous mobility, designed bioactivity, and to effluent-driven hydraulic gradients. Wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) closures are rare environmental remediation events; offering unique insights into contaminant persistence, long-term wastewater impacts, and ecosystem recovery processes. The USGS conducted a combined pre/post-closure groundwater assessment adjacent to an effluent-impacted reach of Fourmile Creek, Ankeny, Iowa, USA. Higher surface-water concentrations, consistent surface-water to groundwater concentration gradients, and sustained groundwater detections tens of meters from the stream bank demonstrated the importance of WWTF effluent as the source of groundwater pharmaceuticals as well as the persistence of these contaminants under effluent-driven, pre-closure conditions. The number of analytes (110 total) detected in surface water decreased from 69 prior to closure down to 8 in the first post-closure sampling event approximately 30 d later, with a corresponding 2 order of magnitude decrease in the cumulative concentration of detected analytes. Post-closure cumulative concentrations of detected analytes were approximately 5 times higher in proximal groundwater than in surface water. About 40% of the 21 contaminants detected in a downstream groundwater transect immediately before WWTF closure exhibited rapid attenuation with estimated half-lives on the order of a few days; however, a comparable number exhibited no consistent attenuation during the year-long post-closure assessment. The results demonstrate the potential for effluent-impacted shallow groundwater systems to accumulate pharmaceutical contaminants and serve as long-term residual sources, further increasing the risk of adverse ecological effects in groundwater and the near-stream ecosystem. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  1. Pre/post-closure assessment of groundwater pharmaceutical fate in a wastewater‑facility-impacted stream reach

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Bradley, Paul M.; Barber, Larry B.; Clark, Jimmy M.; Duris, Joseph W.; Foreman, William T.; Furlong, Edward T.; Givens, Carrie E.; Hubbard, Laura E.; Hutchinson, Kasey J.; Journey, Celeste A.; Keefe, Steffanie H.; Kolpin, Dana W.

    2016-01-01

    Pharmaceutical contamination of contiguous groundwater is a substantial concern in wastewater-impacted streams, due to ubiquity in effluent, high aqueous mobility, designed bioactivity, and to effluent-driven hydraulic gradients. Wastewater treatment facility (WWTF) closures are rare environmental remediation events; offering unique insights into contaminant persistence, long-term wastewater impacts, and ecosystem recovery processes. The USGS conducted a combined pre/post-closure groundwater assessment adjacent to an effluent-impacted reach of Fourmile Creek, Ankeny, Iowa, USA. Higher surface-water concentrations, consistent surface-water to groundwater concentration gradients, and sustained groundwater detections tens of meters from the stream bank demonstrated the importance of WWTF effluent as the source of groundwater pharmaceuticals as well as the persistence of these contaminants under effluent-driven, pre-closure conditions. The number of analytes (110 total) detected in surface water decreased from 69 prior to closure down to 8 in the first post-closure sampling event approximately 30 d later, with a corresponding 2 order of magnitude decrease in the cumulative concentration of detected analytes. Post-closure cumulative concentrations of detected analytes were approximately 5 times higher in proximal groundwater than in surface water. About 40% of the 21 contaminants detected in a downstream groundwater transect immediately before WWTF closure exhibited rapid attenuation with estimated half-lives on the order of a few days; however, a comparable number exhibited no consistent attenuation during the year-long post-closure assessment. The results demonstrate the potential for effluent-impacted shallow groundwater systems to accumulate pharmaceutical contaminants and serve as long-term residual sources, further increasing the risk of adverse ecological effects in groundwater and the near-stream ecosystem.

  2. Long-Range Anti-ferromagnetic Order in Sm2Ti2O7

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mauws, Cole; Sarte, Paul; Hallas, Alannah; Wildes, Andrew; Quilliam, Jeffrey; Luke, Graeme; Gaulin, Bruce; Wiebe, Christopher

    The spin ice state has been a key topic in frustrated magnetism for decades. Largely due to the presence of monopole-like excitations, leading to interesting physics. There has been a consistent effort in the field at synthesising new spin ice phases that possess smaller moments in the hopes of increasing the density of magnetic monopoles. As well as investigating the phase when quantum fluctuations dominate over dipolar interactions. Initially Sm2Ti2O7 was thought to be a candidate for a quantum spin ice, possessing a low moment of 1.5 μB in the high-spin case and crystal fields may reduce it to a true spin-1/2 system. However anti-ferromagnetic interactions as well as a lambda-like heat capacity anomaly pointed towards long-range antiferromagnetic order. An isotopically enriched samarium-154 single crystal was taken to the D7 polarized diffuse scattering spectrometer at the ILL. Long-range antiferromagnetic order was observed and indexed onto the all-in all-out structure. This agrees with theoretical predictions of Ising pyrochlore systems with sufficiently large anti-ferromagnetic coupling. NSERC, CFI, CIFAR, CRC.

  3. Off-diagonal long-range order, cycle probabilities, and condensate fraction in the ideal Bose gas.

    PubMed

    Chevallier, Maguelonne; Krauth, Werner

    2007-11-01

    We discuss the relationship between the cycle probabilities in the path-integral representation of the ideal Bose gas, off-diagonal long-range order, and Bose-Einstein condensation. Starting from the Landsberg recursion relation for the canonic partition function, we use elementary considerations to show that in a box of size L3 the sum of the cycle probabilities of length k>L2 equals the off-diagonal long-range order parameter in the thermodynamic limit. For arbitrary systems of ideal bosons, the integer derivative of the cycle probabilities is related to the probability of condensing k bosons. We use this relation to derive the precise form of the pik in the thermodynamic limit. We also determine the function pik for arbitrary systems. Furthermore, we use the cycle probabilities to compute the probability distribution of the maximum-length cycles both at T=0, where the ideal Bose gas reduces to the study of random permutations, and at finite temperature. We close with comments on the cycle probabilities in interacting Bose gases.

  4. Superclimbing dislocation with a Coulomb-type interaction between jogs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Longxiang; Kuklov, Anatoly B.

    2018-03-01

    The main candidate for the superfluid pathways in solid 4He are dislocations with Burgers vector along the hcp symmetry axis. Here we focus on the quantum behavior of a generic edge dislocation which can perform superclimb; that is, it can climb due to the superflow along its core. The role of the long-range elastic interactions between jogs is addressed by Monte Carlo simulations. It is found that such interactions do not change qualitatively the phase diagram found without accounting for the long-range forces. Their main effect consists of renormalizing the effective scale determining the compressibility of the dislocation in the Tomonaga-Luttinger liquid phase. It is also found that the quantum rough phase of the dislocation can be well described within the Gaussian approximation which features off-diagonal long-range order (ODLRO) in one dimension for the superfluid order parameter along the core.

  5. Beam-based measurements of long-range transverse wakefields in the Compact Linear Collider main-linac accelerating structure

    DOE PAGES

    Zha, Hao; Latina, Andrea; Grudiev, Alexej; ...

    2016-01-20

    The baseline design of CLIC (Compact Linear Collider) uses X-band accelerating structures for its main linacs. In order to maintain beam stability in multibunch operation, long-range transverse wakefields must be suppressed by 2 orders of magnitude between successive bunches, which are separated in time by 0.5 ns. Such strong wakefield suppression is achieved by equipping every accelerating structure cell with four damping waveguides terminated with individual rf loads. A beam-based experiment to directly measure the effectiveness of this long-range transverse wakefield and benchmark simulations was made in the FACET test facility at SLAC using a prototype CLIC accelerating structure. Furthermore,more » the experiment showed good agreement with the simulations and a strong suppression of the wakefields with an unprecedented minimum resolution of 0.1 V/(pC mm m).« less

  6. Quantum gases. Observation of many-body dynamics in long-range tunneling after a quantum quench.

    PubMed

    Meinert, Florian; Mark, Manfred J; Kirilov, Emil; Lauber, Katharina; Weinmann, Philipp; Gröbner, Michael; Daley, Andrew J; Nägerl, Hanns-Christoph

    2014-06-13

    Quantum tunneling is at the heart of many low-temperature phenomena. In strongly correlated lattice systems, tunneling is responsible for inducing effective interactions, and long-range tunneling substantially alters many-body properties in and out of equilibrium. We observe resonantly enhanced long-range quantum tunneling in one-dimensional Mott-insulating Hubbard chains that are suddenly quenched into a tilted configuration. Higher-order tunneling processes over up to five lattice sites are observed as resonances in the number of doubly occupied sites when the tilt per site is tuned to integer fractions of the Mott gap. This forms a basis for a controlled study of many-body dynamics driven by higher-order tunneling and demonstrates that when some degrees of freedom are frozen out, phenomena that are driven by small-amplitude tunneling terms can still be observed. Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

  7. Global estimation of long-term persistence in annual river runoff

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Markonis, Y.; Moustakis, Y.; Nasika, C.; Sychova, P.; Dimitriadis, P.; Hanel, M.; Máca, P.; Papalexiou, S. M.

    2018-03-01

    Long-term persistence (LTP) of annual river runoff is a topic of ongoing hydrological research, due to its implications to water resources management. Here, we estimate its strength, measured by the Hurst coefficient H, in 696 annual, globally distributed, streamflow records with at least 80 years of data. We use three estimation methods (maximum likelihood estimator, Whittle estimator and least squares variance) resulting in similar mean values of H close to 0.65. Subsequently, we explore potential factors influencing H by two linear (Spearman's rank correlation, multiple linear regression) and two non-linear (self-organizing maps, random forests) techniques. Catchment area is found to be crucial for medium to larger watersheds, while climatic controls, such as aridity index, have higher impact to smaller ones. Our findings indicate that long-term persistence is weaker than found in other studies, suggesting that enhanced LTP is encountered in large-catchment rivers, were the effect of spatial aggregation is more intense. However, we also show that the estimated values of H can be reproduced by a short-term persistence stochastic model such as an auto-regressive AR(1) process. A direct consequence is that some of the most common methods for the estimation of H coefficient, might not be suitable for discriminating short- and long-term persistence even in long observational records.

  8. Ductile long range ordered alloys with high critical ordering temperature and wrought articles fabricated therefrom

    DOEpatents

    Liu, Chain T.; Inouye, Henry

    1979-01-01

    Malleable long range ordered alloys having high critical ordering temperatures exist in the V(Fe, Co).sub.3 and V(Fe, Co, Ni).sub.3 systems. These alloys have the following compositions comprising by weight: 22-23% V, 14-30% Fe, and the remainder Co or Co and Ni with an electron density no more than 7.85. The maximum combination of high temperature strength, ductility and creep resistance are manifested in the alloy comprising by weight 22-23% V, 14-20% Fe and the remainder Co and having an atomic composition of V(Fe .sub.0.20-0.26 C Co.sub.0.74-0.80).sub.3. The alloy comprising by weight 22-23% V, 16-17% Fe and 60-62% Co has excellent high temperature properties. The alloys are fabricable into wrought articles by casting, deforming, and annealing for sufficient time to provide ordered structure.

  9. Structure and dynamics of hyaluronic acid semidilute solutions: a dielectric spectroscopy study.

    PubMed

    Vuletić, T; Dolanski Babić, S; Ivek, T; Grgicin, D; Tomić, S; Podgornik, R

    2010-07-01

    Dielectric spectroscopy is used to investigate fundamental length scales describing the structure of hyaluronic acid sodium salt (Na-HA) semidilute aqueous solutions. In salt-free regime, the length scale of the relaxation mode detected in MHz range scales with HA concentration as c(HA)(-0.5) and corresponds to the de Gennes-Pfeuty-Dobrynin correlation length of polyelectrolytes in semidilute solution. The same scaling was observed for the case of long, genomic DNA. Conversely, the length scale of the mode detected in kilohertz range also varies with HA concentration as c(HA)(-0.5) which differs from the case of DNA (c(DNA)(-0.25)). The observed behavior suggests that the relaxation in the kilohertz range reveals the de Gennes-Dobrynin renormalized Debye screening length, and not the average size of the chain, as the pertinent length scale. Similarly, with increasing added salt the electrostatic contribution to the HA persistence length is observed to scale as the Debye length, contrary to scaling pertinent to the Odijk-Skolnick-Fixman electrostatic persistence length observed in the case of DNA. We argue that the observed features of the kilohertz range relaxation are due to much weaker electrostatic interactions that lead to the absence of Manning condensation as well as a rather high flexibility of HA as compared to DNA.

  10. Adaptive responses to cool climate promotes persistence of a non-native lizard.

    PubMed

    While, Geoffrey M; Williamson, Joseph; Prescott, Graham; Horváthová, Terézia; Fresnillo, Belén; Beeton, Nicholas J; Halliwell, Ben; Michaelides, Sozos; Uller, Tobias

    2015-03-22

    Successful establishment and range expansion of non-native species often require rapid accommodation of novel environments. Here, we use common-garden experiments to demonstrate parallel adaptive evolutionary response to a cool climate in populations of wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) introduced from southern Europe into England. Low soil temperatures in the introduced range delay hatching, which generates directional selection for a shorter incubation period. Non-native lizards from two separate lineages have responded to this selection by retaining their embryos for longer before oviposition--hence reducing the time needed to complete embryogenesis in the nest--and by an increased developmental rate at low temperatures. This divergence mirrors local adaptation across latitudes and altitudes within widely distributed species and suggests that evolutionary responses to climate can be very rapid. When extrapolated to soil temperatures encountered in nests within the introduced range, embryo retention and faster developmental rate result in one to several weeks earlier emergence compared with the ancestral state. We show that this difference translates into substantial survival benefits for offspring. This should promote short- and long-term persistence of non-native populations, and ultimately enable expansion into areas that would be unattainable with incubation duration representative of the native range. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  11. Sequence-Dependent Persistence Length of Long DNA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chuang, Hui-Min; Reifenberger, Jeffrey G.; Cao, Han; Dorfman, Kevin D.

    2017-12-01

    Using a high-throughput genome-mapping approach, we obtained circa 50 million measurements of the extension of internal human DNA segments in a 41 nm ×41 nm nanochannel. The underlying DNA sequences, obtained by mapping to the reference human genome, are 2.5-393 kilobase pairs long and contain percent GC contents between 32.5% and 60%. Using Odijk's theory for a channel-confined wormlike chain, these data reveal that the DNA persistence length increases by almost 20% as the percent GC content increases. The increased persistence length is rationalized by a model, containing no adjustable parameters, that treats the DNA as a statistical terpolymer with a sequence-dependent intrinsic persistence length and a sequence-independent electrostatic persistence length.

  12. USSR Report, Problems of the Far East No 4, Oct-Dec 1986.

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-04-21

    including long-range land- based cruise missiles, it should be dealt with separately. Last May the Soviet Union prolonged its moratorium on nuclear test ...Union has unilaterally adhered to a moratorium on nuclear testing . All those who hold dear the future of mankind in the nuclear age heartily...support this action, while the wave of indignation over Washington’s persistence in nuclear testing is mounting throughout the world. As a matter of fact

  13. Dual Fractal Dimension and Long-Range Correlation of Chinese Stock Prices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Chaoshi; Wang, Lei

    2012-03-01

    The recently developed modified inverse random midpoint displacement (mIRMD) and conventional detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) algorithms are used to analyze the tick-by-tick high-frequency time series of Chinese A-share stock prices and indexes. A dual-fractal structure with a crossover at about 10 min is observed. The majority of the selected time series show visible persistence within this time threshold, but approach a random walk on a longer time scale. The phenomenon is found to be industry-dependent, i.e., the crossover is much more prominent for stocks belonging to cyclical industries than for those belonging to noncyclical (defensive) industries. We have also shown that the sign series show a similar dual-fractal structure, while like generally found, the magnitude series show a much longer time persistence.

  14. Observation of long-lived persistent spin polarization in a topological insulator

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tian, Jifa; Hong, Seokmin; Miotkowski, Ireneusz; Datta, Supriyo; Chen, Yong P.

    3D Topological insulators (TI), featuring helically spin-momentum-locked topological surface states (TSS), are considered promising for spintronics applications. Several recent experiments in TIs have demonstrated a current induced electronic spin polarization that may be used for all electrical spin generation and injection. Here, we report spin potentiometric measurements in TIs that have revealed a long-lived persistent electron spin polarization even at zero current. Unaffected by a small bias current and persisting for several days at low temperature, the spin polarization can be induced and reversed by a large ``writing'' current applied for an extended time. Such an electrically controlled persistent spin polarization with unprecedented long lifetime could enable a rechargeable spin battery and rewritable spin memory for potential applications in spintronics and quantum information.

  15. First Test of Long-Range Collisional Drag via Plasma Wave Damping

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Affolter, Matthew

    2017-10-01

    In magnetized plasmas, the rate of particle collisions is enhanced over classical predictions when the cyclotron radius rc is less than the Debye length λD. Classical theories describe local velocity scattering collisions with impact parameters ρ

  16. A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial on the Effects of a Progressive Exercise Program on the Range of Motion and Upper Extremity Grip Strength in Young Adults With Breast Cancer.

    PubMed

    Ibrahim, Marize; Muanza, Thierry; Smirnow, Nadia; Sateren, Warren; Fournier, Beatrice; Kavan, Petr; Palumbo, Michael; Dalfen, Richard; Dalzell, Mary-Ann

    2018-02-01

    The diagnosis of breast cancer in young women (aged 18-45 years) has been increasing. Women are commonly left coping with treatment-related disabilities of the upper limb that can persist for > 2 years postoperatively. A total of 59 young breast cancer patients (29 in the intervention group and 30 in the control group) participated in a pilot prospective randomized controlled trial to determine whether a 12-week postradiation exercise program would improve long-term arm mobility, pain, and handgrip strength. During an 18-month period, range of motion, handgrip strength, and pain with shoulder movements were evaluated at 6 points. Although the differences were not statistically significant, external rotation and horizontal abduction of the shoulder improved in the intervention group immediately after the exercise intervention (3 months) and showed a trend toward less pain on movement. However, at 18 months after radiation the control and intervention groups both retained a residual loss of range and persistent pain with movement. Radiation to the axilla and/or chest wall yielded long-term (18 months) limitations in flexion and horizontal abduction compared with hypofractionation, which resulted in greater flexion and external rotation at 18 months. The median grip strength of the study participants corresponded to the 10th percentile of healthy aged-matched white women. The exercise intervention timed shortly after radiation improved short-term shoulder mobility and pain; however, these gains were not sustained at 18 months after radiation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Measurement of long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlations with the subevent cumulant method in p p and p +Pb collisions with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Aaboud, M.; Aad, G.; Abbott, B.

    A detailed study of multiparticle azimuthal correlations is presented using pp data at √s = 5.02 and 13 TeV, and p+Pb data at √ sNN = 5.02 TeV, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The azimuthal correlations are probed using four-particle cumulants c n {4} and flow coefficients v n {4} = (-c n{4}) 1/4 for n = 2 and 3, with the goal of extracting long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlation signals and suppressing the short-range correlations. The values of c n {4} are obtained as a function of the average number of charged particles permore » event, (N ch), using the recently proposed two-subevent and three-subevent cumulant methods, and compared with results obtained with the standard cumulant method. The standard method is found to be strongly biased by short-range correlations, which originate mostly from jets with a positive contribution to c n {4}. The three-subevent method, on the other hand, is found to be least sensitive to short-range correlations. The three-subevent method gives a negative c 2 {4}, and therefore a well-defined v 2 {4}, nearly independent of (N ch), which implies that the long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlations persist to events with low multiplicity. Furthermore, v 2 {4} is found to be smaller than the v 2 {2} measured using the two-particle correlation method, as expected for long-range collective behavior. Finally, the measured values of v 2 {4} and v 2 {2} are used to estimate the number of sources relevant for the initial eccentricity in the collision geometry. The results based on the subevent cumulant technique provide direct evidence, in small collision systems, for a long-range collectivity involving many particles distributed across a broad rapidity interval.« less

  18. Measurement of long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlations with the subevent cumulant method in p p and p +Pb collisions with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Aaboud, M.; Aad, G.; Abbott, B.

    A demore » tailed study of multiparticle azimuthal correlations is presented using pp data at $$\\sqrt{s}$$=5.02 and 13 TeV, and p+Pb data at s NN =5.02 TeV, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The azimuthal correlations are probed using four-particle cumulants c n{4} and flow coefficients v n{4}=(-c n{4}) 1/4 for n=2 and 3, with the goal of extracting long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlation signals and suppressing the short-range correlations. The values of c n{4} are obtained as a function of the average number of charged particles per event, N ch, using the recently proposed two-subevent and three-subevent cumulant methods, and compared with results obtained with the standard cumulant method. The standard method is found to be strongly biased by short-range correlations, which originate mostly from jets with a positive contribution to cn{4}. The three-subevent method, on the other hand, is found to be least sensitive to short-range correlations. The three-subevent method gives a negative c 2{4}, and therefore a well-defined v 2{4}, nearly independent of N ch, which implies that the long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlations persist to events with low multiplicity. Furthermore, v 2{4} is found to be smaller than the v 2{2} measured using the two-particle correlation method, as expected for long-range collective behavior. Finally, the measured values of v 2{4} and v 2{2} are used to estimate the number of sources relevant for the initial eccentricity in the collision geometry. Finally, the results based on the subevent cumulant technique provide direct evidence, in small collision systems, for a long-range collectivity involving many particles distributed across a broad rapidity interval.« less

  19. Measurement of long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlations with the subevent cumulant method in p p and p +Pb collisions with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

    DOE PAGES

    Aaboud, M.; Aad, G.; Abbott, B.; ...

