Thermally Activated Reversible Threshold Shifts in Yba\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3eCu\u3csub\u3e3\u3c/sub\u3eO\u3csub\u3e7-δ\u3c/sub\u3e/Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia/Si Capacitors

Yba2Cu3O7-δ/yttria‐stabilized zirconia (YSZ)/silicon superconductor–insulator–semiconductor capacitors are characterized with capacitance‐voltage (C‐V) measurements at different gate‐voltage sweep rates and under bias‐temperature cycling. It is shown that ionic conduction in YSZ causes both hysteresis and stretch‐out in room‐temperature C‐V curves. A thermally activated process with an activation energy of about 39 meV in YSZ and/or at YSZ/Si interface is attributed to trapping/detrapping mechanisms in the SiOx interfacial layer between YSZ and Si. The negative mobile ions in YSZ can be moved by an applied electric field at room temperature and then ‘‘frozen’’ with decreasing temperature, giving rise to adjustable threshold voltages at low temperatures

Predicting fire regimes and their ecological effects in spatially complex landscapes

Fire occurrence influences the distribution of plant species, and dynamics of plant populations, either independently from other factors or in interaction with them. Numerous studies have identified the effects of components of fire regimes (frequency, intensity and season of occurrence) on the population dynamics of individual plant species and the floristic composition of plant communities, both in Australia and in other fire-prone countries. Nevertheless, there has been considerably less research into understanding the causes of spatial variation in fire regimes and this will likely result in a major obstacle for the development of vegetation theory. Research into spatial and temporal patterns of fire regime and determining the extent to which this type of variation results in variation in the occurrence of plant species and hence the composition of plant communities, can help overcome this obstacle. Two hypotheses are constructed and addressed. They are:- (i) that because of the influence of a sites' neighbourhood, variation in fire regimes will exist for any particular set of sites that occupy a particular part of environmental space and are therefore otherwise similar, and (ii) that this variation in fire regimes will result in patterns of plant species occurrence and hence demonstrate that landscape induced pattems of fire regime are a fundamentally important component in determining the realised niche of plant species in spatially complex landscapes. These hypotheses are examined for a spatially complex landscape in the Australian Capital Territory region, Australia. Several distinct phases of research led to the conclusion that both hypotheses should be accepted for the study region. Firstly, a review of the available literature found that empirical approaches, and related statistical models, for determining long-term fire regimes provided data that was neither of sufficient length and accuracy nor of appropriate spatial resolution for examining landscape dependent patterns in fire regimes as outlined in hypothesis one. On the other hand, theoretical approaches which synthesise landscape patterns from the well­ understood processes that affect fire occurrence and behaviour proved to be a useful methodology, provided that the inadequacies in existing models, including their reliance on the North American approach to modelling fire spread, were addressed. These provisions were addressed by the construction of a new landscape-level process­ based dynamic simulation model known as FIRESCAPE. The development of the model involved parameterising and testing the Richardson weather generator for fire danger modelling and a re-assessment of the McRae lightning ignition model. The approach used in FIRESCAPE combines these models with existing models of terrain, solar radiation budgets, fuel moisture, soil moisture, fuel accumulation and fire spread to model spatial variation in fire regimes by the accumulation of information from spatially and temporally distinct fire events. Various analyses indicated that around 500 years was required to stabilise the variation associated with fire regime parameters for some sites, while sensitivity analysis found that the spatial variation in fire regime was not over-sensitive to any of the important fire spread parameters that summarise variation in the majority of input parameters. Further, the spatial pattern in fire regime was generally consistent with many general observations made in the real world, but v under-predicted the fire frequency of five stands of Eucalyptus pauciflora wh,ere detailed pyrodendrochronological measurements have been made. Model output demonstrated that considerable variation in fire frequency existed for all sets of environmentally similar sites that were analysed. This variation was la1rgely related to the position of the site with respect to its neighbourhood, and to a lesser extent the average annual solar radiation budget of the neighbourhood. This variation resulted in strong patterns of eucalypt species occurrence, as determined by generalised linear modelling of species occurrence in the lower Cotter River catchment. Many of the patterns were demonstrated to be ecologically sensible compared with general observations and independent models of the effects of variable fire frequency on the composition of plant communities. Therefore, it has been demonstrated that variation in fire regimes that arises from topographically complex landscapes can have important effects on the distribution of plant species within suites of environmentally similar sites. This is a major step forward in resolving the landscape-level effects of fire occurrence on plant species distribution

