Terrestrial-focused protected areas are effective for conservation of freshwater fish diversity in Lake Tanganyika

Freshwater protected areas are rarely designed specifically for this purpose and consequently their conservation benefit cannot be guaranteed. Using Lake Tanganyika as a test case we investigated the benefits of terrestrial-focussed protected areas on the alpha and beta taxonomic and functional diversity of the diverse endemic rocky-shore cichlid fishes. Lake Tanganyika has limited protected shorelines and continued human population growth in its catchment, which has potential for negative impacts on habitat quality and key biological processes. We conducted 554 underwater surveys across a gradient of human disturbance including two protected areas, along 180 km of Tanzanian coastline, sampling 70 cichlid species representing a diverse range of life-histories and trophic groups. Alpha diversity was up to 50% lower outside of protected areas, and herbivores appeared most affected. Turnover dominated within-locality variation in beta diversity, but the nestedness component was positively related to human disturbance indicating an increase in generalist species outside of protected areas. Within protected areas the decline in zeta diversity (the expected number of shared species across multiple surveys) was best described by power law functions, which occur when local abundance is predicted by regional abundance; but declined exponentially in unprotected waters indicating a dominance of stochastic assembly. Despite not being designed for the purpose, the protected areas are clearly benefitting cichlid taxonomic and functional diversity within Lake Tanganyika, probably through local reduction in sediment deposition and/or pollution, but as cichlids can be poor dispersers protected area coverage should be expanded to benefit isolated communities

Engineered 2D Ising interactions on a trapped-ion quantum simulator with hundreds of spins

The presence of long-range quantum spin correlations underlies a variety of physical phenomena in condensed matter systems, potentially including high-temperature superconductivity. However, many properties of exotic strongly correlated spin systems (e.g., spin liquids) have proved difficult to study, in part because calculations involving N-body entanglement become intractable for as few as N~30 particles. Feynman divined that a quantum simulator - a special-purpose "analog" processor built using quantum particles (qubits) - would be inherently adept at such problems. In the context of quantum magnetism, a number of experiments have demonstrated the feasibility of this approach. However, simulations of quantum magnetism allowing controlled, tunable interactions between spins localized on 2D and 3D lattices of more than a few 10's of qubits have yet to be demonstrated, owing in part to the technical challenge of realizing large-scale qubit arrays. Here we demonstrate a variable-range Ising-type spin-spin interaction J_ij on a naturally occurring 2D triangular crystal lattice of hundreds of spin-1/2 particles (9Be+ ions stored in a Penning trap), a computationally relevant scale more than an order of magnitude larger than existing experiments. We show that a spin-dependent optical dipole force can produce an antiferromagnetic interaction J_ij ~ 1/d_ij^a, where a is tunable over 0<a<3; d_ij is the distance between spin pairs. These power-laws correspond physically to infinite-range (a=0), Coulomb-like (a=1), monopole-dipole (a=2) and dipole-dipole (a=3) couplings. Experimentally, we demonstrate excellent agreement with theory for 0.05<a<1.4. This demonstration coupled with the high spin-count, excellent quantum control and low technical complexity of the Penning trap brings within reach simulation of interesting and otherwise computationally intractable problems in quantum magnetism.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures; article plus Supplementary Material

Linear Optics Simulation of Non-Markovian Quantum Dynamics

The simulation of quantum processes is a key goal for the grand programme aiming at grounding quantum technologies as the way to explore complex phenomena that are inaccessible through standard, classical calculators. Some interesting steps have been performed in this direction and this scenario has recently been extended to open quantum evolutions, marking the possibility to investigate important features of the way a quantum system interacts with its environment. Here we demonstrate experimentally the (non-)Markovianity of a process where system and environment are coupled through a simulated transverse Ising model. By engineering the evolution in a fully controlled photonic quantum simulator, we assess and demonstrate the role that system-environment correlations have in the emergence of memory effects.Comment: 4+2 pages, 4 figures, RevTeX

Active microrheology and simultaneous visualization of sheared phospholipid monolayers

Two-dimensional films of surface-active agents—from phospholipids and proteins to nanoparticles and colloids—stabilize fluid interfaces, which are essential to the science, technology and engineering of everyday life. The 2D nature of interfaces present unique challenges and opportunities: coupling between the 2D films and the bulk fluids complicates the measurement of surface dynamic properties, but allows the interfacial microstructure to be directly visualized during deformation. Here we present a novel technique that combines active microrheology with fluorescence microscopy to visualize fluid interfaces as they deform under applied stress, allowing structure and rheology to be correlated on the micron-scale in monolayer films. We show that even simple, single-component lipid monolayers can exhibit viscoelasticity, history dependence, a yield stress and hours-long time scales for elastic recoil and aging. Simultaneous visualization of the monolayer under stress shows that the rich dynamical response results from the cooperative dynamics and deformation of liquid-crystalline domains and their boundaries

Monomethylarsonous Acid (MMAIII) Has an Adverse Effect on the Innate Immune Response of Human Bronchial Epithelial Cells to Pseudomonas Aeruginosa