    2018-02-12

    A demore » tailed study of multiparticle azimuthal correlations is presented using pp data at $$\\sqrt{s}$$=5.02 and 13 TeV, and p+Pb data at s NN =5.02 TeV, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The azimuthal correlations are probed using four-particle cumulants c n{4} and flow coefficients v n{4}=(-c n{4}) 1/4 for n=2 and 3, with the goal of extracting long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlation signals and suppressing the short-range correlations. The values of c n{4} are obtained as a function of the average number of charged particles per event, N ch, using the recently proposed two-subevent and three-subevent cumulant methods, and compared with results obtained with the standard cumulant method. The standard method is found to be strongly biased by short-range correlations, which originate mostly from jets with a positive contribution to cn{4}. The three-subevent method, on the other hand, is found to be least sensitive to short-range correlations. The three-subevent method gives a negative c 2{4}, and therefore a well-defined v 2{4}, nearly independent of N ch, which implies that the long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlations persist to events with low multiplicity. Furthermore, v 2{4} is found to be smaller than the v 2{2} measured using the two-particle correlation method, as expected for long-range collective behavior. Finally, the measured values of v 2{4} and v 2{2} are used to estimate the number of sources relevant for the initial eccentricity in the collision geometry. Finally, the results based on the subevent cumulant technique provide direct evidence, in small collision systems, for a long-range collectivity involving many particles distributed across a broad rapidity interval.« less

  20. Measurement of long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlations with the subevent cumulant method in p p and p +Pb collisions with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aaboud, M.; Aad, G.; Abbott, B.; Abdinov, O.; Abeloos, B.; Abidi, S. H.; Abouzeid, O. S.; Abraham, N. L.; Abramowicz, H.; Abreu, H.; Abreu, R.; Abulaiti, Y.; Acharya, B. S.; Adachi, S.; Adamczyk, L.; Adelman, J.; Adersberger, M.; Adye, T.; Affolder, A. A.; Afik, Y.; Agatonovic-Jovin, T.; Agheorghiesei, C.; Aguilar-Saavedra, J. A.; Ahlen, S. P.; Ahmadov, F.; Aielli, G.; Akatsuka, S.; Akerstedt, H.; Åkesson, T. P. A.; Akilli, E.; Akimov, A. V.; Alberghi, G. L.; Albert, J.; Albicocco, P.; Alconada Verzini, M. J.; Alderweireldt, S. C.; Aleksa, M.; Aleksandrov, I. N.; Alexa, C.; Alexander, G.; Alexopoulos, T.; Alhroob, M.; Ali, B.; Aliev, M.; Alimonti, G.; Alison, J.; Alkire, S. P.; Allbrooke, B. M. M.; Allen, B. W.; Allport, P. P.; Aloisio, A.; Alonso, A.; Alonso, F.; Alpigiani, C.; Alshehri, A. A.; Alstaty, M. I.; Alvarez Gonzalez, B.; Álvarez Piqueras, D.; Alviggi, M. G.; Amadio, B. T.; Amaral Coutinho, Y.; Amelung, C.; Amidei, D.; Amor Dos Santos, S. P.; Amoroso, S.; Amundsen, G.; Anastopoulos, C.; Ancu, L. S.; Andari, N.; Andeen, T.; Anders, C. F.; Anders, J. K.; Anderson, K. J.; Andreazza, A.; Andrei, V.; Angelidakis, S.; Angelozzi, I.; Angerami, A.; Anisenkov, A. V.; Anjos, N.; Annovi, A.; Antel, C.; Antonelli, M.; Antonov, A.; Antrim, D. J.; Anulli, F.; Aoki, M.; Aperio Bella, L.; Arabidze, G.; Arai, Y.; Araque, J. P.; Araujo Ferraz, V.; Arce, A. T. H.; Ardell, R. E.; Arduh, F. A.; Arguin, J.-F.; Argyropoulos, S.; Arik, M.; Armbruster, A. J.; Armitage, L. J.; Arnaez, O.; Arnold, H.; Arratia, M.; Arslan, O.; Artamonov, A.; Artoni, G.; Artz, S.; Asai, S.; Asbah, N.; Ashkenazi, A.; Asquith, L.; Assamagan, K.; Astalos, R.; Atkinson, M.; Atlay, N. B.; Augsten, K.; Avolio, G.; Axen, B.; Ayoub, M. K.; Azuelos, G.; Baas, A. E.; Baca, M. J.; Bachacou, H.; Bachas, K.; Backes, M.; Bagnaia, P.; Bahmani, M.; Bahrasemani, H.; Baines, J. T.; Bajic, M.; Baker, O. K.; Bakker, P. J.; Baldin, E. M.; Balek, P.; Balli, F.; Balunas, W. K.; Banas, E.; Bandyopadhyay, A.; Banerjee, Sw.; Bannoura, A. A. E.; Barak, L.; Barberio, E. L.; Barberis, D.; Barbero, M.; Barillari, T.; Barisits, M.-S.; Barkeloo, J. T.; Barklow, T.; Barlow, N.; Barnes, S. L.; Barnett, B. M.; Barnett, R. M.; Barnovska-Blenessy, Z.; Baroncelli, A.; Barone, G.; Barr, A. J.; Barranco Navarro, L.; Barreiro, F.; Barreiro Guimarães da Costa, J.; Bartoldus, R.; Barton, A. E.; Bartos, P.; Basalaev, A.; Bassalat, A.; Bates, R. L.; Batista, S. J.; Batley, J. R.; Battaglia, M.; Bauce, M.; Bauer, F.; Bawa, H. S.; Beacham, J. B.; Beattie, M. D.; Beau, T.; Beauchemin, P. H.; Bechtle, P.; Beck, H. P.; Beck, H. C.; Becker, K.; Becker, M.; Becot, C.; Beddall, A. J.; Beddall, A.; Bednyakov, V. A.; Bedognetti, M.; Bee, C. P.; Beermann, T. A.; Begalli, M.; Begel, M.; Behr, J. K.; Bell, A. S.; Bella, G.; Bellagamba, L.; Bellerive, A.; Bellomo, M.; Belotskiy, K.; Beltramello, O.; Belyaev, N. L.; Benary, O.; Benchekroun, D.; Bender, M.; Benekos, N.; Benhammou, Y.; Benhar Noccioli, E.; Benitez, J.; Benjamin, D. P.; Benoit, M.; Bensinger, J. R.; Bentvelsen, S.; Beresford, L.; Beretta, M.; Berge, D.; Bergeaas Kuutmann, E.; Berger, N.; Beringer, J.; Berlendis, S.; Bernard, N. R.; Bernardi, G.; Bernius, C.; Bernlochner, F. U.; Berry, T.; Berta, P.; Bertella, C.; Bertoli, G.; Bertram, I. A.; Bertsche, C.; Bertsche, D.; Besjes, G. J.; Bessidskaia Bylund, O.; Bessner, M.; Besson, N.; Bethani, A.; Bethke, S.; Betti, A.; Bevan, A. J.; Beyer, J.; Bianchi, R. M.; Biebel, O.; Biedermann, D.; Bielski, R.; Bierwagen, K.; Biesuz, N. V.; Biglietti, M.; Billoud, T. R. V.; Bilokon, H.; Bindi, M.; Bingul, A.; Bini, C.; Biondi, S.; Bisanz, T.; Bittrich, C.; Bjergaard, D. M.; Black, J. E.; Black, K. M.; Blair, R. E.; Blazek, T.; Bloch, I.; Blocker, C.; Blue, A.; Blumenschein, U.; Blunier, S.; Bobbink, G. J.; Bobrovnikov, V. S.; Bocchetta, S. S.; Bocci, A.; Bock, C.; Boehler, M.; Boerner, D.; Bogavac, D.; Bogdanchikov, A. G.; Bohm, C.; Boisvert, V.; Bokan, P.; Bold, T.; Boldyrev, A. S.; Bolz, A. E.; Bomben, M.; Bona, M.; Boonekamp, M.; Borisov, A.; Borissov, G.; Bortfeldt, J.; Bortoletto, D.; Bortolotto, V.; Boscherini, D.; Bosman, M.; Bossio Sola, J. D.; Boudreau, J.; Bouhova-Thacker, E. V.; Boumediene, D.; Bourdarios, C.; Boutle, S. K.; Boveia, A.; Boyd, J.; Boyko, I. R.; Bozson, A. J.; Bracinik, J.; Brandt, A.; Brandt, G.; Brandt, O.; Braren, F.; Bratzler, U.; Brau, B.; Brau, J. E.; Breaden Madden, W. D.; Brendlinger, K.; Brennan, A. J.; Brenner, L.; Brenner, R.; Bressler, S.; Briglin, D. L.; Bristow, T. M.; Britton, D.; Britzger, D.; Brochu, F. M.; Brock, I.; Brock, R.; Brooijmans, G.; Brooks, T.; Brooks, W. K.; Brosamer, J.; Brost, E.; Broughton, J. H.; Bruckman de Renstrom, P. A.; Bruncko, D.; Bruni, A.; Bruni, G.; Bruni, L. S.; Bruno, S.; Brunt, B. H.; Bruschi, M.; Bruscino, N.; Bryant, P.; Bryngemark, L.; Buanes, T.; Buat, Q.; Buchholz, P.; Buckley, A. G.; Budagov, I. A.; Buehrer, F.; Bugge, M. K.; Bulekov, O.; Bullock, D.; Burch, T. J.; Burdin, S.; Burgard, C. D.; Burger, A. M.; Burghgrave, B.; Burka, K.; Burke, S.; Burmeister, I.; Burr, J. T. P.; Büscher, D.; Büscher, V.; Bussey, P.; Butler, J. M.; Buttar, C. M.; Butterworth, J. M.; Butti, P.; Buttinger, W.; Buzatu, A.; Buzykaev, A. R.; Cabrera Urbán, S.; Caforio, D.; Cai, H.; Cairo, V. M.; Cakir, O.; Calace, N.; Calafiura, P.; Calandri, A.; Calderini, G.; Calfayan, P.; Callea, G.; Caloba, L. P.; Calvente Lopez, S.; Calvet, D.; Calvet, S.; Calvet, T. P.; Camacho Toro, R.; Camarda, S.; Camarri, P.; Cameron, D.; Caminal Armadans, R.; Camincher, C.; Campana, S.; Campanelli, M.; Camplani, A.; Campoverde, A.; Canale, V.; Cano Bret, M.; Cantero, J.; Cao, T.; Capeans Garrido, M. D. M.; Caprini, I.; Caprini, M.; Capua, M.; Carbone, R. M.; Cardarelli, R.; Cardillo, F.; Carli, I.; Carli, T.; Carlino, G.; Carlson, B. T.; Carminati, L.; Carney, R. M. D.; Caron, S.; Carquin, E.; Carrá, S.; Carrillo-Montoya, G. D.; Casadei, D.; Casado, M. P.; Casolino, M.; Casper, D. W.; Castelijn, R.; Castillo Gimenez, V.; Castro, N. F.; Catinaccio, A.; Catmore, J. R.; Cattai, A.; Caudron, J.; Cavaliere, V.; Cavallaro, E.; Cavalli, D.; Cavalli-Sforza, M.; Cavasinni, V.; Celebi, E.; Ceradini, F.; Cerda Alberich, L.; Cerqueira, A. S.; Cerri, A.; Cerrito, L.; Cerutti, F.; Cervelli, A.; Cetin, S. A.; Chafaq, A.; Chakraborty, D.; Chan, S. K.; Chan, W. S.; Chan, Y. L.; Chang, P.; Chapman, J. D.; Charlton, D. G.; Chau, C. C.; Chavez Barajas, C. A.; Che, S.; Cheatham, S.; Chegwidden, A.; Chekanov, S.; Chekulaev, S. V.; Chelkov, G. A.; Chelstowska, M. A.; Chen, C.; Chen, C.; Chen, H.; Chen, J.; Chen, S.; Chen, S.; Chen, X.; Chen, Y.; Cheng, H. C.; Cheng, H. J.; Cheplakov, A.; Cheremushkina, E.; Cherkaoui El Moursli, R.; Cheu, E.; Cheung, K.; Chevalier, L.; Chiarella, V.; Chiarelli, G.; Chiodini, G.; Chisholm, A. S.; Chitan, A.; Chiu, Y. H.; Chizhov, M. V.; Choi, K.; Chomont, A. R.; Chouridou, S.; Chow, Y. S.; Christodoulou, V.; Chu, M. C.; Chudoba, J.; Chuinard, A. J.; Chwastowski, J. J.; Chytka, L.; Ciftci, A. K.; Cinca, D.; Cindro, V.; Cioara, I. A.; Ciocio, A.; Cirotto, F.; Citron, Z. H.; Citterio, M.; Ciubancan, M.; Clark, A.; Clark, B. L.; Clark, M. R.; Clark, P. J.; Clarke, R. N.; Clement, C.; Coadou, Y.; Cobal, M.; Coccaro, A.; Cochran, J.; Colasurdo, L.; Cole, B.; Colijn, A. P.; Collot, J.; Colombo, T.; Conde Muiño, P.; Coniavitis, E.; Connell, S. H.; Connelly, I. A.; Constantinescu, S.; Conti, G.; Conventi, F.; Cooke, M.; Cooper-Sarkar, A. M.; Cormier, F.; Cormier, K. J. R.; Corradi, M.; Corriveau, F.; Cortes-Gonzalez, A.; Costa, G.; Costa, M. J.; Costanzo, D.; Cottin, G.; Cowan, G.; Cox, B. E.; Cranmer, K.; Crawley, S. 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H.; Vranjes, N.; Vranjes Milosavljevic, M.; Vrba, V.; Vreeswijk, M.; Vuillermet, R.; Vukotic, I.; Wagner, P.; Wagner, W.; Wagner-Kuhr, J.; Wahlberg, H.; Wahrmund, S.; Walder, J.; Walker, R.; Walkowiak, W.; Wallangen, V.; Wang, C.; Wang, C.; Wang, F.; Wang, H.; Wang, H.; Wang, J.; Wang, J.; Wang, Q.; Wang, R.-J.; Wang, R.; Wang, S. M.; Wang, T.; Wang, W.; Wang, W.; Wang, Z.; Wanotayaroj, C.; Warburton, A.; Ward, C. P.; Wardrope, D. R.; Washbrook, A.; Watkins, P. M.; Watson, A. T.; Watson, M. F.; Watts, G.; Watts, S.; Waugh, B. M.; Webb, A. F.; Webb, S.; Weber, M. S.; Weber, S. M.; Weber, S. W.; Weber, S. A.; Webster, J. S.; Weidberg, A. R.; Weinert, B.; Weingarten, J.; Weirich, M.; Weiser, C.; Weits, H.; Wells, P. S.; Wenaus, T.; Wengler, T.; Wenig, S.; Wermes, N.; Werner, M. D.; Werner, P.; Wessels, M.; Weston, T. D.; Whalen, K.; Whallon, N. L.; Wharton, A. M.; White, A. S.; White, A.; White, M. J.; White, R.; Whiteson, D.; Whitmore, B. W.; Wickens, F. J.; Wiedenmann, W.; Wielers, M.; Wiglesworth, C.; Wiik-Fuchs, L. A. M.; Wildauer, A.; Wilk, F.; Wilkens, H. G.; Williams, H. H.; Williams, S.; Willis, C.; Willocq, S.; Wilson, J. A.; Wingerter-Seez, I.; Winkels, E.; Winklmeier, F.; Winston, O. J.; Winter, B. T.; Wittgen, M.; Wobisch, M.; Wolf, A.; Wolf, T. M. H.; Wolff, R.; Wolter, M. W.; Wolters, H.; Wong, V. W. S.; Woods, N. L.; Worm, S. D.; Wosiek, B. K.; Wotschack, J.; Wozniak, K. W.; Wu, M.; Wu, S. L.; Wu, X.; Wu, Y.; Wyatt, T. R.; Wynne, B. M.; Xella, S.; Xi, Z.; Xia, L.; Xu, D.; Xu, L.; Xu, T.; Xu, W.; Yabsley, B.; Yacoob, S.; Yamaguchi, D.; Yamaguchi, Y.; Yamamoto, A.; Yamamoto, S.; Yamanaka, T.; Yamane, F.; Yamatani, M.; Yamazaki, T.; Yamazaki, Y.; Yan, Z.; Yang, H.; Yang, H.; Yang, Y.; Yang, Z.; Yao, W.-M.; Yap, Y. C.; Yasu, Y.; Yatsenko, E.; Yau Wong, K. H.; Ye, J.; Ye, S.; Yeletskikh, I.; Yigitbasi, E.; Yildirim, E.; Yorita, K.; Yoshihara, K.; Young, C.; Young, C. J. S.; Yu, J.; Yu, J.; Yuen, S. P. Y.; Yusuff, I.; Zabinski, B.; Zacharis, G.; Zaidan, R.; Zaitsev, A. M.; Zakharchuk, N.; Zalieckas, J.; Zaman, A.; Zambito, S.; Zanzi, D.; Zeitnitz, C.; Zemaityte, G.; Zemla, A.; Zeng, J. C.; Zeng, Q.; Zenin, O.; Ženiš, T.; Zerwas, D.; Zhang, D.; Zhang, D.; Zhang, F.; Zhang, G.; Zhang, H.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, L.; Zhang, M.; Zhang, P.; Zhang, R.; Zhang, R.; Zhang, X.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, Z.; Zhao, X.; Zhao, Y.; Zhao, Z.; Zhemchugov, A.; Zhou, B.; Zhou, C.; Zhou, L.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, M.; Zhou, N.; Zhu, C. G.; Zhu, H.; Zhu, J.; Zhu, Y.; Zhuang, X.; Zhukov, K.; Zibell, A.; Zieminska, D.; Zimine, N. I.; Zimmermann, C.; Zimmermann, S.; Zinonos, Z.; Zinser, M.; Ziolkowski, M.; Živković, L.; Zobernig, G.; Zoccoli, A.; Zou, R.; Zur Nedden, M.; Zwalinski, L.; Atlas Collaboration

    2018-02-01

    A detailed study of multiparticle azimuthal correlations is presented using p p data at √{s }=5.02 and 13 TeV, and p +Pb data at √{sNN}=5.02 TeV, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The azimuthal correlations are probed using four-particle cumulants cn{4 } and flow coefficients vn{4 } =(-cn{4 } ) 1 /4 for n =2 and 3, with the goal of extracting long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlation signals and suppressing the short-range correlations. The values of cn{4 } are obtained as a function of the average number of charged particles per event, <" close=">Nch>">Nch, using the recently proposed two-subevent and three-subevent cumulant methods, and compared with results obtained with the standard cumulant method. The standard method is found to be strongly biased by short-range correlations, which originate mostly from jets with a positive contribution to cn{4 } . The three-subevent method, on the other hand, is found to be least sensitive to short-range correlations. The three-subevent method gives a negative c2{4 } , and therefore a well-defined v2{4 } , nearly independent of

  1. Measurement of long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlations with the subevent cumulant method in p p and p +Pb collisions with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

    DOE PAGES

    Aaboud, M.; Aad, G.; Abbott, B.; ...

    2018-02-12

    A detailed study of multiparticle azimuthal correlations is presented using pp data at √s = 5.02 and 13 TeV, and p+Pb data at √ sNN = 5.02 TeV, recorded with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The azimuthal correlations are probed using four-particle cumulants c n {4} and flow coefficients v n {4} = (-c n{4}) 1/4 for n = 2 and 3, with the goal of extracting long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlation signals and suppressing the short-range correlations. The values of c n {4} are obtained as a function of the average number of charged particles permore » event, (N ch), using the recently proposed two-subevent and three-subevent cumulant methods, and compared with results obtained with the standard cumulant method. The standard method is found to be strongly biased by short-range correlations, which originate mostly from jets with a positive contribution to c n {4}. The three-subevent method, on the other hand, is found to be least sensitive to short-range correlations. The three-subevent method gives a negative c 2 {4}, and therefore a well-defined v 2 {4}, nearly independent of (N ch), which implies that the long-range multiparticle azimuthal correlations persist to events with low multiplicity. Furthermore, v 2 {4} is found to be smaller than the v 2 {2} measured using the two-particle correlation method, as expected for long-range collective behavior. Finally, the measured values of v 2 {4} and v 2 {2} are used to estimate the number of sources relevant for the initial eccentricity in the collision geometry. The results based on the subevent cumulant technique provide direct evidence, in small collision systems, for a long-range collectivity involving many particles distributed across a broad rapidity interval.« less

  2. Magnetic and thermal property studies of RCrTeO6 (R=trivalent lanthanides) with layered honeycomb sublattices

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Narsinga Rao, G.; Sankar, R.; Panneer Muthuselvam, I.; Chou, F. C.

    2014-12-01

    We have investigated the magnetic ordering of the RCrTeO6 (R=Y, La, Tb and Er) samples comprising Cr3+ (S=3/2). The X-ray diffraction structure analysis revealed that all samples are a hexagonal structure with the space group P 3bar. The magnetic susceptibility χ(T) and heat capacity CP(T) measurement results reveal that both short range and long range antiferromagnetic (AFM) orderings exist in non-magnetic rare earth R=Y and La compounds. For isostructural compounds of R=Tb and Er, CP(T) curves show long range ordering at the same temperature as non-magnetic R=Y, which indicates that the super-super exchange of Cr spins dominates. For R elements of Tb and Er with large spins sitting between honeycomb sublattices composed of CrO6-TeO6 octahedra, the two sublattices of R and Cr appear to be independently magnetic.

  3. Cellular self-organization by autocatalytic alignment feedback

    PubMed Central

    Junkin, Michael; Leung, Siu Ling; Whitman, Samantha; Gregorio, Carol C.; Wong, Pak Kin

    2011-01-01

    Myoblasts aggregate, differentiate and fuse to form skeletal muscle during both embryogenesis and tissue regeneration. For proper muscle function, long-range self-organization of myoblasts is required to create organized muscle architecture globally aligned to neighboring tissue. However, how the cells process geometric information over distances considerably longer than individual cells to self-organize into well-ordered, aligned and multinucleated myofibers remains a central question in developmental biology and regenerative medicine. Using plasma lithography micropatterning to create spatial cues for cell guidance, we show a physical mechanism by which orientation information can propagate for a long distance from a geometric boundary to guide development of muscle tissue. This long-range alignment occurs only in differentiating myoblasts, but not in non-fusing myoblasts perturbed by microfluidic disturbances or other non-fusing cell types. Computational cellular automata analysis of the spatiotemporal evolution of the self-organization process reveals that myogenic fusion in conjunction with rotational inertia functions in a self-reinforcing manner to enhance long-range propagation of alignment information. With this autocatalytic alignment feedback, well-ordered alignment of muscle could reinforce existing orientations and help promote proper arrangement with neighboring tissue and overall organization. Such physical self-enhancement might represent a fundamental mechanism for long-range pattern formation during tissue morphogenesis. PMID:22193956

  4. Range and niche shifts in response to past climate change in the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos)

    PubMed Central

    Jezkova, Tereza; Jaeger, Jef R.; Oláh-Hemmings, Viktória; Jones, K. Bruce; Lara-Resendiz, Rafael A.; Mulcahy, Daniel G.; Riddle, Brett R.

    2015-01-01

    During climate change, species are often assumed to shift their geographic distributions (geographic ranges) in order to track environmental conditions – niches – to which they are adapted. Recent work, however, suggests that the niches do not always remain conserved during climate change but shift instead, allowing populations to persist in place or expand into new areas. We assessed the extent of range and niche shifts in response to the warming climate after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos), a species occupying the western deserts of North America. We used a phylogeographic approach with mitochondrial DNA sequences to approximate the species range during the LGM by identifying populations that exhibit a genetic signal of population stability versus those that exhibit a signal of a recent (likely post-LGM) geographic expansion. We then compared the climatic niche that the species occupies today with the niche it occupied during the LGM using two models of simulated LGM climate. The genetic analyses indicated that P. platyrhinos persisted within the southern Mojave and Sonoran deserts throughout the latest glacial period and expanded from these deserts northwards, into the western and eastern Great Basin, after the LGM. The climatic niche comparisons revealed that P. platyrhinos expanded its climatic niche after the LGM towards novel, warmer and drier climates that allowed it to persist within the southern deserts. Simultaneously, the species shifted its climatic niche towards greater temperature and precipitation fluctuations after the LGM. We concluded that climatic changes at the end of the LGM promoted both range and niche shifts in this lizard. The mechanism that allowed the species to shift its niche remains unknown, but phenotypic plasticity likely contributes to the species ability to adjust to climate change. PMID:27231410

  5. Range and niche shifts in response to past climate change in the desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos).

    PubMed

    Jezkova, Tereza; Jaeger, Jef R; Oláh-Hemmings, Viktória; Jones, K Bruce; Lara-Resendiz, Rafael A; Mulcahy, Daniel G; Riddle, Brett R

    2016-05-01

    During climate change, species are often assumed to shift their geographic distributions (geographic ranges) in order to track environmental conditions - niches - to which they are adapted. Recent work, however, suggests that the niches do not always remain conserved during climate change but shift instead, allowing populations to persist in place or expand into new areas. We assessed the extent of range and niche shifts in response to the warming climate after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the desert horned lizard ( Phrynosoma platyrhinos ), a species occupying the western deserts of North America. We used a phylogeographic approach with mitochondrial DNA sequences to approximate the species range during the LGM by identifying populations that exhibit a genetic signal of population stability versus those that exhibit a signal of a recent (likely post-LGM) geographic expansion. We then compared the climatic niche that the species occupies today with the niche it occupied during the LGM using two models of simulated LGM climate. The genetic analyses indicated that P. platyrhinos persisted within the southern Mojave and Sonoran deserts throughout the latest glacial period and expanded from these deserts northwards, into the western and eastern Great Basin, after the LGM. The climatic niche comparisons revealed that P. platyrhinos expanded its climatic niche after the LGM towards novel, warmer and drier climates that allowed it to persist within the southern deserts. Simultaneously, the species shifted its climatic niche towards greater temperature and precipitation fluctuations after the LGM. We concluded that climatic changes at the end of the LGM promoted both range and niche shifts in this lizard. The mechanism that allowed the species to shift its niche remains unknown, but phenotypic plasticity likely contributes to the species ability to adjust to climate change.

  6. Does stress remove the HDAC brakes for the formation and persistence of long-term memory?

    PubMed

    White, André O; Wood, Marcelo A

    2014-07-01

    It has been known for numerous decades that gene expression is required for long-lasting forms of memory. In the past decade, the study of epigenetic mechanisms in memory processes has revealed yet another layer of complexity in the regulation of gene expression. Epigenetic mechanisms do not only provide complexity in the protein regulatory complexes that control coordinate transcription for specific cell function, but the epigenome encodes critical information that integrates experience and cellular history for specific cell functions as well. Thus, epigenetic mechanisms provide a unique mechanism of gene expression regulation for memory processes. This may be why critical negative regulators of gene expression, such as histone deacetylases (HDACs), have powerful effects on the formation and persistence of memory. For example, HDAC inhibition has been shown to transform a subthreshold learning event into robust long-term memory and also generate a form of long-term memory that persists beyond the point at which normal long-term memory fails. A key question that is explored in this review, from a learning and memory perspective, is whether stress-dependent signaling drives the formation and persistence of long-term memory via HDAC-dependent mechanisms. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Does stress remove the HDAC brakes for the formation and persistence of long-term memory?

    PubMed Central

    White, André O.; Wood, Marcelo A.