Economic Evaluation of Multisystemic Therapy for Young People at Risk for Continuing Criminal Activity in the UK

Abstract Objective: To evaluate whether multisystemic therapy (MST) is more cost-effective than statutory interventions that are currently available for young offenders in England. Method: A cost-offset evaluation of MST based on data from a randomised controlled trial conducted in North London, England, comparing MST with usual services provided by two youth offending teams (YOT). Service costs were compared to cost savings in terms of rates of criminal re-offending. Results: 108 adolescents, aged 11–17 years, were randomly allocated to MST+YOT (n = 56) or YOT alone (n = 52). Reductions in offending were evident in both groups, but were higher in the MST+YOT group. At 18-month follow-up, the MST+YOT group cost less in terms of criminal activity (£9,425 versus £11,715, p = 0.456). The MST+YOT group were significantly cheaper in terms of YOT services than the YOT group (£3,402 versus £4,619, p = 0.006), but more expensive including the cost of MST, although not significantly so (£5,687 versus £4,619, p = 0.195). The net benefit per young person for the 18-month follow-up was estimated to be £1,222 (95% CI 2£5,838 to £8,283). Conclusions: The results reported in this study support the finding that MST+YOT has scope for cost-savings when compared to YOT alone. However, the limitations of the study in terms of method of economic evaluation, outcome measures used and data quality support the need for further research

How does ecological disturbance influence genetic diversity?

Environmental disturbance underpins the dynamics and diversity of many of the ecosystems of the world, yet its influence on the patterns and distribution of genetic diversity is poorly appreciated. We argue here that disturbance history may be the major

Direct and indirect effects of fire on microbial communities in a pyrodiverse dry-sclerophyll forest

Fire is one of the predominant drivers of the structural and functional dynamics of forest ecosystems. In recent years, novel fire regimes have posed a major challenge to the management of pyrodiverse forests. While previous research efforts have focused on quantifying the impacts of fire on above-ground forest biodiversity, how microbial communities respond to fire is less understood, despite their functional significance. Here, we describe the effects of time since fire, fire frequency and their interaction on soil and leaf litter fungal and bacterial communities from the pyrodiverse, Eucalyptus pilularis forests of south-eastern Australia. Using structural equation models, we also elucidate how fire can influence these communities both directly and indirectly through biotic-abiotic interactions. Our results demonstrate that fire is a key driver of litter and soil bacterial and fungal communities, with effects most pronounced for soil fungal communities. Notably, recently burnt forest hosted lower abundances of symbiotic ectomycorrhizal fungi and Acidobacteria in the soil, and basidiomycetous fungi and Actinobacteriota in the litter. Compared with low fire frequencies, high fire frequency increased soil fungal plant pathogens, but reduced Actinobacteriota. The majority of fire effects on microbial communities were mediated by fire-induced changes in litter and soil abiotic properties. For instance, recent and more frequent fire was associated with reduced soil sulphur, which led to an increase in soil fungal plant pathogens and saprotrophic fungi in these sites. Pathogenic fungi also increased in recently burnt forests that had a low fire frequency, mediated by a decline in litter carbon and an increase in soil pH in these sites. Synthesis. Our findings indicate that predicted increases in the frequency of fire may select for specific microbial communities directly and indirectly through ecological interactions, which may have functional implications for plants (increase in pathogens, decrease in symbionts), decomposition rates (declines in Actinobacteriota and Acidobacteriota) and carbon storage (decrease in ectomycorrhizal fungi). In the face of predicted shifts in wildfire regimes, which may exacerbate fire-induced changes in microbial communities, adaptive fire management and monitoring is required to address the potential functional implications of fire-altered microbial communities

