4,164 research outputs found
Evaluating Cropland N2O Emissions and Fertilizer Plant Greenhouse Gas Emissions With Airborne Observations
Agricultural activity is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. The fertilizer production process emits N2O, CO2, and CH4, and fertilized croplands emit N2O. We present continuous airborne observations of these trace gases in the Lower Mississippi River Basin to quantify emissions from both fertilizer plants and croplands during the early growing season. Observed hourly emission rates from two fertilizer plants are compared with reported inventory values, showing agreement for N2O and CO2 emissions but large underestimation in reported CH4 emissions by up to a factor of 100. These CH4 emissions are consistent with loss rates of 0.6ā1.2%. We quantify regional emission fluxes (100 km) of N2O using the airborne mass balance technique, a first application for N2O, and explore linkages to controlling processes. Finally, we demonstrate the ability to use airborne measurements to distinguish N2O emission differences between neighboring fields, determining we can distinguish different emission behaviors of regions on the order of 2.5 km2 with emissions differences of approximately 0.026 Ī¼mol mā2 sā1. This suggests airborne approaches such as outlined here could be used to evaluate the impact of different agricultural practices at critical fieldāsize spatial scales.Key PointsReported N2O and CO2 emissions from fertilizer plants agree with observations, but CH4 is underestimated by orders of magnitudeWe demonstrate mass balance quantification of N2O emissions from agriculture at 10ā100 km scalesAirborne measurements can observe and quantify N2O emission differences between agricultural fields of ā¼2.5 km2Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156438/3/jgrd56401.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156438/2/jgrd5640-sup-0001-Figure_SI-S01.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156438/1/jgrd56401_am.pd
Supersymmetry Without Prejudice at the 7 TeV LHC
We investigate the model independent nature of the Supersymmetry search
strategies at the 7 TeV LHC. To this end, we study the
missing-transverse-energy-based searches developed by the ATLAS Collaboration
that were essentially designed for mSUGRA. We simulate the signals for ~71k
models in the 19-dimensional parameter space of the pMSSM. These models have
been found to satisfy existing experimental and theoretical constraints and
provide insight into general features of the MSSM without reference to a
particular SUSY breaking scenario or any other assumptions at the GUT scale.
Using backgrounds generated by ATLAS, we find that imprecise knowledge of these
estimated backgrounds is a limiting factor in the potential discovery of these
models and that some channels become systematics-limited at larger
luminosities. As this systematic error is varied between 20-100%, roughly half
to 90% of this model sample is observable with significance S>5 for 1 fb^{-1}
of integrated luminosity. We then examine the model characteristics for the
cases which cannot be discovered and find several contributing factors. We find
that a blanket statement that squarks and gluinos are excluded with masses
below a specific value cannot be made. We next explore possible modifications
to the kinematic cuts in these analyses that may improve the pMSSM model
coverage. Lastly, we examine the implications of a null search at the 7 TeV LHC
in terms of the degree of fine-tuning that would be present in this model set
and for sparticle production at the 500 GeV and 1 TeV Linear Collider.Comment: 51 pages, 26 figure
Seven exercises planned to stimulate the flow of ideas in creative composition
Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit
Measuring a Light Neutralino Mass at the ILC: Testing the MSSM Neutralino Cold Dark Matter Model
The LEP experiments give a lower bound on the neutralino mass of about 46 GeV
which, however, relies on a supersymmetric grand unification relation. Dropping
this assumption, the experimental lower bound on the neutralino mass vanishes
completely. Recent analyses suggest, however, that in the minimal
supersymmetric standard model (MSSM), a light neutralino dark matter candidate
has a lower bound on its mass of about 7 GeV. In light of this, we investigate
the mass sensitivity at the ILC for very light neutralinos. We study slepton
pair production, followed by the decay of the sleptons to a lepton and the
lightest neutralino. We find that the mass measurement accuracy for a few-GeV
neutralino is around 2 GeV, or even less if the relevant slepton is
sufficiently light. We thus conclude that the ILC can help verify or falsify
the MSSM neutralino cold dark matter model even for very light neutralinos.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure; references adde
Pressure-dependent transition from atoms to nanoparticles in magnetron sputtering: Effect on WSi2 film roughness and stress
We report on the transition between two regimes from several-atom clusters to
much larger nanoparticles in Ar magnetron sputter deposition of WSi2, and the
effect of nanoparticles on the properties of amorphous thin films and
multilayers. Sputter deposition of thin films is monitored by in situ x-ray
scattering, including x-ray reflectivity and grazing incidence small angle
x-ray scattering. The results show an abrupt transition at an Ar background
pressure Pc; the transition is associated with the threshold for energetic
particle thermalization, which is known to scale as the product of the Ar
pressure and the working distance between the magnetron source and the
substrate surface. Below Pc smooth films are produced, while above Pc roughness
increases abruptly, consistent with a model in which particles aggregate in the
deposition flux before reaching the growth surface. The results from WSi2 films
are correlated with in situ measurement of stress in WSi2/Si multilayers, which
exhibits a corresponding transition from compressive to tensile stress at Pc.