    2013-01-01

    It has been known for numerous decades that gene expression is required for long-lasting forms of memory. In the past decade, the study of epigenetic mechanisms in memory processes has revealed yet another layer of complexity in the regulation of gene expression. Epigenetic mechanisms do not only provide complexity in the protein regulatory complexes that control coordinate transcription for specific cell function, but the epigenome encodes critical information that integrates experience and cellular history for specific cell functions as well. Thus, epigenetic mechanisms provide a unique mechanism of gene expression regulation for memory processes. This may be why critical negative regulators of gene expression, such as histone deacetylases (HDACs), have powerful effects on the formation and persistence of memory. For example, HDAC inhibition has been shown to transform a subthreshold learning event into robust long-term memory and also generate a form of long-term memory that persists beyond the point at which normal long-term memory fails. A key question that is explored in this review, from a learning and memory perspective, is whether stress-dependent signaling drives the formation and persistence of long-term memory via HDAC-dependent mechanisms. PMID:24149059

  8. Compensation for PKMζ in long-term potentiation and spatial long-term memory in mutant mice

    PubMed Central

    Tsokas, Panayiotis; Hsieh, Changchi; Yao, Yudong; Lesburguères, Edith; Wallace, Emma Jane Claire; Tcherepanov, Andrew; Jothianandan, Desingarao; Hartley, Benjamin Rush; Pan, Ling; Rivard, Bruno; Farese, Robert V; Sajan, Mini P; Bergold, Peter John; Hernández, Alejandro Iván; Cottrell, James E; Shouval, Harel Z; Fenton, André Antonio; Sacktor, Todd Charlton

    2016-01-01

    PKMζ is a persistently active PKC isoform proposed to maintain late-LTP and long-term memory. But late-LTP and memory are maintained without PKMζ in PKMζ-null mice. Two hypotheses can account for these findings. First, PKMζ is unimportant for LTP or memory. Second, PKMζ is essential for late-LTP and long-term memory in wild-type mice, and PKMζ-null mice recruit compensatory mechanisms. We find that whereas PKMζ persistently increases in LTP maintenance in wild-type mice, PKCι/λ, a gene-product closely related to PKMζ, persistently increases in LTP maintenance in PKMζ-null mice. Using a pharmacogenetic approach, we find PKMζ-antisense in hippocampus blocks late-LTP and spatial long-term memory in wild-type mice, but not in PKMζ-null mice without the target mRNA. Conversely, a PKCι/λ-antagonist disrupts late-LTP and spatial memory in PKMζ-null mice but not in wild-type mice. Thus, whereas PKMζ is essential for wild-type LTP and long-term memory, persistent PKCι/λ activation compensates for PKMζ loss in PKMζ-null mice. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.14846.001 PMID:27187150

  9. μ SR study of NaCaNi2F7 in zero field and applied longitudinal magnetic field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cai, Yipeng; Wilson, Murray; Hallas, Alannah; Liu, Lian; Frandsen, Benjamin; Dunsiger, Sarah; Krizan, Jason; Cava, Robert; Uemura, Yasutomo; Luke, Graeme

    Rich physics of abundant magnetic ground states has been realized in the A2B2X7 geometrically frustrated magnetic pyrochlores. Recently, a new spin-1 Ni2+ pyrochlore, NaCaNi2F7, was synthesized and shown to have spin freezing at 3.6 K with a frustration index of f 36 and antiferromagnetic exchange interactions [1] . This structure has chemical disorder on the A site caused by randomly distributed Ca and Na ions, which causes bond disorder around the magnetic Ni sites. We present Zero Field (ZF) and Longitudinal Field (LF) muon spin rotation (μSR) measurements on this single crystal pyrochlore. Our data shows that the Ni2+ spins start freezing around 4 K giving a static local field of 140 G. The data show no oscillations down to 75 mK which indicates no long range magnetic order. They are well described by the dynamic Gaussian Kubo-Toyabe function with a non-zero hopping rate that is not easily decoupled with an applied longitudinal field, which implies persistent spin dynamics down to 75 mK.

  10. Seabird guano is an efficient conveyer of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to Arctic lake ecosystems.

    PubMed

    Evenset, A; Carroll, J; Christensen, G N; Kallenborn, R; Gregor, D; Gabrielsen, G W

    2007-02-15

    Migratory seabirds have been linked to localized "hotspots" of contamination in remote Arctic lakes. One of these lakes is Lake Ellasjøen on Bjørnøya in the Barents Sea. Here we provide quantitative evidence demonstrating that even relatively small populations of certain seabird species can lead to major impacts for ecosystems. In the present example, seabird guano accounts for approximately 14% of the contaminant inventory of the Lake Ellasjøen catchment area, approximately 80% of the contaminant inventory of the lake itself, and is approximately thirty times more efficient as a contaminant transport pathway compared to atmospheric long-range transport. We have further shown that this biological transport mechanism is an important contaminant exposure route for ecosystems, responsible for POPs levels in freshwater fish that are an order of magnitude higher than those in Arctic top predators. Given the worldwide presence of seabird colonies in coastal marine areas where resources are also harvested by humans, this biological transport pathway may be a greater source of dietary contamination than is currently recognized with consequent risks for human health.

  11. Magnetic order close to superconductivity in the iron-based layered LaO1-xFxFeAs systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de La Cruz, Clarina; Huang, Q.; Lynn, J. W.; Li, Jiying; , W. Ratcliff, II; Zarestky, J. L.; Mook, H. A.; Chen, G. F.; Luo, J. L.; Wang, N. L.; Dai, Pengcheng

    2008-06-01

    Following the discovery of long-range antiferromagnetic order in the parent compounds of high-transition-temperature (high-Tc) copper oxides, there have been efforts to understand the role of magnetism in the superconductivity that occurs when mobile `electrons' or `holes' are doped into the antiferromagnetic parent compounds. Superconductivity in the newly discovered rare-earth iron-based oxide systems ROFeAs (R, rare-earth metal) also arises from either electron or hole doping of their non-superconducting parent compounds. The parent material LaOFeAs is metallic but shows anomalies near 150K in both resistivity and d.c. magnetic susceptibility. Although optical conductivity and theoretical calculations suggest that LaOFeAs exhibits a spin-density-wave (SDW) instability that is suppressed by doping with electrons to induce superconductivity, there has been no direct evidence of SDW order. Here we report neutron-scattering experiments that demonstrate that LaOFeAs undergoes an abrupt structural distortion below 155K, changing the symmetry from tetragonal (space group P4/nmm) to monoclinic (space group P112/n) at low temperatures, and then, at ~137K, develops long-range SDW-type antiferromagnetic order with a small moment but simple magnetic structure. Doping the system with fluorine suppresses both the magnetic order and the structural distortion in favour of superconductivity. Therefore, like high-Tc copper oxides, the superconducting regime in these iron-based materials occurs in close proximity to a long-range-ordered antiferromagnetic ground state.

  12. Operand-order effect in multiplication and addition: the long-term effects of reorganization processand acquisition sequence.

    PubMed

    Didino, Daniele; Lombardi, Luigi; Vespignani, Francesco

    2014-01-01

    Butterworth, Marchesini, and Girelli (2003) showed that children solved multiplications faster when the larger operand was first (e.g., 5 · 2) than when the smaller operand was first (e.g., 2 · 5). This result was interpreted according to the reorganization hypothesis, which states that, as children begin to switch from counting-based strategies (e.g., repeated additions) to direct retrieval, non-retrieval strategies generate an advantage for the larger-operand-first order. In two experiments we showed that order preferences also persist into adulthood. With additions, the larger-operand-first order was solved faster than the inverse order. With multiplications we obtained a novel result: Largeroperand-first problems were solved faster when at least one operand was smaller than 5, whereas smaller-operand-first problems were solved faster when both operands were larger than 5. Since the reorganization process alone cannot explain our results, we propose that order preferences are also influenced by the sequence in which the members of a commuted pair are acquired.

  13. Magnitude of increase in QTc interval after initiation of dofetilide in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation is associated with increased rates of pharmacological cardioversion and long-term freedom from recurrent atrial fibrillation.

    PubMed

    Huang, Henry D; Waks, Jonathan W; Steinhaus, Daniel A; Zimetbaum, Peter

    2016-07-01

    Dofetilide is a class III antiarrhythmic drug approved for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). Dofetilide-induced corrected QT (QTc) interval prolongation is a surrogate for the degree of drug effect, but the relationships between drug-induced QTc interval prolongation, pharmacological cardioversion (PCV), and freedom from recurrent AF are unclear. The purpose of this study was to assess associations between QTc interval change during dofetilide initiation and PCV and long-term AF recurrence. We performed retrospective analyses of a prospective cohort of patients with AF admitted for dofetilide initiation between 2001 and 2014. Clinical characteristics and electrocardiographic variables were assessed. We evaluated outcomes of successful PCV in patients with persistent AF and time to recurrence of AF in patients with paroxysmal and persistent AF. During the study, 243 patients with persistent AF and 176 patients with paroxysmal AF initiated dofetilide. PCV occurred in 93/243 (41.7%) patients with persistent AF. After multivariable adjustment, QTc interval change was associated with PCV (adjusted odds ratio 1.21; P = .003 per 10-ms QTc increase). Inhospital QTc interval change was associated with long-term freedom from AF in patients with persistent AF (adjusted hazard ratio 0.92; P = .011 at 4 years per 10-ms QTc increase), but not in patients with paroxysmal AF. In patients with persistent AF, PCV was also associated with long-term freedom from recurrent AF (adjusted hazard ratio 0.62; P = .009 at 4 years). The magnitude of QTc interval prolongation during dofetilide initiation is an independent predictor of successful PCV and long-term freedom from arrhythmia in patients with persistent AF. QTc interval change had no association with AF recurrence in patients with paroxysmal AF, suggesting that different mechanisms of arrhythmogenesis may be operant in different AF types. Copyright © 2016 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Characteristics of Factors of Protozoa Blastocystis hominis Persistence.

    PubMed

    Potaturkina-Nesterova, N I; Il'ina, N A; Bugero, N V; Nesterov, A S

    2016-10-01

    Persistence activity manifested in the expression of anti-lysozyme, anti-lactoferrin, and antihistone factors promoting inactivation of natural anti-infection resistance factors in the body was revealed in Blastocystis hominis protozoa. Activities of these factors were ranged. The frequency of these factors in clinical isolates of blastocyst decreased in the following order: anti-lactoferrin activity (84.5±3.7%)→anti-lysozyme activity (64.8±5.7%)→anti-histone activity (48.1±2.3%). In healthy humans, the corresponding parameters were 7.3±1.3, 5.3±0.9, and 3.3±0.4%, respectively (p<0.05). It was shown that the studied activities in highly virulent blastocysts were higher than in groups of medium-, low-, and avirulent protozoa.

  15. Long-range interactions in magnetic bilayer above the critical temperature

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Souza, R. M. V.; Pereira, T. A. S.; Godoy, M.; de Arruda, A. S.

    2018-01-01

    In this paper we have studied the stabilization of the long-range order in (z ; x) -plane of two isotropic Heisenberg ferromagnetic monolayers coupled by a short-range exchange interaction (J⊥), by a long range dipole-dipole interactions and a magnetic field. We have applied a magnetic field along of the z-direction to study the thermodynamic properties above the critical temperature. The dispersion relation ω and the magnetization are given as function of dipolar anisotropy parameter defined as Ed =(gμ) 2 S /a3J∥ and for other Hamiltonian parameters, and they are calculated by the double-time Zubarev-Tyablikov Green's functions in the random-phase approximation (RPA). The results show that the system is unstable for values of Ed ≥ 0.012 with external magnetic field ranging between H /J∥ = 0 and 10-3. The instability appears for Ed larger then Edc = 0.0158 with H /J∥ = 10-5, Edc = 0.02885 with H /J∥ = 10-4, and Edc = 0.115 with H /J∥ = 10-3, i.e., a small magnetic field is sufficient to maintain the magnetic order in a greater range of the dipolar interaction.

  16. Neutron polarization analysis study of the frustrated magnetic ground state of β-Mn1-xAlx

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Stewart, J. R.; Andersen, K. H.; Cywinski, R.

    2008-07-01

    We have performed a neutron polarization analysis study of the short-range nuclear and magnetic correlations present in the dilute alloy, β-Mn1-xAlx with 0.03≤x≤0.16 , in order to study the evolution of the magnetic ground state of this system as it achieves static spin-glass order at concentrations x>0.09 . To this end we have developed a reverse-Monte Carlo algorithm which has enabled us to extract Warren-Cowley nuclear short-range order parameters and magnetic spin correlations. Using conventional neutron powder diffraction, we show that the nonmagnetic Al substituents preferentially occupy the magnetic site II Wyckoff positions in the β-Mn structure—resulting in a reduction of the magnetic topological frustration of the Mn atoms. These Al impurities are found to display strong anticlustering behavior. The magnetic spin correlations are predominantly antiferromagnetic, persisting over a short range which is similar for all the samples studied—above and below the spin-liquid-spin-glass boundary—while the observed static (disordered) moment is shown to increase with increasing Al concentration.

  17. Gamma-BHC/Cereclor—a new, long-acting lindane formulation for malaria control

    PubMed Central

    Hocking, K. S.; Armstrong, J. A.; Downing, F. S.

    1960-01-01

    Sorption of insecticides by muds and other materials used in the construction of native huts prolongs their duration of action or persistence. The use of gamma-BHC as a residual insecticide has been limited by the fact that its sorption by most materials is of a low order, so that it is comparatively short acting. If gamma-BHC is melted with a resin, the solid solution can be converted into a water-dispersible powder which is much more persistent on sorptive and semi-sorptive surfaces. Laboratory experiments had shown that the best results were obtained with a proprietary resin known as Cereclor. Field trials conducted by the authors have now demonstrated that this formulation retained its efficacy for at least six months, even on surfaces of low sorptive power, such as thatch and sisal. Gamma-BHC alone was much less persistent, except on mud walls, but even here bioassay showed the formulation with Cereclor to be more active. The authors consider that gamma-BHC/Cereclor approximates to the ideal insecticide for the spraying of native huts in malaria control. PMID:14402213

  18. Female physicist doctoral experiences

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dabney, Katherine P.; Tai, Robert H.

    2013-06-01

    The underrepresentation of women in physics doctorate programs and in tenured academic positions indicates a need to evaluate what may influence their career choice and persistence. This qualitative paper examines eleven females in physics doctoral programs and professional science positions in order to provide a more thorough understanding of why and how women make career choices based on aspects both inside and outside of school and their subsequent interaction. Results indicate that female physicists experience conflict in achieving balance within their graduate school experiences and personal lives and that this then influences their view of their future careers and possible career choices. Female physicists report both early and long-term support outside of school by family, and later departmental support, as being essential to their persistence within the field. A greater focus on informal and out-of-school science activities for females, especially those that involve family members, early in life may help influence their entrance into a physics career later in life. Departmental support, through advisers, mentors, peers, and women’s support groups, with a focus on work-life balance can help females to complete graduate school and persist into an academic career.

  19. Setting population targets for mammals using body mass as a predictor of population persistence.

    PubMed

    Hilbers, Jelle P; Santini, Luca; Visconti, Piero; Schipper, Aafke M; Pinto, Cecilia; Rondinini, Carlo; Huijbregts, Mark A J

    2017-04-01

    Conservation planning and biodiversity assessments need quantitative targets to optimize planning options and assess the adequacy of current species protection. However, targets aiming at persistence require population-specific data, which limit their use in favor of fixed and nonspecific targets, likely leading to unequal distribution of conservation efforts among species. We devised a method to derive equitable population targets; that is, quantitative targets of population size that ensure equal probabilities of persistence across a set of species and that can be easily inferred from species-specific traits. In our method, we used models of population dynamics across a range of life-history traits related to species' body mass to estimate minimum viable population targets. We applied our method to a range of body masses of mammals, from 2 g to 3825 kg. The minimum viable population targets decreased asymptotically with increasing body mass and were on the same order of magnitude as minimum viable population estimates from species- and context-specific studies. Our approach provides a compromise between pragmatic, nonspecific population targets and detailed context-specific estimates of population viability for which only limited data are available. It enables a first estimation of species-specific population targets based on a readily available trait and thus allows setting equitable targets for population persistence in large-scale and multispecies conservation assessments and planning. © 2016 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

  20. Persistent Asymmetric Optic Disc Swelling After Long-Duration Space Flight: Implications for Pathogenesis.

    PubMed

    Mader, Thomas H; Gibson, C Robert; Otto, Christian A; Sargsyan, Ashot E; Miller, Neil R; Subramanian, Prem S; Hart, Stephen F; Lipsky, William; Patel, Nimesh B; Lee, Andrew G

    2017-06-01

    Several ophthalmic findings including optic disc swelling, globe flattening and choroidal folds have been observed in astronauts following long-duration space flight. The authors now report asymmetric choroidal expansion, disc swelling and optic disc morphologic changes in a 45-year-old astronaut which occurred during long-duration space flight and persisted following his space mission. Case study of ocular findings in an astronaut documented during and after a long-duration space flight of approximately 6 months. Before, during and after his spaceflight, he underwent complete eye examination, including fundus photography, ultrasound, and optical coherence tomography. We documented asymmetric choroidal expansion inflight that largely resolved by 30 days postflight, asymmetric disc swelling observed inflight that persisted for over 180 days postflight, asymmetric optic disc morphologic changes documented inflight by OCT that persisted for 630 days postflight and asymmetric globe flattening that began inflight and continued 660 days postflight. Lumbar puncture opening pressures obtained at 7 and 365 days post-mission were 22 and 16 cm H20 respectively. The persistent asymmetric findings noted above, coupled with the lumbar puncture opening pressures, suggest that prolonged microgravity exposure may have produced asymmetric pressure changes within the perioptic subarachnoid space.

  1. Ultralow Dose of Naloxone as an Adjuvant to Intrathecal Morphine Infusion Improves Perceived Quality of Sleep but Fails to Alter Persistent Pain

    PubMed Central

    Lundborg, Christopher; Bjersing, Jan; Dahm, Peter; Hansson, Elisabeth; Biber, Björn

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: This randomized, cross-over, double-blind, controlled study of continuous intrathecal morphine administration in patients with severe, long-term pain addresses whether the supplementation of low doses of naloxone in this setting is associated with beneficial clinical effects. Methods: All of the study subjects (n=11) provided informed consent and were recruited from a subset of patients who were already undergoing long-term treatment with continuous intrathecal morphine because of difficult-to-treat pain. The patients were (in a randomized order) also given intrathecal naloxone (40 ng/24 h or 400 ng/24 h). As control, the patients’ ordinary dose of morphine without any additions was used. The pain (Numeric Rating Scale, NRS) during activity, perceived quality of sleep, level of activity, and quality of life as well as the levels of several proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in the blood were assessed. The prestudy pain (NRS during activity) in the study group ranged from 3 to 10. Results: A total of 64% of the subjects reported improved quality of sleep during treatment with naloxone at a dose of 40 ng per 24 hours as compared with 9% with sham treatment (P=0.024). Although not statistically significant, pain was reduced by 2 NRS steps or more during supplemental treatment with naloxone in 36% of subjects when using the 40 ng per 24 hours dose and in 18% of the subjects when using naloxone 400 ng per 24 hours dose. The corresponding percentage among patients receiving unaltered treatment was 27%. Conclusions: To conclude, the addition of an ultralow dose of intrathecal naloxone (40 ng/24 h) to intrathecal morphine infusion in patients with severe, persistent pain improved perceived quality of sleep. We were not able to show any statistically significant effects of naloxone on pain relief, level of activity, or quality of life. PMID:25629634

  2. Persistence and long-term memories of daily maximum and minimum temperatures in southern South America

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Naumann, Gustavo; Vargas, Walter M.; Minetti, Juan L.

    2011-10-01

    The persistence and long-term memories in daily maximum and minimum temperature series during the instrumental period in southern South America were analysed. Here, we found a markedly seasonal pattern both for short- and long-term memories that can lead to enhanced predictability on intraseasonal timescales. In addition, well-defined spatial patterns of these properties were found in the region. Throughout the entire region, the strongest dependence was observed in autumn and early winter. In the Patagonia region only, the temperatures exhibited more memory during the spring. In general, these elements indicate that nonlinear interactions exist between the annual cycles of temperature and its anomalies. Knowledge of the spatiotemporal behaviour of these long-term memories can be used in the building of stochastic models that only use persistence. It is possible to propose two objective forecast models based on linear interactions associated with persistence and one that allows for the use of information from nonlinear interactions that are manifested in the form of forerunners.

  3. Pressure induced enhancement of the magnetic ordering temperature in rhenium(IV) monomers

    PubMed Central

    Woodall, Christopher H.; Craig, Gavin A.; Prescimone, Alessandro; Misek, Martin; Cano, Joan; Faus, Juan; Probert, Michael R.; Parsons, Simon; Moggach, Stephen; Martínez-Lillo, José; Murrie, Mark; Kamenev, Konstantin V.; Brechin, Euan K.

    2016-01-01

    Materials that demonstrate long-range magnetic order are synonymous with information storage and the electronics industry, with the phenomenon commonly associated with metals, metal alloys or metal oxides and sulfides. A lesser known family of magnetically ordered complexes are the monometallic compounds of highly anisotropic d-block transition metals; the ‘transformation' from isolated zero-dimensional molecule to ordered, spin-canted, three-dimensional lattice being the result of through-space interactions arising from the combination of large magnetic anisotropy and spin-delocalization from metal to ligand which induces important intermolecular contacts. Here we report the effect of pressure on two such mononuclear rhenium(IV) compounds that exhibit long-range magnetic order under ambient conditions via a spin canting mechanism, with Tc controlled by the strength of the intermolecular interactions. As these are determined by intermolecular distance, ‘squeezing' the molecules closer together generates remarkable enhancements in ordering temperatures, with a linear dependence of Tc with pressure. PMID:28000676

  4. Population genomics reveals seahorses (Hippocampus erectus) of the western mid-Atlantic coast to be residents rather than vagrants.

    PubMed

    Boehm, J T; Waldman, John; Robinson, John D; Hickerson, Michael J

    2015-01-01

    Understanding population structure and areas of demographic persistence and transients is critical for effective species management. However, direct observational evidence to address the geographic scale and delineation of ephemeral or persistent populations for many marine fishes is limited. The Lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) can be commonly found in three western Atlantic zoogeographic provinces, though inhabitants of the temperate northern Virginia Province are often considered tropical vagrants that only arrive during warm seasons from the southern provinces and perish as temperatures decline. Although genetics can locate regions of historical population persistence and isolation, previous evidence of Virginia Province persistence is only provisional due to limited genetic sampling (i.e., mitochondrial DNA and five nuclear loci). To test alternative hypotheses of historical persistence versus the ephemerality of a northern Virginia Province population we used a RADseq generated dataset consisting of 11,708 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) sampled from individuals collected from the eastern Gulf of Mexico to Long Island, NY. Concordant results from genomic analyses all infer three genetically divergent subpopulations, and strongly support Virginia Province inhabitants as a genetically diverged and a historically persistent ancestral gene pool. These results suggest that individuals that emerge in coastal areas during the warm season can be considered "local" and supports offshore migration during the colder months. This research demonstrates how a large number of genes sampled across a geographical range can capture the diversity of coalescent histories (across loci) while inferring population history. Moreover, these results clearly demonstrate the utility of population genomic data to infer peripheral subpopulation persistence in difficult-to-observe species.

  5. Wolf population persistence in real life

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Mech, L.D.; Liberg, O.

    2005-01-01

    Wolf (Canis lupus) populations tend to be resilient and to persist for long periods, and several characteristics contribute to their resilience and persistence: (1) age of first reproduction (2-3 years), (2) high annual litter size (mean = 6), (3) low dispersal age (1-3 years), and (4) long potential dispersal distance (< 880 km). The only documented factor leading to extinction of well established wolf populations with sufficient food is deliberate poisoning, although conceivably disease could have such an effect.

  6. Stand-Alone Pulmonary Vein Isolation Versus Pulmonary Vein Isolation With Additional Substrate Modification as Index Ablation Procedures in Patients With Persistent and Long-Standing Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: The Randomized Alster-Lost-AF Trial (Ablation at St. Georg Hospital for Long-Standing Persistent Atrial Fibrillation).

    PubMed

    Fink, Thomas; Schlüter, Michael; Heeger, Christian-Hendrik; Lemes, Christine; Maurer, Tilman; Reissmann, Bruno; Riedl, Johannes; Rottner, Laura; Santoro, Francesco; Schmidt, Boris; Wohlmuth, Peter; Mathew, Shibu; Sohns, Christian; Ouyang, Feifan; Metzner, Andreas; Kuck, Karl-Heinz

    2017-07-01

    Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) for persistent atrial fibrillation is associated with limited success rates and often requires multiple procedures to maintain stable sinus rhythm. In the prospective and randomized Alster-Lost-AF trial (Ablation at St. Georg Hospital for Long-Standing Persistent Atrial Fibrillation), we sought to assess, in patients with symptomatic persistent or long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation, the outcomes of initial ablative strategies comprising either stand-alone PVI (PVI-only approach) or a stepwise approach of PVI followed by complex fractionated atrial electrogram ablation and linear ablation (Substrate-modification approach). Patients were randomized 1:1 to stand-alone PVI or PVI plus substrate modification. The primary study end point was freedom from recurrence of any atrial tachyarrhythmia, outside a 90-day blanking period, at 12 months. A total of 124 patients were enrolled, with 118 patients included in the analysis (61 in the PVI-only group, 57 in the Substrate-modification group). Atrial tachyarrhythmias recurred in 28 PVI-only group patients and 24 Substrate-modification group patients, for 1-year freedom from tachyarrhythmia recurrence after a single ablation procedure of 54% (95% confidence interval, 43%-68%) in the PVI-only and 57% (95% confidence interval, 46%-72%) in the Substrate-modification group ( P =0.86). Twenty-four patients in the PVI-only group (39%) and 18 in the Substrate-modification group (32%) were without arrhythmia recurrence and off antiarrhythmic drug therapy at the end of the 12-month follow-up. In patients with persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation, no significant difference was observed in 12-month freedom from atrial tachyarrhythmias between an index ablative approach of stand-alone PVI and a stepwise approach of PVI plus complex fractionated atrial electrogram and linear ablation. URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT00820625. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

  7. PDE5 inhibitor treatment persistence and adherence in Brazilian men: post-hoc analyses from a 6-month, prospective, observational study.