Effects of altered fire intervals on critical timber production and conservation values

Forests exhibit thresholds in disturbance intervals that influence sustainability of production and natural values including sawlog production, species existence and habitat attributes. Fire is a key disturbance agent in temperate forests and frequency of fire is increasing, threatening sustainability of these forest values. We used mechanistically diverse, theoretical fire interval distributions for mountain ash forest in Victoria, Australia, in the recent past and future to estimate the probability of realising: (i) minimum sawlog harvesting rotation time; (ii) canopy species maturation; and (iii) adequate habitat hollows for fauna. The likelihood of realising fire intervals exceeding these key stand age thresholds diminishes markedly for the future fire regime compared with the recent past. For example, we estimate that only one in five future fire intervals will be sufficiently long (∼80 years) to grow sawlogs in this forest type, and that the probability of forests developing adequate habitat hollows (∼180 years) could be as low as 0.03 (3% of fire intervals). Therefore, there is a need to rethink where sawlogs can be sourced sustainably, such as from fast-growing plantations that can be harvested and then regrown rapidly, and to reserve large areas of existing 80-year-old forest from timber harvesting.DBL received funding from the Threatened Species Recovery Hub of the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program. CNF was supported by a Linkage Grant from the Australian Research Counci

Exploring the role of fire, succession, climate, and weather on landscape dynamics using comparative modelling

An assessment of the relative importance of vegetation change and disturbance as agents of landscape change under current and future climates would (1) provide insight into the controls of landscape dynamics, (2) help inform the design and development o

ERA Project OLC Letter

The Equal Rights Amendment Project at Columbia Law School (“ERA Project”) and the undersigned scholars submit this letter at the request of your office to provide legal analysis of the January 6, 2020 Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel Memorandum to the National Archives and Records Administration on the Equal Rights Amendment (“2020 OLC Memo”)

Forest fire management, climate change, and the risk of catastrophic carbon losses

Approaches to management of fireprone forests are undergoing rapid change, driven by recognition that technological attempts to subdue fire at large scales (fire suppression) are ecologically and economically unsustainable. However, our current framework for intervention excludes the full scope of the fire management problem within the broader context of fire−vegetation−climate interactions. Climate change may already be causing unprecedented fire activity, and even if current fires are within the historical range of variability, models predict that current fire management problems will be compounded by more frequent extreme fire-conducive weather conditions (eg Fried et al. 2004)

‘There must be a poetry of sound that none of us knows…’: Early British documentary film and the prefiguring of musique concrète

Standard histories of electronic music tend to trace the lineage of musique concrète as lying mainly in the Futurists’declarations of the 1910s, through Cage’s ‘emancipation’ of noise in the 1930s, to Schaeffer’s work and codifications of the late 1940s and early 1950s. This article challenges this narrative by drawing attention to the work of filmmakers in the 1930s that foreshadowed the sound experiments of Pierre Schaeffer and thus offers an alternative history of their background. The main focus of the article is on the innovations within documentary film and specifically the sonic explorations in early British documentary that prefigured musique concrète, an area ignored by electronic music studies. The theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of the documentary movement’s members, particularly their leader John Grierson, will be compared with those of Pierre Schaeffer, and the important influence of Russian avant-garde filmmaking on the British (and musique concrète) will be addressed. Case studies will focus on the groundbreaking soundtracks of two films made by the General Post Office Film Unit that feature both practical and theoretical correspondences to Schaeffer: 6.30 Collection (1934) and Coal Face (1935). Parallels between the nature and use of technologies and how this affected creative outputs will also be discussed, as will the relationship of the British documentary movement’s practice and ideas to post-Schaefferian ‘anecdotal music’ and the work of Luc Ferrari