Parity Doubling and the S Parameter Below the Conformal Window

We describe a lattice simulation of the masses and decay constants of the lowest-lying vector and axial resonances, and the electroweak S parameter, in an SU(3) gauge theory with $N_f = 2$ and 6 fermions in the fundamental representation. The spectrum becomes more parity doubled and the S parameter per electroweak doublet decreases when $N_f$ is increased from 2 to 6, motivating study of these trends as $N_f$ is increased further, toward the critical value for transition from confinement to infrared conformality.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures; to be submitted to PR

The effect of dynamical scattering on single-plane phase retrieval in electron ptychography

Segmented and pixelated detectors on scanning transmission electron microscopes enable the complex specimen transmission function to be reconstructed. Imaging the transmission function is key to interpreting the electric and magnetic properties of the specimen, and as such four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) imaging techniques are crucial for our understanding of functional materials. Many of the algorithms used in the reconstruction of the transmission function rely on the multiplicative approximation and the (weak) phase object approximation, which are not valid for many materials, particularly at high resolution. Herein, we study the breakdown of simple phase imaging in thicker samples. We demonstrate the behavior of integrated center of mass imaging, single-side band ptychography, and Wigner distribution deconvolution over a thickness series of simulated GaN 4D-STEM datasets. We further give guidance as to the optimal focal conditions for obtaining a more interpretable dataset using these algorithms

Holocene fire regimes and treeline migration rates in sub-arctic Canada

Holocene climate change resulted in major vegetation reorganization in sub-arctic Canada near modern treeline. However, little is known of the effects of long-term climate change on boreal forest composition and fire regimes below treeline in this region. We present a high-resolution vegetation and fire history from two sites within the modern boreal forest in the central Northwest Territories, Canada, to provide new insight on sub-arctic vegetation response to Holocene climate dynamics and the role of fire in boreal ecosystems. Palynological analysis of sediments retrieved from Waite and Danny's lakes (informal) is used to reconstruct regional vegetation dynamics and boreal fire regimes. The longer Danny's Lake record documents treeline expansion beginning at ca. 7430–7220 cal yr BP. Integration of our new data with previous work shows that treeline expanded between ca. 4050 cal. yr BP and ca. 3840 cal yr BP at a rate of ca. 50 m/yr in response to the 1–2 °C increase in temperature estimated for the Holocene Thermal Maximum. Forest fires were relatively frequent during the early Holocene, before declining in frequency in response to development of cooler and wetter climate conditions associated with the Neoglacial (beginning after ca. 2200–2320 cal yr BP). We document a trend of increasing fire frequency in the 20th century that is correlated with warming at this time. These dynamics south of modern treeline provide insight into factors creating heterogeneity in plant community responses to large-scale climate events in high northern latitudes and suggest that large scale reorganization of boreal vegetation and fire regimes can be expected over the coming decades

Suppression of Electron Thermal Conduction by Whistler Turbulence in a Sustained Thermal Gradient.

The dynamics of weakly magnetized collisionless plasmas in the presence of an imposed temperature gradient along an ambient magnetic field is explored with particle-in-cell simulations and modeling. Two thermal reservoirs at different temperatures drive an electron heat flux that destabilizes off-angle whistler-type modes. The whistlers grow to large amplitude, δB/B_{0}≃1, and resonantly scatter the electrons, significantly reducing the heat flux. Surprisingly, the resulting steady-state heat flux is largely independent of the thermal gradient. The rate of thermal conduction is instead controlled by the finite propagation speed of the whistlers, which act as mobile scattering centers that convect the thermal energy of the hot reservoir. The results are relevant to thermal transport in high-β astrophysical plasmas such as hot accretion flows and the intracluster medium of galaxy clusters

Sperm death and dumping in Drosophila

Mating with more than one male is the norm for females of many species. In addition to generating competition between the ejaculates of different males, multiple mating may allow females to bias sperm use. In Drosophila melanogaster, the last male to inseminate a female sires approximately 80% of subsequent progeny. Both sperm displacement, where resident sperm are removed from storage by the incoming ejaculate of the copulating male, and sperm incapacitation, where incoming seminal fluids supposedly interfere with resident sperm, have been implicated in this pattern of sperm use. But the idea of incapacitation is problematic because there are no known mechanisms by which an individual could damage rival sperm and not their own. Females also influence the process of sperm use, but exactly how is unclear. Here we show that seminal fluids do not kill rival sperm and that any 'incapacitation' is probably due to sperm ageing during sperm storage. We also show that females release stored sperm from the reproductive tract (sperm dumping) after copulation with a second male and that this requires neither incoming sperm nor seminal fluids. Instead, males may cause stored sperm to be dumped or females may differentially eject sperm from the previous mating

Holographic Josephson Junctions and Berry holonomy from D-branes

We construct a holographic model for Josephson junctions with a defect system of a Dp brane intersecting a D(p+2) brane. In addition to providing a geometrical picture for the holographic dual, this leads us very naturally to suggest the possibility of non-Abelian Josephson junctions characterized in terms of the topological properties of the branes. The difference between the locations of the endpoints of the Dp brane on either side of the defect translates into the phase difference of the condensate in the Josephson junction. We also add a magnetic flux on the D(p+2) brane and allow it evolve adiabatically along a closed curve in the space of the magnetic flux, while generating a non-trivial Berry holonomy.Comment: 20 pages, 2 figure

Extracellular Vesicles from Fusarium graminearum Contain Protein Effectors Expressed during Infection of Corn.

Fusarium graminearum (Fgr) is a devastating filamentous fungal pathogen that causes diseases in cereals, while producing mycotoxins that are toxic for humans and animals, and render grains unusable. Low efficiency in managing Fgr poses a constant need for identifying novel control mechanisms. Evidence that fungal extracellular vesicles (EVs) from pathogenic yeast have a role in human disease led us to question whether this is also true for fungal plant pathogens. We separated EVs from Fgr and performed a proteomic analysis to determine if EVs carry proteins with potential roles in pathogenesis. We revealed that protein effectors, which are crucial for fungal virulence, were detected in EV preparations and some of them did not contain predicted secretion signals. Furthermore, a transcriptomic analysis of corn (Zea mays) plants infected by Fgr revealed that the genes of some of the effectors were highly expressed in vivo, suggesting that the Fgr EVs are a mechanism for the unconventional secretion of effectors and virulence factors. Our results expand the knowledge on fungal EVs in plant pathogenesis and cross-kingdom communication, and may contribute to the discovery of new antifungals