    PubMed

    Cairoli, Carlos; Reyes, Luis Antonio; Henneges, Carsten; Sorsaburu, Sebastian

    2014-01-01

    Characterize persistence and adherence to phosphodiesterase type - 5 inhibitor (PDE5I) on-demand therapy over 6 months among Brazilian men in an observational, non-interventional study of Latin American men naïve to PDE5Is with erectile dysfunction (ED). Men were prescribed PDE5Is per routine clinical practice. Persistence was defined as using ≥ 1 dose during the previous 4 - weeks, and adherence as following dosing instructions for the most recent dose, assessed using the Persistence and Adherence Questionnaire. Other measures included the Self - Esteem and Relationship (SEAR) Questionnaire, and International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF). Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with persistence/adherence. 104 Brazilian men were enrolled; mean age by treatment was 53 to 59 years, and most presented with moderate ED (61.7%). The prescribed PDE5I was sildenafil citrate for 50 (48.1%), tadalafil for 36 (34.6%), vardenafil for 15 (14.4%), and lodenafil for 3 patients (2.9%). Overall treatment persistence was 69.2% and adherence was 70.2%; both were numerically higher with tadalafil (75.0%) versus sildenafil or vardenafil (range 60.0% to 68.0%). Potential associations of persistence and/or adherence were observed with education level, ED etiology, employment status, and coronary artery disease. Improvements in all IIEF domain scores, and both SEAR domain scores were observed for all treatments. Study limitations included the observational design, brief duration, dependence on patient self - reporting, and limited sample size. Approximately two-thirds of PDE5I-naive, Brazilian men with ED were treatment persistent and adherent after 6 months. Further study is warranted to improve long-term outcomes of ED treatment.

  8. Performance of PHOTONIS' low light level CMOS imaging sensor for long range observation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bourree, Loig E.

    2014-05-01

    Identification of potential threats in low-light conditions through imaging is commonly achieved through closed-circuit television (CCTV) and surveillance cameras by combining the extended near infrared (NIR) response (800-10000nm wavelengths) of the imaging sensor with NIR LED or laser illuminators. Consequently, camera systems typically used for purposes of long-range observation often require high-power lasers in order to generate sufficient photons on targets to acquire detailed images at night. While these systems may adequately identify targets at long-range, the NIR illumination needed to achieve such functionality can easily be detected and therefore may not be suitable for covert applications. In order to reduce dependency on supplemental illumination in low-light conditions, the frame rate of the imaging sensors may be reduced to increase the photon integration time and thus improve the signal to noise ratio of the image. However, this may hinder the camera's ability to image moving objects with high fidelity. In order to address these particular drawbacks, PHOTONIS has developed a CMOS imaging sensor (CIS) with a pixel architecture and geometry designed specifically to overcome these issues in low-light level imaging. By combining this CIS with field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based image processing electronics, PHOTONIS has achieved low-read noise imaging with enhanced signal-to-noise ratio at quarter moon illumination, all at standard video frame rates. The performance of this CIS is discussed herein and compared to other commercially available CMOS and CCD for long-range observation applications.

  9. Spin susceptibility of charge-ordered YBa2Cu3Oy across the upper critical field

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhou, Rui; Hirata, Michihiro; Wu, Tao; Vinograd, Igor; Mayaffre, Hadrien; Krämer, Steffen; Reyes, Arneil P.; Kuhns, Philip L.; Liang, Ruixing; Hardy, W. N.; Bonn, D. A.; Julien, Marc-Henri

    2017-12-01

    The value of the upper critical field Hc2, a fundamental characteristic of the superconducting state, has been subject to strong controversy in high-Tc copper oxides. Since the issue has been tackled almost exclusively by macroscopic techniques so far, there is a clear need for local-probe measurements. Here, we use 17O NMR to measure the spin susceptibility χspin of the CuO2 planes at low temperature in charge-ordered YBa2Cu3Oy. We find that χspin increases (most likely linearly) with magnetic field H and saturates above field values ranging from 20 T to 40 T. This result is consistent with the lowest Hc2 values claimed previously and with the interpretation that the charge density wave (CDW) reduces Hc2 in underdoped YBa2Cu3Oy. Furthermore, the absence of marked deviation in χspin(H) at the onset of long-range CDW order indicates that this Hc2 reduction and the Fermi-surface reconstruction are primarily rooted in the short-range CDW order already present in zero field, not in the field-induced long-range CDW order. Above Hc2, the relatively low values of T= 2 K show that the pseudogap is a ground-state property, independent of the superconducting gap.

  10. Sustained weight loss in patients treated with mifepristone for Cushing's syndrome: a follow-up analysis of the SEISMIC study and long-term extension.

    PubMed

    Fein, Henry G; Vaughan, T Brooks; Kushner, Harvey; Cram, David; Nguyen, Dat

    2015-10-27

    Overweight and obesity are common among patients with Cushing's syndrome (CS) and may persist in some patients even after ostensibly curative surgery, contributing to cardiometabolic dysfunction and increased cardiovascular risk. Mifepristone, a selective glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, was effective in controlling hyperglycemia in a 24-week trial of adults (N = 50) with endogenous CS and associated type 2 diabetes mellitus/impaired glucose tolerance or hypertension who had failed or were not candidates for surgery (SEISMIC, Study of the Efficacy and Safety of Mifepristone in the Treatment of Endogenous Cushing's Syndrome). This analysis examines long-term weight change among patients who received mifepristone in SEISMIC and enrolled in a long-term safety extension (LTE) study. Patients completing the 24-week SEISMIC study and subsequent 6-week off-drug safety evaluation were invited to enroll in the LTE study. Mifepristone doses at the end of SEISMIC were the LTE starting doses. Body weight measures were reviewed at baseline and week 24 of SEISMIC and at LTE month 6, 12, 18, 24, and final visit (last observation collected during the LTE study). Of the 30 patients enrolled in the LTE, evaluable weight data were available for 29 (20/29 female; mean age of 44.7 ± 11.2 years). These patients received mifepristone for a median of 29.2 months (range 8.4-41.9). Mean ± SD weight from SEISMIC baseline to LTE final visit decreased by 10.3 ± 16.3 kg (mean 105.4 ± 34.3 kg to 95.1 ± 32.9 kg), a 9.3 % decrease from baseline weight (P = 0.0008). Of the 29 LTE patients, 18 (62.1 %) lost ≥ 5 % of body weight by the end of the initial 24-week treatment period; this ≥5 % weight loss persisted in 83.3 % (15/18) at LTE final visit. Ten patients (34.5 %) lost ≥ 10 % of initial body weight by week 24 of SEISMIC, which persisted in 80 % at LTE final visit. No new safety signals were detected with long-term mifepristone use. Clinically meaningful weight loss achieved during a 24-week study of mifepristone for CS persisted for two additional years in patients who remained on therapy. Long-term treatment with mifepristone appears to have a beneficial effect on weight in patients with endogenous CS. NCT00569582 (SEISMIC); NCT00936741 (Long-Term Extension).

  11. What if the Hubbard Brook weirs had been built somewhere else? Spatial uncertainty in the application of catchment budgets

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bailey, S. W.

    2016-12-01

    Nine catchments are gaged at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, Woodstock, NH, USA, with weirs installed on adjacent first-order streams. These catchments have been used as unit ecosystems for analysis of chemical budgets, including evaluation of long term trends and response to disturbance. This study examines uncertainty in the representativeness of these budgets to other nearby catchments, or as representatives of the broader northern hardwood ecosystem, depending on choice of location of the stream gaging station. Within forested northern hardwood catchments across the Hubbard Brook region, there is relatively little spatial variation in amount or chemistry of precipitation inputs or in amount of streamwater outputs. For example, runoff per unit catchment area varies by less than 10% at gaging stations on first to sixth order streams. In contrast, concentrations of major solutes vary by an order of magnitude or more across stream sampling sites, with a similar range in concentrations seen within individual first order catchments as seen across the third order Hubbard Brook valley or across the White Mountain region. These spatial variations in stream chemistry are temporally persistent across a range of flow conditions. Thus first order catchment budgets vary greatly depending on very local variations in stream chemistry driven by choice of the site to develop a stream gage. For example, carbon output in dissolved organic matter varies by a factor of five depending on where the catchment output is defined at Watershed 3. I hypothesize that catchment outputs from first order streams are driven by spatially variable chemistry of shallow groundwater, reflecting local variations in the distribution of soils and vegetation. In contrast, spatial variability in stream chemistry decreases with stream order, hypothesized to reflect deeper groundwater inputs on larger streams, which are more regionally uniform. Thus, choice of a gaging site and definition of an ecosystem as a unit of analysis at a larger scale, such as the Hubbard Brook valley, would have less impact on calculated budgets than at the headwater scale. Monitoring of a larger catchment is more likely to be representative of other similar sized catchments. However, particular research questions may be better studied at the smaller headwater scale.

  12. Long-wavelength instabilities in a system of interacting active particles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Fazli, Zahra; Najafi, Ali

    2018-02-01

    Based on a microscopic model, we develop a continuum description for a suspension of microscopic self-propelled particles. With this continuum description we study the role of long-range interactions in destabilizing macroscopic ordered phases that are developed by short-range interactions. Long-wavelength fluctuations can destabilize both isotropic and symmetry-broken polar phases in a suspension of dipolar particles. The instabilities in a suspension of pullers (pushers) arise from splay (bend) fluctuations. Such instabilities are not seen in a suspension of quadrupolar particles.

  13. Optimal interdependence enhances the dynamical robustness of complex systems.

    PubMed

    Singh, Rishu Kumar; Sinha, Sitabhra

    2017-08-01

    Although interdependent systems have usually been associated with increased fragility, we show that strengthening the interdependence between dynamical processes on different networks can make them more likely to survive over long times. By coupling the dynamics of networks that in isolation exhibit catastrophic collapse with extinction of nodal activity, we demonstrate system-wide persistence of activity for an optimal range of interdependence between the networks. This is related to the appearance of attractors of the global dynamics comprising disjoint sets ("islands") of stable activity.

  14. Optimal interdependence enhances the dynamical robustness of complex systems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singh, Rishu Kumar; Sinha, Sitabhra

    2017-08-01

    Although interdependent systems have usually been associated with increased fragility, we show that strengthening the interdependence between dynamical processes on different networks can make them more likely to survive over long times. By coupling the dynamics of networks that in isolation exhibit catastrophic collapse with extinction of nodal activity, we demonstrate system-wide persistence of activity for an optimal range of interdependence between the networks. This is related to the appearance of attractors of the global dynamics comprising disjoint sets ("islands") of stable activity.

  15. Casting Metal Nanowires Within Discrete Self-Assembled Peptide Nanotubes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reches, Meital; Gazit, Ehud

    2003-04-01

    Tubular nanostructures are suggested to have a wide range of applications in nanotechnology. We report our observation of the self-assembly of a very short peptide, the Alzheimer's β-amyloid diphenylalanine structural motif, into discrete and stiff nanotubes. Reduction of ionic silver within the nanotubes, followed by enzymatic degradation of the peptide backbone, resulted in the production of discrete nanowires with a long persistence length. The same dipeptide building block, made of D-phenylalanine, resulted in the production of enzymatically stable nanotubes.

  16. Local chiral potentials with Δ -intermediate states and the structure of light nuclei

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Piarulli, M.; Girlanda, L.; Schiavilla, R.

    We present fully local versions of the minimally non-local nucleon-nucleon potentials constructed in a previous paper [M. Piarulli et al., Phys. Rev. C 91, 024003 (2015)], and use them in hypersperical-harmonics and quantum Monte Carlo calculations of ground and excited states of 3H, 3He, 4He, 6He, and 6Li nuclei. The long-range part of these local potentials includes oneand two-pion exchange contributions without and with Δ isobars in the intermediate states up to order Q3 (Q denotes generically the low momentum scale) in the chiral expansion, while the short-range part consists of contact interactions up to order Q4. The low-energy constantsmore » multiplying these contact interactions are fitted to the 2013 Granada database in two different ranges of laboratory energies, either 0–125 MeV or 0–200 MeV, and to the deuteron binding energy and nn singlet scattering length. Fits to these data are performed for three models characterized by long- and short-range cutoffs, RL and RS respectively, ranging from (RL,RS) = (1.2, 0.8) fm down to (0.8, 0.6) fm. The long-range (short-range) cutoff regularizes the one- and two-pion exchange (contact) part of the potential.« less

  17. POPE: Partial Order Preserving Encoding

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2016-09-09

    Alex X. Liu, Ann L. Wang, and Bezawada Bruhadeshwar. Fast range query processing with strong privacy protection for cloud computing . Proc. VLDB...States government. As such, the Government retains a nonexclusive, royalty-free right to publish or reproduce this article , or to allow others to do so...of these schemes the direc- tory in the persistent client storage depends on the full dataset. Thus 1We abuse notation and use OPE to refer to both

  18. Extremes of fractional noises: A model for the timings of arrhythmic heart beats in post-infarction patients

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Witt, Annette; Ehlers, Frithjof; Luther, Stefan

    2017-09-01

    We have analyzed symbol sequences of heart beat annotations obtained from 24-h electrocardiogram recordings of 184 post-infarction patients (from the Cardiac Arrhythmia Suppression Trial database, CAST). In the symbol sequences, each heart beat was coded as an arrhythmic or as a normal beat. The symbol sequences were analyzed with a model-based approach which relies on two-parametric peaks over the threshold (POT) model, interpreting each premature ventricular contraction (PVC) as an extreme event. For the POT model, we explored (i) the Shannon entropy which was estimated in terms of the Lempel-Ziv complexity, (ii) the shape parameter of the Weibull distribution that best fits the PVC return times, and (iii) the strength of long-range correlations quantified by detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA) for the two-dimensional parameter space. We have found that in the frame of our model the Lempel-Ziv complexity is functionally related to the shape parameter of the Weibull distribution. Thus, two complementary measures (entropy and strength of long-range correlations) are sufficient to characterize realizations of the two-parametric model. For the CAST data, we have found evidence for an intermediate strength of long-range correlations in the PVC timings, which are correlated to the age of the patient: younger post-infarction patients have higher strength of long-range correlations than older patients. The normalized Shannon entropy has values in the range 0.5

  19. Stochastic modeling of Cryptosporidium parvum to predict transport, retention, and downstream exposure

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Drummond, J. D.; Boano, F.; Atwill, E. R.; Li, X.; Harter, T.; Packman, A. I.

    2016-12-01

    Rivers are a means of rapid and long-distance transmission of pathogenic microorganisms from upstream terrestrial sources. Thus, significant fluxes of pathogen loads from agricultural lands can occur due to transport in surface waters. Pathogens enter streams and rivers in a variety of processes, notably overland flow, shallow groundwater discharge, and direct inputs from host populations such as humans and other vertebrate species. Viruses, bacteria, and parasites can enter a stream and persist in the environment for varying amounts of time. Of particular concern is the protozoal parasite, Cryptosporidium parvum, which can remain infective for weeks to months under cool and moist conditions, with the infectious state (oocysts) largely resistant to chlorination. In order to manage water-borne diseases more effectively we need to better predict how microbes behave in freshwater systems, particularly how they are transported downstream in rivers and in the process interact with the streambed and other solid surfaces. Microbes continuously immobilize and resuspend during downstream transport due to a variety of processes, such as gravitational settling, attachment to in-stream structures such as submerged macrophytes, and hyporheic exchange and filtration within underlying sediments. These various interactions result in a wide range of microbial residence times in the streambed and therefore influence the persistence of pathogenic microbes in the stream environment. We developed a stochastic mobile-immobile model to describe these microbial transport and retention processes in streams and rivers that also accounts for microbial inactivation. We used the model to assess the transport, retention, and inactivation of C. parvum within stream environments, specifically under representative flow conditions of California streams where C. parvum exposure can be at higher risk due to agricultural nonpoint sources. The results demonstrate that the combination of stream reach-scale analysis and multi-scale stochastic modeling improves assessment of C. parvum transport and retention in streams in order to predict downstream exposure to human communities, wildlife, and livestock.

  20. Physical-Chemical Properties of Articulated Rodlike Polymers

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1984-04-01

    poly-lysine have shown an ’ordinary to extraordinary’ transition where long range forces are postulated to create a lattice -like structure between...concentrations, the scattering moieties are held in a pseudo- lattice order, As the concentration increases, the 57 effects of excluded volume become...were intermolecular since the chains were already fully extended. The long range nature of the electrostatic interactions created a pseudo- lattice

  1. Bond-orientational order in liquid Si

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Wang, Z. Q.; Stroud, D.

    1991-01-01

    Bond-orientational order in liquid Si via Monte Carlo simulation in conjuncation with empirical two- and three-body potentials of the form proposed by Stillinger and Weber are studied. Bond-orientational order (BOO) is described in terms of combinations of spherical harmonic functions. Liquid Si is found to have pronounced short-range BOO corresponding to l = 3, as expected for a structure with local tetrahedral order. No long-range BOO is found either in the equilibrium or the supercooled liquid. When the three-body potential is artificially removed, the tetrahedral bond-orientation order disappears and the liquid assumes a close-packed structure.

  2. Long-term Problems of Land Contaminated by Nonradioactive Hazardous Chemicals: Sources, Impacts, and Countermeasures

    DTIC Science & Technology

    1987-01-01

    reducing agents (Stevenson 1972). • 1% ’Y~2 V -i -- w J1 7J. -J 7%j7% -. -J -.P 7’ 7 . ~ m 12 2.2 EXPERIENCE WITH PESTICIDES It is well recognized...PERSISTENCE . .. O.. ......... ....... 10 2.2 EXPERIENCE WITH PES1ICIDES ......... .............. ... 12 2.2.1 Pesticides with Long-Term Persistetice...12 2.2.2 Pesticides with Intermediate Persistence .. ..... . 13 2.2.3 Pesticides with Short Persistence Times ... ....... 15 2.3 UPTAKE BY

  3. Persistent ferromagnetism and topological phase transition at the interface of a superconductor and a topological insulator.

    PubMed

    Qin, Wei; Zhang, Zhenyu

    2014-12-31

    At the interface of an s-wave superconductor and a three-dimensional topological insulator, Majorana zero modes and Majorana helical states have been proposed to exist respectively around magnetic vortices and geometrical edges. Here we first show that randomly distributed magnetic impurities at such an interface will induce bound states that broaden into impurity bands inside (but near the edges of) the superconducting gap, which remains open unless the impurity concentration is too high. Next we find that an increase in the superconducting gap suppresses both the oscillation magnitude and the period of the Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction between two magnetic impurities. Within a mean-field approximation, the ferromagnetic Curie temperature is found to be essentially independent of the superconducting gap, an intriguing phenomenon due to a compensation effect between the short-range ferromagnetic and long-range antiferromagnetic interactions. The existence of robust superconductivity and persistent ferromagnetism at the interface allows realization of a novel topological phase transition from a nonchiral to a chiral superconducting state at sufficiently low temperatures, providing a new platform for topological quantum computation.

  4. Persistent, Long-term Cerebral White Matter Changes after Sports-Related Repetitive Head Impacts

    PubMed Central

    Bazarian, Jeffrey J.; Zhu, Tong; Zhong, Jianhui; Janigro, Damir; Rozen, Eric; Roberts, Andrew; Javien, Hannah; Merchant-Borna, Kian; Abar, Beau; Blackman, Eric G.

    2014-01-01

    Introduction Repetitive head impacts (RHI) sustained in contact sports are thought to be necessary for the long-term development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Our objectives were to: 1) characterize the magnitude and persistence of RHI-induced white matter (WM) changes; 2) determine their relationship to kinematic measures of RHI; and 3) explore their clinical relevance. Methods Prospective, observational study of 10 Division III college football players and 5 non-athlete controls during the 2011-12 season. All subjects underwent diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), physiologic, cognitive, and balance testing at pre-season (Time 1), post-season (Time 2), and after 6-months of no-contact rest (Time 3). Head impact measures were recorded using helmet-mounted accelerometers. The percentage of whole-brain WM voxels with significant changes in fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) from Time 1 to 2, and Time 1 to 3 was determined for each subject and correlated to head impacts and clinical measures. Results Total head impacts for the season ranged from 431–1,850. No athlete suffered a clinically evident concussion. Compared to controls, athletes experienced greater changes in FA and MD from Time 1 to 2 as well as Time 1 to 3; most differences at Time 2 persisted to Time 3. Among athletes, the percentage of voxels with decreased FA from Time 1 to 2 was positively correlated with several helmet impact measures. The persistence of WM changes from Time 1 to 3 was also associated with changes in serum ApoA1 and S100B autoantibodies. WM changes were not consistently associated with cognition or balance. Conclusions A single football season of RHIs without clinically-evident concussion resulted in WM changes that correlated with multiple helmet impact measures and persisted following 6 months of no-contact rest. This lack of WM recovery could potentially contribute to cumulative WM changes with subsequent RHI exposures. PMID:24740265

  5. Structure of flexible and semiflexible polyelectrolyte chains in confined spaces of slit micro/nanochannels.

    PubMed

    Jeon, Jonggu; Chun, Myung-Suk

    2007-04-21

    Understanding the behavior of a polyelectrolyte in confined spaces has direct relevance in design and manipulation of microfluidic devices, as well as transport in living organisms. In this paper, a coarse-grained model of anionic semiflexible polyelectrolyte is applied, and its structure and dynamics are fully examined with Brownian dynamics (BD) simulations both in bulk solution and under confinement between two negatively charged parallel plates. The modeling is based on the nonlinear bead-spring discretization of a continuous chain with additional long-range electrostatic, Lennard-Jones, and hydrodynamic interactions between pairs of beads. The authors also consider the steric and electrostatic interactions between the bead and the confining wall. Relevant model parameters are determined from experimental rheology data on the anionic polysaccharide xanthan reported previously. For comparison, both flexible and semiflexible models are developed accompanying zero and finite intrinsic persistence lengths, respectively. The conformational changes of the polyelectrolyte chain induced by confinements and their dependence on the screening effect of the electrolyte solution are faithfully characterized with BD simulations. Depending on the intrinsic rigidity and the medium ionic strength, the polyelectrolyte can be classified as flexible, semiflexible, or rigid. Confined flexible and semiflexible chains exhibit a nonmonotonic variation in size, as measured by the radius of gyration and end-to-end distance, with changing slit width. For the semiflexible chain, this is coupled to the variations in long-range bond vector correlation. The rigid chain, realized at low ionic strength, does not have minima in size but exhibits a sigmoidal transition. The size of confined semiflexible and rigid polyelectrolytes can be well described by the wormlike chain model once the electrostatic effects are taken into account by the persistence length measured at long length scale.

  6. Amorphous photonic crystals with only short-range order.

    PubMed

    Shi, Lei; Zhang, Yafeng; Dong, Biqin; Zhan, Tianrong; Liu, Xiaohan; Zi, Jian

    2013-10-04

    Distinct from conventional photonic crystals with both short- and long-range order, amorphous photonic crystals that possess only short-range order show interesting optical responses owing to their unique structural features. Amorphous photonic crystals exhibit unique light scattering and transport, which lead to a variety of interesting phenomena such as isotropic photonic bandgaps or pseudogaps, noniridescent structural colors, and light localization. Recent experimental and theoretical advances in the study of amorphous photonic crystals are summarized, focusing on their unique optical properties, artificial fabrication, bionspiration, and potential applications. Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  7. Tesla: An application for real-time data analysis in High Energy Physics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Aaij, R.; Amato, S.; Anderlini, L.; Benson, S.; Cattaneo, M.; Clemencic, M.; Couturier, B.; Frank, M.; Gligorov, V. V.; Head, T.; Jones, C.; Komarov, I.; Lupton, O.; Matev, R.; Raven, G.; Sciascia, B.; Skwarnicki, T.; Spradlin, P.; Stahl, S.; Storaci, B.; Vesterinen, M.

