Resonator-based detection in nanorods

In this paper the axial vibrational behaviour of nanorods with an attached point-mass is studied, using the modified strain energy theory. The natural frequencies of the nanorod with the concentrated mass are obtained for different boundary conditions. The effects of the concentrated mass intensity, mass location, as well as the value of scale parameters have been analysed. For the case of small intensity of the concentrated mass, the natural frequencies of the nanorod can be estimated using a first order perturbative solution. These approximate results are compared with those corresponding to the exact solution. For this case, from the properties of the eigenvalue perturbative theory, the identification of single point mass in uniform nanorods (mass intensity and position) is addressed. The results obtained encourage the use of axial vibrations of nanorods as a very precise sensing technique

The effect of the crisis on material deprivation in Italy and Spain

The focus of this paper is on the analysis of the impact of the crisis on material deprivation in two South European countries: Italy and Spain. The countries chosen have been deeply hit by the economic downturn and the use of the available comparable microdata allows us to detect the most vulnerable collective in the crisis taking into account also gender differences. The microdata used are the Italian and Spanish Income and Living Conditions Surveys of 2007 and 2010. Our results confirm the growth of deprivation as a consequence of the economic crisis in both countries and show that women are more likely to face income poverty and deprivation

Measuring the impact of the crisis on unemployment and household income

The current economic crisis has significantly increased unemployment rates and its effect is more persistent than expected, leading to an increase in long term unemployment and inactivity. Among other effects, the experience of unemployment results in a decrease in purchasing power, a loss of human capital, a discouraging effect among the long-term unemployed and the inactive as well as wide-ranging social costs as a worsening of inequality and well-being indicators. The assessment of the costs of unemployment on individuals and households' living conditions is usually carried out using microeconomic data from household surveys that are however issued with delay. Hence, they do not allow for a prompt analysis of the impact of the economic cycle to guide policy makers. In the case of the European Income and Living Conditions Surveys (EU SILC) the data are available with a delay of at least one year and, additionally, we have to consider that the income data refers to the year before the survey (for instance, in the Italian case the last available microdata at the moment of writing this paper are from 2011). To solve this problem we carried out a microsimulation analysis using the European Statistics on Income and Living Conditions Surveys together with the Labour Force Survey (LFS) microdata. Therefore, we propose a methodology based on different sources of microdata that could provide the analysts and the policy makers with a more immediate analysis of the costs of unemployment. This would prove to be extremely useful in a time of high unemployment and budgetary restrictions as the one in which we find ourselves in today. The microsimulation technique developed in this paper is based on the imputation of transition probabilities and simulated income. Unlike other techniques such as the re- weighting approach, the microsimulation technique adopted here allows us to take into account the changes occurred in the composition of the unemployed. To test the validity of the proposed methodology we apply it to Italy, a European country severely hit by the crisis. We focus on the Italian economy since this country is a member of the Eurozone and its labour market has particular structural characteristics: a high degree of inflexibility in wage determination, rigidity in hiring and firing practices, very low achievement in terms of female labour-force participation and a strong duality between fixed-term and open-ended contracts. The country has an employment protection system corresponding to the Mediterranean model that is characterized by a rather low coverage of unemployment benefit moreover, the wide use of temporary contracts in hiring young workers to avoid the much higher dismissal costs of permanent contracts coupled with the deep recession, have resulted in a youth unemployment rate standing well over the European average. In Section 2 we introduce the methodology that will be used to microsimulate the effect of the crisis on income distribution and income poverty in Section 3 by relying on European surveys. In order to check its validity, we do progress with its application to Italy in Section 4. The final section will offer conclusions

RAPD and freezing resistance in Eucalyptus globulus

Eucalyptus globulus is the second most important forest species in Chile, after Pinus radiata . The main advantages of E. globulus are its fast growth (25 m3/ha/year) and its excellent wood quality for kraft pulp production. On the negative side, its low freezing tolerance has been an obstacle for the expansion of plantations, specifically on the foothills of the Andes. The difference in the freezing resistance between clones of E. globulus has a genetic base and, therefore, it could be detected through DNA molecular markers. Fifteen clones of E. globulus, eight classified as freezing resistant and seven as freezing sensitive were analyzed using the technique of RAPD, in order to obtain molecular markers that could differentiate between freezing sensitive and resistant clones. Eighteen primers amplified reproducible bands. Three bands were only present in freezing resistant clones, two bands of 768 bp, 602 bp obtained with UBC 218 primer and one band of 248 bp obtained with UBC 237 primer. The preliminary results indicate that polymorphism can be observed with the primers employed, but it is not possible to associate the bands with the cold resistance or susceptibility in E. globulus

