Comparison of site effect values obtained by HVSR and HVSRN methods for single-station measurements in Tarnówek, South-Western Poland

This study compares the HVSR technique (Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio), based on seismic event records, and the HVSRN technique (Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio of Noise) using seismic noise registrations. Both methods allow us to study the amplification phenomenon of a horizontal component of seismic waves when the waves reach loose sediments in subsurface layers. The seismic data were measured at a three-component single seismic station located in the village of Tarnowek, in the Legnica-Glogow Copper District. The results of the study demonstrate that average HVSRN and HVSR maxima can be distinguished: for periods approximately 3.78 s (H/V = 6.2) and 3.969 s (H/V = 8.98) respectively. The evaluated share of the Rayleigh wave component in the recorded values was beta = 0.58 and it can be suggested that the Love wave share in surface motion was insignificant. The Love wave share remains unknown

Enhanced Magneto-Optical Edge Excitation in Nanoscale Magnetic Disks

We report unexpected enhancements of the magneto-optical effect in ferromagnetic Permalloy disks of diameter D < 400 nm. The effect becomes increasingly pronounced for smaller D, reaching more than a 100% enhancement for D ¼ 100 nm samples. By means of experiments and simulations, the origin of this effect is identified as a nanoscale ring-shaped region at the disk edges, in which the magneto-optically induced electric polarization is enhanced. This leads to a modification of the electromagnetic near fields and causes the enhanced magneto-optical excitation, independent from any optical resonance.We acknowledge funding from the Basque Government (Program No. PI2012-47) and the Spanish Government (Project No.MAT2012-36844).Work at the Universidad de Cantabria has been supported by MICINN under Project No. FIS2013-45854-P

Neuropeptides in the rat claustrum - An immunohistochemical detection

Neuropeptides are involved in numerous brain activities and are responsible for a wide spectrum of higher mental functions. The main purpose of this outline structural qualitative study was to identify the possible immunoreactivity of classical neuropeptides, as well as novel ones such as nesfatin-1, phoenixin (PNX), spexin (SPX), neuromedin U (NMU) and respective receptors within the rat claustrum for the first time. The study shows the novel identification of peptidergic neurotransmission in the rat claustrum which potentially implicates a contribution of this neuropeptide to numerous central neurosecretory mechanisms

Observation of the out-of-plane magnetization in a mesoscopic ferromagnetic structure superjacent to a superconductor

The geometry of magnetic flux penetration in a high temperature superconductor at a buried interface was imaged using element-specific x-ray excited luminescence. We performed low temperature observation of the flux penetration in YBa2Cu3O7–δ (YBCO) at a buried interface by imaging of the perpendicular magnetization component in square Permalloy (Py) mesostructures patterned superjacent to a YBCO film. Element specific imaging below the critical temperature of YBCO reveals a cross-like geometry of the perpendicular magnetization component which is decorated by regions of alternating out-of-plane magnetization at the edges of the patterned Py structures. The cross structure can be attributed to the geometry of flux penetration originating from the superconductor and is reproduced using micromagnetic simulations. Our experimental method opens up possibilities for the investigation of flux penetration in superconductors at the nanoscale

Spexin and nesfatin-1-expressing neurons in the male human claustrum

Neuropeptides are involved in numerous brain activities being responsible for a wide spectrum of higher mental functions. The purpose of this concise, structural and qualitative investigation was to map the possible immunoreactivity of the novel regulatory peptides: spexin (SPX) and nesfatin-1 within the human claustrum. SPX is a newly identified peptide, a natural ligand for the galanin receptors (GALR) 2/3, with no molecular structure similarities to currently known regulatory factors. SPX seems to have multiple physiological functions, with an involvement in reproduction and food-intake regulation recently revealed in animal studies. Nesfatin-1, a second pleiotropic neuropeptide, which is a derivative of the nucleobindin-2 (NUCB-2) protein, is characterized by a wide distribution in the brain. Nesfatin-1 is a substance with a strong anorexigenic effect, playing an important role in the neuronal circuits of the hypothalamus that regulate food intake and energy homeostasis. On the other hand, nesfatin-1 may be involved in several important brain functions such as sleep, reproductive behaviour, cognitive processes, stress responses and anxiety. For the first time we detected and described a population of nesfatin-1 and SPX expressing neurons in the human claustrum using immunohistochemical and fluorescent methods. The study presents the novel identification of SPX and nesfatin-1 immunopositive neurons in the human claustrum and their assemblies show similar patterns of distribution in the whole structure

Predicting tree pollen season start dates using thermal conditions

Thermal conditions at the beginning of the year determine the timing of pollen seasons of early flowering trees. The aims of this study were to quantify the relationship between the tree pollen season start dates and the thermal conditions just before the beginning of the season and to construct models predicting the start of the pollen season in a given year. The study was performed in Krakow (Southern Poland); the pollen data of Alnus, Corylus and Betula were obtained in 1991–2012 using a volumetric method. The relationship between the tree pollen season start, calculated by the cumulated pollen grain sum method, and a 5-day running means of maximum (for Alnus and Corylus) and mean (for Betula) daily temperature was found and used in the logistic regression models. The estimation of model parameters indicated their statistically significance for all studied taxa; the odds ratio was higher in models for Betula, comparing to Alnus and Corylus. The proposed model makes the accuracy of prediction in 83.58 % of cases for Alnus, in 84.29 % of cases for Corylus and in 90.41 % of cases for Betula. In years of model verification (2011 and 2012), the season start of Alnus and Corylus was predicted more precisely in 2011, while in case of Betula, the model predictions achieved 100 % of accuracy in both years. The correctness of prediction indicated that the data used for the model arrangement fitted the models well and stressed the high efficacy of model prediction estimated using the pollen data in 1991–2010