El ajuste osmótico como mecanismo de resistencia a la sequía en poblaciones áridas de P. pinaster y P. canariensis

Mechanisms of drought resistance were studied in two xeric populations of Pinus canariensis and Pinus pinaster. Seedlings were grown in a hydroponic culture for four months. Gradual controlled drought was imposed during two weeks by adding Polyethylene glycol (PEG-6000) to the growing medium. Two levels of water deficit (Psi = -1MPa, Psi = -2 MPa) and a control treatment (Psi = -0.03 MPa) were tested. Relative water content (RWC) was markedly low at the end of the experimenBoth populations showed a high capacity for osmotic adjustment in needles as shown by the osmotic index, 0.63 (1.33 MPa at 80% RWC) for P. canariensis and 0.54 (1.25 MPa at 80% RWC) for P. pinaster. Root growth and root:shoot (stem + needles) ratio were increased by water deficiOpposite patterns of relative biomass allocation were assessed between stressed and control plants. While stressed seedlings assigned more dry matter to roots, non-stressed plants showed a higher relative needle weighThe growing media caused additional stress to the plants, thus comparisons with other drought protocols should be made carefully.Se estudiaron mecanismos de resistencia a la sequía en poblaciones áridas de P.canariensis y P. pinaster. Tras cuatro meses en cultivo hidropónico, se sometió a las plantas a un tratamiento de sequía durante dos semanas añadiendo polietilenglicol (PEG-6000) a la solución. Se evaluaron dos niveles de déficit hídrico (Psi = -1MPa, Psi = -2 MPa) y un tratamiento control (Psi = -0,03 MPa). El contenido hídrico relativo (RWC) de las plántulas fue muy bajo durante todo el ensayo. Las dos poblaciones mostraron una gran capacidad de ajuste osmótico con índices de ajuste osmótico de 0,63 (ajuste osmótico de 1,33 MPa a un 80% de RWC) en P. canariensis y 0,54 (ajuste osmótico de 1,25 MPa a un 80% de RWC) en P-. pinaster. El crecimiento radical y la relación raíz:parte aérea fueron estimulados por la sequía. Se encontraron patrones de reparto de biomasa opuestos entre las plantas estresadas y las control. Mientras que las primeras destinaron más materia seca a las raíces, las no estresadas invirtieron más en biomasa foliar. El medio de cultivo causó un estrés adicional a la planta por lo que las comparaciones de ensayos de sequía utilizando PEG con otros protocolos deben de tenerlo en cuenta

Opportunistic linked data querying through approximate membership metadata

Between URI dereferencing and the SPARQL protocol lies a largely unexplored axis of possible interfaces to Linked Data, each with its own combination of trade-offs. One of these interfaces is Triple Pattern Fragments, which allows clients to execute SPARQL queries against low-cost servers, at the cost of higher bandwidth. Increasing a client's efficiency means lowering the number of requests, which can among others be achieved through additional metadata in responses. We noted that typical SPARQL query evaluations against Triple Pattern Fragments require a significant portion of membership subqueries, which check the presence of a specific triple, rather than a variable pattern. This paper studies the impact of providing approximate membership functions, i.e., Bloom filters and Golomb-coded sets, as extra metadata. In addition to reducing HTTP requests, such functions allow to achieve full result recall earlier when temporarily allowing lower precision. Half of the tested queries from a WatDiv benchmark test set could be executed with up to a third fewer HTTP requests with only marginally higher server cost. Query times, however, did not improve, likely due to slower metadata generation and transfer. This indicates that approximate membership functions can partly improve the client-side query process with minimal impact on the server and its interface

Constraints on Natural MNS Parameters from |U_e3|

The MNS matrix structure emerging as a result of recent neutrino measurements strongly suggests two large mixing angles (solar and atmospheric) and one small angle (|U_e3| << 1). Especially when combined with the neutrino mass hierarchy, these values turn out to impose rather stringent constraints on possible flavor models connecting the three active fermion generations. Specifically, we show that an extremely small value of |U_e3| would require fine tuning of Majorana mass matrix parameters, particularly in the context of seesaw models.Comment: 21 pages, ReVTeX, 2 .eps figure files, updated references and acknowledgment

In Situ Bragg Coherent Diffraction Imaging Study of a Cement Phase Microcrystal during Hydration

