Systematic Review Protocol – Final: Have wet meadow restoration projects in the Southwestern U.S. been effective in restoring hydrology, geomorphology, soils, and plant species composition to conditions comparable to wet meadows with minimal human-induced disturbance?

The aim of this review is to evaluate whether wet meadow restoration projects in the Southwestern U.S. have been effective in restoring hydrology, geomorphology, soils, and plant species composition to conditions comparable to wet meadows with minimal human-induced disturbance

Neoliberal restructuring at work in the urban South: the production and re-production of scarcity and vulnerability in the Argentine fisheries sector

Following the adoption of the sweeping neoliberal reforms adopted in the last quarter of the 20th century, within a few years the Argentine fisheries sector shifted from a relatively stable accumulation process – organised around a Fordist structure of production, domestic capital, waged labour and an ‘under-exploited’ resource base – to a situation of over-fishing, internationalisation of capital and flexible production based on the precarisation of the labour force. While this and similar processes elsewhere have been examined from either an ecological or socio-economic perspective, scholarly studies exploring the socio-environmental articulation and impact of regulation systems emerging from the neoliberal restructuring of production in the urban global south are still rare. Articulating the perspectives of political ecology and regulation theory, this thesis examines: (a) the driving logic and contradictions of industrial production unfolding in the shift from a Fordist regime to a regime of flexible accumulation in an urban peripheral economy in the global context; and (b) the way in which such shift reshaped the ability of the state, firms and citizen workers to deal with increased scarcity, vulnerability and conflictivity. The central hypothesis of this study is that neoliberal restructuring operates through a dispositif of socio-environmental regulation based on an exclusionary system of social reproduction, labour exploitation and nature expropriation, a dispositif that normalises capitalist accumulation through the production and re-production of differential sustainability. However, such dispositif is not static but subjected to a socio-spatial dialectical process that might have the capacity to subvert the way in which nature and labour are disciplined under the hegemonic neoliberal rationality. By focusing on the Argentinean fisheries sector in Mar del Plata city (historically, the ‘national’ epicentre of the activity), the thesis seeks to understand how urban-based struggles confront a regulation crisis at multiple scales (e.g. from the workplace to the sea)

Molecular underpinnings and biogeochemical consequences of enhanced diatom growth in a warming Southern Ocean

Phytoplankton contribute to the Southern Ocean’s (SO) ability to absorb atmospheric CO2 and shape the stoichiometry of northward macronutrient delivery. Climate change is altering the SO environment, yet we know little about how resident phytoplankton will react to these changes. Here, we studied a natural SO community and compared responses of two prevalent, bloom-forming diatom groups to changes in temperature and iron that are projected to occur by 2100 to 2300. We found that one group, Pseudo-nitzschia, grows better under warmer low-iron conditions by managing cellular iron demand and efficiently increasing photosynthetic capacity. This ability to grow and draw down nutrients in the face of warming, regardless of iron availability, has major implications for ocean ecosystems and global nutrient cycles

Observation of the Holstein shift in high TcT_c superconductors with thermal modulation reflectometry

We use the experimental technique of thermal modulation reflectometry to study the relatively small temperature dependence of the optical conductivity of superconductors. Due to a large cancellation of systematic errors, this technique is shown to a be very sensitive probe of small changes in reflectivity. We analyze thermal modulation reflection spectra of single crystals and epitaxially grown thin films of YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-\delta}$ and obtain the ${\alpha_tr}^2F(\omega)$ function in the normal state, as well as the superconductivity induced changes in reflectivity. We present detailed model calculations, based on the Eliashberg-Migdal extension of the BCS model, which show good qualitative and quantitative agreement with the experimental spectra. VSGD.93.12.thComment: 6 pages, figures on request. Revtex, version 2, Materials Science Center Internal Report Number VSGD.93.12.t

Entanglement of photons

It is argued that the title of this paper represents a misconception. Contrary to widespread beliefs it is electromagnetic field modes that are ``systems'' and can be entangled, not photons. The amount of entanglement in a given state is shown to depend on redefinitions of the modes; we calculate the minimum and maximum over all such redefinitions for several examples.Comment: 5 pages ReVTe

Optical sum rule in metals with a strong interaction

The restricted optical sum rule and its dependence on the temperature, a superconducting gap and the cutoff energy have been investigated. As known this sum rule depends on the cutoff energy and the relaxation rate even for a homogeneous electron gas interacting with impurities or phonons. It is shown here that additional dependence of the spectral weight on a superconducting gap is very small in this model and this effect disappears totally when the relaxation rate is equal zero. The model metal with a single band is considered in details. It is well known that for this model there is the dependence of the sum rule on the temperature and the energy gap even in the case when the relaxation is absent. This dependence exists due to the smearing of the electron distribution function and it is expressed in the terms of Sommerfeld expansion. Here it is shown that these effects are considerably smaller than that of related with the relaxation rate if the band width is larger than the average phonon frequency. It is shown also that the experimental data about the temperature dependence of the spectral weight for the high- materials can be successfully explained in the framework approach based on the temperature dependence of the relaxation rateComment: 13 pages, 7 figures, the talk given on Internatinal coference on theoretical physics, april 11-16,2005, Mosco

High-Intensity Interval Training for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Pilot Study

Objective: To assess the feasibility and changes in outcomes of a 12-week high-intensity interval training (HIIT) program in individuals with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: The single-arm trial included 29 participants (mean ± SD age 63 ± 7 years; 66% women; 66% obese). Measures of participant flow, adherence, and tolerability were collected. Pain, function, and balance were assessed at baseline, 6 weeks, and 12 weeks using the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, 20-m fast-paced walk test, 30-second chair-stand test, stair-climb test, timed up and go test, and single leg stance. Cardiorespiratory fitness, strength, and body composition were evaluated using peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak), isometric knee extensor/flexor strength, and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, respectively. HIIT was completed two times/week (cycling or treadmill) and consisted of 10 repetitions of 1-minute bouts at 90% VO2peak, with 1-minute rest periods. Separate multivariable-adjusted linear mixed models were fit for each outcome with fixed effects of time, age, sex, body mass index, and random effects of baseline values to estimate mean changes and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between baseline and 12-week assessments. Results: Recruitment aligned with the anticipated enrollment rate, adherence was 70%, and no adverse events were reported. At 12 weeks, improvements were observed for most outcomes, with notable mean changes for the 20-m fast-paced walk (−1.13 [95% CI −1.61 to −0.64] seconds), 30-second chair-stand (2.6 [1.8-3.4] stands), and VO2peak (0.14 [0.03-0.24] liters/minute). Conclusion: In this 12-week pilot study, HIIT improved multiple aspects of health in individuals with knee OA; larger studies are needed

Optical absorption in the strong coupling limit of Eliashberg theory

We calculate the optical conductivity of superconductors in the strong-coupling limit. In this anomalous limit the typical energy scale is set by the coupling energy, and other energy scales such as the energy of the bosons mediating the attraction are negligibly small. We find a universal frequency dependence of the optical absorption which is dominated by bound states and differs significantly from the weak coupling results. A comparison with absorption spectra of superconductors with enhanced electron-phonon coupling shows that typical features of the strong-coupling limit are already present at intermediate coupling.Comment: 10 pages, revtex, 4 uuencoded figure