RAPD and freezing resistance in Eucalyptus globulus

Eucalyptus globulus is the second most important forest species in Chile , after Pinus radiata. The main advantages of E. globulus are its fast growth (25 m3/ha/year) and its excellent wood quality for kraft pulp production. On the negative side, its low freezing tolerance has been an obstacle for the expansion of plantations, specifically on the foothills of the Andes . The difference in the freezing resistance between clones of E. globulus has a genetic base and, therefore, it could be detected through DNA molecular markers. Fifteen clones of E. globulus, eight classified as freezing resistant and seven as freezing sensitive were analyzed using the technique of RAPD, in order to obtain molecular markers that could differentiate between freezing sensitive and resistant clones. Eighteen primers amplified reproducible bands. Three bands were only present in freezing resistant clones, two bands of 768 bp, 602 bp obtained with UBC 218 primer and one band of 248 bp obtained with UBC 237 primer. The preliminary results indicate that polymorphism can be observed with the primers employed, but it is not possible to associate the bands with the cold resistance or susceptibility in E. globulus

Ovinos alimentados con raciones que incluyen tagasaste (Chamaecytisus proliferus subsp. palmensis) en reemplazo de heno de alfalfa. II. Digestibilidad y consumo de nutrientes

The objective of the experiment was to evaluate digestibility in vivo and nutrient consumption of rations for sheep that include increasing quantities of tagasaste (Chamaecytisus proliferus subsp. palmensis) to replace alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Twenty-four young Suffolk Down rams with a initial live weight of 38 kg were fed with alfalfa pellets and increasing levels of tagasaste soiling. The diets were: 100% alfalfa (T0); 70% alfalfa and 30% tagasaste (T30); 40% alfalfa and 60% tagasaste (T60); and 10% alfalfa and 90% tagasaste (T10). The total intake of digestible dry matter and digestible organic matter were of 1.191; 1.102; 855 and 687 and of 1.108; 1.046; 820 and 670 g animal-1 d-1 for the four treatments, respectively. The coefficients of digestibility (D) of dry matter (59.4 to 61.3%), organic matter (60.9 to 62.3%), and total protein (PT) (72.4 to 73.3%) were similar (P > 0.05) on increasing the proportion of tagasaste; on the other hand, the digestibility (D) of acid detergent fiber (ADF) had a tendency to diminish (P 64 0.05). The increase from 0 to 90% of tagasaste in the ration produced a decrease (P 64 0.05) of PT, ADF and metabolizable energy (ME) intake. The PT intake, in all treatments (188.4 to 368.3 g animal -1 d-1), supplied fattening nutrient requirements. The ME intake in T60 and T90 (3.43 and 2.69 Mcal animal-1 d-1, respectively) was not sufficient to supply nutrient requirements for a quick fattening.El experimento tuvo como objetivo evaluar la digestibilidad in vivo y el consumo de nutrientes en raciones para ovinos, que incluyen cantidades crecientes de tagasaste (Chamaecytisus proliferus subsp. palmensis) en reemplazo de heno de alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). Se utilizaron 24 carnerillos Suffolk Down, con un peso vivo promedio inicial de 38 kg, los que fueron alimentados con pellet de alfalfa y niveles crecientes de soiling de tagasaste. Las raciones fueron: 100% alfalfa (T0); 70% alfalfa y 30% tagasaste (T30); 40% alfalfa y 60% tagasaste (T60); y 10% alfalfa y 90% tagasaste (T90). El consumo total de materia seca digestible y materia org\ue1nica digestible fue de 1,191; 1,102; 855; y 687 y de 1,108; 1,046; 820; y 670 g animal-1 d-1 para los cuatro tratamientos, respectivamente (P 64 0,05). Los coeficientes de digestibilidad (D) de la materia seca (59,4 a 61,3%), materia org\ue1nica (60,9 a 62,3%), y prote\uedna total (PT ) (72,4 a 73,3%) fueron similares (P > 0,05) al aumentar la proporci\uf3n de tagasaste; en cambio, la digestabilidad (D) de la fibra detergente \ue1cido (FDA) tendi\uf3 a disminuir (P 64 0,05). El aumento de 0 a 90% de tagasaste en la raci\uf3n produjo una disminuci\uf3n (P 64 0,05) del consumo de PT, de FDA y de energ\ueda metabolizable (EM). El consumo de PT, en todos los tratamientos (188,4 a 368,3 g animal -1 d-1), cubri\uf3 los requerimientos de engorda. El consumo de EM en T60 y T90 (3,43 y 2,69 Mcal animal -1 d-1, respectivamente) no fue suficiente para satisfacer los requerimientos de engorda r\ue1pida de ovinos