    2016-11-01

    Upgrades to the LHCb computing infrastructure in the first long shutdown of the LHC have allowed for high quality decay information to be calculated by the software trigger making a separate offline event reconstruction unnecessary. Furthermore, the storage space of the triggered candidate is an order of magnitude smaller than the entire raw event that would otherwise need to be persisted. Tesla is an application designed to process the information calculated by the trigger, with the resulting output used to directly perform physics measurements.

  8. Preparation of Nanocomposite Plasmonic Films Made from Cellulose Nanocrystals or Mesoporous Silica Decorated with Unidirectionally Aligned Gold Nanorods.

    PubMed

    Campbell, Michael G; Liu, Qingkun; Sanders, Aric; Evans, Julian S; Smalyukh, Ivan I

    2014-04-11

    Using liquid crystalline self-assembly of cellulose nanocrystals, we achieve long-range alignment of anisotropic metal nanoparticles in colloidal nanocrystal dispersions that are then used to deposit thin structured films with ordering features highly dependent on the deposition method. These hybrid films are comprised of gold nanorods unidirectionally aligned in a matrix that can be made of ordered cellulose nanocrystals or silica nanostructures obtained by using cellulose-based nanostructures as a replica. The ensuing long-range alignment of gold nanorods in both cellulose-based and nanoporous silica films results in a polarization-sensitive surface plasmon resonance. The demonstrated device-scale bulk nanoparticle alignment may enable engineering of new material properties arising from combining the orientational ordering of host nanostructures and properties of the anisotropic plasmonic metal nanoparticles. Our approach may also allow for scalable fabrication of plasmonic polarizers and nanoporous silica structures with orientationally ordered anisotropic plasmonic nanoinclusions.

  9. DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Modic, K. A.; Ramshaw, Brad J.; Betts, J. B.

    Here, the complex antiferromagnetic orders observed in the honeycomb iridates are a double-edged sword in the search for a quantum spin-liquid: both attesting that the magnetic interactions provide many of the necessary ingredients, while simultaneously impeding access. Focus has naturally been drawn to the unusual magnetic orders that hint at the underlying spin correlations. However, the study of any particular broken symmetry state generally provides little clue about the possibility of other nearby ground states. Here we use magnetic fields approaching 100 Tesla to reveal the extent of the spin correlations in γ-lithium iridate. We find that a small componentmore » of field along the magnetic easy-axis melts long-range order, revealing a bistable, strongly correlated spin state. Far from the usual destruction of antiferromagnetism via spin polarization, the high-field state possesses only a small fraction of the total iridium moment, without evidence for long-range order up to the highest attainable magnetic fields.« less

  10. Phonon Softening due to Melting of the Ferromagnetic Order in Elemental Iron

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Han, Qiang; Birol, Turan; Haule, Kristjan

    2018-05-01

    We study the fundamental question of the lattice dynamics of a metallic ferromagnet in the regime where the static long-range magnetic order is replaced by the fluctuating local moments embedded in a metallic host. We use the ab initio density functional theory + embedded dynamical mean-field theory functional approach to address the dynamic stability of iron polymorphs and the phonon softening with an increased temperature. We show that the nonharmonic and inhomogeneous phonon softening measured in iron is a result of the melting of the long-range ferromagnetic order and is unrelated to the first-order structural transition from the bcc to the fcc phase, as is usually assumed. We predict that the bcc structure is dynamically stable at all temperatures at normal pressure and is thermodynamically unstable only between the bcc-α and the bcc-δ phases of iron.

  11. Long-range stripe nanodomains in epitaxial (110) BiFeO 3 thin films on (100) NdGaO 3 substrate

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Sharma, Yogesh; Agarwal, Radhe; Phatak, Charudatta

    Here, we report the observation of ferroelectric and ferroelastic nanodomains in (110)-oriented BiFeO 3 (BFO) thin films epitaxially grown on low symmetric (100) NdGaO 3 (NGO) substrate. We observed long range ordering of ferroelectric 109° stripe nanodomains separated by periodic vertical domain walls in as-grown 130 nm thick BFO films. The effect of La 0.67Sr 0.33CoO 3 (LSCO) conducting interlayer on domain configurations in BFO/NGO film was also observed with relatively short range-ordering of stripe domains due to the modified electrostatic boundary conditions in BFO/LSCO/NGO film. Additional studies on B-site doping of Nb ions in BFO films showed change inmore » the domain structures due to doping induced change in lattice anisotropy while maintaining the stripe domain morphology with 109° domain wall. Finally, this long-range array of ferroelectric and ferroelastic domains can be useful for optoelectronic devices and ferroelastic templates for strain coupled artificial magnetoelectric heterostructures.« less

  12. Long-range stripe nanodomains in epitaxial (110) BiFeO 3 thin films on (100) NdGaO 3 substrate

    DOE PAGES

    Sharma, Yogesh; Agarwal, Radhe; Phatak, Charudatta; ...

    2017-07-07

    Here, we report the observation of ferroelectric and ferroelastic nanodomains in (110)-oriented BiFeO 3 (BFO) thin films epitaxially grown on low symmetric (100) NdGaO 3 (NGO) substrate. We observed long range ordering of ferroelectric 109° stripe nanodomains separated by periodic vertical domain walls in as-grown 130 nm thick BFO films. The effect of La 0.67Sr 0.33CoO 3 (LSCO) conducting interlayer on domain configurations in BFO/NGO film was also observed with relatively short range-ordering of stripe domains due to the modified electrostatic boundary conditions in BFO/LSCO/NGO film. Additional studies on B-site doping of Nb ions in BFO films showed change inmore » the domain structures due to doping induced change in lattice anisotropy while maintaining the stripe domain morphology with 109° domain wall. Finally, this long-range array of ferroelectric and ferroelastic domains can be useful for optoelectronic devices and ferroelastic templates for strain coupled artificial magnetoelectric heterostructures.« less

  13. Reconfigurable and writable magnetic charge crystals

    DOEpatents

    Wang, Yong-Lei; Xiao, Zhi-Li; Kwok, Wai-Kwong

    2017-07-18

    Artificial ices enable the study of geometrical frustration by design and through direct observation. It has, however, proven difficult to achieve tailored long-range ordering of their diverse configurations, limiting both fundamental and applied research directions. An artificial spin structure design is described that produces a magnetic charge ice with tunable long-range ordering of eight different configurations. A technique is also developed to precisely manipulate the local magnetic charge states and demonstrate write-read-erase multi-functionality at room temperature. This globally reconfigurable and locally writable magnetic charge ice provides a setting for designing magnetic monopole defects, tailoring magnetics and controlling the properties of other two-dimensional materials.

  14. Rewritable artificial magnetic charge ice

    DOE PAGES

    Wang, Yong-Lei; Xiao, Zhi-Li; Snezhko, Alexey; ...

    2016-05-20

    Artificial ices enable the study of geometrical frustration by design and through direct observation. However, it has proven difficult to achieve tailored long-range ordering of their diverse configurations, limiting both fundamental and applied research directions. Here, we designed an artificial spin structure that produces a magnetic charge ice with tunable long-range ordering of eight different configurations. We also developed a technique to precisely manipulate the local magnetic charge states and demonstrate write-read-erase multifunctionality at room temperature. This globally reconfigurable and locally writable magnetic charge ice could provide a setting for designing magnetic monopole defects, tailoring magnonics, and controlling the propertiesmore » of other two-dimensional materials.« less

  15. Rewritable artificial magnetic charge ice

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wang, Yong-Lei; Xiao, Zhi-Li; Snezhko, Alexey

    Artificial ices enable the study of geometrical frustration by design and through direct observation. However, it has proven difficult to achieve tailored long-range ordering of their diverse configurations, limiting both fundamental and applied research directions. Here, we designed an artificial spin structure that produces a magnetic charge ice with tunable long-range ordering of eight different configurations. We also developed a technique to precisely manipulate the local magnetic charge states and demonstrate write-read-erase multifunctionality at room temperature. This globally reconfigurable and locally writable magnetic charge ice could provide a setting for designing magnetic monopole defects, tailoring magnonics, and controlling the propertiesmore » of other two-dimensional materials.« less

  16. Occurrence and air/sea-exchange of novel organic pollutants in the marine environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ebinghaus, R.; Xie, Z.

    2006-12-01

    A number of studies have demonstrated that several classes of chemicals act as biologically relevant signalling substances. Among these chemicals, many, including PCBs, DDT and dioxins, are semi-volatile, persistent, and are capable of long-range atmospheric transport via atmospheric circulation. Some of these compounds, e.g. phthalates and alkylphenols (APs) are still manufactured and consumed worldwide even though there is clear evidence that they are toxic to aquatic organisms and can act as endocrine disruptors. Concentrations of NP, t-OP and NP1EO, DMP, DEP, DBP, BBP, and DEHP have been simultaneously determined in the surface sea water and atmosphere of the North Sea. Atmospheric concentrations of NP and t-OP ranged from 7 to 110 pg m - 3, which were one to three orders of magnitude below coastal atmospheric concentrations already reported. NP1EO was detected in both vapor and particle phases, which ranged from 4 to 50 pg m - 3. The concentrations of the phthalates in the atmosphere ranged from below the method detection limit to 3.4 ng m - 3. The concentrations of t-OP, NP, and NP1EO in dissolved phase were 13-300, 90-1400, and 17-1660 pg L - 1. DBP, BBP, and DEHP were determined in the water phase with concentrations ranging from below the method detection limit to 6.6 ng L - 1. This study indicates that atmospheric deposition of APs and phthalates into the North Sea is an important input pathway. The net fluxes indicate that the air sea exchange is significant and, consequently the open ocean and polar areas will be an extensive sink for APs and phthalates.

  17. Critical assessment of pendimethalin in terms of persistence, bioaccumulation, toxicity, and potential for long-range transport.

    PubMed

    Vighi, Marco; Matthies, Michael; Solomon, Keith R

    2017-01-01

    Pendimethalin (PND, CAS registry number 40487-42-1) is a dinitroaniline herbicide that selectively controls broad-leaf and grassy weeds in a variety of crops and in noncrop areas. It has been on the market for about 30 yr and is currently under review for properties related to persistence (P), bioaccumulation (B), and toxicity (T) in the European Union (EU). A critical review of these properties as well as potential for long-range transport (LRT) was conducted. Pendimethalin has a geometric mean (GM) half-life of 76-98 d in agriculturally relevant soils under aerobic conditions in the lab. The anaerobic half-life was 12 d. The GM for field half-lives was 72 d. The GM half-life for sediment-water tests in the lab was 20 d and that in field aquatic cosms ranged from 45 to 90 d. From these data PND is not persistent as defined in the Annex II of EC regulation 1107/2009. The GM bioconcentration factor for PND was 1878, less than the criterion value. This was consistent with lack of biomagnification or accumulation in aquatic and terrestrial food chains. The GM no-observed-effect concentration (NOEC) value for fish was 43 µg/L, and 11 µg/L for algae. These do not trigger the criterion value for toxicity. In air, the DT50 of PND was estimated to be 0.35 d, which is well below the criterion of 2 d for LRT under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Aarhus protocol. Modeling confirmed lack of LRT. Because of its volatility, PND may be transported over short distances in air and was found in samples in local and semiremote regions; however, these concentrations are not of toxicological concern. Unlike other current-use pesticides, PND has not been found in samples from remote regions since 2000 and there is no apparent evidence that this herbicide accumulates in food chains in the Arctic.

  18. A new multimedia contaminant fate model for China: how important are environmental parameters in influencing chemical persistence and long-range transport potential?

    PubMed

    Zhu, Ying; Price, Oliver R; Tao, Shu; Jones, Kevin C; Sweetman, Andy J

    2014-08-01

    We present a new multimedia chemical fate model (SESAMe) which was developed to assess chemical fate and behaviour across China. We apply the model to quantify the influence of environmental parameters on chemical overall persistence (POV) and long-range transport potential (LRTP) in China, which has extreme diversity in environmental conditions. Sobol sensitivity analysis was used to identify the relative importance of input parameters. Physicochemical properties were identified as more influential than environmental parameters on model output. Interactive effects of environmental parameters on POV and LRTP occur mainly in combination with chemical properties. Hypothetical chemicals and emission data were used to model POV and LRTP for neutral and acidic chemicals with different KOW/DOW, vapour pressure and pKa under different precipitation, wind speed, temperature and soil organic carbon contents (fOC). Generally for POV, precipitation was more influential than the other environmental parameters, whilst temperature and wind speed did not contribute significantly to POV variation; for LRTP, wind speed was more influential than the other environmental parameters, whilst the effects of other environmental parameters relied on specific chemical properties. fOC had a slight effect on POV and LRTP, and higher fOC always increased POV and decreased LRTP. Example case studies were performed on real test chemicals using SESAMe to explore the spatial variability of model output and how environmental properties affect POV and LRTP. Dibenzofuran released to multiple media had higher POV in northwest of Xinjiang, part of Gansu, northeast of Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang and Jilin. Benzo[a]pyrene released to the air had higher LRTP in south Xinjiang and west Inner Mongolia, whilst acenaphthene had higher LRTP in Tibet and west Inner Mongolia. TCS released into water had higher LRTP in Yellow River and Yangtze River catchments. The initial case studies demonstrated that SESAMe performed well on comparing POV and LRTP of chemicals in different regions across China in order to potentially identify the most sensitive regions. This model should not only be used to estimate POV and LRTP for screening and risk assessments of chemicals, but could potentially be used to help design chemical monitoring programmes across China in the future. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Persistence of Hydrologic Variables and Reactive Stream Solute Concentrations in an East Tennessee Watershed

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Koirala, Shesh R; Gentry, Randall W; Mulholland, Patrick J

    2011-01-01

    Time and frequency domain analyses were conducted on weekly time series of water chemistry (nitrate, sulfate and calcium concentrations) collected from November 1995 to December 2005 at the West Fork of Walker Branch in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to evaluate the extent of their persistence and the relationship of this persistence to discharge and rainfall. In this study, spectral and wavelet analyses provided a theoretical basis for insights into long-term water chemistry behavior. All water chemistry parameters showed some level of persistence that was influenced by rainfall and/or discharge. Short-term persistence (less than a year) was related to the persistence ofmore » rainfall and discharge, whereas long-term persistence (more than a year) was related to the persistence of discharge. The Walker Branch conceptual hydrology model is augmented by these results that relate characteristic periodicities with flowpaths through different zones: the vadose zone (< 20 week period), saturated zone (20-50 week period) and bedrock zone (> 50 week period) with implications for reactive chemistries within the watershed. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.« less

  20. Contribution of fecal egestion to the whole body elimination of polychlorinated biphenyls by Japanese koi (Cyprinus carpio).

    PubMed

    Paterson, Gord; Liu, Jian; Haffner, G Douglas; Drouillard, Ken G

    2010-08-01

    This research investigated dose-dependent whole body and fecal elimination of 39 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners spanning a range of chemical hydrophobicities (log Kow) by the Japanese koi (Cyprinus carpio). Both whole body (ktot) and fecal (keg) PCB congener elimination rate coefficients were negatively correlated with log Kow and observed to be dose independent. PCB congener ktot values determined for koi were representative of those generated for fish species of similar size and reared at near optimal temperatures. For persistent and metabolized-type PCB congeners, no significant difference was observed between the regressions describing the relationships between ktot and log Kow for these congeners. Individual PCB congener keg coefficient estimates ranged between 1% and 20% of their respective ktot values but averaged only 5% of the magnitude of ktot over a log Kow range of 5.7-7.8. These results verify first-order kinetics of PCB elimination by a fish species and demonstrate that the relative contribution of keg to ktot is negligible, even for highly hydrophobic (log Kow>6.5) compounds. It was concluded that gill elimination is the primary mechanism of elimination for persistent organic pollutants such as PCBs by Japanese koi.

  1. Space use and habitat selection by resident and transient red wolves (Canis rufus)

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Hinton, Joseph W.; Proctor, Christine; Kelly, Marcella J.; van Manen, Frank T.; Vaughan, Michael R.; Chamberlain, Michael J.

    2016-01-01

    Recovery of large carnivores remains a challenge because complex spatial dynamics that facilitate population persistence are poorly understood. In particular, recovery of the critically endangered red wolf (Canis rufus) has been challenging because of its vulnerability to extinction via human-caused mortality and hybridization with coyotes (Canis latrans). Therefore, understanding red wolf space use and habitat selection is important to assist recovery because key aspects of wolf ecology such as interspecific competition, foraging, and habitat selection are well-known to influence population dynamics and persistence. During 2009–2011, we used global positioning system (GPS) radio-telemetry to quantify space use and 3rd-order habitat selection for resident and transient red wolves on the Albemarle Peninsula of eastern North Carolina. The Albemarle Peninsula was a predominantly agricultural landscape in which red wolves maintained spatially stable home ranges that varied between 25 km2 and 190 km2. Conversely, transient red wolves did not maintain home ranges and traversed areas between 122 km2 and 681 km2. Space use by transient red wolves was not spatially stable and exhibited shifting patterns until residency was achieved by individual wolves. Habitat selection was similar between resident and transient red wolves in which agricultural habitats were selected over forested habitats. However, transients showed stronger selection for edges and roads than resident red wolves. Behaviors of transient wolves are rarely reported in studies of space use and habitat selection because of technological limitations to observed extensive space use and because they do not contribute reproductively to populations. Transients in our study comprised displaced red wolves and younger dispersers that competed for limited space and mating opportunities. Therefore, our results suggest that transiency is likely an important life-history strategy for red wolves that facilitates metapopulation dynamics through short- and long-distance movements and eventual replacement of breeding residents lost to mortality.

  2. Space Use and Habitat Selection by Resident and Transient Red Wolves (Canis rufus).

    PubMed

    Hinton, Joseph W; Proctor, Christine; Kelly, Marcella J; van Manen, Frank T; Vaughan, Michael R; Chamberlain, Michael J

    2016-01-01

    Recovery of large carnivores remains a challenge because complex spatial dynamics that facilitate population persistence are poorly understood. In particular, recovery of the critically endangered red wolf (Canis rufus) has been challenging because of its vulnerability to extinction via human-caused mortality and hybridization with coyotes (Canis latrans). Therefore, understanding red wolf space use and habitat selection is important to assist recovery because key aspects of wolf ecology such as interspecific competition, foraging, and habitat selection are well-known to influence population dynamics and persistence. During 2009-2011, we used global positioning system (GPS) radio-telemetry to quantify space use and 3rd-order habitat selection for resident and transient red wolves on the Albemarle Peninsula of eastern North Carolina. The Albemarle Peninsula was a predominantly agricultural landscape in which red wolves maintained spatially stable home ranges that varied between 25 km2 and 190 km2. Conversely, transient red wolves did not maintain home ranges and traversed areas between 122 km2 and 681 km2. Space use by transient red wolves was not spatially stable and exhibited shifting patterns until residency was achieved by individual wolves. Habitat selection was similar between resident and transient red wolves in which agricultural habitats were selected over forested habitats. However, transients showed stronger selection for edges and roads than resident red wolves. Behaviors of transient wolves are rarely reported in studies of space use and habitat selection because of technological limitations to observed extensive space use and because they do not contribute reproductively to populations. Transients in our study comprised displaced red wolves and younger dispersers that competed for limited space and mating opportunities. Therefore, our results suggest that transiency is likely an important life-history strategy for red wolves that facilitates metapopulation dynamics through short- and long-distance movements and eventual replacement of breeding residents lost to mortality.

  3. Space Use and Habitat Selection by Resident and Transient Red Wolves (Canis rufus)

    PubMed Central

    Hinton, Joseph W.; Proctor, Christine; Kelly, Marcella J.; van Manen, Frank T.; Vaughan, Michael R.; Chamberlain, Michael J.

    2016-01-01

    Recovery of large carnivores remains a challenge because complex spatial dynamics that facilitate population persistence are poorly understood. In particular, recovery of the critically endangered red wolf (Canis rufus) has been challenging because of its vulnerability to extinction via human-caused mortality and hybridization with coyotes (Canis latrans). Therefore, understanding red wolf space use and habitat selection is important to assist recovery because key aspects of wolf ecology such as interspecific competition, foraging, and habitat selection are well-known to influence population dynamics and persistence. During 2009–2011, we used global positioning system (GPS) radio-telemetry to quantify space use and 3rd-order habitat selection for resident and transient red wolves on the Albemarle Peninsula of eastern North Carolina. The Albemarle Peninsula was a predominantly agricultural landscape in which red wolves maintained spatially stable home ranges that varied between 25 km2 and 190 km2. Conversely, transient red wolves did not maintain home ranges and traversed areas between 122 km2 and 681 km2. Space use by transient red wolves was not spatially stable and exhibited shifting patterns until residency was achieved by individual wolves. Habitat selection was similar between resident and transient red wolves in which agricultural habitats were selected over forested habitats. However, transients showed stronger selection for edges and roads than resident red wolves. Behaviors of transient wolves are rarely reported in studies of space use and habitat selection because of technological limitations to observed extensive space use and because they do not contribute reproductively to populations. Transients in our study comprised displaced red wolves and younger dispersers that competed for limited space and mating opportunities. Therefore, our results suggest that transiency is likely an important life-history strategy for red wolves that facilitates metapopulation dynamics through short- and long-distance movements and eventual replacement of breeding residents lost to mortality. PMID:28002495

  4. Long-range hot-carrier transport in hybrid perovskites visualized by ultrafast microscopy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Guo, Zhi; Wan, Yan; Yang, Mengjin; Snaider, Jordan; Zhu, Kai; Huang, Libai

    2017-04-01

    The Shockley-Queisser limit for solar cell efficiency can be overcome if hot carriers can be harvested before they thermalize. Recently, carrier cooling time up to 100 picoseconds was observed in hybrid perovskites, but it is unclear whether these long-lived hot carriers can migrate long distance for efficient collection. We report direct visualization of hot-carrier migration in methylammonium lead iodide (CH3NH3PbI3) thin films by ultrafast transient absorption microscopy, demonstrating three distinct transport regimes. Quasiballistic transport was observed to correlate with excess kinetic energy, resulting in up to 230 nanometers transport distance that could overcome grain boundaries. The nonequilibrium transport persisted over tens of picoseconds and ~600 nanometers before reaching the diffusive transport limit. These results suggest potential applications of hot-carrier devices based on hybrid perovskites.

  5. Determination of the True Lateral Grain Size in Organic–Inorganic Halide Perovskite Thin Films

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    MacDonald, Gordon A.; Heveran, Chelsea M.; Yang, Mengjin

    Here, methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI 3) thin films were examined via piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and nanoindentation (NI) to determine if long-range atomic order existed across the full width and depth of the apparent grains. And from the PFM, the piezoelectric response of the films was strongly correlated with low-index planes of the crystal structure and ferroelastic domains in macroscale solution-grown MAPbI 3 crystals, which implied long-range order near the top surface. From the NI, it was found that the induced cracks were straight and extended across the full width of the apparent grains, which indicated that the long-range ordermore » was not limited to the near-surface region, but extended through the film thickness. Interestingly, the two MAPbI 3 processes examined resulted in subtle differences in the extracted electro-mechanical and fracture properties, but exhibited similar power conversion efficiencies of >17% in completed devices.« less

  6. Determination of the True Lateral Grain Size in Organic–Inorganic Halide Perovskite Thin Films

    DOE PAGES

    MacDonald, Gordon A.; Heveran, Chelsea M.; Yang, Mengjin; ...

    2017-09-15

    Here, methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbI 3) thin films were examined via piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) and nanoindentation (NI) to determine if long-range atomic order existed across the full width and depth of the apparent grains. And from the PFM, the piezoelectric response of the films was strongly correlated with low-index planes of the crystal structure and ferroelastic domains in macroscale solution-grown MAPbI 3 crystals, which implied long-range order near the top surface. From the NI, it was found that the induced cracks were straight and extended across the full width of the apparent grains, which indicated that the long-range ordermore » was not limited to the near-surface region, but extended through the film thickness. Interestingly, the two MAPbI 3 processes examined resulted in subtle differences in the extracted electro-mechanical and fracture properties, but exhibited similar power conversion efficiencies of >17% in completed devices.« less

  7. Nucleation in the presence of long-range interactions. [performed on ferroelectric barium titanate

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Chandra, P.

    1989-01-01

    Unlike droplet nucleation near a liquid-gas critical point, the decay of metastable phases in crystalline materials is strongly affected by the presence of long-range forces. Field quench experiments performed on the ferroelectric barium titanate indicate that nucleation in this material is markedly different from that observed in liquids. In this paper, a theory for nucleation at a first-order phase transition in which the mediating forces are long range is presented. It is found that the long-range force induces cooperative nucleation and growth processes, and that this feedback mechanism produces a well-defined delay time with a sharp onset in the transformation to the stable phase. Closed-form expressions for the characteristic onset time and width of the transition are developed, in good agreement with numerical and experimental results.

