Observed response of stratospheric and mesospheric composition to sudden stratospheric warmings.

In this study we investigate and quantify the statistical changes that occur in the stratosphere and mesosphere during 37 sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events from 1989 to 2016. We consider changes in the in-situ ozonesonde observations of the stratosphere from four sites in the northern hemisphere (Ny-Ålesund, Sodankylä, Lerwick, and Boulder). These data are supported by Aura/MLS satellite observations of the ozone volumetric mixing ratio above each site, and also ground-based total-column O3 and NO2, and mesospheric wind measurements, measured at the Sodankylä site. Due to the long-time periods under consideration (weeks/months) we evaluate the observations explicitly in relation to the annual mean of each data set. Following the onset of SSWs we observe an increase in temperature above the mean (for sites usually within the polar vortex) that persists for >∼40 days. During this time the stratospheric and mesospheric ozone (volume mixing ratio and partial pressure) increases by ∼20% as observed by both ozonesonde and satellite instrumentation. Ground-based observations from Sodankylä demonstrate the total column NO2 does not change significantly during SSWs, remaining close to the annual mean. The zonal wind direction in the mesosphere at Sodankylä shows a clear reversal close to SSW onset. Our results have broad implications for understanding the statistical variability of atmospheric changes occurring due to SSWs and provides quantification of such changes for comparison with modelling studies

Highly-parallelized simulation of a pixelated LArTPC on a GPU

The rapid development of general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is allowing the implementation of highly-parallelized Monte Carlo simulation chains for particle physics experiments. This technique is particularly suitable for the simulation of a pixelated charge readout for time projection chambers, given the large number of channels that this technology employs. Here we present the first implementation of a full microphysical simulator of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) equipped with light readout and pixelated charge readout, developed for the DUNE Near Detector. The software is implemented with an end-to-end set of GPU-optimized algorithms. The algorithms have been written in Python and translated into CUDA kernels using Numba, a just-in-time compiler for a subset of Python and NumPy instructions. The GPU implementation achieves a speed up of four orders of magnitude compared with the equivalent CPU version. The simulation of the current induced on 10^3 pixels takes around 1 ms on the GPU, compared with approximately 10 s on the CPU. The results of the simulation are compared against data from a pixel-readout LArTPC prototype

A História da Alimentação: balizas historiográficas

Os M. pretenderam traçar um quadro da História da Alimentação, não como um novo ramo epistemológico da disciplina, mas como um campo em desenvolvimento de práticas e atividades especializadas, incluindo pesquisa, formação, publicações, associações, encontros acadêmicos, etc. Um breve relato das condições em que tal campo se assentou faz-se preceder de um panorama dos estudos de alimentação e temas correia tos, em geral, segundo cinco abardagens Ia biológica, a econômica, a social, a cultural e a filosófica!, assim como da identificação das contribuições mais relevantes da Antropologia, Arqueologia, Sociologia e Geografia. A fim de comentar a multiforme e volumosa bibliografia histórica, foi ela organizada segundo critérios morfológicos. A seguir, alguns tópicos importantes mereceram tratamento à parte: a fome, o alimento e o domínio religioso, as descobertas européias e a difusão mundial de alimentos, gosto e gastronomia. O artigo se encerra com um rápido balanço crítico da historiografia brasileira sobre o tema

The DUNE far detector vertical drift technology. Technical design report

DUNE is an international experiment dedicated to addressing some of the questions at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics, including the mystifying preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early universe. The dual-site experiment will employ an intense neutrino beam focused on a near and a far detector as it aims to determine the neutrino mass hierarchy and to make high-precision measurements of the PMNS matrix parameters, including the CP-violating phase. It will also stand ready to observe supernova neutrino bursts, and seeks to observe nucleon decay as a signature of a grand unified theory underlying the standard model. The DUNE far detector implements liquid argon time-projection chamber (LArTPC) technology, and combines the many tens-of-kiloton fiducial mass necessary for rare event searches with the sub-centimeter spatial resolution required to image those events with high precision. The addition of a photon detection system enhances physics capabilities for all DUNE physics drivers and opens prospects for further physics explorations. Given its size, the far detector will be implemented as a set of modules, with LArTPC designs that differ from one another as newer technologies arise. In the vertical drift LArTPC design, a horizontal cathode bisects the detector, creating two stacked drift volumes in which ionization charges drift towards anodes at either the top or bottom. The anodes are composed of perforated PCB layers with conductive strips, enabling reconstruction in 3D. Light-trap-style photon detection modules are placed both on the cryostat's side walls and on the central cathode where they are optically powered. This Technical Design Report describes in detail the technical implementations of each subsystem of this LArTPC that, together with the other far detector modules and the near detector, will enable DUNE to achieve its physics goals

The terrestrial ecology of the natterjack, Bufo calamita(Laurenti), and the common toad, Bufo bufo (Linnaeus)

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DX176328 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

The hydration and alteration of perlite and rhyolite

The volatile concentrations and thermal characteristics of hydrothermally-altered rhyolitic deposits erupted under Icelandic glaciers have been studied by combined differential scanning calorimetry-thermogravimetric analysis-mass spectrometry (DSC-TGA-MS) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Samples range from pristine obsidians through to strongly-perlitised and altered fragmental deposits. Four types of samples are determined to have notable differences in total volatile concentrations. These are: obsidians (0.44-3.04 wt. %); perlites (2.15-8.15 wt. %); obsidian-breccias (8.49-9.41 wt. %), and hyaloclastites (3.23-7.78 wt. %). DSC-TGA-MS and textural data indicate that the volatile concentration of the perlitic samples increases as the amount of perlitisation increases. XRD data show that the volatile-rich samples are rich in the low-temperature zeolite minerals heulandite and mordenite. The temperature at which volatile exsolution occurs is shown to decrease as the volatile concentration increases reflecting the speciation of water as well as zeolite mineral growth

Trematode (Digenea: Bucephalidae) infection in the burrowing clam Tridacna crocea from the Great Barrier Reef

Larval trematode (Family Bucephalidae) infection of Tridacna crocea (Lamarck 1819) was investigated to determine pathological effects on the host. Of 108 T. crocea gonads examined, 13 (12%) were found to be parasitised. The bucephalid caused castration in heavily infected clams, gonadal tissue being completely replaced by sporocysts. The parasite was also found in the kidney, digestive gland and ctenidia. This is the first record of a bucephalid trematode in a member of the Tridacnidae. The parasite is of potential importance to tridacnid shellfisheries currently being developed