The tensile stress is attributed to coalescence of nanoparticles and the
elimination of nano-voids.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figures; v3: published versio
Variations in Melosira islandica valve morphology in Lake Ontario sediments related to eutrophication and silica depletion
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/109796/1/lno19853020414.pd
NCI-MATCH Arms N & P: Phase II study of PI3K beta inhibitor GSK2636771 in patients (pts) with cancers (ca) with PTEN mutation/deletion (mut/del) or PTEN protein loss
Background: The NCI-MATCH trial is the largest national study (1173 sites) for ptswith relapsed/ refractory solid tumors, lymphomas and myeloma, which assigns tar-geted therapies based on individual tumor molecular alterations detected using theadapted Oncomine AmpliSeq panel (143 genes) and immunohistochemistry (IHC).We hypothesized that patients with PTEN-deficient cancers enrolled to Arms N and Pmay benefit from treatment with the PI3K beta-selective inhibitor GSK2636771.
Methods: Eligibility: relapsed/refractory ca, good end-organ function, and ECOG PSā
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1. Pts were screened for molecular alterations by centralized testing on fresh tumor biopsy and had deleterious PTEN mut/del without loss of expression (Arm N) or complete loss of cytoplasmic and nuclear PTEN staining on IHC (Arm P), and no other aberrations activating the PI3K/MTOR and MAPK pathways (mut in PIK3CA, PIK3R1, BRAF, KRAS, AKT1, TSC1/2, mTOR, RHEB, NF2, NRAS, HRAS). Pts received GSK2636771 400mg/day (28-days cycles). RECIST 1.1 overall response rate (ORR) was the primary endpoint.
Results: Of 59 enrolled pts, 56 were eligible and received treatment. Of 22 pts with PTEN mut/del (Arm N: 6 uterine, 2 breast, 2 prostate, 2 head/neck ca, 10 other), all are off treatment as of analysis (14 disease progression, 4 for adverse events [AEs], 4 other). One pt (4.5%) with prostate ca (PTEN deletion, MPRSS2-ERG fusion) attained a partial response (-42%). Of 7 (32%) pts with stable disease (SD), 2 had SDā
\u3eā
6 months (uterine leiomyosarcoma; endometrial carcinoma). Of 34 pts with loss of PTEN protein by IHC (Arm P: 7 prostate, 6 breast, 3 squamous anal ca, 2 cholangiocarcinoma, 16 other), all are off treatment as of analysis (26 disease progression, 4 for AE, 4 other). Of 9 (37.5%) pts with SD, 3 had SDā
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6 months (prostate cancer; squamous bladder cancer, squamous anal cancer). Median progression-free survival was 1.8 months for both arms. Grā
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3 treatment-related (tr) reversible toxicities were experienced by 30% (7) and 20% (7) of pts in arms N and P, respectively. No tr Gr 5 toxicities were observed in either arm.
Conclusions: Single agent GSK2636771 has very modest activity in ca with PTEN gene mutation/deletion and/or PTEN protein loss
Oxy-functionalization of nucleophilic rhenium(I) metal carbon bonds catalyzed by selenium(IV)
We report that SeO_2 catalyzes the facile oxy-functionalization of (CO)_5Re(I)-Me^(Ī“ā) with IO_4ā to generate methanol. Mechanistic studies and DFT calculations reveal that catalysis involves methyl group transfer from Re to the electrophilic Se center followed by oxidation and subsequent reductive functionalization of the resulting CH_3Se(VI) species. Furthermore, (CO)_3Re(I)(Bpy)-R (R = ethyl, n-propyl, and aryl) complexes show analogous transfer to SeO_2 to generate the primary alcohols. This represents a new strategy for the oxy-functionalization of MāR^(Ī“ā) polarized bonds
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