  8. Low-field induced large magnetocaloric effect in Tm2Ni0.93Si2.93: influence of short-range magnetic correlation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pakhira, Santanu; Mazumdar, Chandan; Ranganathan, R.

    2017-12-01

    In this work, we report the successful synthesis of a new intermetallic compound Tm2 Ni0.93 Si2.93 that forms in single phase only in defect crystal structure. The compound does not show any long range magnetic ordering down to 2 K. The material exhibits a large magnetic entropy change (-Δ S_M˜13.7 J kg-1 K-1) and adiabatic temperature change (Δ T_ad˜4.4 K) at 2.2 K for a field change of 20 kOe which can be realized by permanent magnets, thus being very beneficial for application purpose. In the absence of long-range magnetic ordering down to 2 K, the metastable nature of low-temperature spin dynamics and short-range magnetic correlations are considered to be responsible for such a large magnetocaloric effect over a wide temperature region.

  9. Risk factors for persistent cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grades 1 and 2: managed by watchful waiting.

    PubMed

    Ho, Gloria Y F; Einstein, Mark H; Romney, Seymour L; Kadish, Anna S; Abadi, Maria; Mikhail, Magdy; Basu, Jayasri; Thysen, Benjamin; Reimers, Laura; Palan, Prabhudas R; Trim, Shelly; Soroudi, Nafisseh; Burk, Robert D

    2011-10-01

    : This study examines risk factors for persistent cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and examines whether human papillomavirus (HPV) testing predicts persistent lesions. : Women with histologically diagnosed CIN 1 or CIN 2 (n = 206) were followed up every 3 months without treatment. Human papillomavirus genotyping, plasma levels of ascorbic acid, and red blood cell folate levels were obtained. Cervical biopsy at 12 months determined the presence of CIN. Relative risk (RR) was estimated by log-linked binomial regression models. : At 12 months, 70% of CIN 1 versus 54% of CIN 2 lesions spontaneously regressed (p < .001). Levels of folate or ascorbic acid were not associated with persistent CIN at 12 months. Compared with HPV-negative women, those with multiple HPV types (RRs ranged from 1.68 to 2.17 at each follow-up visit) or high-risk types (RRs range = 1.74-2.09) were at increased risk for persistent CIN; women with HPV-16/18 had the highest risk (RRs range = 1.91-2.21). Persistent infection with a high-risk type was also associated with persistent CIN (RRs range = 1.50-2.35). Typing for high-risk HPVs at 6 months only had a sensitivity of 46% in predicting persistence of any lesions at 12 months. : Spontaneous regression of CIN 1 and 2 occurs frequently within 12 months. Human papillomavirus infection is the major risk factor for persistent CIN. However, HPV testing cannot reliably predict persistence of any lesion.

  10. Graphene: A partially ordered non-periodic solid

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Wei, Dongshan; Wang, Feng, E-mail: fengwang@uark.edu

    2014-10-14

    Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to study the structural features of graphene over a wide range of temperatures from 50 to 4000 K using the PPBE-G potential [D. Wei, Y. Song, and F. Wang, J. Chem. Phys. 134, 184704 (2011)]. This potential was developed by force matching the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) exchange correlation functional and has been validated previously to provide accurate potential energy surface for graphene at temperatures as high as 3000 K. Simulations with the PPBE‑G potential are the best available approximation to a direct Car-Parrinello Molecular Dynamics study of graphene. One advantage of the PBE-G potential is to allowmore » large simulation boxes to be modeled efficiently so that properties showing strong finite size effects can be studied. Our simulation box contains more than 600 000 C atoms and is one of the largest graphene boxes ever modeled. With the PPBE-G potential, the thermal-expansion coefficient is negative up to 4000 K. With a large box and an accurate potential, the critical exponent for the scaling properties associated with the normal-normal and height-height correlation functions was confirmed to be 0.85. This exponent remains constant up to 4000 K suggesting graphene to be in the deeply cooled regime even close to the experimental melting temperature. The reduced peak heights in the radial distribution function of graphene show an inverse power law dependence to distance, which indicates that a macroscopic graphene sheet will lose long-range crystalline order as predicted by the Mermin-Wagner instability. Although graphene loses long-range translational order, it retains long range orientational order as indicated by its orientational correlation function; graphene is thus partially ordered but not periodic.« less

  11. Fluoxetine Inhibits Natural Decay of Long-Term Memory via Akt/GSK-3β Signaling.

    PubMed

    Yi, Jee Hyun; Zhang, JiaBao; Ko, Sang Yoon; Kwon, Huiyoung; Jeon, Se Jin; Park, Se Jin; Jung, Jiwook; Kim, Byung C; Lee, Young Choon; Kim, Dong Hyun; Ryu, Jong Hoon

    2018-02-09

    Understanding the mechanisms underlying the natural decay of long-term memory can help us find means of extending the duration of long-term memory. However, the neurobiological processes involved in the decay of long-term memory are poorly understood. In the present study, we examined the effect of acute and chronic treatment of fluoxetine on natural decay of long-term memory and the possible mechanism. Late administration of fluoxetine prolonged the persistence of long-term memory in mice, as demonstrated by object location recognition and Barnes maze tests. Fluoxetine altered Akt/glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β)/β-catenin signaling in the hippocampus. Late short- and long-term pharmacological inhibition of GSK-3β mimicked the effect of fluoxetine on memory persistence. Pharmacological inhibition of Akt blocked the effect of fluoxetine on memory persistence. Finally, late infusion of fluoxetine increased hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) and pharmacological inhibition of GSK-3β blocked the natural decline in LTP. These results demonstrate that GSK-3β might be a key molecule in memory decay process, and fluoxetine extends the period of long-term memory maintenance via Akt/GSK-3β signaling.

  12. Persistent-current switch for pancake coils of rare earth-barium-copper-oxide high-temperature superconductor: Design and test results of a double-pancake coil operated in liquid nitrogen (77–65 K) and in solid nitrogen (60–57 K)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Qu, Timing; Michael, Philip C.; Bascuñán, Juan

    2016-08-22

    We present design and test results of a superconducting persistent current switch (PCS) for pancake coils of rare-earth-barium-copper-oxide, REBCO, high-temperature superconductor (HTS). Here, a REBCO double-pancake (DP) coil, 152-mm ID, 168-mm OD, 12-mm high, was wound with a no-insulation technique. We converted a ∼10-cm long section in the outermost layer of each pancake to a PCS. The DP coil was operated in liquid nitrogen (77–65 K) and in solid nitrogen (60–57 K). Over the operating temperature ranges of this experiment, the normal-state PCS enabled the DP coil to be energized; thereupon, the PCS resumed the superconducting state and the DP coil fieldmore » decayed with a time constant of 100 h, which would have been nearly infinite, i.e., persistent-mode operation, were the joint across the coil terminals superconducting.« less

  13. Modeling persistence of motion in a crowded environment: The diffusive limit of excluding velocity-jump processes

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gavagnin, Enrico; Yates, Christian A.

    2018-03-01

    Persistence of motion is the tendency of an object to maintain motion in a direction for short time scales without necessarily being biased in any direction in the long term. One of the most appropriate mathematical tools to study this behavior is an agent-based velocity-jump process. In the absence of agent-agent interaction, the mean-field continuum limit of the agent-based model (ABM) gives rise to the well known hyperbolic telegraph equation. When agent-agent interaction is included in the ABM, a strictly advective system of partial differential equations (PDEs) can be derived at the population level. However, no diffusive limit of the ABM has been obtained from such a model. Connecting the microscopic behavior of the ABM to a diffusive macroscopic description is desirable, since it allows the exploration of a wider range of scenarios and establishes a direct connection with commonly used statistical tools of movement analysis. In order to connect the ABM at the population level to a diffusive PDE at the population level, we consider a generalization of the agent-based velocity-jump process on a two-dimensional lattice with three forms of agent interaction. This generalization allows us to take a diffusive limit and obtain a faithful population-level description. We investigate the properties of the model at both the individual and population levels and we elucidate some of the models' key characteristic features. In particular, we show an intrinsic anisotropy inherent to the models and we find evidence of a spontaneous form of aggregation at both the micro- and macroscales.

  14. Molecular Structure and Equilibrium Forces of Bovine Submaxillary Mucin Adsorbed at a Solid-Liquid Interface.

    PubMed

    Zappone, Bruno; Patil, Navinkumar J; Madsen, Jan B; Pakkanen, Kirsi I; Lee, Seunghwan

    2015-04-21

    By combining dynamic light scattering, circular dichroism spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and surface force apparatus, the conformation of bovine submaxillary mucin in dilute solution and nanomechanical properties of mucin layers adsorbed on mica have been investigated. The samples were prepared by additional chromatographic purification of commercially available products. The mucin molecule was found to have a z-average hydrodynamic diameter of ca. 35 nm in phosphate buffered solution, without any particular secondary or tertiary structure. The contour length of the mucin is larger than, yet of the same order of magnitude as the diameter, indicating that the molecule can be modeled as a relatively rigid polymeric chain due to the large persistence length of the central glycosylated domain. Mucin molecules adsorbed abundantly onto mica from saline buffer, generating polymer-like, long-ranged, repulsive, and nonhysteretic forces upon compression of the adsorbed layers. Detailed analysis of such forces suggests that adsorbed mucins had an elongated conformation favored by the stiffness of the central domain. Acidification of aqueous media was chosen as means to reduce mucin-mucin and mucin-substrate electrostatic interactions. The hydrodynamic diameter in solution did not significantly change when the pH was lowered, showing that the large persistence length of the mucin molecule is due to steric hindrance between sugar chains, rather than electrostatic interactions. Remarkably, the force generated by an adsorbed layer with a fixed surface coverage also remained unaltered upon acidification. This observation can be linked to the surface-protective, pH-resistant role of bovine submaxillary mucin in the variable environmental conditions of the oral cavity.

  15. One-dimensional long-range percolation: A numerical study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gori, G.; Michelangeli, M.; Defenu, N.; Trombettoni, A.

    2017-07-01

    In this paper we study bond percolation on a one-dimensional chain with power-law bond probability C /rd +σ , where r is the distance length between distinct sites and d =1 . We introduce and test an order-N Monte Carlo algorithm and we determine as a function of σ the critical value Cc at which percolation occurs. The critical exponents in the range 0 <σ <1 are reported. Our analysis is in agreement, up to a numerical precision ≈10-3 , with the mean-field result for the anomalous dimension η =2 -σ , showing that there is no correction to η due to correlation effects. The obtained values for Cc are compared with a known exact bound, while the critical exponent ν is compared with results from mean-field theory, from an expansion around the point σ =1 and from the ɛ -expansion used with the introduction of a suitably defined effective dimension deff relating the long-range model with a short-range one in dimension deff. We finally present a formulation of our algorithm for bond percolation on general graphs, with order N efficiency on a large class of graphs including short-range percolation and translationally invariant long-range models in any spatial dimension d with σ >0 .

  16. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - fate and long-range atmospheric transport studied using a global model, EMAC-SVOC

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Octaviani, Mega; Tost, Holger; Lammel, Gerhard

    2017-04-01

    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are emitted by incomplete combustion from fossil fuel, vehicles, and biomass burning. They may persist in environmental compartments, pose a health hazard and may bio accumulate along food chains. The ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model had been used to simulate global tropospheric, stratospheric chemistry and climate. In this study, we improve the model to include simulations of the transport and fate of semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC). The EMAC-SVOC model takes into account essential environmental processes including gas-particle partitioning, dry and wet deposition, chemical and bio-degradation, and volatilization from sea surface, soils, vegetation, and snow. The model was evaluated against observational data in the Arctic, mid-latitudes, and tropics, and further applied to study total environmental lifetime and long-range transport potential (LRTP) of PAHs. We selected four compounds for study, spanning a wide range of volatility, i.e., phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, and benzo[a]pyrene. Several LRTP indicators were investigated, including the Arctic contamination potential, meridional spreading, and zonal and meridional fluxes to remote regions.

  17. Ultra-wide Range Gamma Detector System for Search and Locate Operations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Odell, D. Mackenzie Odell; Harpring, Larry J.; Moore, Frank S. Jr.

    2005-10-26

    Collecting debris samples following a nuclear event requires that operations be conducted from a considerable stand-off distance. An ultra-wide range gamma detector system has been constructed to accomplish both long range radiation search and close range hot sample collection functions. Constructed and tested on a REMOTEC Andros platform, the system has demonstrated reliable operation over six orders of magnitude of gamma dose from 100's of uR/hr to over 100 R/hr. Functional elements include a remotely controlled variable collimator assembly, a NaI(Tl)/photomultiplier tube detector, a proprietary digital radiation instrument, a coaxially mounted video camera, a digital compass, and both local andmore » remote control computers with a user interface designed for long range operations. Long range sensitivity and target location, as well as close range sample selection performance are presented.« less

  18. Long-range looping of a locus control region drives tissue-specific chromatin packing within a multigene cluster

    PubMed Central

    Tsai, Yu-Cheng; Cooke, Nancy E.; Liebhaber, Stephen A.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract The relationships of higher order chromatin organization to mammalian gene expression remain incompletely defined. The human Growth Hormone (hGH) multigene cluster contains five gene paralogs. These genes are selectively activated in either the pituitary or the placenta by distinct components of a remote locus control region (LCR). Prior studies have revealed that appropriate activation of the placental genes is dependent not only on the actions of the LCR, but also on the multigene composition of the cluster itself. Here, we demonstrate that the hGH LCR ‘loops’ over a distance of 28 kb in primary placental nuclei to make specific contacts with the promoters of the two GH genes in the cluster. This long-range interaction sequesters the GH genes from the three hCS genes which co-assemble into a tightly packed ‘hCS chromatin hub’. Elimination of the long-range looping, via specific deletion of the placental LCR components, triggers a dramatic disruption of the hCS chromatin hub. These data reveal a higher-order structural pathway by which long-range looping from an LCR impacts on local chromatin architecture that is linked to tissue-specific gene regulation within a multigene cluster. PMID:26893355

  19. Absence of magnetic long-range order in Y2CrSbO7 : Bond-disorder-induced magnetic frustration in a ferromagnetic pyrochlore

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, L.; Greaves, C.; Riyat, R.; Hansen, T. C.; Blackburn, E.

    2017-09-01

    The consequences of random nonmagnetic-ion dilution for the pyrochlore family Y2(M 1 -xN x)2O7 (M = magnetic ion, N = nonmagnetic ion) have been investigated. As a first step, we experimentally examine the magnetic properties of Y2CrSbO7 (x =0.5 ), in which the magnetic sites (Cr3 +) are percolative. Although the effective Cr-Cr spin exchange is ferromagnetic, as evidenced by a positive Curie-Weiss temperature, ΘCW ≃19.5 K , our high-resolution neutron powder diffraction measurements detect no sign of magnetic long-range order down to 2 K. In order to understand our observations, we construct a lattice model to numerically study the bond disorder introduced by the ionic size mismatch between M and N , which reveals that the bond disorder percolates at xb ≃0.23 , explaining the absence of magnetic long-range order. This model could be applied to a series of frustrated magnets with a pyrochlore sublattice, for example, the spinel compound Zn (Cr1 -xGax )2O4 , wherein a Néel to spin glass phase transition occurs between x =0.2 and 0.25 [Lee et al., Phys. Rev. B 77, 014405 (2008), 10.1103/PhysRevB.77.014405]. Our study stresses the non-negligible role of bond disorder on magnetic frustration, even in ferromagnets.

  20. Coexistence of short- and long-range ferromagnetic order in nanocrystalline Fe2Mn1-xCuxAl (x=0.0, 0.1 and 0.3) synthesized by high-energy ball milling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thanh, Tran Dang; Nanto, Dwi; Tuyen, Ngo Thi Uyen; Nan, Wen-Zhe; Yu, YiKyung; Tartakovsky, Daniel M.; Yu, S. C.

    2015-11-01

    In this work, we prepared nanocrystalline Fe2Mn1-xCuxAl (x=0.0, 0.1 and 0.3) powders by the high energy ball milling technique, and then studied their critical properties. Our analysis reveals that the increase of Cu-doping concentration (up to x=0.3) in these powders leads to a gradual increase of the ferromagnetic-paramagnetic transition temperature from 406 to 452 K. The Banerjee criterion suggests that all the samples considered undergo a second-order phase transition. A modified Arrott plot and scaling analysis indicate that the critical exponents (β=0.419 and 0.442, γ=1.082 and 1.116 for x=0.0 and 0.1, respectively) are located in between those expected for the 3D-Heisenberg and the mean-field models; the values of β=0.495 and γ=1.046 for x=0.3 sample are very close to those of the mean-field model. These features reveal the coexistence of the short- and long-range ferromagnetic order in the nanocrystalline Fe2Mn1-xCuxAl powders. Particularly, as the concentration of Cu increases, values of the critical exponent shift towards those of the mean-field model. Such results prove the Cu doping favors establishing a long-range ferromagnetic order.

  1. TACOM LCMC Sustainment Engineering Risk Assessment (SERA) Overview

    DTIC Science & Technology

    2012-07-26

    Technical Data with Limited Availability 2.0 Hazardous Materials 1.0 Shelf Life Sensitivity 4.0 Persistent Back Order 8-Month 3.0 Top 10% CWT 3.0 No...Materials Shelf Life Sensitivity Persistent Back Order 8-Month Top 10% CWT No Demand in past 3 years Top 10% Closed Maintenance Work Order for

  2. Global long-range transport and lung cancer risk from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons shielded by coatings of organic aerosol

    PubMed Central

    Lou, Sijia; Zelenyuk, Alla; Easter, Richard C.; Corley, Richard A.; Thrall, Brian D.; Rasch, Philip J.; Fast, Jerome D.; Massey Simonich, Staci L.; Tao, Shu

    2017-01-01

    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have toxic impacts on humans and ecosystems. One of the most carcinogenic PAHs, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), is efficiently bound to and transported with atmospheric particles. Laboratory measurements show that particle-bound BaP degrades in a few hours by heterogeneous reaction with ozone, yet field observations indicate BaP persists much longer in the atmosphere, and some previous chemical transport modeling studies have ignored heterogeneous oxidation of BaP to bring model predictions into better agreement with field observations. We attribute this unexplained discrepancy to the shielding of BaP from oxidation by coatings of viscous organic aerosol (OA). Accounting for this OA viscosity-dependent shielding, which varies with temperature and humidity, in a global climate/chemistry model brings model predictions into much better agreement with BaP measurements, and demonstrates stronger long-range transport, greater deposition fluxes, and substantially elevated lung cancer risk from PAHs. Model results indicate that the OA coating is more effective in shielding BaP in the middle/high latitudes compared with the tropics because of differences in OA properties (semisolid when cool/dry vs. liquid-like when warm/humid). Faster chemical degradation of BaP in the tropics leads to higher concentrations of BaP oxidation products over the tropics compared with higher latitudes. This study has profound implications demonstrating that OA strongly modulates the atmospheric persistence of PAHs and their cancer risks. PMID:28115713

  3. Global long-range transport and lung cancer risk from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons shielded by coatings of organic aerosol

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shrivastava, Manish; Lou, Silja; Zelenyuk, Alla; Easter, Richard C.; Corley, Richard A.; Thrall, Brian D.; Rasch, Philip J.; Fast, Jerome D.; Massey Simonich, Staci L.; Shen, Huizhong; Tao, Shu

    2017-02-01

    Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have toxic impacts on humans and ecosystems. One of the most carcinogenic PAHs, benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), is efficiently bound to and transported with atmospheric particles. Laboratory measurements show that particle-bound BaP degrades in a few hours by heterogeneous reaction with ozone, yet field observations indicate BaP persists much longer in the atmosphere, and some previous chemical transport modeling studies have ignored heterogeneous oxidation of BaP to bring model predictions into better agreement with field observations. We attribute this unexplained discrepancy to the shielding of BaP from oxidation by coatings of viscous organic aerosol (OA). Accounting for this OA viscosity-dependent shielding, which varies with temperature and humidity, in a global climate/chemistry model brings model predictions into much better agreement with BaP measurements, and demonstrates stronger long-range transport, greater deposition fluxes, and substantially elevated lung cancer risk from PAHs. Model results indicate that the OA coating is more effective in shielding BaP in the middle/high latitudes compared with the tropics because of differences in OA properties (semisolid when cool/dry vs. liquid-like when warm/humid). Faster chemical degradation of BaP in the tropics leads to higher concentrations of BaP oxidation products over the tropics compared with higher latitudes. This study has profound implications demonstrating that OA strongly modulates the atmospheric persistence of PAHs and their cancer risks.

  4. Autecology of the Endangered Plant Howellia Aquatilis; Implications for Management and Reserve Design.

    PubMed

    Lesica, Peter

    1992-11-01

    Howellia aquatilis is an annual aquatic plant of ephemeral ponds. It is considered extirpated or endangered throughout its range in the United States Pacific Northwest. I studied populations in the Swan Valley of Montana to determine life history traits and ecological attributed in order to influence planning decisions on lands managed for multiple use. Germination trials demonstrated that seeds of H. aquatilis require an aerobic environment and cool temperatures to germinate. Germination was highest with daily alternating temperatures and total darkness, and was unaffected by different light regime and aeration retreatment conditions of 50- and 100-d durations. Natural seed banks were largest immediately following seed dispersal and pond drawdown, but were reduced 82-90% by the following spring. Seeds remaining in the seed bank showed reduced germinability and vigor. Aquarium experiments indicate that growth of H. aquatilis is best in the peat substrate in which it occurs naturally, and is reduced by 45% in a more fine-textured organic soil and by 85% in a mineral soil. Multiple regression analyses of 12 environmental variables from 23 H. aquatilis ponds and comparisons between ponds with and without H. aquatilis suggest that pond depth, amount of dissolved solids in pond water, depth and composition of pond substrate, and degree of human-caused disturbance have significant effects on the abundance of H. aquatilis in the Swan Valley. Taken together, these results suggest that Howellia aquatilis is rare because it can persist in only a small subset of wetlands-freshwater ephemeral ponds with a shallow, coarse textured organic surface horizon. Thus, H. aquatilis will be sensitive to disturbances that alter pond water quality or substrate composition. Lack of a persistent seed bank makes H. aquatilis prone to large fluctuations in population size due to environmental fluctuations. Both habitat specificity and large variations in population size are often associated with a high risk of extinction. Howellia aquatilis can only persist during periods of climatic fluctuation as a metapopulation in an area that contains large numbers of appropriate ponds of various depths. Consequently, long-term protection of this rare species will require habitat protection in large wetland complexes throughout its range. © 1992 by the Ecological Society of America.

  5. Towards Long-Range RNA Structure Prediction in Eukaryotic Genes.

    PubMed

    Pervouchine, Dmitri D

    2018-06-15

    The ability to form an intramolecular structure plays a fundamental role in eukaryotic RNA biogenesis. Proximate regions in the primary transcripts fold into a local secondary structure, which is then hierarchically assembled into a tertiary structure that is stabilized by RNA-binding proteins and long-range intramolecular base pairings. While the local RNA structure can be predicted reasonably well for short sequences, long-range structure at the scale of eukaryotic genes remains problematic from the computational standpoint. The aim of this review is to list functional examples of long-range RNA structures, to summarize current comparative methods of structure prediction, and to highlight their advances and limitations in the context of long-range RNA structures. Most comparative methods implement the “first-align-then-fold” principle, i.e., they operate on multiple sequence alignments, while functional RNA structures often reside in non-conserved parts of the primary transcripts. The opposite “first-fold-then-align” approach is currently explored to a much lesser extent. Developing novel methods in both directions will improve the performance of comparative RNA structure analysis and help discover novel long-range structures, their higher-order organization, and RNA⁻RNA interactions across the transcriptome.

