Mobilities of uranium and mercury ions in helium

The mobilities of mass-identified U(+) and Hg (+) ions in helium were determined in a drift tube-mass spectrometer. For uranium ions, a reduced mobility value is obtained at 305 K and a standard gas density of 2.69 x 10 to the 19th power/cu cm. The mobility of mercury ions is in agreement with two previous determinations. The effect of fast ion injection in drift mobility measurements is discussed, and a technique to circumvent these problems is described. The results are compared with existing theories of ion mobilities

Measurements of ion-molecule reactions of He plus, H plus, HeH plus with H sub 2 and D sub 2

A drift tube mass spectrometer apparatus has been used to determine the rate coefficient, energy dependence and product ions of the reaction He(+) +H2. The total rate coefficient at 300 K is 1.1 plus or minus 0.1) 10 to minus 13th power cu cm/sec. The reaction proceeds principally by dissociative charge transfer to produce H(+), with the small remainder going by charge transfer to produce H2(+) and by atom rearrangement to produce HeH(+). The rate coefficient increases slowly with increasing ion mean energy, reaching a value of 2.8 x ten to the minus 13th power cu cm sec at 0.18 eV. The corresponding reaction with deuterium, He(+) + D2, exhibits a value (5 plus or minus 1) x 10 to the minus 14th cu cm/sec at 300K. The reaction rates for conversion of H(+) and HeH(+) to H3(+) on collisions with H2 molecules are found to agree well with results of previous investigations

Electron-temperature dependence of dissociative recombination of electrons with CO(+)-(CO)n-series ions

A microwave afterglow mass spectrometer apparatus is used to determine the dependence on electron temperature T sub e of the recombination coefficients alpha sub n of the dimer and trimer ions of the series CO+.(CO) sub n. It is found that alpha sub 1 = (1.3 + or - 0.3)x 0.000001 (T sub e(K)/300) to the -0.34; and alpha sub 2 = (1.9 + or - 0.4)x 0.000001 (T sub e(K)/300) to the -0.33 cu cm/sec. These dependences on T sub e are quite different from those obtained previously for polar-cluster ions of the hydronium and ammonium series but are similar to that for simple diatomic ions

Measurements of the O+ plus N2 and O+ plus O2 reaction rates from 300 to 900 K

Rate coefficients for the O(+) + N2 atom transfer and O(+) + O2 charge transfer reactions are determined at thermal energies between 300 K and 900 K difference in a heated drift tube mass spectrometer apparatus. At 300 K the values K(O(+) + N2) = (1.2 plus or minus 0.1) x 10 to the negative 12 power cubic cm/sec and k(O(+) + O2) = (2.1 plus or minus 0.2) x 10 to the negative 11 power cubic cm/sec were obtained, with a 50% difference decrease in the reaction rates upon heating to 700 K. These results are in good agreement with heated flowing afterglow results, but the O(+) + O2 thermal rate coefficients are systematically lower than equivalent Maxwellian rates inferred by conversion of nonthermal drift tube and flow drift data

Flavor composition of the IceCube neutrinos: A quest for sterile neutrinos?

The identification of flavor content in the cosmic high-energy neutrinos recently observed by the IceCube collaboration could spread the light on the origin of these neutrinos. We study the expected fraction of muon tracks for different cases of the neutrino flavor composition at the sources taking into account uncertainties in the neutrino mixing angles and CP-phase. We show that in the frame of the three known neutrinos it is hard to explain the νμ fraction observed at IceCube. However if the cosmic component is produced in some hidden sector, in the form of sterile neutrinos which then oscillate into ordinary ones, a better agreement can be obtained. Especially, in a scenario when heavy dark matter with mass of few PeV decay into sterile neutrinos which then oscillate in ordinary neutrinos due to tiny mixing with the latter, it is possible to explain the low fraction of muon tracks in the events observed by IceCube in the energy region from 60TeV to 2PeV

Reactions of Na/plus/, K/plus/, and Ba/plus/ ions with O2, NO, and H2O molecules

Investigating ion molecule reactions of sodium, potassium, and barium ions with oxygen, nitric oxide, and water in drift tube mass spectromete

Measurements of recombination of electrons with H3(plus) and H5(plus) ions

The electron-ion recombination coefficients for H3(+) and H5(+) ions were determined by means of a microwave afterglow/mass spectrometer apparatus. Measurements of electron density decays in helium-hydrogen mixtures are correlated with the decay of mass-identified ion currents to the wall of the microwave cavity. At low partial pressures of hydrogen in the mixture, the ion H3(+) dominates the ion composition and the ion wall current tracks the electron density decay curves. From recombination controlled electron density decay curves, the values alpha (H3(+)) = (2.9 + or - 0.3), (2.3 + or - 0.3), and (2.0 + or - 0.2) x 0.0000001 cu cm per sec, are obtained at 205, 300 and 450 K, respectively. At higher partial pressures of hydrogen and low temperatures, where (H5(+)) is the dominant ion, the value alpha (H5(+)) = (3.6 + or - 1.0) x 0.0000001 cu cm per sec is obtained at 205 K. The implications of these results concerning ionization levels in the atmospheres of the outer planets and in the interstellar medium are discussed

Plant communities of Italy. The vegetation prodrome

The Vegetation Prodrome of Italy was promoted in 2012 by the Italian "Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea Protection", in collaboration with the "Italian Society of Botany", to provide a comprehensive and systematic catalogue and description of Italian plant communities. The Prodrome that is presented in this paper is the first full organic synthesis of the vegetation of Italy at the alliance syntaxonomic level. It fulfils several needs, the main one being a unified and comprehensive national framework that may make an important contribution to the definition of the European Vegetation Prodrome. Syntaxonomy, as well as taxonomy, is sometimes based on considerations that may in part diverge: several authors tend to favour models that are divisive or aggregative to a greater or lesser extent in terms of flora, biogeography and ecology. These different points of view stimulate the scientific debate and allow the adoption of a framework that is more widely supported. The Prodrome includes 75 classes, 2 subclasses, 175 orders, 6 suborders and 393 alliances. The classes were grouped into nine broad categories according to structural, physiognomic and synecological elements rather than to syntaxonomic criteria. The rank, full valid name, any synonymies and incorrect names are provided for each syntaxon. The short declaration highlights the physiognomy, synecology, syndynamics and distribution of the plant communities that belong to the syntaxon. The Prodrome of the Italian Vegetation is linked to the European Strategy for Biodiversity, the European Habitats Directive and the European Working Groups related to the ecosystems and their services. In addition to basic applications, the Prodrome can be used as a framework for scientific research related to the investigation of the relationships between plant communities and the environmental factors that influence their composition and distribution

Congenital Morgagni Hernia

A rare congenital diaphragmatic hernia was discovered upon routine dissection of a female cadaver. Given the hernia's location in the chest cavity, it was identified as a Morgagni hernia. As the least common type of diaphragmatic hernia, the exact mechanism of development is unknown. However, this hernia has previously been associated with both longstanding, congenital conditions and acute, health conditions requiring intervention