Solute concentrations in water samples from clearfelled and standing Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) forest ecosystems, Kershope Forest: dataset documentation

This document describes an associated dataset which consists of solute concentrations (Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Sodium, Aluminium, Phosphate, Nitrate, Ammonium, Chlorine, Sulphate), also pH and suspended solids, in waters sampled from clear felled and standing Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) forest ecosystems in Kershope Forest, Cumbria, UK. Water samples were collected from the ecosystem of a Sitka spruce plantation at weekly intervals for six years. The drainage system of the site had been designed to divide the plantation into a series of artificial catchments, three of which were designated experimental plots and clearfelled in the second year of sampling while three others were the control plots which remained unfelled until the end of the study. This work formed part of a programme of field and laboratory work to determine the effects of felling plantation forest on soil processes. Samples were collected by staff from the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE) between 1981 and 1987

The atmospheric charged kaon/pion ratio using seasonal variation methods

Observed since the 1950's, the seasonal effect on underground muons is a well studied phenomenon. The interaction height of incident cosmic rays changes as the temperature of the atmosphere changes, which affects the production height of mesons (mostly pions and kaons). The decay of these mesons produces muons that can be detected underground. The production of muons is dominated by pion decay, and previous work did not include the effect of kaons. In this work, the methods of Barrett and MACRO are extended to include the effect of kaons. These efforts give rise to a new method to measure the atmospheric K/$\pi$ ratio at energies beyond the reach of current fixed target experiments. These methods were applied to data from the MINOS far detector. A method is developed for making these measurements at other underground detectors, including OPERA, Super-K, IceCube, Baksan and the MINOS near detector.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Astropart. Phy

A comparison of 1986 and 1987 caesium activities of vegetation in west Cumbria

Vegetation from sites within and around the restricted area of West Cumbria, initially visited in late May 1986, has been re-sampled and analysed for 137Cs activity. At most sites the 137 activity of vegetation has declined to less than 30% of the 1986 value. However, there are areas where the caesium activity still warrants the continuation of restrictions on the movement and slaughter of sheep. Those sites where the 137Cs activity of vegetation has remained comparatively heigh were found to have low pH, organic soils

Determinants of changes in sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time among 9 and 12 year old children

The current study aimed to identify the determinants of objectively measured changes in sedentary time and sedentary fragmentation from age 9 - to age 12 years. Data were collected as part of the Gateshead Millennium Birth Cohort study from September 2008 - August 2009 and from January 2012 - November 2012. Participants were 9.3 (±0.4) years at baseline (n=508) and 12.5 (±0.3) years at follow-up (n=427). Sedentary behaviour was measured using an ActiGraph GT1M accelerometer. Twenty potential determinants were measured, within a socio-ecological model, and tested for their association with changes in sedentary time and the extent to which sedentary behaviour is prolonged or interrupted (fragmentation index). Univariate and multivariate linear regression analysis were conducted. Measurements taken during winter and a greater decrease in moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) over time were associated with larger increases in sedentary time (seasonality β:-3.03; 95% CI:-4.52,-1.54; and change in MVPA β:-1.68; 95% CI:-1.94, -1.41). Attendance at sport clubs was associated with smaller increases in sedentary time (-1.99; -3.44, -0.54). Girls showed larger decreases in fragmentation index (-0.52; -1.01, -0.02). Interventions aimed at decreasing the decline in MVPA and increasing/maintaining sport club attendance may prevent the rise in sedentary time as children grow older. In addition, winter could be targeted to prevent an increase in sedentary time and reduction in sedentary fragmentation during this season

Large θ13ν\theta_{13}^\nu and Unified Description of Quark and Lepton Mixing Matrices

We present a revised version of the so-called "yukawaon model", which was proposed for the purpose of a unified description of the lepton mixing matrix $U_{PMNS}$ and the quark mixing matrix $V_{CKM}$. It is assumed from a phenomenological point of view that the neutrino Dirac mass matrix $M_D$ is given with a somewhat different structure from the charged lepton mass matrix $M_e$, although $M_D=M_e$ was assumed in the previous model. As a result, the revised model predicts a reasonable value $\sin^2 2\theta_{13} \sim 0.07$ with keeping successful results for other parameters in $U_{PMNS}$ as well as $V_{CKM}$ and quark and lepton mass ratios.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, version accepted by EPJ

