Depth dependent local structures in thin films unraveled by grazing incidence x-ray absorption spectroscopy

A method of using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) together with resolved grazing incidence geometry for depth profiling atomic, electronic, chemical or magnetic local structures in thin films is presented. The quantitative deconvolution of thickness-dependent spectral features is performed by fully considering both scattering and absorption formalisms. Surface oxidation and local structural depth profiles in nanometric FePt films are determined, exemplifying the application of the method.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

The essential oil of Brazilian pepper, Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi in larval control of Stegomyia aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The ability of mosquitoes of the genus <it>Aedes </it>and its allies, such as <it>Stegomyia</it>, to transmit diseases such as dengue and yellow fever, makes them important in public health. This study aims to evaluate the use of the essential oil of Brazilian pepper in biological control of by assessing and quantifying the larvicidal effect against <it>S. aegypti</it>, the only available access to dengue control, and test its risk of genotoxicity with <it>Salmonella typhimurium </it>as an indicator of safety for its environmental use.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The density of the oil was 0.8622 g mL^-1. Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry revealed six major constituents: δ-3-carene (55.43%), α-pinene (16.25%), sylvestrene (10.67%), germacrene D (2.17), β-myrcene (1.99%), and isoterpinolene (1.4%). The minimum inhibitory dose to larvae development was 862.20 μg mL^-1. The median lethal dose (LD₅₀) of the essential oil for larvae was between the concentrations of 172.44-344.88 μg mL^-1. There was no mutagenic risk for the essential oil, since there were no biochemical or morphological changes in <it>S. typhimurium </it>after exposure to the essential oil.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The minimum inhibitory essential oil concentration and the median lethal dose pointed to the value of the use of water dispersions of Brazilian pepper essential oil as an environmental safe natural larvicidal for <it>S. aegypti</it>.</p

Medium-modified evolution of multiparticle production in jets in heavy-ion collisions

The energy evolution of medium-modified average multiplicities and multiplicity fluctuations in quark and gluon jets produced in heavy-ion collisions is investigated from a toy QCD-inspired model. In this model, we use modified splitting functions accounting for medium-enhanced radiation of gluons by a fast parton which propagates through the quark gluon plasma. The leading contribution of the standard production of soft hadrons is found to be enhanced by the factor $\sqrt{N_s}$ while next-to-leading order (NLO) corrections are suppressed by $1/\sqrt{N_s}$, where the nuclear parameter $N_s>1$ accounts for the induced-soft gluons in the hot medium. The role of next-to-next-to-leading order corrections (NNLO) is studied and the large amount of medium-induced soft gluons is found to drastically affect the convergence of the perturbative series. Our results for such global observables are cross-checked and compared with their limits in the vacuum and a new method for solving the second multiplicity correlator evolution equations is proposed.Comment: 21 pages and 8 figures, typo corrections, references adde

Bottomonium and Drell-Yan production in p-A collisions at 450 GeV

The NA50 Collaboration has measured heavy-quarkonium production in p-A collisions at 450 GeV incident energy (sqrt(s) = 29.1 GeV). We report here results on the production of the Upsilon states and of high-mass Drell-Yan muon pairs (m > 6 GeV). The cross-section at midrapidity and the A-dependence of the measured yields are determined and compared with the results of other fixed-target experiments and with the available theoretical estimates. Finally, we also address some issues concerning the transverse momentum distributions of the measured dimuons.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, to be published in Phys. Lett.

J/psi azimuthal anisotropy relative to the reaction plane in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 GeV per nucleon

The J/$\psi$ azimuthal distribution relative to the reaction plane has been measured by the NA50 experiment in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 GeV/nucleon. Various physical mechanisms related to charmonium dissociation in the medium created in the heavy ion collision are expected to introduce an anisotropy in the azimuthal distribution of the observed J/$\psi$ mesons at SPS energies. Hence, the measurement of J/$\psi$ elliptic anisotropy, quantified by the Fourier coefficient v$_2$ of the J/$\psi$ azimuthal distribution relative to the reaction plane, is an important tool to constrain theoretical models aimed at explaining the anomalous J/$\psi$ suppression observed in Pb-Pb collisions. We present the measured J/$\psi$ yields in different bins of azimuthal angle relative to the reaction plane, as well as the resulting values of the Fourier coefficient v$_{2}$ as a function of the collision centrality and of the J/$\psi$ transverse momentum. The reaction plane has been estimated from the azimuthal distribution of the neutral transverse energy detected in an electromagnetic calorimeter. The analysis has been performed on a data sample of about 100 000 events, distributed in five centrality or p$_{\rm T}$ sub-samples. The extracted v$_{2}$ values are significantly larger than zero for non-central collisions and are seen to increase with p$_{\rm T}$.Comment: proceedings of HP08 conference corrected a typo in one equatio