Preservation of underground microbial diversity in ancient subsurface deposits (>6 ma) of the rio tinto basement

The drilling of the Rio Tinto basement has provided evidence of an underground microbial community primarily sustained by the Fe and S metabolism through the biooxidation of pyrite orebodies. Although the gossan is the microbial activity product, which dates back to the Oligocene (25 Ma), no molecular evidence of such activity in the past has been reported yet. A Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) molecular analysis of a subsurface sample in the Pe\uf1a de Hierro basement has provided novel data of the ancient underground microbial community. It shows that the microbial remains are preserved in a mineral matrix composed of laminated Fe-oxysulfates and K-and Na-bearing sulfates alternating with secondary silica. In such a mineral substrate, the biomolecule traces are found in five different microstructure associations, (1) <15 micron-sized nodular microstructures composed of POn(2≤n≤4)−, (2) <30 micron-size mi-cronodules containing fatty acids, acylglycerides, and alkanol chains, (3) <20 micro-sized nodules containing NOn −(2≤n≤3) ions, (4) 40-micron size nodules with NH4+ and traces of peptides, and (5) >200-micron thick layer with N-bearing adducts, and sphingolipid and/or peptide traces. It suggests the mineralization of at least five microbial preserved entities with different metabolic ca-pabilities, including: (1) Acidiphilium/Tessaracoccus-like phosphate mineralizers, (2) microbial patches preserving phosphate-free acylglycerides bacteria, (3) nitrogen oxidizing bacteria (e.g., Acidovorax sp.), (4) traces of heterotrophic ammonifying bacteria, and (5) sphingolipid bearing bacteria (e.g., Sphin-gomonadales, and δ-Proteobacteria) and/or mineralized biofilms. The primary biooxidation process acted as a preservation mechanism to release the inorganic ions that ultimately mineralized the microbial structures

Ovinos alimentados con raciones que incluyen tagasaste (Chamaecytisus proliferus subsp. palmensis) en reemplazo de heno de alfalfa. I. Consumo y variaciones de peso vivo

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate intake and live weight (LW) variations of young rams of one year of age average, fed with tagasaste (Chamaecytisus proliferus subsp. palmensis) and alfalfa. Young Suffolk Down rams with an initial LW of 38 kg were fed with increasing quantities of tagasaste soiling - 0, 30, 60 y 90% - as a replacement for alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), hay which originated four treatments. The total intake of DM was 1,880; 1,745; 1,374; and 1,033 g DM animal-1 d-1 in the four treatments, respectively; the LW gains were lower as tagasaste was incorporated into the rations (354, 270, 120 and 134 g animal-1 d-1 in the whole experimental period). The animals fed with rations that included tagasaste increased its consumption as the experiment advanced, with the consequent increment in the daily LW gains in the treatments with 60 and 90% tagasaste.El experimento tuvo como objetivo evaluar el consumo y variaciones de peso vivo (PV) de carnerillos de un a\uf1o de edad promedio, alimentados con tagasaste (Chamaecytisus proliferus subsp. palmensis) y heno de alfalfa. Se utilizaron carnerillos Suffolk Down, con un PV promedio inicial de 38 kg, los que fueron alimentados con cantidades crecientes de soiling de tagasaste - 0, 30, 60 y 90% - en reemplazo de heno de alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), lo que origin\uf3 cuatro tratamientos. El consumo total de MS fue de 1.880; 1.745; 1.374; y 1.033 g MS animal-1 d-1 en los cuatro tratamientos, respectivamente; las ganancias de PV fueron menores a medida que se incorpor\uf3 tagasaste en las raciones (354; 270; 120; y 134 g animal-1 d-1 en todo el per\uedodo experimental). Los animales alimentados con raciones que incluyeron tagasaste aumentaron el consumo de \ue9ste a medida que avanzaba el experimento, con el consiguiente incremento en las ganancias diarias de PV en los tratamientos con 60 y 90% de tagasaste

