Using Gap Charts to Visualize the Temporal Evolution of Ranks and Scores

To address the limitations of traditional line chart approaches, in particular rank charts (RCs) and score charts (SCs), a novel class of line charts called gap charts (GCs) show entries that are ranked over time according to a performance metric. The main advantages of GCs are that entries never overlap (only changes in rank generate limited overlap between time steps) and gaps between entries show the magnitude of their score difference. The authors evaluate the effectiveness of GCs for performing different types of tasks and find that they outperform standard time-dependent ranking visualizations for tasks that involve identifying and understanding evolutions in both ranks and scores. They also show that GCs are a generic and scalable class of line charts by applying them to a variety of different datasets

Characterization of methanol as a magnetic field tracer in star-forming regions

Magnetic fields play an important role during star formation. Direct magnetic field strength observations have proven specifically challenging in the extremely dynamic protostellar phase. Because of their occurrence in the densest parts of star forming regions, masers, through polarization observations, are the main source of magnetic field strength and morphology measurements around protostars. Of all maser species, methanol is one of the strongest and most abundant tracers of gas around high-mass protostellar disks and in outflows. However, as experimental determination of the magnetic characteristics of methanol has remained largely unsuccessful, a robust magnetic field strength analysis of these regions could hitherto not be performed. Here we report a quantitative theoretical model of the magnetic properties of methanol, including the complicated hyperfine structure that results from its internal rotation. We show that the large range in values of the Land\'{e} g-factors of the hyperfine components of each maser line lead to conclusions which differ substantially from the current interpretation based on a single effective g-factor. These conclusions are more consistent with other observations and confirm the presence of dynamically important magnetic fields around protostars. Additionally, our calculations show that (non-linear) Zeeman effects must be taken into account to further enhance the accuracy of cosmological electron-to-proton mass ratio determinations using methanol.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figures, excluding Supplementary information. Author manuscript version before editorial/copyediting by Nature Astronomy. Journal version available via http://rdcu.be/FPeB . Supplementary material available via https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41550-017-0341-8/MediaObjects/41550_2017_341_MOESM1_ESM.pd

Mobilization of phosphorus from secondary minerals by the arbuscular mycorrhiza Rhizophagus irregularis and consequences for carbon sequestration in soils

Phosphorus can be a major limiting factor for plant growth due to its slow diffusion and high degree of immobilization in soils. Understanding the strategies evolved by plant-symbiont couples increasing P uptake is crucial, under the aim of adopting the involved mechanisms by modern sustainable agriculture. This study aims to explore whether tomato plants mycorrhized with the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi Rhizophagus irregularis have the ability to mobilize P from secondary minerals and organic sources. Our hypothesis was that AM-bearing plants will invest more carbon to their fungal symbiont in case P must be exploited from less accessible P sources. For this, we carried out a time course experiment (91 days) with split-chamber mesocosms ensuring the mobilization of P by the mycorrhizal partner only. Orthophosphate (OP) and phytic acid (PA) in their free state and adsorbed to goethite (GOE-OP; GOE-PA) have been offered to the host plant. According to our knowledge, this is the first report where an organic P source bonded to a secondary mineral has been tested as a plant P source via the mycorrhizal P uptake pathway. The PLFA 16:1ω5c is known to be part of the membrane constituents and it is considered a good AM biomass estimator (Olsson and Wilhelmsson 2000). In our study it correlated positively with incorporated P and the AM plant root activity (arbuscules %) for all provided P sources. Additionally, those AM plants which accessed OP and GOE-OP also showed a positive significant correlation of the arbuscules percentages, with the incorporated P, the PLFA 18:1ω7c, and in case of GOE-PA also with the PLFA 18:2ω6,9. These two PLFA biomarkers have been previously found in R. irregularis hyphae (Olsson et al. 2002) and might indicate that AM fungi modified their fatty acid composition in the hyphae during the mobilization of P from the different P sources. As fungal energy storage we also measured the NLFA 16:1ω5c. It was significantly higher for both P sources bonded to goethite compared to free OP and PA. These results point towards different C investment to uptake of P though the mycorrhizal pathway having a direct consequence for the carbon sequestration in soils

Biogenic weathering bridges the nutrient gap in pristine ecosystems - a global comparison

In many pristine ecosystems there seems to be negative nutrient budget existent, meaning that export exceeds the input received by aeolian deposition and physico-chemical weathering. Such ecosystems should degrade rather quickly, but are often found surprisingly stable on the long run. Our hypothesis was that this nutrient gap is an artefact caused by not considering the contribution of photoassimilatory-mediated biogenic weathering to the overall nutrient input, which might constitute an additional, energetically directed and demand driven pathway. Here, we firstly evaluated the evolution of mutualistic biogenic weathering along an Antarctic chronosequence and secondly compared the biogenic weathering rates under mycorrhized ecosystems over a global gradient of contrasting states of soil development. We found the ability to perform biogenic weathering increasing along its evolutionary development in photoautotroph-symbiont interaction and furthermore a close relation between fungal biogenic weathering and available potassium across all 16 forested sites in the study, regardless of the dominant mycorrhiza type (AM or EM), climate, and plant-species composition. Our results point towards a general alleviation of nutrient limitation at ecosystem scale via directional, energy driven and on-demand biogenic weathering

Super-heavy electron material as metallic refrigerant for adiabatic demagnetization cooling