  6. Antibody persistence and immunologic memory in children vaccinated with 4 doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines: Results from 2 long-term follow-up studies

    PubMed Central

    Wysocki, Jacek; Brzostek, Jerzy; Konior, Ryszard; Panzer, Falko G.; François, Nancy A.; Ravula, Sudheer M.; Kolhe, Devayani A.; Song, Yue; Dieussaert, Ilse; Schuerman, Lode; Borys, Dorota

    2017-01-01

    ABSTRACT To investigate long-term antibody persistence following the administration of the 10-valent pneumococcal non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV), we present results of 2 follow-up studies assessing antibody persistence following 2 3+1 schedules up to 4 (NCT00624819 – Study A) and 5 years (NCT00891176 – Study B) post-booster vaccination. In Study A, antibody persistence was measured one, 2 and 4 years post-booster in children previously primed and boosted with PHiD-CV, or primed with the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vCRM) and boosted with either PHiD-CV or 7vCRM. In Study B, PHiD-CV was co-administered with meningococcal vaccines, and pneumococcal antibody persistence was measured 2, 3 and 5 years post-booster. An age-matched control group, unvaccinated against Streptococcus pneumoniae, was enrolled in Study A, allowing assessment of immunologic memory by administration of one dose of PHiD-CV to both primed (4 years post-booster) and unprimed 6-year-old children. Four years post-booster (Study A), antibody concentrations and opsonophagocytic activity (OPA) titers remained higher compared to the pre-booster timepoint, with no major differences between the 3 primed groups. Antibody persistence was also observed in Study B, with minimal differences between groups. The additional PHiD-CV dose administered 4 years post-booster in Study A elicited more robust immune responses in primed children than in unprimed children. Long-term serotype-specific antibody persistence and robust immunologic memory responses observed in these 2 studies suggest induction of long-term protection against pneumococcal disease after PHiD-CV vaccination. PMID:27736293

  7. Antibody persistence and immunologic memory in children vaccinated with 4 doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines: Results from 2 long-term follow-up studies.

    PubMed

    Wysocki, Jacek; Brzostek, Jerzy; Konior, Ryszard; Panzer, Falko G; François, Nancy A; Ravula, Sudheer M; Kolhe, Devayani A; Song, Yue; Dieussaert, Ilse; Schuerman, Lode; Borys, Dorota

    2017-03-04

    To investigate long-term antibody persistence following the administration of the 10-valent pneumococcal non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae protein D conjugate vaccine (PHiD-CV), we present results of 2 follow-up studies assessing antibody persistence following 2 3+1 schedules up to 4 (NCT00624819 - Study A) and 5 years (NCT00891176 - Study B) post-booster vaccination. In Study A, antibody persistence was measured one, 2 and 4 years post-booster in children previously primed and boosted with PHiD-CV, or primed with the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vCRM) and boosted with either PHiD-CV or 7vCRM. In Study B, PHiD-CV was co-administered with meningococcal vaccines, and pneumococcal antibody persistence was measured 2, 3 and 5 years post-booster. An age-matched control group, unvaccinated against Streptococcus pneumoniae, was enrolled in Study A, allowing assessment of immunologic memory by administration of one dose of PHiD-CV to both primed (4 years post-booster) and unprimed 6-year-old children. Four years post-booster (Study A), antibody concentrations and opsonophagocytic activity (OPA) titers remained higher compared to the pre-booster timepoint, with no major differences between the 3 primed groups. Antibody persistence was also observed in Study B, with minimal differences between groups. The additional PHiD-CV dose administered 4 years post-booster in Study A elicited more robust immune responses in primed children than in unprimed children. Long-term serotype-specific antibody persistence and robust immunologic memory responses observed in these 2 studies suggest induction of long-term protection against pneumococcal disease after PHiD-CV vaccination.

  8. Exponential quantum spreading in a class of kicked rotor systems near high-order resonances

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Hailong; Wang, Jiao; Guarneri, Italo; Casati, Giulio; Gong, Jiangbin

    2013-11-01

    Long-lasting exponential quantum spreading was recently found in a simple but very rich dynamical model, namely, an on-resonance double-kicked rotor model [J. Wang, I. Guarneri, G. Casati, and J. B. Gong, Phys. Rev. Lett.PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.107.234104 107, 234104 (2011)]. The underlying mechanism, unrelated to the chaotic motion in the classical limit but resting on quasi-integrable motion in a pseudoclassical limit, is identified for one special case. By presenting a detailed study of the same model, this work offers a framework to explain long-lasting exponential quantum spreading under much more general conditions. In particular, we adopt the so-called “spinor” representation to treat the kicked-rotor dynamics under high-order resonance conditions and then exploit the Born-Oppenheimer approximation to understand the dynamical evolution. It is found that the existence of a flat band (or an effectively flat band) is one important feature behind why and how the exponential dynamics emerges. It is also found that a quantitative prediction of the exponential spreading rate based on an interesting and simple pseudoclassical map may be inaccurate. In addition to general interests regarding the question of how exponential behavior in quantum systems may persist for a long time scale, our results should motivate further studies toward a better understanding of high-order resonance behavior in δ-kicked quantum systems.

  9. The Sunk Cost Effect with Pigeons: Some Determinants of Decisions about Persistence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Macaskill, Anne C.; Hackenberg, Timothy D.

    2012-01-01

    The sunk cost effect occurs when an individual persists following an initial investment, even when persisting is costly in the long run. The current study used a laboratory model of the sunk cost effect. Two response alternatives were available: Pigeons could persist by responding on a schedule key with mixed ratio requirements, or escape by…

  10. Estimating Distance in Real and Virtual Environments: Does Order Make a Difference?

    PubMed Central

    Ziemer, Christine J.; Plumert, Jodie M.; Cremer, James F.; Kearney, Joseph K.

    2010-01-01

    This investigation examined how the order in which people experience real and virtual environments influences their distance estimates. Participants made two sets of distance estimates in one of the following conditions: 1) real environment first, virtual environment second; 2) virtual environment first, real environment second; 3) real environment first, real environment second; or 4) virtual environment first, virtual environment second. In Experiment 1, participants imagined how long it would take to walk to targets in real and virtual environments. Participants’ first estimates were significantly more accurate in the real than in the virtual environment. When the second environment was the same as the first environment (real-real and virtual-virtual), participants’ second estimates were also more accurate in the real than in the virtual environment. When the second environment differed from the first environment (real-virtual and virtual-real), however, participants’ second estimates did not differ significantly across the two environments. A second experiment in which participants walked blindfolded to targets in the real environment and imagined how long it would take to walk to targets in the virtual environment replicated these results. These subtle, yet persistent order effects suggest that memory can play an important role in distance perception. PMID:19525540

  11. Population Genomics Reveals Seahorses (Hippocampus erectus) of the Western Mid-Atlantic Coast to Be Residents Rather than Vagrants

    PubMed Central

    Boehm, J. T.; Waldman, John; Robinson, John D.; Hickerson, Michael J.

    2015-01-01

    Understanding population structure and areas of demographic persistence and transients is critical for effective species management. However, direct observational evidence to address the geographic scale and delineation of ephemeral or persistent populations for many marine fishes is limited. The Lined seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) can be commonly found in three western Atlantic zoogeographic provinces, though inhabitants of the temperate northern Virginia Province are often considered tropical vagrants that only arrive during warm seasons from the southern provinces and perish as temperatures decline. Although genetics can locate regions of historical population persistence and isolation, previous evidence of Virginia Province persistence is only provisional due to limited genetic sampling (i.e., mitochondrial DNA and five nuclear loci). To test alternative hypotheses of historical persistence versus the ephemerality of a northern Virginia Province population we used a RADseq generated dataset consisting of 11,708 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) sampled from individuals collected from the eastern Gulf of Mexico to Long Island, NY. Concordant results from genomic analyses all infer three genetically divergent subpopulations, and strongly support Virginia Province inhabitants as a genetically diverged and a historically persistent ancestral gene pool. These results suggest that individuals that emerge in coastal areas during the warm season can be considered “local” and supports offshore migration during the colder months. This research demonstrates how a large number of genes sampled across a geographical range can capture the diversity of coalescent histories (across loci) while inferring population history. Moreover, these results clearly demonstrate the utility of population genomic data to infer peripheral subpopulation persistence in difficult-to-observe species. PMID:25629166

  12. Outcome after prenatal diagnosis of congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract.

    PubMed

    Nef, Samuel; Neuhaus, Thomas J; Spartà, Giuseppina; Weitz, Marcus; Buder, Kathrin; Wisser, Josef; Gobet, Rita; Willi, Ulrich; Laube, Guido F

    2016-05-01

    Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract are common findings on fetal ultrasound. The aim of this prospective observational study was to describe outcome and risk factors in 115 patients born 1995-2001. All prenatally diagnosed children were stratified into low- and high-risk group and followed postnatally clinically and by imaging at defined endpoints. Risk factors were evaluated using odds ratios. Neonatal diagnosis included pelvi-ureteric junction obstruction (n = 33), vesicoureteral reflux (n = 27), solitary mild pelvic dilatation (postnatal anteroposterior diameter 5-10 mm; n = 25), and further diagnosis as primary obstructive megaureter, unilateral multicystic dysplastic kidney, renal dysplasia and posterior urethral valves. In 38 children with prenatal isolated hydronephrosis, ultrasound normalized at median age of 1.2 years (range 0.1-9). Surgery was performed in 34 children at median age of 0.4 years (0.1-10.8). Persistent renal anomalies without surgery were present in 43 children and followed in 36 for median time of 16 years (12.2-18). Oligohydramnios and postnatal bilateral anomalies were significantly associated with surgery and impaired renal function. The majority of children had a favourable postnatal outcome, in particular children with prenatally low risk, i.e. isolated uni- or bilateral hydronephrosis. Oligohydramnios and postnatal bilateral anomalies were risk factors for non-favourable outcome. • In congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract significantly poorer outcome is known in patients with bilateral renal hypoplasia or solitary kidney associated with posterior urethral valves. • Other factors as proteinuria and vesicoureteral reflux were associated with a higher risk of progression to chronic renal failure in these patients. What is New: • Unlike other studies giving us above-mentioned information, we included all patients with any kind of prenatally diagnosed congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract. Our study shows long-term follow up (median 16 years, range 12.2-18 years), especially in patients not needing surgery, but with persistent anomalies. • During postnatal long-term follow up (median 2.2 years, range 0.1-18 years) one third each showed normalization, need of surgery or persistence of anomalies without need of surgery. Our study revealed a good prognosis in the majority of these children, in particular with prenatally low risk, i.e. isolated uni- or bilateral hydronephrosis, and revealed oligohydramnios and postnatal bilateral anomalies as risk factors for a non-favourable outcome, defined as need of surgery, persistent anomalies with impaired renal function, end stage renal failure or death.

  13. Basis convergence of range-separated density-functional theory.

    PubMed

    Franck, Odile; Mussard, Bastien; Luppi, Eleonora; Toulouse, Julien

    2015-02-21

    Range-separated density-functional theory (DFT) is an alternative approach to Kohn-Sham density-functional theory. The strategy of range-separated density-functional theory consists in separating the Coulomb electron-electron interaction into long-range and short-range components and treating the long-range part by an explicit many-body wave-function method and the short-range part by a density-functional approximation. Among the advantages of using many-body methods for the long-range part of the electron-electron interaction is that they are much less sensitive to the one-electron atomic basis compared to the case of the standard Coulomb interaction. Here, we provide a detailed study of the basis convergence of range-separated density-functional theory. We study the convergence of the partial-wave expansion of the long-range wave function near the electron-electron coalescence. We show that the rate of convergence is exponential with respect to the maximal angular momentum L for the long-range wave function, whereas it is polynomial for the case of the Coulomb interaction. We also study the convergence of the long-range second-order Møller-Plesset correlation energy of four systems (He, Ne, N2, and H2O) with cardinal number X of the Dunning basis sets cc - p(C)V XZ and find that the error in the correlation energy is best fitted by an exponential in X. This leads us to propose a three-point complete-basis-set extrapolation scheme for range-separated density-functional theory based on an exponential formula.

  14. Spin susceptibility of charge-ordered YBa2Cu3Oy across the upper critical field

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, Rui; Hirata, Michihiro; Wu, Tao; Vinograd, Igor; Mayaffre, Hadrien; Krämer, Steffen; Reyes, Arneil P.; Kuhns, Philip L.; Liang, Ruixing; Hardy, W. N.; Bonn, D. A.; Julien, Marc-Henri

    2017-01-01

    The value of the upper critical field Hc2, a fundamental characteristic of the superconducting state, has been subject to strong controversy in high-Tc copper oxides. Since the issue has been tackled almost exclusively by macroscopic techniques so far, there is a clear need for local-probe measurements. Here, we use 17O NMR to measure the spin susceptibility χspin of the CuO2 planes at low temperature in charge-ordered YBa2Cu3Oy. We find that χspin increases (most likely linearly) with magnetic field H and saturates above field values ranging from 20 T to 40 T. This result is consistent with the lowest Hc2 values claimed previously and with the interpretation that the charge density wave (CDW) reduces Hc2 in underdoped YBa2Cu3Oy. Furthermore, the absence of marked deviation in χspin(H) at the onset of long-range CDW order indicates that this Hc2 reduction and the Fermi-surface reconstruction are primarily rooted in the short-range CDW order already present in zero field, not in the field-induced long-range CDW order. Above Hc2, the relatively low values of χspin at T= 2 K show that the pseudogap is a ground-state property, independent of the superconducting gap. PMID:29183974

  15. Predicting the microbial exposure risks in urban floods using GIS, building simulation, and microbial models.

    PubMed

    Taylor, Jonathon; Biddulph, Phillip; Davies, Michael; Lai, Ka man

    2013-01-01

    London is expected to experience more frequent periods of intense rainfall and tidal surges, leading to an increase in the risk of flooding. Damp and flooded dwellings can support microbial growth, including mould, bacteria, and protozoa, as well as persistence of flood-borne microorganisms. The amount of time flooded dwellings remain damp will depend on the duration and height of the flood, the contents of the flood water, the drying conditions, and the building construction, leading to particular properties and property types being prone to lingering damp and human pathogen growth or persistence. The impact of flooding on buildings can be simulated using Heat Air and Moisture (HAM) models of varying complexity in order to understand how water can be absorbed and dry out of the building structure. This paper describes the simulation of the drying of building archetypes representative of the English building stock using the EnergyPlus based tool 'UCL-HAMT' in order to determine the drying rates of different abandoned structures flooded to different heights and during different seasons. The results are mapped out using GIS in order to estimate the spatial risk across London in terms of comparative flood vulnerability, as well as for specific flood events. Areas of South and East London were found to be particularly vulnerable to long-term microbial exposure following major flood events. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Ordering process in the diffusively coupled logistic lattice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Conrado, Claudine V.; Bohr, Tomas

    1991-08-01

    We study the ordering process in a lattice of diffusively coupled logistic maps for increasing lattice size. Within a window of parameters, the system goes into a weakly chaotic state with long range "antiferromagnetic" order. This happens for arbitrary lattice size L and the ordering time behaves as t ~ L2 as we would expect from a picture of diffusing defects.

  17. Long-term changes in physical capacity after colorectal cancer treatment.

    PubMed

    Hamaker, Marije E; Prins, Meike C; Schiphorst, Anandi H; van Tuyl, Sebastiaan A C; Pronk, Apollo; van den Bos, Frederiek

    2015-03-01

    Older patients with colorectal cancer are faced with the dilemma of choosing between the short-term risks of treatment and the long-term risks of insufficiently treated disease. In addition to treatment-related morbidity and mortality, patients may suffer from loss of physical capacity. The purpose of this review was to gather all available evidence regarding long-term changes in physical functioning and role functioning after colorectal cancer treatment, by performing a systematic Medline and Embase search. This search yielded 27 publications from 23 studies. In 16 studies addressing physical functioning after rectal cancer treatment, a median drop of 10% (range -26% to -5%) in the mean score for this item at three months. At six months, mean score was still 7% lower than baseline (range -18% to 0%) and at twelve months 5% lower (range -13% to +5%). For role functioning (i.e. ability to perform daily activities) after rectal cancer treatment, scores were -18% (range -39% to -2%), -8% (range -23% to +6%) and -5% (range -17% to +10%) respectively. Elderly patients experience the greatest and most persistent decline in self-care capacity (up to 61% at one year). This systematic review demonstrates that both physical functioning and role functioning are significantly affected by colorectal cancer surgery. Although initial losses are recovered partially during follow-up, there is a permanent loss in both aspects of physical capacity, in patients of all ages but especially in the elderly. This aspect should be included in patient counselling regarding surgery. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Retrograde Intrarenal Surgery for Symptomatic Renal Sinus Cysts: Long-Term Results and Literature Review.

    PubMed

    Mancini, Vito; Cormio, Luigi; d'Altilia, Nicola; Benedetto, Giuseppe; Ferrarese, Paolo; Balzarro, Matteo; Defidio, Lorenzo; Carrieri, Giuseppe

    2018-05-02

    To report the long-term multicenter experience with retrograde intrarenal holmium-laser incision (RIR-HoLI) in the management of symptomatic renal sinus cysts (RSCs). In the literature, RIR-HoLI has been shown to be a safe and effective treatment, but there are only a few reports regarding long-term results and reproducibility of this procedure. From June 2010 to June 2015, 14 patients with symptomatic RSCs underwent RIR-HoLI. The mean age was 52.1 ± 11.28 years (range 28-77) and the mean cyst size was 53.2 ± 14.23 mm (range 35-90). In all cases, contrast-enhanced computer tomography (CT) showed compression of the renal pelvis by the cyst (no malignancy). Surgical outcome was assessed in terms of symptoms improvement (measured by Visual Analogue Scale [VAS] for pain) and renal ultrasound findings at 3-6-12 months postoperatively and then yearly. CT scan was carried out at 12 months follow-up. RIR-HoLI was successful in all patients. The mean operative time was 47.8 ± 13.54 min (range 30-80) and mean hospital stay was 3.5 days (range 2-5). There were 2 Clavien grade II complications (flank pain and urgency delaying discharge). After surgery, all patients -became asymptomatic (VAS score change, p = 0.0001). One patient had persistence of a small cyst (10 mm). Mean follow-up is 44 ± 17.24 months (range 24-84); all patients remained asymptomatic, with no signs of recurrence. RIR-HoLI proved to be a safe and effective treatment for symptomatic RSCs. In our experience, it provided excellent long-term results and was reproducible at 4 different -institutions. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  19. Strategies used by helicobacter pylori to establish persistent infection

    PubMed Central

    Abadi, Amin Talebi Bezmin

    2017-01-01

    Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a Gram-negative and motile bacterium that colonizes the hostile microniche of the human stomach, then persists for the host’s entire life, if not effectively treated. Clinically, H. pylori plays a causative role in the development of a wide spectrum of diseases including chronic active gastritis, peptic ulceration, gastric adenocarcinoma, and gastric mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. Due to the global distribution of H. pylori, it is no exaggeration to conclude that smart strategies are contributing to adaptation of the bacterium to its permanent host. Thirty-four years after the discovery of this bacterium, there are still many unanswered questions. For example, which strategies help the bacterium to survive in this inhospitable microniche? This question is slightly easier to answer if we presume the same clinical concept for both persistent infection and disease. Understanding the mechanisms governing H. pylori persistence will improve identification of the increased risk of diseases such as gastric cancer in patients infected with this bacterium. A well-defined and long-term equilibrium between the human host and H. pylori allows bacterial persistence in the gastric microniche; although this coexistence leads to a high risk of severe diseases such as gastric cancer. To escape the bactericidal activity of stomach acid, H. pylori secretes large amounts of surface-associated and cytosolic urease. The potential to avoid acidic conditions and immune evasion are discussed in order to explain the persistence of H. pylori colonization in the gastric mucosa, and data on bacterial genetic diversity are included. Information on the mechanisms related to H. pylori persistence can also provide the direction for future research concerning effective therapy and management of gastroduodenal disorders. The topics presented in the current review are important for elucidating the strategies used by H. pylori to help the bacterium persist in relation to the immune system and the many unfavorable features of living in the gastric microniche. PMID:28522905

  20. Herbicide Persistence in Seawater Simulation Experiments

    PubMed Central

    Mercurio, Philip; Mueller, Jochen F.; Eaglesham, Geoff; Flores, Florita; Negri, Andrew P.

    2015-01-01

    Herbicides are detected year-round in marine waters, including those of the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The few previous studies that have investigated herbicide persistence in seawater generally reported half-lives in the order of months, and several studies were too short to detect significant degradation. Here we investigated the persistence of eight herbicides commonly detected in the GBR or its catchments in standard OECD simulation flask experiments, but with the aim to mimic natural conditions similar to those found on the GBR (i.e., relatively low herbicide concentrations, typical temperatures, light and microbial communities). Very little degradation was recorded over the standard 60 d period (Experiment 1) so a second experiment was extended to 365 d. Half-lives of PSII herbicides ametryn, atrazine, diuron, hexazinone and tebuthiuron were consistently greater than a year, indicating high persistence. The detection of atrazine and diuron metabolites and longer persistence in mercuric chloride-treated seawater confirmed that biodegradation contributed to the breakdown of herbicides. The shortest half-life recorded was 88 d for growth-regulating herbicide 2,4-D at 31°C in the dark, while the fatty acid-inhibitor metolachlor exhibited a minimum half-life of 281 d. The presence of moderate light and elevated temperatures affected the persistence of most of the herbicides; however, the scale and direction of the differences were not predictable and were likely due to changes in microbial community composition. The persistence estimates here represent some of the first appropriate data for application in risk assessments for herbicide exposure in tropical marine systems. The long persistence of herbicides identified in the present study helps explain detection of herbicides in nearshore waters of the GBR year round. Little degradation of these herbicides would be expected during the wet season with runoff and associated flood plumes transporting a high proportion of the original herbicide from rivers into the GBR lagoon. PMID:26313296

  1. Herbicide Persistence in Seawater Simulation Experiments.

    PubMed

    Mercurio, Philip; Mueller, Jochen F; Eaglesham, Geoff; Flores, Florita; Negri, Andrew P

    2015-01-01

    Herbicides are detected year-round in marine waters, including those of the World Heritage listed Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The few previous studies that have investigated herbicide persistence in seawater generally reported half-lives in the order of months, and several studies were too short to detect significant degradation. Here we investigated the persistence of eight herbicides commonly detected in the GBR or its catchments in standard OECD simulation flask experiments, but with the aim to mimic natural conditions similar to those found on the GBR (i.e., relatively low herbicide concentrations, typical temperatures, light and microbial communities). Very little degradation was recorded over the standard 60 d period (Experiment 1) so a second experiment was extended to 365 d. Half-lives of PSII herbicides ametryn, atrazine, diuron, hexazinone and tebuthiuron were consistently greater than a year, indicating high persistence. The detection of atrazine and diuron metabolites and longer persistence in mercuric chloride-treated seawater confirmed that biodegradation contributed to the breakdown of herbicides. The shortest half-life recorded was 88 d for growth-regulating herbicide 2,4-D at 31°C in the dark, while the fatty acid-inhibitor metolachlor exhibited a minimum half-life of 281 d. The presence of moderate light and elevated temperatures affected the persistence of most of the herbicides; however, the scale and direction of the differences were not predictable and were likely due to changes in microbial community composition. The persistence estimates here represent some of the first appropriate data for application in risk assessments for herbicide exposure in tropical marine systems. The long persistence of herbicides identified in the present study helps explain detection of herbicides in nearshore waters of the GBR year round. Little degradation of these herbicides would be expected during the wet season with runoff and associated flood plumes transporting a high proportion of the original herbicide from rivers into the GBR lagoon.

  2. Structural and Functional Basis for an EBNA1 Hexameric Ring in Epstein-Barr Virus Episome Maintenance.

    PubMed

    Deakyne, Julianna S; Malecka, Kimberly A; Messick, Troy E; Lieberman, Paul M

    2017-10-01

    Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) establishes a stable latent infection that can persist for the life of the host. EBNA1 is required for the replication, maintenance, and segregation of the latent episome, but the structural features of EBNA1 that confer each of these functions are not completely understood. Here, we have solved the X-ray crystal structure of an EBNA1 DNA-binding domain (DBD) and discovered a novel hexameric ring oligomeric form. The oligomeric interface pivoted around residue T585 as a joint that links and stabilizes higher-order EBNA1 complexes. Substitution mutations around the interface destabilized higher-order complex formation and altered the cooperative DNA-binding properties of EBNA1. Mutations had both positive and negative effects on EBNA1-dependent DNA replication and episome maintenance with OriP. We found that one naturally occurring polymorphism in the oligomer interface (T585P) had greater cooperative DNA binding in vitro , minor defects in DNA replication, and pronounced defects in episome maintenance. The T585P mutant was compromised for binding to OriP in vivo as well as for assembling the origin recognition complex subunit 2 (ORC2) and trimethylated histone 3 lysine 4 (H3K4me3) at OriP. The T585P mutant was also compromised for forming stable subnuclear foci in living cells. These findings reveal a novel oligomeric structure of EBNA1 with an interface subject to naturally occurring polymorphisms that modulate EBNA1 functional properties. We propose that EBNA1 dimers can assemble into higher-order oligomeric structures important for diverse functions of EBNA1. IMPORTANCE Epstein-Barr virus is a human gammaherpesvirus that is causally associated with various cancers. Carcinogenic properties are linked to the ability of the virus to persist in the latent form for the lifetime of the host. EBNA1 is a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein that is consistently expressed in EBV tumors and is the only viral protein required to maintain the viral episome during latency. The structural and biochemical mechanisms by which EBNA1 allows the long-term persistence of the EBV genome are currently unclear. Here, we have solved the crystal structure of an EBNA1 hexameric ring and characterized key residues in the interface required for higher-order complex formation and long-term plasmid maintenance. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

  3. Degradation of Herbicides in the Tropical Marine Environment: Influence of Light and Sediment.

    PubMed

    Mercurio, Philip; Mueller, Jochen F; Eaglesham, Geoff; O'Brien, Jake; Flores, Florita; Negri, Andrew P

    2016-01-01

    Widespread contamination of nearshore marine systems, including the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) lagoon, with agricultural herbicides has long been recognised. The fate of these contaminants in the marine environment is poorly understood but the detection of photosystem II (PSII) herbicides in the GBR year-round suggests very slow degradation rates. Here, we evaluated the persistence of a range of commonly detected herbicides in marine water under field-relevant concentrations and conditions. Twelve-month degradation experiments were conducted in large open tanks, under different light scenarios and in the presence and absence of natural sediments. All PSII herbicides were persistent under control conditions (dark, no sediments) with half-lives of 300 d for atrazine, 499 d diuron, 1994 d hexazinone, 1766 d tebuthiuron, while the non-PSII herbicides were less persistent at 147 d for metolachlor and 59 d for 2,4-D. The degradation of herbicides was 2-10 fold more rapid in the presence of a diurnal light cycle and coastal sediments; apart from 2,4-D which degraded more slowly in the presence of light. Despite the more rapid degradation observed for most herbicides in the presence of light and sediments, the half-lives remained > 100 d for the PS II herbicides. The effects of light and sediments on herbicide persistence were likely due to their influence on microbial community composition and its ability to utilise the herbicides as a carbon source. These results help explain the year-round presence of PSII herbicides in marine systems, including the GBR, but more research on the transport, degradation and toxicity on a wider range of pesticides and their transformation products is needed to improve their regulation in sensitive environments.

