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Provision of ecosystem services by hedges in urban domestic gardens: focus on rainfall mitigation
In the UK urban context, domestic gardens are an important resource, taking up to 25% of an urban area, with hedges being their popular and widespread features. Garden hedges are able to provide a number of ecosystem services, including mitigation of rainfall, trapping of particulate pollution, local temperature regulation etc. Using hedges as a model, we argue that differences in plantsâ capacity to provide environmental benefits should be taken into account, in addition to their suitability for particular conditions, ornamental appeal and cost, when choosing plants for green spaces. The overarching aim of our project is to quantify the simultaneous provision of multiple services by several widely used hedge species and cultivars. In this paper, we are focusing on the provision of rainfall capture by the hedges. The following species and cultivars, differing in the leaf and canopy structure and size, and in some physiological parameters, were chosen for the study: Photinia x fraseri 'Red Robin', Thuja plicata âAtrovirensâ, Taxus baccata, Ligustrum ovalifolium âAureumâ and âArgenteumâ and Cotoneaster franchetii. The experiments were conducted June-July 2015 in glasshouses at the University of Reading, UK. We measured the water use of different species/cultivars (6 plant âtreatmentsâ and bare substrate as a control, in 10 L containers, with 6-8 replicates each) and their ability to hold water within the canopy. Plantsâ leaf and root biomass and leaf area (LA) were also measured. Species/cultivars differed in the capacity of canopies to retain water after a simulated rainfall event. Ligustrum âAureumâ held significantly more water within the canopy than other species/cultivars, despite not having the largest LA. Furthermore, when differences in LA were taken into the account, Cotoneaster, Thuja, Taxus and Ligustrum âArgenteumâ lost most water per unit leaf area suggesting that they have the greatest potential to restore soilâs capacity to receive subsequent rainfall. Our initial findings confirm the hypothesis that differences in plant structure and function lead to different capacities for rainfall capture. This could inform our planting choices and help to manage/reduce problems associated with excess rainfall
Atmospheric water balance
Submitted to Office of Water Resources Research, U.S. Department of Interior.Includes bibliographical references.OWRR project no. B-035-COLO
THEORY OF PHASE-LOCKING IN SMALL JOSEPHSON JUNCTION CELLS
Within the RSJ model, we performed a theoretical analysis of phase-locking in
elementary strongly coupled Josephson junction cells. For this purpose, we
developed a systematic method allowing the investigation of phase-locking in
cells with small but non-vanishing loop inductance.The voltages across the
junctions are found to be locked with very small phase difference for almost
all values of external flux. However, the general behavior of phase-locking is
found to be just contrary to that according to weak coupling. In case of strong
coupling there is nearly no influence of external magnetic flux on the phases,
but the locking-frequency becomes flux-dependent. The influence of parameter
splitting is considered as well as the effect of small capacitive shunting of
the junctions. Strongly coupled cells show synchronization even for large
parameter splitting. Finally, a study of the behavior under external microwave
radiation shows that the frequency locking-range becomes strongly
flux-dependent, whereas the locking frequency itself turns out to be
flux-independent.Comment: 26 pages, REVTEX, 9 PS figures appended in uuencoded form at the end,
submitted to Phys. Rev. B
Efficacies of liposome-encapsulated streptomycin and ciprofloxacin against Mycobacterium avium-M. intracellulare complex infections in human peripheral blood monocyte/macrophages
Current treatments of disseminated infection caused by the Mycobacterium avium-M. intracellulare complex (MAC) are generally ineffective. Liposome- mediated delivery of antibiotics to MAC-infected tissues in vivo can enhance the efficacy of the drugs (N. Duzgunes, V. K. Perumal, L. Kesavalu, J. A. Goldstein, R. J. Debs, and P. R. J. Gangadharam, Antimicrob. Agents Chemother. 32:1404-1411, 1988; N. Duzgunes, D. A. Ashtekar, D. L. Flasher, N. Ghori, R. J. Debs, D. S. Friend, and P. R. J. Gangadharam, J. Infect. Dis. 164:143-151, 1991). We investigated the therapeutic efficacies of liposome- encapsulated streptomycin and ciprofloxacin against growth of the MAC inside human peripheral blood monocyte/macrophages. Treatment was initiated 24 h after infection of macrophages with the MAC and stopped after 20 h, and the cells were incubated for another 7 days. The antimycobacterial activity of streptomycin was enhanced when the drug was delivered to macrophages in liposome-encapsulated form, reducing the CFU about threefold more than the free drug did throughout the concentration range studied (10 to 50 ÎŒg/ml). With 50 ÎŒg of encapsulated streptomycin per ml, the CFU were reduced to 11% of the initial level of infection. Liposome-encapsulated ciprofloxacin was at least 50 times more effective against the intracellular bacteria than was the free drug: at a concentration of 0.1 ÎŒg/ml, liposome-encapsulated ciprofloxacin had greater antimycobacterial activity than the free drug at 5 ÎŒg/ml. With liposome-encapsulated ciprofloxacin at 5 ÎŒg/ml, the CFU were reduced by more than 1,000-fold at the end of the 7-day incubation period, compared with untreated controls. These results suggest that liposome- encapsulated ciprofloxacin or other fluoroquinolones may be effective against MAC infections in vivo
Soil respiration in a northeastern US temperate forest: a 22âyear synthesis
To better understand how forest management, phenology, vegetation type, and actual and simulated climatic change affect seasonal and interâannual variations in soil respiration (Rs), we analyzed more than 100,000 individual measurements of soil respiration from 23 studies conducted over 22 years at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, USA. We also used 24 siteâyears of eddyâcovariance measurements from two Harvard Forest sites to examine the relationship between soil and ecosystem respiration (Re).