Results of Bragg coherent diffraction imaging (BCDI) confirm that ion migration and consumption occur during hydration of calcium monoaluminate (CA). The chemical phase transformation promotes the hydration process and the formation of new hydrates. There is a potential for the formation of hydrates near where the active ions accumulate. BCDI has been used to study the in situ hydration process of CA over a 3 day period. The evolution of three-dimensional (3D) Bragg diffraction electron density, the “Bragg density”, and strain fields present on the nanoscale within the crystal was measured and visualized. Initial Bragg densities and strains in CA crystal derived from sintering evolve into various degrees during hydration. The variation of Bragg density within the crystal is attributed to the change of the degree of crystal ordering, which could occur through ion transfer during hydration. The observed strain, coming from the interfacial mismatch effect between high Bragg density and low Bragg density parts in the crystal, remained throughout the experiment. The first Bragg density change during the hydration process is due to a big loss of Bragg density as seen in the image amplitude but not its phase. This work provides new evidence supporting the through-solution reaction mechanism of CA

A new method for the solution of the Schrodinger equation

We present a new method for the solution of the Schrodinger equation applicable to problems of non-perturbative nature. The method works by identifying three different scales in the problem, which then are treated independently: An asymptotic scale, which depends uniquely on the form of the potential at large distances; an intermediate scale, still characterized by an exponential decay of the wave function and, finally, a short distance scale, in which the wave function is sizable. The key feature of our method is the introduction of an arbitrary parameter in the last two scales, which is then used to optimize a perturbative expansion in a suitable parameter. We apply the method to the quantum anharmonic oscillator and find excellent results.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, RevTex

Orthogonal U(1)'s, Proton Stability and Extra Dimensions

In models with a low quantum gravity scale, one might expect that all operators consistent with gauge symmetries are present in the low-energy effective theory. If this is the case, some mechanism must be present to adequately suppress operators that violate baryon number. Here we explore the possibility that the desired suppression is a consequence of an additional, spontaneously-broken, non-anomalous U(1) symmetry that is orthogonal to hypercharge. We show that successful models can be constructed in which the additional particle content necessary to cancel anomalies is minimal, and compatible with the constraints from precision electroweak measurements and gauge unification. If unification is sacrificed, and only the new U(1) and its associated Higgs fields live in the bulk, it is possible that the gauge field zero mode and first few Kaluza-Klein excitations lie within the kinematic reach of the Tevatron. For gauge couplings not much smaller than that of hypercharge, we show that these highly leptophobic states could evade detection at Run I, but be discovered at Run II. Our scenario presents an alternative to the `cartographic' solution to baryon number violation in which leptons and quarks are separated in an extra dimension.Comment: 16 pages LaTeX, 4 figure

A model for computing thermally-driven shallow flows

In many natural disasters such as overland oil spills or lava flows, physical fluid properties as density change when considering non-homogeneous spatial and time variable distributions of the temperature. This effect is even more remarkable when these flows show a non-Newtonian behaviour due to the sensitivity of their rheological properties as viscosity or yield stress to temperature. In these cases, temperature becomes a significant variable that drives the fluid behaviour, which must be solved using an energy equation coupled with the free surface flow system. Special attention is devoted to thermal source terms which must include all the heat fluid exchanges, and their modelling sometimes can govern the complete flow behaviour. Fluid density, viscosity and yield stress, also affected by temperature, must be recomputed every time step. Summarizing, this work presents a 2D free surface flow model considering density and temperature variations, which could even modify viscosity and yield stress, with heat transfer mechanisms. The model is applied to oil spill overland simulations and heating/cooling test cases are carried out to ensure the system energy balance. As conclusions, it can be said that the numerical results demonstrate the importance of the heat exchange effects and those of the density, viscosity and yield stress variations

Charge-Reversal Instability in Mixed Bilayer Vesicles

Bilayer vesicles form readily from mixtures of charged and neutral surfactants. When such a mixed vesicle binds an oppositely-charged object, its membrane partially demixes: the adhesion zone recruits more charged surfactants from the rest of the membrane. Given an unlimited supply of adhering objects one might expect the vesicle to remain attractive until it was completely covered. Contrary to this expectation, we show that a vesicle can instead exhibit {\it adhesion saturation,} partitioning spontaneously into an attractive zone with definite area fraction, and a repulsive zone. The latter zone rejects additional incoming objects because counterions on the interior of the vesicle migrate there, effectively reversing the membrane's charge. The effect is strongest at high surface charge densities, low ionic strength, and with thin, impermeable membranes. Adhesion saturation in such a situation has recently been observed experimentally [H. Aranda-Espinoza {\it et al.}, {\sl Science} {\bf285} 394--397 (1999)]