Arsenic is the number one contaminant of concern with regard to human health according to the World Health Organization. Epidemiological studies on Asian and South American populations have linked arsenic exposure with an increased incidence of lung disease, including pneumonia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, both of which are associated with bacterial infection. However, little is known about the effects of low dose arsenic exposure, or the contributions of organic arsenic to the innate immune response to bacterial infection. This study examined the effects on Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) induced cytokine secretion by human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC) by inorganic sodium arsenite (iAsIII) and two major metabolites, monomethylarsonous acid (MMAIII) and dimethylarsenic acid (DMAV), at concentrations relevant to the U.S. population. Neither iAsIII nor DMAV altered P. aeruginosa induced cytokine secretion. By contrast, MMAIII increased P. aeruginosa induced secretion of IL-8, IL-6 and CXCL2. A combination of iAsIII, MMAIII and DMAV (10 pbb total) reduced IL-8 and CXCL1 secretion. These data demonstrate for the first time that exposure to MMAIII alone, and a combination of iAsIII, MMAIII and DMAV at levels relevant to the U.S. may have negative effects on the innate immune response of human bronchial epithelial cells to P. aeruginosa

Phylogenetic Relationships of Tribes Within Harpalinae (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as Inferred from 28S Ribosomal DNA and the Wingless Gene

Harpalinae is a large, monophyletic subfamily of carabid ground beetles containing more than 19,000 species in approximately 40 tribes. The higher level phylogenetic relationships within harpalines were investigated based on nucleotide data from two nuclear genes, wingless and 28S rDNA. Phylogenetic analyses of combined data indicate that many harpaline tribes are monophyletic, however the reconstructed trees showed little support for deeper nodes. In addition, our results suggest that the Lebiomorph Assemblage (tribes Lebiini, Cyclosomini, Graphipterini, Perigonini, Odacanthini, Lachnophorini, Pentagonicini, Catapiesini and Calophaenini), which is united by a morphological synapomorphy, is not monophyletic, and the tribe Lebiini is paraphyletic with respect to members of Cyclosomini. Two unexpected clades of tribes were supported: the Zuphiitae, comprised of Anthiini, Zuphiini, Helluonini, Dryptini, Galeritini, and Physocrotaphini; and a clade comprised of Orthogoniini, Pseudomorphini, and Graphipterini. The data presented in this study represent a dense sample of taxa to examine the molecular phylogeny of Harpalinae and provide a useful framework to examine the origin and evolution of morphological and ecological diversity in this group

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Measurement of the inclusive and dijet cross-sections of b-jets in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The inclusive and dijet production cross-sections have been measured for jets containing b-hadrons (b-jets) in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of sqrt(s) = 7 TeV, using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements use data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 34 pb^-1. The b-jets are identified using either a lifetime-based method, where secondary decay vertices of b-hadrons in jets are reconstructed using information from the tracking detectors, or a muon-based method where the presence of a muon is used to identify semileptonic decays of b-hadrons inside jets. The inclusive b-jet cross-section is measured as a function of transverse momentum in the range 20 < pT < 400 GeV and rapidity in the range |y| < 2.1. The bbbar-dijet cross-section is measured as a function of the dijet invariant mass in the range 110 < m_jj < 760 GeV, the azimuthal angle difference between the two jets and the angular variable chi in two dijet mass regions. The results are compared with next-to-leading-order QCD predictions. Good agreement is observed between the measured cross-sections and the predictions obtained using POWHEG + Pythia. MC@NLO + Herwig shows good agreement with the measured bbbar-dijet cross-section. However, it does not reproduce the measured inclusive cross-section well, particularly for central b-jets with large transverse momenta.Comment: 10 pages plus author list (21 pages total), 8 figures, 1 table, final version published in European Physical Journal

Jet energy measurement with the ATLAS detector in proton-proton collisions at root s=7 TeV

The jet energy scale and its systematic uncertainty are determined for jets measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of √s = 7TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 38 pb-1. Jets are reconstructed with the anti-kt algorithm with distance parameters R=0. 4 or R=0. 6. Jet energy and angle corrections are determined from Monte Carlo simulations to calibrate jets with transverse momenta pT≥20 GeV and pseudorapidities {pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy systematic uncertainty is estimated using the single isolated hadron response measured in situ and in test-beams, exploiting the transverse momentum balance between central and forward jets in events with dijet topologies and studying systematic variations in Monte Carlo simulations. The jet energy uncertainty is less than 2. 5 % in the central calorimeter region ({pipe}η{pipe}<0. 8) for jets with 60≤pT<800 GeV, and is maximally 14 % for pT<30 GeV in the most forward region 3. 2≤{pipe}η{pipe}<4. 5. The jet energy is validated for jet transverse momenta up to 1 TeV to the level of a few percent using several in situ techniques by comparing a well-known reference such as the recoiling photon pT, the sum of the transverse momenta of tracks associated to the jet, or a system of low-pT jets recoiling against a high-pT jet. More sophisticated jet calibration schemes are presented based on calorimeter cell energy density weighting or hadronic properties of jets, aiming for an improved jet energy resolution and a reduced flavour dependence of the jet response. The systematic uncertainty of the jet energy determined from a combination of in situ techniques is consistent with the one derived from single hadron response measurements over a wide kinematic range. The nominal corrections and uncertainties are derived for isolated jets in an inclusive sample of high-pT jets. Special cases such as event topologies with close-by jets, or selections of samples with an enhanced content of jets originating from light quarks, heavy quarks or gluons are also discussed and the corresponding uncertainties are determined. © 2013 CERN for the benefit of the ATLAS collaboration