Inoculation with the endophytic bacterium Herbaspirillum seropedicae promotes growth, nutrient uptake and photosynthetic efficiency in rice

Main conclusion: Higher vacuolar proton pump activity may increase plant energy and nutrient use efficiency and provide the nexus between plant inoculation with Herbaspirillum seropedicae and growth promotion. Abstract: Global change and growing human population are exhausting arable land and resources, including water and fertilizers. We present inoculation with the endophytic plant-growth promoting bacterium (PGPB) Herbaspirillum seropedicae as a strategy for promoting growth, nutrient uptake and photosynthetic efficiency in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Because plant nutrient acquisition is coordinated with photosynthesis and the plant carbon status, we hypothesize that inoculation with H. seropedicae will stimulate proton (H+) pumps, increasing plant growth nutrient uptake and photosynthetic efficiency at low nutrient levels. Plants were inoculated and grown in pots with sterile soil for 90 days. Herbaspirillum seropedicae endophytic colonization was successful and, as hypothesized, inoculation (1) stimulated root vacuolar H+ pumps (vacuolar H+-ATPase and vacuolar H+-PPase), and (2) increased plant growth, nutrient contents and photosynthetic efficiency. The results showed that inoculation with the endophytic bacterium H. seropedicae can promote plant growth, nutrient uptake and photosynthetic efficiency, which will likely result in a more efficient use of resources (nutrients and water) and higher production of nutrient-rich food at reduced economic and environmental costs.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A new measurement of J/psi suppression in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 GeV per nucleon

We present a new measurement of J/psi production in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 GeV/nucleon, from the data sample collected in year 2000 by the NA50 Collaboration, under improved experimental conditions with respect to previous years. With the target system placed in vacuum, the setup was better adapted to study, in particular, the most peripheral nuclear collisions with unprecedented accuracy. The analysis of this data sample shows that the (J/psi)/Drell-Yan cross-sections ratio measured in the most peripheral Pb-Pb interactions is in good agreement with the nuclear absorption pattern extrapolated from the studies of proton-nucleus collisions. Furthermore, this new measurement confirms our previous observation that the (J/psi)/Drell-Yan cross-sections ratio departs from the normal nuclear absorption pattern for semi-central Pb-Pb collisions and that this ratio persistently decreases up to the most central collisions.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figures. Submitted to Eur. Phys. J.

The dependence of the anomalous J/psi suppression on the number of participant nucleons

The observation of an anomalous J/psi suppression in Pb-Pb collisions by the NA50 Collaboration can be considered as the most striking indication for the deconfinement of quarks and gluons at SPS energies. In this Letter, we determine the J/psi suppression pattern as a function of the forward hadronic energy E-ZDC measured in a Zero Degree Calorimeter (ZDC). The direct connection between EZDC and the geometry of the collision allows us to calculate, within a Glauber approach, the precise relation between the number of participant nucleons N-part and E-ZDC. Then, we check if the experimental data can be better explained by a sudden or a smooth onset of the anomalous J/psi suppression as a function of the number of participants. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Centrality Behaviour of J/ψ\psi Production in Na50

The J/$\psi$ production in 158 A GeV Pb-Pb interactions is studied, in the dimuon decay channel, as a function of centrality, as measured with the electromagnetic or with the very forward calorimeters. After a first sharp variation at mid centrality, both patterns continue to fall down and exhibit a curvature change at high centrality values. This trend excludes any conventional hadronic model and is in agreement with a deconfined quark-gluon phase scenario. We report also preliminary results on the measured charged multiplicity, as given by a dedicated detector.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures (in eps) talk given at XXXI International Symposium on Multiparticle Dynamics, Sep. 1-7, 2001, Datong China URL http://ismd31.ccnu.edu.cn

Adaptation Strategies to Climate Change for summer crops on Andalusia: evaluation for extreme maximum temperatures

Evaluate a set of agricultural adaptation strategies to cope with climate change impacts, with focus on the consequences of extreme events on the adaptations proposed in the semi-arid environment of Andalusia (Southern Spain)