The Effect of the Environment on alpha-Al_2O_3 (0001) Surface Structures

We report that calculating the Gibbs free energy of the alpha-Al_2O_3 (0001) surfaces in equilibrium with a realistic environment containing both oxygen and hydrogen species is essential for obtaining theoretical predictions consistent with experimental observations. Using density-functional theory we find that even under conditions of high oxygen partial pressure, the metal terminated surface is surprisingly stable. An oxygen terminated alpha-Al_2O_3 (0001) surface becomes stable only if hydrogen is present on the surface. In addition, including hydrogen on the surface resolves discrepancies between previous theoretical work and experimental results with respect to the magnitude and direction of surface relaxations.Comment: 4 pages including 2 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. Related publications can be found at http://www.fhi-berlin.mpg.de/th/paper.htm

Stochastic analysis of surface roughness

For the characterization of surface height profiles we present a new stochastic approach which is based on the theory of Markov processes. With this analysis we achieve a characterization of the complexity of the surface roughness by means of a Fokker-Planck or Langevin equation, providing the complete stochastic information of multiscale joint probabilities. The method was applied to different road surface profiles which were measured with high resolution. Evidence of Markov properties is shown. Estimations for the parameters of the Fokker-Planck equation are based on pure, parameter free data analysis

Activation mechanism of rabbit skeletal muscle myosin light chain kinase 5′-p-Fluorosulfonylbenzoyl adenosine as a probe of the MgATP-binding site of the calmodulin-bound and calmodulin-free enzyme

Abstract5′-p-Fluorosulfonylbenzoyl adenosine (FSBA), an ATP-like affinity labelling reagent, reacted with rabbit skeletal muscle myosin light chain kinase (skMLCK) and its calmodulin complex in a site-specific manner. Reaction was dependent upon the presence of the adenosine moiety of FSBA, saturated with increasing FSBA, was inhibited by MgATP, and was accompanied by stoichiometric incorporation of [14C]FSBA. The kinetic constants describing the reaction were similar for skMLCK and its calmodulin complex: k3= −0.040 min−1 and −0.038 mint-1, and Ki=0.18 mM and 0.40 mM, respectively. It is concluded that the MgATP-binding site on skMLCK remains accessible at all times and maintains a near constant conformation

Turbulent Convection in Stellar Interiors. I. Hydrodynamic Simulation

(Abridged) We describe the results of three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulations designed to study turbulent convection in the stellar interiors, and compare them to stellar mixing-length theory (MLT). Simulations in 2D are significantly different from 3D, both in terms of flow morphology and velocity amplitude. Convective mixing regions are better predicted using a [dynamic boundary condition] based on the bulk Richardson number than by purely local, static criteria like Schwarzschild or Ledoux. MLT gives a good description of the velocity scale and temperature gradient for a mixing length of $\sim 1.1 H_p$ for shell convection, however there are other important effects that it does not capture near boundaries. Convective "overshooting" is best described as an elastic response by the convective boundary, rather than ballistic penetration of the stable layers by turbulent eddies. We find that the rate at which material entrainment proceeds at the boundaries is consistent with analogous laboratory experiments as well as simulation and observation of terrestrial atmospheric mixing. In particular, the normalized entrainment rate E=$u_E/\sigma_H$, is well described by a power law dependence on the bulk Richardson number $Ri_B = \Delta b L/\sigma_H^2$ for the conditions studied, $20\lesssim Ri_B \lesssim 420$. We find $E = A Ri_B^{-n}$, with best fit values, $\log A = 0.027 \pm 0.38$, and $n = 1.05 \pm 0.21$. We discuss the applicability of these results to stellar evolution calculations

Modeling the impact of sea-spray on particle concentrations in a coastal city

Abstract 18 An atmospheric chemistry-transport model is used to assess the impacts of sea-spray chemistry 19 on the particle composition in and downwind of a coastal city -Vancouver, British Columbia. 20 Reactions in/on sea-spray affect the entire particle ensemble and particularly the size distribution 21 of particle nitrate. 2

Amblyopia and quality of life: a systematic review

Background/Aims Amblyopia is a common condition which can affect up to 5% of the general population. The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) implications of amblyopia and/or its treatment have been explored in the literature. Methods A systematic literature search was undertaken (16th-30th January 2007) to identify the HRQoL implications of amblyopia and/or its treatment. Results A total of 25 papers were included in the literature review. The HRQoL implications of amblyopia related specifically to amblyopia treatment, rather than the condition itself. These included the impact upon family life; social interactions; difficulties undertaking daily activities; and feelings and behaviour. The identified studies adopted a number of methodologies. The study populations included; children with the condition; parents of children with amblyopia; and adults who had undertaken amblyopia treatment as a child. Some studies developed their own measures of HRQoL, and others determined HRQoL through proxy measures. Conclusions The reported findings of the HRQoL implications are of importance when considering the management of cases of amblyopia. Further research is required to assess the immediate and long-term effects of amblyopia and/or its treatment upon HRQoL using a more standardised approach