Atributos y Antecedentes del Comportamiento de Biserrula pelecinus L. Nueva Leguminosa Forrajera Anual Para Chile Mediterr\ue1neo

In Chile Biserrula pelecinus L. is a new legume forage species for acidi soils, with medium - light texture, in dryland areas of the humid and sub-humid Mediterranean zone. Due to its high rate of hardseedness (99% at the beginning of the second growth season), it is an especially appropriate annual pasture for agricultural systems where the pasture is in rotation with cereals ('ley farming system'). It is an intermediate maturing plant (132 to 136 days to flowering), with a semi-erect growth habit, blue flowers, small seed size (674 to 842 seeds g-1), and has a high index of reproductive force (superior to 1.6). The DM and seed production is comparable, and in some years superior, to that of species traditionally used in these areas, such as subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum L.) and burr medic (Medicago polymorpha L.). However, its productivity in the second year of growth is very low due to the high percentage of hardseedness (99%). Currently, there is cv. Casbah , developed by a team of researchers of the Center for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA), Western Australia. The phenological background and phytomass productive behavior permit its recommendation in areas of the interior and coastal dryland of the 7th and 8th region o Chile.Biserrula pelecinus L. es en Chile una nueva especie leguminosa forrajera para suelos \ue1cidos de texturas liviana a media, en zonas de secano mediterr\ue1neo subh\ufamedo y h\ufamedo. Debido a su alta dureza seminal (99% al inicio de la segunda temporada de crecimiento), es una pradera anual, especialmente apropiada para sistemas agr\uedcolas donde la pradera se encuentra en rotaci\uf3n con cereales ('ley farming system'). Posee una fenolog\ueda intermedia (132 a 136 d\uedas a floraci\uf3n), de h\ue1bito de crecimiento semi-erecto, flores de color azul, destac\ue1ndose por poseer un tama\uf1o de semilla peque\uf1o (674 a 842 semillas g-1), y presenta alto \uedndice de esfuerzo reproductivo (superior a 1,6). La producci\uf3n de materia seca y de semillas es comparable, y en algunos a\uf1os superior, a la de las especies de uso tradicional en estas zonas como tr\ue9bol subterr\ue1neo (Trifolium subterraneum L.) y hualputra (Medicago polymorpha L.). Sin embargo, su aporte en producci\uf3n al segundo a\uf1o es muy bajo debido al alto porcentaje de dureza seminal (99%). Actualmente existe el cv. Casbah, desarrollado por el equipo de investigadores del Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture (CLIMA) del oeste de Australia. Los antecedentes de fenolog\ueda y comportamiento productivo de fitomasa permiten su recomendaci\uf3n en zonas de secano interior y costero de las regiones 7a y 8a de Chile

Single-cell BCR and transcriptome analysis after influenza infection reveals spatiotemporal dynamics of antigen-specific B cells

B cell responses are critical for antiviral immunity. However, a comprehensive picture of antigen-specific B cell differentiation, clonal proliferation, and dynamics in different organs after infection is lacking. Here, by combining single-cell RNA and B cell receptor (BCR) sequencing of antigen-specific cells in lymph nodes, spleen, and lungs after influenza infection in mice, we identify several germinal center (GC) B cell subpopulations and organ-specific differences that persist over the course of the response. We discover transcriptional differences between memory cells in lungs and lymphoid organs and organ-restricted clonal expansion. Remarkably, we find significant clonal overlap between GC-derived memory and plasma cells. By combining BCR-mutational analyses with monoclonal antibody (mAb) expression and affinity measurements, we find that memory B cells are highly diverse and can be selected from both low- and high-affinity precursors. By linking antigen recognition with transcriptional programming, clonal proliferation, and differentiation, these finding provide important advances in our understanding of antiviral immunity