Low-temperature refrigeration is of crucial importance in fundamental research of condensed matter physics, because the investigations of fascinating quantum phenomena, such as superconductivity, superfluidity, and quantum criticality, often require refrigeration down to very low temperatures. Currently, cryogenic refrigerators with 3He gas are widely used for cooling below 1 K. However, usage of the gas has been increasingly difficult because of the current worldwide shortage. Therefore, it is important to consider alternative methods of refrigeration. We show that a new type of refrigerant, the super-heavy electron metal YbCo2Zn20, can be used for adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration, which does not require 3He gas. This method has a number of advantages, including much better metallic thermal conductivity compared to the conventional insulating refrigerants. We also demonstrate that the cooling performance is optimized in Yb1−xScxCo2Zn20 by partial Sc substitution, with x ~ 0.19. The substitution induces chemical pressure that drives the materials to a zero-field quantum critical point. This leads to an additional enhancement of the magnetocaloric effect in low fields and low temperatures, enabling final temperatures well below 100 mK. This performance has, up to now, been restricted to insulators. For nearly a century, the same principle of using local magnetic moments has been applied for adiabatic demagnetization cooling. This study opens new possibilities of using itinerant magnetic moments for cryogen-free refrigeration

Leptospirosis followed by Kawasaki-like disease: case report from an adult Swiss patient and review of the literature

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a vasculitis that mostly occurs in children, but rare cases in adults have been reported. We describe the case of a 43-year-old Swiss male who developed symptoms compatible with KD 7 weeks after leptospirosis, which was presumably acquired after swimming in a creek in the Swiss Alps. We performed a literature review and identified 10 other cases (all in children), in which Kawasaki-like disease was diagnosed in the context of leptospirosis. Outcome was favourable in most cases, including our patient. This exceptional case demonstrates both the possibility of autochthonous cases of leptospirosis in Switzerland as well as a possible association of leptospirosis with Kawasaki-like disease

Evaluation of the Global Multi-Resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010 (GMTED2010) Using ICESat Geodetic Control

Supported by NASA's Earth Surface and Interior (ESI) Program, we are producing a global set of Ground Control Points (GCPs) derived from the Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) altimetry data. From February of 2003, to October of 2009, ICESat obtained nearly global measurements of land topography (+/- 86deg latitudes) with unprecedented accuracy, sampling the Earth's surface at discrete approx.50 m diameter laser footprints spaced 170 m along the altimetry profiles. We apply stringent editing to select the highest quality elevations, and use these GCPs to characterize and quantify spatially varying elevation biases in Digital Elevation Models (DEMs). In this paper, we present an evaluation of the soon to be released Global Multi-resolution Terrain Elevation Data 2010 (GMTED2010). Elevation biases and error statistics have been analyzed as a function of land cover and relief. The GMTED2010 products are a large improvement over previous sources of elevation data at comparable resolutions. RMSEs for all products and terrain conditions are below 7 m and typically are about 4 m. The GMTED2010 products are biased upward with respect to the ICESat GCPs on average by approximately 3 m

Hydrological Variations in Australia Recovered by GRACE High-Resolution Mascons Solutions

Australia represents a challenging region in which to study hydrological variations as recovered by the GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment) mission data. Much of Australia is characterized by relatively small hydrological signals, with large precipitation gradients between the North and the South. These signals are better recovered using innovative GRACE processing techniques such as high-resolution mascon solutions, which may help overcome the deficiencies in the standard GRACE data processing and filtering methods. We will show the power of using regional and global mas con solutions to recover hydrological variations from 2003 to 2011, as well as the oceanic mass variations in the surrounding regions. We will compare the GRACE signals with state of the art hydrology and ocean general circulation models, precipitation, soil moisture and groundwater data sets. We especially emphasize the gravity signatures observed during the decadal drought in the Murray-Darling river basin and the early 2011 floods in North-Western Australia

Verteilung und Stabilität der organischen Substanz in marinen und ästuarinen Mangrovenböden

Böden unter Mangrovenwäldern können hohe Vorräte organischen Kohlenstoffs (Corg) aufweisen. Um Aussagen über die Nachhaltigkeit der Corg-Speicherung in den Böden treffen zu können, ist neben dem Vorrat auch die Stabilität funktional unterschiedlicher Fraktionen der organischen Bodensubstanz von zentraler Bedeutung. Hierfür haben wir unterschiedliche Mangrovenböden mittels Dichtefraktionierung in partikuläre und Mineral-assoziierte organische Substanz separiert. Darüber hinaus wurden die Fraktionen hinsichtlich ihrer δ13C Signatur sowie ihres 14C-Alters untersucht, um Hinweise auf deren Stabilität zu bekommen. Für die mineralischen Mangrovenböden spielt die partikuläre organische Substanz mit steigender Corg-Konzentration eine zunehmende Rolle als Kohlenstoffspeicher. Außerdem zeigte sich, dass in ästuarinen Mangroven dem Fluss durch seinen Nährstoffeintrag, insbesondere von Stickstoff, eine bedeutende Rolle zugemessen werden muss. Flussnahe Standorte wiesen deutlich größere Unterschiede zwischen den δ13C-Signaturen beider Fraktionen auf als flussferne Standorte, was auf einen höheren Umsatz in den flussnahen Mangrovenböden hinweist. Dies wird zudem durch die 14C-Datierungen gestützt. Die höchsten Alter konnten für die marinen Mangrovenböden gemessen werden, während ästuarine Mangrovenstandorte je nach Lage zum Fluss mittlere bis rezente Alter aufwiesen. Marine Mangrovenböden repräsentieren über die Akkumulation großer Mengen partikulärer organischen Substanz verbunden mit einem langsamen Umsatz den bedeutendsten Corg-Speicher, während ästuarinen Mangrovenböden aufgrund eines erhöhten Umsatzes weniger effektiv Corg-Speicher darstellen