1,112 research outputs found
Hidden Decomposers: the Role of Bacteria and Fungi in Recently Intermittent Alpine Streams Heterotrophic Pathways
The potential use of cuticular hydrocarbons and multivariate analysis to age empty puparial cases of Calliphora vicina and Lucilia sericata
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International LicenseCuticular hydrocarbons (CHC) have been successfully used in the field of forensic entomology for identifying and ageing forensically important blowfly species, primarily in the larval stages. However in older scenes where all other entomological evidence is no longer present, Calliphoridae puparial cases can often be all that remains and therefore being able to establish the age could give an indication of the PMI. This paper examined the CHCs present in the lipid wax layer of insects, to determine the age of the cases over a period of nine months. The two forensically important species examined were Calliphora vicina and Lucilia sericata. The hydrocarbons were chemically extracted and analysed using Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry. Statistical analysis was then applied in the form of nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis (NMDS), permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) and random forest models. This study was successful in determining age differences within the empty cases, which to date, has not been establish by any other technique
IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND DROUGHT OCCURRENCE ON CPOM DEGRADATION IN PREVIOUSLY PERENNIAL ALPINE STREAMS (NW ITALY)
Coupled hydro-mechanical–chemical process modelling in argillaceous formations for DECOVALEX-2011
Identifying the Achilles heel of multi-host pathogens : the concept of keystone 'host' species illustrated by Mycobacterium ulcerans transmission
Pathogens that use multiple host species are an increasing public health issue due to their complex transmission, which makes them difficult to mitigate. Here, we explore the possibility of using networks of ecological interactions among potential host species to identify the particular disease-source species to target to break down transmission of such pathogens. We fit a mathematical model on prevalence data of Mycobacterium ulcerans in western Africa and we show that removing the most abundant taxa for this category of pathogen is not an optimal strategy to decrease the transmission of the mycobacterium within aquatic ecosystems. On the contrary, we reveal that the removal of some taxa, especially Oligochaeta worms, can clearly reduce rates of pathogen transmission, and these should be considered as keystone organisms for its transmission because they lead to a substantial reduction in pathogen prevalence regardless of the network topology. Besides their potential application for the understanding of M. ulcerans ecology, we discuss how networks of species interactions can modulate transmission of multi-host pathogens
Itinerant-Electron Magnet of the Pyrochlore Lattice: Indium-Doped YMn2Zn20
We report on a ternary intermetallic compound, "YMn2Zn20", comprising a
pyrochlore lattice made of Mn atoms. A series of In-doped single crystals
undergo no magnetic long-range order down to 0.4 K, in spite of the fact that
the Mn atom carries a local magnetic moment at high temperatures, showing
Curie-Weiss magnetism. However, In-rich crystals exhibit spin-glass transitions
at approximately 10 K due to a disorder arising from the substitution, while,
with decreasing In content, the spin-glass transition temperature is reduced to
1 K. Then, heat capacity divided by temperature approaches a large value of 280
mJ K-2 mol-1, suggesting a significantly large mass enhancement for conduction
electrons. This heavy-fermion-like behavior is not induced by the Kondo effect
as in ordinary f-electron compounds, but by an alternative mechanism related to
the geometrical frustration on the pyrochlore lattice, as in (Y,Sc)Mn2 and
LiV2O4, which may allow spin entropy to survive down to low temperatures and to
couple with conduction electrons.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, J. Phys. Soc. Jpn., in pres
Observation of TeV Gamma Rays from the Crab Nebula with Milagro Using a New Background Rejection Technique
The recent advances in TeV gamma-ray astronomy are largely the result of the
ability to differentiate between extensive air showers generated by gamma rays
and hadronic cosmic rays. Air Cherenkov telescopes have developed and perfected
the "imaging" technique over the past several decades. However until now no
background rejection method has been successfully used in an air shower array
to detect a source of TeV gamma rays. We report on a method to differentiate
hadronic air showers from electromagnetic air showers in the Milagro gamma ray
observatory, based on the ability to detect the energetic particles in an
extensive air shower. The technique is used to detect TeV emission from the
Crab nebula. The flux from the Crab is estimated to be 2.68(+-0.42stat +-
1.4sys) x10^{-7} (E/1TeV)^{-2.59} m^{-2} s^{-1} TeV^{-1}, where the spectral
index is assumed to be as given by the HEGRA collaboration.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Astrophysical Journa
Sex differences in mathematics and reading achievement are inversely related: within- and across-nation assessment of 10 years of PISA data
We analyzed one decade of data collected by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), including the mathematics and reading performance of nearly 1.5 million 15 year olds in 75 countries. Across nations, boys scored higher than girls in mathematics, but lower than girls in reading. The sex difference in reading was three times as large as in mathematics. There was considerable variation in the extent of the sex differences between nations. There are countries without a sex difference in mathematics performance, and in some countries girls scored higher than boys. Boys scored lower in reading in all nations in all four PISA assessments (2000, 2003, 2006, 2009). Contrary to several previous studies, we found no evidence that the sex differences were related to nations’ gender equality indicators. Further, paradoxically, sex differences in mathematics were consistently and strongly inversely correlated with sex differences in reading: Countries with a smaller sex difference in mathematics had a larger sex difference in reading and vice versa. We demonstrate that this was not merely a between-nation, but also a within-nation effect. This effect is related to relative changes in these sex differences across the performance continuum: We did not find a sex difference in mathematics among the lowest performing students, but this is where the sex difference in reading was largest. In contrast, the sex difference in mathematics was largest among the higher performing students, and this is where the sex difference in reading was smallest. The implication is that if policy makers decide that changes in these sex differences are desired, different approaches will be needed to achieve this for reading and mathematics. Interventions that focus on high-achieving girls in mathematics and on low achieving boys in reading are likely to yield the strongest educational benefits
Active Galactic Nuclei under the scrutiny of CTA
Active Galactic Nuclei (hereafter AGN) produce powerful outflows which offer
excellent conditions for efficient particle acceleration in internal and
external shocks, turbulence, and magnetic reconnection events. The jets as well
as particle accelerating regions close to the supermassive black holes
(hereafter SMBH) at the intersection of plasma inflows and outflows, can
produce readily detectable very high energy gamma-ray emission. As of now, more
than 45 AGN including 41 blazars and 4 radiogalaxies have been detected by the
present ground-based gamma-ray telescopes, which represents more than one third
of the cosmic sources detected so far in the VHE gamma-ray regime. The future
Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) should boost the sample of AGN detected in the
VHE range by about one order of magnitude, shedding new light on AGN population
studies, and AGN classification and unification schemes. CTA will be a unique
tool to scrutinize the extreme high-energy tail of accelerated particles in
SMBH environments, to revisit the central engines and their associated
relativistic jets, and to study the particle acceleration and emission
mechanisms, particularly exploring the missing link between accretion physics,
SMBH magnetospheres and jet formation. Monitoring of distant AGN will be an
extremely rewarding observing program which will inform us about the inner
workings and evolution of AGN. Furthermore these AGN are bright beacons of
gamma-rays which will allow us to constrain the extragalactic infrared and
optical backgrounds as well as the intergalactic magnetic field, and will
enable tests of quantum gravity and other "exotic" phenomena.Comment: 28 pages, 23 figure
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