Rs was highly variable at all spatial (respiration collar to forest stand) and temporal (minutes to years) scales of measurement. The response of Rs to experimental manipulations mimicking aspects of global change or aimed at partitioning Rs into component fluxes ranged from â70% to +52%. The response appears to arise from variations in substrate availability induced by changes in the size of soil C pools and of belowground C fluxes or in environmental conditions. In some cases (e.g., logging, warming), the effect of experimental manipulations on Rs was transient, but in other cases the time series were not long enough to rule out longâterm changes in respiration rates. Interâannual variations in weather and phenology induced variation among annual Rs estimates of a magnitude similar to that of other drivers of global change (i.e., invasive insects, forest management practices, N deposition). At both eddyâcovariance sites, aboveground respiration dominated Re early in the growing season, whereas belowground respiration dominated later. Unusual aboveground respiration patternsâhigh apparent rates of respiration during winter and very low rates in midâtoâlate summerâat the Environmental Measurement Site suggest either bias in Rs and Re estimates caused by differences in the spatial scale of processes influencing fluxes, or that additional research on the hardâtoâmeasure fluxes (e.g., wintertime Rs, unaccounted losses of CO2 from eddy covariance sites), daytime and nighttime canopy respiration and its impacts on estimates of Re, and independent measurements of flux partitioning (e.g., aboveground plant respiration, isotopic partitioning) may yield insight into the unusually high and low fluxes. Overall, however, this dataârich analysis identifies important seasonal and experimental variations in Rs and Re and in the partitioning of Re aboveâ vs. belowground
Soil respiration in a northeastern US temperate forest: a 22âyear synthesis
To better understand how forest management, phenology, vegetation type, and actual and simulated climatic change affect seasonal and interâannual variations in soil respiration (Rs), we analyzed more than 100,000 individual measurements of soil respiration from 23 studies conducted over 22 years at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts, USA. We also used 24 siteâyears of eddyâcovariance measurements from two Harvard Forest sites to examine the relationship between soil and ecosystem respiration (Re).
Rs was highly variable at all spatial (respiration collar to forest stand) and temporal (minutes to years) scales of measurement. The response of Rs to experimental manipulations mimicking aspects of global change or aimed at partitioning Rs into component fluxes ranged from â70% to +52%. The response appears to arise from variations in substrate availability induced by changes in the size of soil C pools and of belowground C fluxes or in environmental conditions. In some cases (e.g., logging, warming), the effect of experimental manipulations on Rs was transient, but in other cases the time series were not long enough to rule out longâterm changes in respiration rates. Interâannual variations in weather and phenology induced variation among annual Rs estimates of a magnitude similar to that of other drivers of global change (i.e., invasive insects, forest management practices, N deposition). At both eddyâcovariance sites, aboveground respiration dominated Re early in the growing season, whereas belowground respiration dominated later. Unusual aboveground respiration patternsâhigh apparent rates of respiration during winter and very low rates in midâtoâlate summerâat the Environmental Measurement Site suggest either bias in Rs and Re estimates caused by differences in the spatial scale of processes influencing fluxes, or that additional research on the hardâtoâmeasure fluxes (e.g., wintertime Rs, unaccounted losses of CO2 from eddy covariance sites), daytime and nighttime canopy respiration and its impacts on estimates of Re, and independent measurements of flux partitioning (e.g., aboveground plant respiration, isotopic partitioning) may yield insight into the unusually high and low fluxes. Overall, however, this dataârich analysis identifies important seasonal and experimental variations in Rs and Re and in the partitioning of Re aboveâ vs. belowground
Resonant-Cavity-Induced Phase Locking and Voltage Steps in a Josephson Array
We describe a simple dynamical model for an underdamped Josephson junction
array coupled to a resonant cavity. From numerical solutions of the model in
one dimension, we find that (i) current-voltage characteristics of the array
have self-induced resonant steps (SIRS), (ii) at fixed disorder and coupling
strength, the array locks into a coherent, periodic state above a critical
number of active Josephson junctions, and (iii) when active junctions are
synchronized on an SIRS, the energy emitted into the resonant cavity is
quadratic with . All three features are in agreement with a recent
experiment [Barbara {\it et al}, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 82}, 1963 (1999)]}.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures included. Submitted to PRB Rapid Com
OPTN/SRTR 2018 Annual Data Report: Heart
The new adult heart allocation policy was approved in 2016 and implemented in October 2018, so its effect was not yet evident in 2018 data. However, the more granular data being collected are anticipated to allow for improved analyses. In 2018, new listings continued to increase; 3883 new adult and 685 new pediatric candidates were added. In 2018, 3440 heart transplants were performed, an increase of 167 over 2017; 473 transplants occurred in pediatric recipients and 2967 in adult recipients. Shortâterm and longâterm posttransplant mortality improved. Overall 1âyear survival for adults who underwent heart transplant in 2011â2013 was 90.3%, 3âyear survival was 84.7%, and 5âyear survival was 79.6%. Mortality rates for pediatric recipients were 4.5% at 6 months and in 5.9% at 1 year posttransplant, 12.5% at 3 years for transplants in 2014â2015, 14.8% at 5 years for transplants in 2012â2013, and 29.8% at 10 years for transplants performed in 2008â2009.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/153233/1/ajt15676.pd
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