Atmospheric electrical field measurements near a fresh water reservoir and the formation of the lake breeze

In order to access the effect of the lakes in the atmospheric electrical field, measurements have been carried out near a large man-made lake in southern Portugal, the Alqueva reservoir, during the ALqueva hydro-meteorological EXperiment 2014. The purpose of these conjoint experiments was to study the impact of the Alqueva reservoir on the atmosphere, in particular on the local atmospheric electric environment by comparing measurements taken in the proximity of the lake. Two stations 10 km apart were used, as they were located up- and down-wind of the lake (Amieira and Parque Solar, respectively), in reference to the dominant northwestern wind direction. The up-wind station shows lower atmospheric electric potential gradient (PG) values than the ones observed in the down-wind station between 12 and 20 UTC. The difference in the atmospheric electric PG between the up-wind and the down-wind station is ~30 V/m during the day. This differential occurs mainly during the development of a lake breeze, between 10 and 18 UTC, as a consequence of the surface temperature gradient between the surrounding land and the lake water. In the analysis presented, a correlation is found between the atmospheric electric PG differences and both wind speed and temperature gradients over the lake, thus supporting the influence of the lake breeze over the observed PG variation in the two stations. Two hypotheses are provided to explain this observation: (1) The air that flows from the lake into the land station is likely to increase the local electric conductivity through the removal of ground dust and the transport of cleaner air from higher altitudes with significant light ion concentrations. With such an increase in conductivity, it is expected to see a reduction of the atmospheric electric PG; (2) the resulting air flow over the land station carries negative ions formed by wave splashing in the lake's water surface, as a result of the so-called balloelectric effect. These negative ions will form a space-charge density (SCD) that can reduce the atmospheric electric PG. A formulation is derived here in order to estimate the local SCD

Modeling the impact of sea-spray on particle concentrations in a coastal city

An atmospheric chemistry-transport model is used to assess the impacts of sea-spray chemistry on the particle composition in and downwind of a coastal city--Vancouver, British Columbia. Reactions in/on sea-spray affect the entire particle ensemble and particularly the size distribution of particle nitrate. Urban air quality, and particularly airborne particles, is a major concern in terms of human health impacts. Sea-spray is known to be a major component of the particle ensemble at coastal sites yet relatively few air quality models include the interaction of gases with sea-spray and the fate of the particles produced. Sea-spray is not an inert addition to the particle ensemble because heterogeneous chemistry in/on sea-spray droplets changes the droplets composition and the particle size distribution, which impacts deposition and the ion balance in different particle size fractions. It is shown that the ISOPART model is capable of simulating gas and particle concentrations in the coastal metropolis of Vancouver and the surrounding valley. It is also demonstrated that to accurately simulate ambient concentrations of particles and reactive/soluble gases in a coastal valley it is absolutely critical to include heterogeneous chemistry in/on sea-spray. Partitioning of total particle-NO{sub 3}{sup -} between sea-spray and NH{sub 4}NO{sub 3} is highly sensitive to the amount of sea-spray present, and hence the initial vertical profile, sea-spray source functions [48] and the wind speed. When a fixed wind speed is used to initialize the sea-spray vertical profiles, as expected, the sea-spray concentration decays with distance inland, but the particle-NO{sub 3}{sup -} concentration decays more slowly because it is also a function of the uptake rate for HNO{sub 3}. The simulation results imply model analyses of air quality in coastal cities conducted without inclusion of sea-spray interactions may yield highly misleading results in terms of emission sensitivities of the PM size distribution. The sensitivity of the model results to the initial sea spray profile further suggests there would be great benefit in better definition of the vertical profile of size resolved sea-spray for use in such model studies

Turbulent flow at 190 m height above London during 2006-2008: A climatology and the applicability of similarity theory

Flow and turbulence above urban terrain is more complex than above rural terrain, due to the different momentum and heat transfer characteristics that are affected by the presence of buildings (e.g. pressure variations around buildings). The applicability of similarity theory (as developed over rural terrain) is tested using observations of flow from a sonic anemometer located at 190.3 m height in London, U.K. using about 6500 h of data. Turbulence statistics—dimensionless wind speed and temperature, standard deviations and correlation coefficients for momentum and heat transfer—were analysed in three ways. First, turbulence statistics were plotted as a function only of a local stability parameter z/Λ (where Λ is the local Obukhov length and z is the height above ground); the σ_i/u_* values (i = u, v, w) for neutral conditions are 2.3, 1.85 and 1.35 respectively, similar to canonical values. Second, analysis of urban mixed-layer formulations during daytime convective conditions over London was undertaken, showing that atmospheric turbulence at high altitude over large cities might not behave dissimilarly from that over rural terrain. Third, correlation coefficients for heat and momentum were analyzed with respect to local stability. The results give confidence in using the framework of local similarity for turbulence measured over London, and perhaps other cities. However, the following caveats for our data are worth noting: (i) the terrain is reasonably flat, (ii) building heights vary little over a large area, and (iii) the sensor height is above the mean roughness sublayer depth