Elastocapillary driven assembly of particles at free-standing smectic-A films

Colloidal particles at complex fluid interfaces and within films assemble to form ordered structures with high degrees of symmetry via interactions that include capillarity, elasticity, and other fields like electrostatic charge. Here we study microparticle interactions within free-standing smectic-A films, in which the elasticity arising from the director field distortion and capillary interactions arising from interface deformation compete to direct the assembly of motile particles. New colloidal assemblies and patterns, ranging from 1D chains to 2D aggregates, sensitive to the initial wetting conditions of particles at the smectic film, are reported. This work paves the way to exploiting LC interfaces as a means to direct spontaneously formed, reconfigurable, and optically active materials.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures. Supplementary Materials: 3 pages, 3 figure

Warm and fertile sub-humid conditions enhance litterfall to sustain high soil respiration fluxes in a mediterranean cork oak forest

Soil respiration is a major component of the global carbon budget and Mediterranean ecosystems have usually been studied in locations with shallow soils, mild temperatures, and a prolonged dry season. This study investigates seasonal soil respiration rates and underlying mechanisms under wetter, warmer, and more fertile conditions in a Mediterranean cork oak forest of Northern Tunisia (Africa), acknowledged as one of the most productive forests in the Mediterranean basin. We applied a soil respiration model based on soil temperature and relative water content and investigated how ecosystem functioning under these favorable conditions affected soil carbon storage through carbon inputs to the soil litter. Annual soil respiration rates varied between 1774 gC m(-2) year(-1) and 2227 gC m(-2) year(-1), which is on the highest range of observations under Mediterranean climate conditions. We attributed this high soil carbon flux as a response to favorable temperatures and soil water content, but this could be sustained only by a small carbon allocation to roots (root/shoot ratio = 0.31-0.41) leading to a large allocation to leaves with a multiannual leaf production, enhanced annual twig elongation (11.5-28.5 cm) with a reduced leaf life span (<1 year) maintaining a low LAI (1.68-1.88) and generating a high litterfall (386-636 gC m(-2) year(-1)). Thus, the favorable climatic and edaphic conditions experienced by these Mediterranean cork oak forests drove high soil respiration fluxes which balanced the high carbon assimilation leading to a relatively small overall contribution (10.96-14.79 kgC m(-2)) to soil carbon storage

Identifying the larva of the fan mussel, Atrina fragilis (Pennant, 1777) (Pinnidae)

This work was funded by the Scottish Government project SP004 and a MSS PhD studentship to DS. Many thanks are due to the Crews of the MV Alba na Mara (MSS), RV Sir John Murray (SEPA) and the MV Lochnevis (Caledonian Macbrayne) for facilitating sample collection, John Dunn for assistance with the manufacture and installation of the ferry sampler, Marian Thomson and other staff at the University of Edinburgh for laboratory assistance, Anastasia Imsiridou, Sofia Galinou-Mitsoudi and Vassilis Katsares of the Greek Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology for supplying reference adult A. fragilis DNA, Pablo Diaz and staff at the University of Aberdeen microscopy department for assistance with SEM analysis, the National Museum of Wales for allowing reproduction of the juvenile A. fragilis image, Keith Hiscock and Eve Southward of Plymouth Marine Laboratory for historical information on the identification of A. fragilis larvae, Colin McAlister and the staff of the Fishery offices in Mallaig and Fraserburgh for assistance in the transport of zooplankton samples and materials, and the British Oceanographic Data Centre for supplying data on the UK Tidal Gauge Network. Comments from Associate Editor Simon Cragg and two anonymous reviewers were greatly appreciated for improving the manuscriptPeer reviewedPostprintPostprintPostprintPostprintPostprintPostprintPostprintPostprintPostprin

Genome Sequence of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia PML168, Which Displays Baeyer-Villiger Monooxygenase Activity

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia PML168 was isolated from Wembury Beach on the English Coast from a rock pool following growth and selection on agar plates. Here we present the permanent draft genome sequence, which has allowed prediction of function for several genes encoding enzymes relevant to industrial biotechnology, including a novel flavoprotein monooxygenase

Genetic dissection of MHC-associated susceptibility to Lepeophtheirus salmonis in Atlantic salmon

Background: Genetic variation has been shown to play a significant role in determining susceptibility to the salmon louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis. However, the mechanisms involved in differential response to infection remain poorly understood. Recent findings in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) have provided evidence for a potential link between marker variation at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and differences in lice abundance among infected siblings, suggesting that MHC genes can modulate susceptibility to the parasite. In this study, we used quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis to test the effect of genomic regions linked to MHC class I and II on linkage groups (LG) 15 and 6, respectively. Results: Significant QTL effects were detected on both LG 6 and LG 15 in sire-based analysis but the QTL regions remained unresolved due to a lack of recombination between markers. In dam-based analysis, a significant QTL was identified on LG 6, which accounted for 12.9% of within-family variance in lice abundance. However, the QTL was located at the opposite end of DAA, with no significant overlap with the MHC class II region. Interestingly, QTL modelling also revealed evidence of sex-linked differences in lice abundance, indicating that males and females may have different susceptibility to infection. Conclusion: Overall, QTL analysis provided relatively weak support for a proximal effect of classical MHC regions on lice abundance, which can partly be explained by linkage to other genes controlling susceptibility to L. salmonis on the same chromosom

Digitally-enhanced lubricant evaluation scheme for hot stamping applications

Digitally-enhanced technologies are set to transform every aspect of manufacturing. Networks of sensors that compute at the edge (streamlining information flow from devices and providing real-time local data analysis), and emerging Cloud Finite Element Analysis technologies yield data at unprecedented scales, both in terms of volume and precision, providing information on complex processes and systems that had previously been impractical. Cloud Finite Element Analysis technologies enable proactive data collection in a supply chain of, for example the metal forming industry, throughout the life cycle of a product or process, which presents revolutionary opportunities for the development and evaluation of digitally-enhanced lubricants, which requires a coherent research agenda involving the merging of tribological knowledge, manufacturing and data science. In the present study, data obtained from a vast number of experimentally verified finite element simulation results is used for a metal forming process to develop a digitally-enhanced lubricant evaluation approach, by precisely representing the tribological boundary conditions at the workpiece/tooling interface, i.e., complex loading conditions of contact pressures, sliding speeds and temperatures. The presented approach combines the implementation of digital characteristics of the target forming process, data-guided lubricant testing and mechanism-based accurate theoretical modelling, enabling the development of data-centric lubricant limit diagrams and intuitive and quantitative evaluation of the lubricant performance