The role of citizen science in addressing grand challenges in food and agriculture research

The power of citizen science to contribute to both science and society is gaining increased recognition, particularly in physics and biology. Although there is a long history of public engagement in agriculture and food science, the term ‘citizen science’ has rarely been applied to these efforts. Similarly, in the emerging field of citizen science, most new citizen science projects do not focus on food or agriculture. Here, we convened thought leaders from a broad range of fields related to citizen science, agriculture, and food science to highlight key opportunities for bridging these overlapping yet disconnected communities/fields and identify ways to leverage their respective strengths. Specifically, we show that (i) citizen science projects are addressing many grand challenges facing our food systems, as outlined by the United States National Institute of Food and Agriculture, as well as broader Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations Development Programme, (ii) there exist emerging opportunities and unique challenges for citizen science in agriculture/food research, and (iii) the greatest opportunities for the development of citizen science projects in agriculture and food science will be gained by using the existing infrastructure and tools of Extension programmes and through the engagement of urban communities. Further, we argue there is no better time to foster greater collaboration between these fields given the trend of shrinking Extension programmes, the increasing need to apply innovative solutions to address rising demands on agricultural systems, and the exponential growth of the field of citizen science.This working group was partially funded from the NCSU Plant Sciences Initiative, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences ‘Big Ideas’ grant, National Science Foundation grant to R.R.D. (NSF no. 1319293), and a United States Department of Food and Agriculture-National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant to S.F.R., USDA-NIFA Post Doctoral Fellowships grant no. 2017-67012-26999.http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.orghj2018Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI

Supernova neutrino detection in NOvA

The NOvA long-baseline neutrino experiment uses a pair of large, segmented, liquid-scintillator calorimeters to study neutrino oscillations, using GeV-scale neutrinos from the Fermilab NuMI beam. These detectors are also sensitive to the flux of neutrinos which are emitted during a core-collapse supernova through inverse beta decay interactions on carbon at energies of O(10 MeV). This signature provides a means to study the dominant mode of energy release for a core-collapse supernova occurring in our galaxy. We describe the data-driven software trigger system developed and employed by the NOvA experiment to identify and record neutrino data from nearby galactic supernovae. This technique has been used by NOvA to self-trigger on potential core-collapse supernovae in our galaxy, with an estimated sensitivity reaching out to 10 kpc distance while achieving a detection efficiency of 23% to 49% for supernovae from progenitor stars with masses of 9.6 M☉ to 27 M☉, respectively

Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) and Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) Conceptual Design Report Volume 2: The Physics Program for DUNE at LBNF

The Physics Program for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) at the Fermilab Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) is described

Change in runoff initiation probability over a severe drought in a peat soil – Implications for flowpaths.

Severe drying of soils can lead to cracking and thus the generation of new hydrological pathways. In soils that show hydrophobic behaviour upon drying, it is possible that such flowpaths survive beyond the period of the drought that caused the initial cracking. Change in flowpaths in peat following severe droughts has been proposed as an explanation for long-term increases in DOC concentration leaving peat-covered catchments across the Northern Hemisphere With changes in climate making dry summers and summer drought more likely in the UK, this study aims to understand whether there have been long-term flowpath changes in a peat soil following a 1 in 33 year drought. The measure used by this study to analyse changes in the flowpaths present in peat soils is the probability of runoff initiation. The probability of runoff initiation represents a method for comparing the occurrence of runoff from the catchment in comparison to the precipitation inputs relative to the antecedent conditions of the catchment. The study examines 1674 rainfall events over a five year period before and after a severe drought and shows that the most important factor for controlling runoff initiation is the total amount of rainfall in any event and that the system is capacity rather than rate limited. The time of year is found to have a significant influence upon the probability of runoff initiation above and beyond the effect of water table depth and rainfall character. However, the study can find no persistent effect of severe drought beyond the period of drought itself, suggesting that, in terms of the factors investigated here, peat flowpaths are stable against changes in drought frequency and severity with climate change and cannot contribute to long-term changes in DOC runoff