  4. Degradation of Herbicides in the Tropical Marine Environment: Influence of Light and Sediment

    PubMed Central

    Mercurio, Philip; Mueller, Jochen F.; Eaglesham, Geoff; O'Brien, Jake; Flores, Florita; Negri, Andrew P.

    2016-01-01

    Widespread contamination of nearshore marine systems, including the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) lagoon, with agricultural herbicides has long been recognised. The fate of these contaminants in the marine environment is poorly understood but the detection of photosystem II (PSII) herbicides in the GBR year-round suggests very slow degradation rates. Here, we evaluated the persistence of a range of commonly detected herbicides in marine water under field-relevant concentrations and conditions. Twelve-month degradation experiments were conducted in large open tanks, under different light scenarios and in the presence and absence of natural sediments. All PSII herbicides were persistent under control conditions (dark, no sediments) with half-lives of 300 d for atrazine, 499 d diuron, 1994 d hexazinone, 1766 d tebuthiuron, while the non-PSII herbicides were less persistent at 147 d for metolachlor and 59 d for 2,4-D. The degradation of herbicides was 2–10 fold more rapid in the presence of a diurnal light cycle and coastal sediments; apart from 2,4-D which degraded more slowly in the presence of light. Despite the more rapid degradation observed for most herbicides in the presence of light and sediments, the half-lives remained > 100 d for the PS II herbicides. The effects of light and sediments on herbicide persistence were likely due to their influence on microbial community composition and its ability to utilise the herbicides as a carbon source. These results help explain the year-round presence of PSII herbicides in marine systems, including the GBR, but more research on the transport, degradation and toxicity on a wider range of pesticides and their transformation products is needed to improve their regulation in sensitive environments. PMID:27806103

  5. Local chiral potentials with Δ -intermediate states and the structure of light nuclei

    DOE PAGES

    Piarulli, M.; Girlanda, L.; Schiavilla, R.; ...

    2016-11-28

    In this paper, we present fully local versions of the minimally nonlocal nucleon-nucleon potentials constructed in a previous paper [Piarulli et al., Phys. Rev. C 91, 024003 (2015)], and use them in hypersperical harmonics and quantum Monte Carlo calculations of ground and excited states ofmore » $^3$H, $^3$He, $^4$He, $^6$He, and $^6$Li nuclei. The long-range part of these local potentials includes one- and two-pion exchange contributions without and with $$\\Delta$$-isobars in the intermediate states up to order $Q^3$ ($Q$ denotes generically the low momentum scale) in the chiral expansion, while the short-range part consists of contact interactions up to order $Q^4$. The low-energy constants multiplying these contact interactions are fitted to the 2013 Granada database in two different ranges of laboratory energies, either 0–125 MeV or 0–200 MeV, and to the deuteron binding energy and $nn$ singlet scattering length. Fits to these data are performed for three models characterized by long- and short-range cutoffs, $$R_{\\rm L}$$ and $$R_{\\rm S}$$, respectively, ranging from $$(R_{\\rm L},R_{\\rm S})=(1.2,0.8)$$ fm down to $(0.8,0.6)$ fm. Finally, the long-range (short-range) cutoff regularizes the one- and two-pion exchange (contact) part of the potential.« less

  6. Local chiral potentials with Δ -intermediate states and the structure of light nuclei

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Piarulli, M.; Girlanda, L.; Schiavilla, R.

    In this paper, we present fully local versions of the minimally nonlocal nucleon-nucleon potentials constructed in a previous paper [Piarulli et al., Phys. Rev. C 91, 024003 (2015)], and use them in hypersperical harmonics and quantum Monte Carlo calculations of ground and excited states ofmore » $^3$H, $^3$He, $^4$He, $^6$He, and $^6$Li nuclei. The long-range part of these local potentials includes one- and two-pion exchange contributions without and with $$\\Delta$$-isobars in the intermediate states up to order $Q^3$ ($Q$ denotes generically the low momentum scale) in the chiral expansion, while the short-range part consists of contact interactions up to order $Q^4$. The low-energy constants multiplying these contact interactions are fitted to the 2013 Granada database in two different ranges of laboratory energies, either 0–125 MeV or 0–200 MeV, and to the deuteron binding energy and $nn$ singlet scattering length. Fits to these data are performed for three models characterized by long- and short-range cutoffs, $$R_{\\rm L}$$ and $$R_{\\rm S}$$, respectively, ranging from $$(R_{\\rm L},R_{\\rm S})=(1.2,0.8)$$ fm down to $(0.8,0.6)$ fm. Finally, the long-range (short-range) cutoff regularizes the one- and two-pion exchange (contact) part of the potential.« less

  7. Characterization of Foci and Breakthrough Sites During Persistent and Long-Standing Persistent Atrial Fibrillation in Patients: Studies Using High-Density (510-512 Electrodes) Biatrial Epicardial Mapping.

    PubMed

    Lee, Seungyup; Sahadevan, Jayakumar; Khrestian, Celeen M; Markowitz, Alan; Waldo, Albert L

    2017-03-17

    We previously demonstrated that persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation is maintained by activation emanating from foci and breakthrough sites of different cycle lengths (CLs). The purpose of this study was to characterize the behavior of focal and nonrandom breakthrough activation identified during high-density mapping of atrial fibrillation in these patients. During open heart surgery, we recorded activation from both atria simultaneously using 510 to 512 epicardial electrodes along with ECG lead II in 12 patients with persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation. For each patient, analysis of 32 consecutive seconds of activation from identified focal (sustained and/or intermittent) and nonrandom breakthrough sites was performed. Multiple foci (sustained and/or intermittent) of different CLs were present in both atria in 11 of 12 patients; 8 foci were sustained, and 22 were intermittent. Temporal CL behavior of sustained foci varied over time (≤20 ms of the mean CL). For intermittent foci, no activation periods were due to a spontaneous pause (18 of 22) or activation of the focus by another wave front (11 of 22). All patients had breakthrough activation. Seven patients had 12 nonrandom breakthrough sites. Periods of no breakthrough activation were caused by a spontaneous pause (6 of 12 patients) or activation from another wave front (4 of 12) or were uncertain (5 of 12). Focal and nonrandom breakthrough activation sometimes produced repetitive "wannabe" (incomplete) reentry in 6 of 12 patients. During persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation, sustained foci manifested variable CLs. Spontaneous pauses or activation from other wave fronts explained the intermittency of foci and nonrandom breakthrough. Focal and nonrandom breakthrough activation occasionally produced wannabe reentry. © 2017 The Authors. Published on behalf of the American Heart Association, Inc., by Wiley Blackwell.

  8. J/ψ Polarization at the Tevatron and the LHC: Nonrelativistic-QCD Factorization at the Crossroads

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Butenschoen, Mathias; Kniehl, Bernd A.

    2012-04-01

    We study the polarization observables of J/ψ hadroproduction at next-to-leading order within the factorization formalism of nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics. We complete the present knowledge of the relativistic corrections by also providing the contribution due to the intermediate PJ[8]3 color-octet states at this order, which turns out to be quite significant. Exploiting the color-octet long-distance matrix elements previously extracted through a global fit to experimental data of unpolarized J/ψ production, we provide theoretical predictions in the helicity and Collins-Soper frames and compare them with data taken by CDF at Fermilab Tevatron I and II and by ALICE at CERN LHC. The notorious CDF J/ψ polarization anomaly familiar from leading-order analyses persists at the quantum level, while the situation looks promising for the LHC, which is bound to bring final clarification.

  9. Physical rehabilitation of pediatric burns.

    PubMed

    Atiyeh, B; Janom, H H

    2014-03-31

    Significant improvements have been made in the acute treatment of pediatric burn injuries over the past 3 decades which have significantly decreased mortality. Each year, more burned children are necessitating serious medical attention during their convalescence. For children with serious consequences resulting from burns that can persist from childhood through adolescence into adulthood, the value of long-term rehabilitation cannot be over stated. Burn injury management should not focus only on the immediate treatment. Long-term functional outcome and the required rehabilitation that burn victims must go through should be given equal if not more attention. The present is a review of the available modalities utilized for the physical rehabilitation of convalescent pediatric burns in order to overcome the catabolic state, improve muscle power and fitness, reduce disfiguring scars and prevent contractures.

  10. Phase diagrams and free-energy landscapes for model spin-crossover materials with antiferromagnetic-like nearest-neighbor and ferromagnetic-like long-range interactions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chan, C. H.; Brown, G.; Rikvold, P. A.

    2017-11-01

    We present phase diagrams, free-energy landscapes, and order-parameter distributions for a model spin-crossover material with a two-step transition between the high-spin and low-spin states (a square-lattice Ising model with antiferromagnetic-like nearest-neighbor and ferromagnetic-like long-range interactions) [P. A. Rikvold et al., Phys. Rev. B 93, 064109 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevB.93.064109]. The results are obtained by a recently introduced, macroscopically constrained Wang-Landau Monte Carlo simulation method [Phys. Rev. E 95, 053302 (2017), 10.1103/PhysRevE.95.053302]. The method's computational efficiency enables calculation of thermodynamic quantities for a wide range of temperatures, applied fields, and long-range interaction strengths. For long-range interactions of intermediate strength, tricritical points in the phase diagrams are replaced by pairs of critical end points and mean-field critical points that give rise to horn-shaped regions of metastability. The corresponding free-energy landscapes offer insights into the nature of asymmetric, multiple hysteresis loops that have been experimentally observed in spin-crossover materials characterized by competing short-range interactions and long-range elastic interactions.

  11. Superfluidity or supersolidity as a consequence of off-diagonal long-range order

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shi, Yu

    2005-07-01

    We present a general derivation of Hess-Fairbank effect or nonclassical rotational inertial (NCRI), i.e., the refusal to rotate with its container, as well as the quantization of angular momentum, as consequences of off-diagonal long-range order (ODLRO) in an interacting Bose system. Afterwards, the path integral formulation of superfluid density is rederived without ignoring the centrifugal potential. Finally and in particular, for a class of variational wave functions used for solid helium, treating the constraint of single-valuedness boundary condition carefully, we show that there is no ODLRO and, especially, demonstrate explicitly that NCRI cannot be possessed in absence of defects, even though there exist zero-point motion and exchange effect.

  12. Disentangling neighbors and extended range density oscillations in monatomic amorphous semiconductors.

    PubMed

    Roorda, S; Martin, C; Droui, M; Chicoine, M; Kazimirov, A; Kycia, S

    2012-06-22

    High energy x-ray diffraction measurements of pure amorphous Ge were made and its radial distribution function (RDF) was determined at high resolution, revealing new information on the atomic structure of amorphous semiconductors. Fine structure in the second peak in the RDF provides evidence that a fraction of third neighbors are closer than some second neighbors; taking this into account leads to a narrow distribution of tetrahedral bond angles, (8.5 ± 0.1)°. A small peak which appears near 5 Å upon thermal annealing shows that some ordering in the dihedral bond-angle distribution takes place during structural relaxation. Extended range order is detected (in both a-Ge and a-Si) which persists to beyond 20 Å, and both the periodicity and its decay length increase upon thermal annealing. Previously, the effect of structural relaxation was only detected at intermediate range, involving reduced tetrahedral bond-angle distortions. These results enhance our understanding of the atomic order in continuous random networks and place significantly more stringent requirements on computer models intending to describe these networks, or their alternatives which attempt to describe the structure in terms of an arrangement of paracrystals.

  13. Pressure-induced amorphization and collapse of magnetic order in the type-I clathrate Eu8Ga16Ge30

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mardegan, J. R. L.; Fabbris, G.; Veiga, L. S. I.; Adriano, C.; Avila, M. A.; Haskel, D.; Giles, C.

    2013-10-01

    We investigate the low temperature structural and electronic properties of the type-I clathrate Eu8Ga16Ge30 under pressure using x-ray powder diffraction (XRD), x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) techniques. The XRD measurements reveal a transition to an amorphous phase above 18 GPa. Unlike previous reports on other clathrate compounds, no volume collapse is observed prior to the crystalline-amorphous phase transition which takes place when the unit cell volume is reduced to 81% of its ambient pressure value. Fits of the pressure-dependent relative volume to a Murnaghan equation of state yield a bulk modulus B0=65±3 GPa and a pressure derivative B0'=3.3±0.5. The Eu L2-edge XMCD data shows quenching of the magnetic order at a pressure coincident with the crystalline-amorphous phase transition. This information along with the persistence of an Eu2+ valence state observed in the XANES spectra up to the highest pressure point (22 GPa) indicates that the suppression of XMCD intensity is due to the loss of long range magnetic order. When compared with other clathrates, the results point to the importance of guest ion-cage interactions in determining the mechanical stability of the framework structure and the critical pressure for amorphization. Finally, the crystalline structure is not found to recover after pressure release, resulting in an amorphous material that is at least metastable at ambient pressure and temperature.

  14. Persistence and retention of active ingredients in four granular cholinesterase-inhibiting insecticides in agricultural soils of the lower Fraser River valley, British Columbia, Canada, with implications for wildlife poisoning.

    PubMed

    Wilson, Laurie K; Elliott, John E; Vernon, Robert S; Smith, Barry D; Szeto, Sunny Y

    2002-02-01

    The persistence and retention of active ingredients in granules of Thimet 15G (phorate 15% by weight), Dyfonate 10G (fonofos 10% by weight), Counter 15G (terbufos 15% by weight), and Furadan 10G (carbofuran 10% by weight) were determined in silt loam and organic muck agricultural soils typical of the lower Fraser River valley (BC, Canada). In June 1995, treatment bags made of polyester cloth (7.5 x 7.5 cm) containing granules of a single insecticide, either alone or with soil, were placed during spring planting in the bottom of the furrow and retrieved periodically until April 1996. The parent component of each insecticide declined monotonically except for carbofuran (logistic decline). In the silt loam (organic muck) soil, the average June-to-October first-order rate constants and half-lives were 0.009 (0.010)/d and 80 (71) d for fonofos, 0.012 (0.009)/d and 58 (82) d for phorate, and 0.032 (0.015)/d and 21 (47) d for terbufos; the half-life of carbofuran was 129 (97) d. By December, the average amounts of fonofos and phorate in silt loam (organic muck) were 26% (range: 17-40%; 14% [range: 3.4-21%]) and 21% (range: 15-30%; 10% [range: 5.0-24%]) of the initial amounts of active ingredients measured at time zero, respectively. By April, the percentages dropped to 16% (range: 7.8-24%; 2.3% [range: 0-7.7%]) and 7.3% (range: 1.9-25%; 0.6% [range: 0-1.9%]). During this period, about 95% of the active ingredients were granule bound, the rest remaining in the bag. Only low levels of terbufos and carbofuran persisted in both soils from December to April of the following year. Results indicate an enhanced probability for poisoning of waterfowl and raptors because of the high levels of active ingredients retained on granules of all four insecticides in both soils in the fall. The risk of acute poisoning by phorate and fonofos continued though the winter.

  15. Environmental controls on spatial patterns in the long-term persistence of giant kelp in central California

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Young, Mary Alida; Cavanaugh, Kyle C.; Bell, Tom W.; Raimondi, Peter T.; Edwards, Christopher A.; Drake, Patrick T.; Erikson, Li H.; Storlazzi, Curt

    2016-01-01

    As marine management is moving towards the practice of protecting static areas, it is 44 important to make sure protected areas capture and protect persistent populations. Rocky reefs in 45 many temperate areas worldwide serve as habitat for canopy forming macroalgae and these 46 structure forming species of kelps (order Laminariales) often serve as important habitat for a great 47 diversity of species. Macrocystis pyrifera is the most common canopy forming kelp species found 48 along the coast of California but the distribution and abundance of M. pyrifera varies in space and 49 time. The purpose of this study is to determine what environmental parameters are correlated with 50 the spatial and temporal persistence of M. pyrifera along the central coast of California and how 51 well those environmental parameters can be used to predict areas where M. pyrifera is more likely 52 to persist. Nine environmental variables considered in this study included depth of the seafloor, 53 structure of the rocky reef, proportion of rocky reef, size of kelp patch, biomass of kelp within a 54 patch, distance from the edge of a kelp patch, sea surface temperature, wave orbital velocities, and 55 population connectivity of individual kelp patches. Using a generalized linear mixed effects model 56 (GLMM), the persistence of M. pyrifera was significantly associated with seven of the nine 57 variables considered: depth, complexity of the rocky reef, proportion of rock, patch biomass, 58 distance from the edge of a patch, population connectivity, and wave-orbital velocities. These 59 seven environmental variables were then used to predict the persistence of kelp across the central 60 coast and these predictions were compared to a reserved dataset of M. pyrifera persistence, which 61 was not used in the creation of the GLMM. The environmental variables were shown to accurately 62 predict the persistence of M. pyrifera within the central coast of California (r = 0.71, P<0.001). 63 Because persistence of giant kelp is important to the community structure of kelp forests, 64 understanding those factors that support persistent populations of M. pyrifera will enable more 65 effective management of these ecosystems.

  16. Self-assembled pit arrays as templates for the integration of Au nanocrystals in oxide surfaces.

    PubMed

    Konstantinović, Z; Sandiumenge, F; Santiso, J; Balcells, Ll; Martínez, B

    2013-02-07

    We report on the fabrication of long-range ordered arrays of Au nanocrystals (sub-50 nm range) on top of manganite (La(2/3)Sr(1/3)MnO(3)) thin films achieving area densities around 2 × 10(10) gold nanocrystals per cm(2), well above the densities achievable by using conventional nanofabrication techniques. The gold-manganite interface exhibits excellent conduction properties. Long-range order is achieved by a guided self-assembling process of Au nanocrystals on self-organized pit-arrays acting as a template for the nucleation of gold nanocrystals. Self-organization of pits on the manganite film surface promoted by the underlying stepped SrTiO(3) substrate is achieved by a fine tuning of the growth kinetic pathway, taking advantage of the unusual misfit strain relaxation behaviour of manganite films.

  17. Neutron diffraction study and theoretical analysis of the antiferromagnetic order and the diffuse scattering in the layered kagome system CaBaCo2Fe2O7

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Reim, J. D.; Rosén, E.; Zaharko, O.; Mostovoy, M.; Robert, J.; Valldor, M.; Schweika, W.

    2018-04-01

    The hexagonal swedenborgite, CaBaCo2Fe2O7 , is a chiral frustrated antiferromagnet, in which magnetic ions form alternating kagome and triangular layers. We observe a long-range √{3 }×√{3 } antiferromagnetic order setting in below TN=160 K by neutron diffraction on single crystals of CaBaCo2Fe2O7 . Both magnetization and polarized neutron single crystal diffraction measurements show that close to TN spins lie predominantly in the a b plane, while upon cooling the spin structure becomes increasingly canted due to Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions. The ordered structure can be described and refined within the magnetic space group P 31 m' . Diffuse scattering between the magnetic peaks reveals that the spin order is partial. Monte Carlo simulations based on a Heisenberg model with two nearest-neighbor exchange interactions show a similar diffuse scattering and coexistence of the √{3 }×√{3 } order with disorder. The coexistence can be explained by the freedom to vary spins without affecting the long-range order, which gives rise to ground-state degeneracy. Polarization analysis of the magnetic peaks indicates the presence of long-period cycloidal spin correlations resulting from the broken inversion symmetry of the lattice, in agreement with our symmetry analysis.

  18. Investigating the Affinities and Persistence of VX Nerve Agent in Environmental Matrices

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Love, A H; Vance, A L; Reynolds, J G

    2004-03-09

    Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine environmental variables that affect the affinities and persistence of the nerve agent O-ethyl S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl) methylphosphonothiolate (VX) at dilute concentrations in environmental matrices. Quantitative analyses of VX and its degradation products were performed using LC-MS. Batch hydrolysis experiments demonstrated an increasing hydrolysis rate as pH increased, as shown in previous studies, but also indicated that dissolved aqueous constituents can cause significant differences in the absolute hydrolysis rate. Adsorption isotherms from batch aqueous experiments revealed that VX has a high affinity for hydrophobic organics, a moderate affinity for montmorillonite clay, and a very low affinity formore » an iron-oxyhydroxide soil mineral, goethite. The adsorption on goethite was increased with the presence of dissolved organic matter in solution. VX degraded rapidly when dried onto goethite, when an inner-sphere complex was forced. No enhanced degradation occurred with goethite in small amounts water. These results suggest that aqueous conditions have important controls on VX adsorption and degradation in the environment and a more mechanistic understanding of these controls is needed in order to enable accurate predictions of its long-term fate and persistence.« less

  19. Large Deviations in Weakly Interacting Boundary Driven Lattice Gases

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    van Wijland, Frédéric; Rácz, Zoltán

    2005-01-01

    One-dimensional, boundary-driven lattice gases with local interactions are studied in the weakly interacting limit. The density profiles and the correlation functions are calculated to first order in the interaction strength for zero-range and short-range processes differing only in the specifics of the detailed-balance dynamics. Furthermore, the effective free-energy (large-deviation function) and the integrated current distribution are also found to this order. From the former, we find that the boundary drive generates long-range correlations only for the short-range dynamics while the latter provides support to an additivity principle recently proposed by Bodineau and Derrida.

  20. Transport of airborne pollen into the city of Thessaloniki: the effects of wind direction, speed and persistence

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Damialis, Athanasios; Gioulekas, Dimitrios; Lazopoulou, Chariklia; Balafoutis, Christos; Vokou, Despina

    2005-01-01

    We examined the effect of the wind vector analyzed into its three components (direction, speed and persistence), on the circulation of pollen from differe nt plant taxa prominent in the Thessaloniki area for a 4-year period (1996- 1999). These plant taxa were Ambrosia spp., Artemisia spp., Chenopodiaceae, spp., Cupressaceae, Olea europaea, Pinaceae, Platanus spp., Poaceae, Populus spp., Quercus spp., and Urticaceae. Airborne pollen of Cupressaceae, Urticaceae, Quercus spp. and O. europaea make up approximately 70% of the total average annual pollen counts. The set of data that we worked with represented days without precipitation and time intervals during which winds blew from the same direction for at least 4 consecutive hours. We did this in order to study the effect of the different wind components independently of precipitation, and to avoid secondary effects produced by pollen resuspension phenomena. Factorial regression analysis among the summed bi-hourly pollen counts for each taxon and the values of wind speed and persistence per wind direction gave significant results in 22 cases (combinations of plant taxa and wind directions). The pollen concentrations of all taxa correlated significantly with at least one of the three wind components. In seven out of the 22 taxon-wind direction combinations, the pollen counts correlated positively with wind persistence, whereas this was the case for only two of the taxon-wind speed combinations. In seven cases, pollen counts correlated with the interaction effect of wind speed and persistence. This shows the importance of wind persistence in pollen transport, particularly when weak winds prevail for a considerable part of the year, as is the case for Thessaloniki. Medium/long-distance pollen transport was evidenced for Olea (NW, SW directions), Corylus (NW, SW), Poaceae (SW) and Populus (NW).

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