1,012 research outputs found
Metagenomic analysis of nitrogen and methane cycling in the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone
Oxygen minimum zones (OMZ) are areas in the global ocean where oxygen concentrations drop to below one percent. Low oxygen concentrations allow alternative respiration with nitrate and nitrite as electron acceptor to become prevalent in these areas, making them main contributors to oceanic nitrogen loss. The contribution of anammox and denitrification to nitrogen loss seems to vary in different OMZs. In the Arabian Sea, both processes were reported. Here, we performed a metagenomics study of the upper and core zone of the Arabian Sea OMZ, to provide a comprehensive overview of the genetic potential for nitrogen and methane cycling. We propose that aerobic ammonium oxidation is carried out by a diverse community of Thaumarchaeota in the upper zone of the OMZ, whereas a low diversity of Scalindua-like anammox bacteria contribute significantly to nitrogen loss in the core zone. Aerobic nitrite oxidation in the OMZ seems to be performed by Nitrospina spp. and a novel lineage of nitrite oxidizing organisms that is present in roughly equal abundance as Nitrospina. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia (DNRA) can be carried out by yet unknown microorganisms harbouring a divergent nrfA gene. The metagenomes do not provide conclusive evidence for active methane cycling; however, a low abundance of novel alkane monooxygenase diversity was detected. Taken together, our approach confirmed the genomic potential for an active nitrogen cycle in the Arabian Sea and allowed detection of hitherto overlooked lineages of carbon and nitrogen cycle bacteria
Local solid-state modification of nanopore surface charges
The last decade, nanopores have emerged as a new and interesting tool for the
study of biological macromolecules like proteins and DNA. While biological
pores, especially alpha-hemolysin, have been promising for the detection of
DNA, their poor chemical stability limits their use. For this reason,
researchers are trying to mimic their behaviour using more stable, solid-state
nanopores. The most successful tools to fabricate such nanopores use high
energy electron or ions beams to drill or reshape holes in very thin membranes.
While the resolution of these methods can be very good, they require tools that
are not commonly available and tend to damage and charge the nanopore surface.
In this work, we show nanopores that have been fabricated using standard
micromachning techniques together with EBID, and present a simple model that is
used to estimate the surface charge. The results show that EBID with a silicon
oxide precursor can be used to tune the nanopore surface and that the surface
charge is stable over a wide range of concentrations.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure
How Trade and Investment Agreements Affect Bilateral Foreign Direct Investment: Results from a Structural Gravity Model
The paper develops a new stand-alone structural gravity model for explaining bilateral FDI patterns. We employ the model to analyse the impact of preferential trade agreements (PTAs), bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and other policies on bilateral foreign direct investment (FDI). We use the UNCTAD global database on bilateral FDI stocks and flows. To control for the heterogeneous nature of PTAs, we employ two different indicators of PTA depth. We find that on average signing a PTA increases bilateral FDI stocks by around 30%. Nevertheless, we also find that âdeeperâ or comprehensive PTAs (e.g., including provisions on investment, public procurement and intellectual property rights provisions) do not have a significantly different impact than signing regular PTAs. Belonging to the EU single market, on the other hand, has a strong impact and increases bilateral FDI by around 135%, and signing a BIT has an effect that is comparable to signing a PTA
G Electronics and Data Acquisition (Forward-Angle Measurements)
The G parity-violation experiment at Jefferson Lab (Newport News, VA) is
designed to determine the contribution of strange/anti-strange quark pairs to
the intrinsic properties of the proton. In the forward-angle part of the
experiment, the asymmetry in the cross section was measured for
elastic scattering by counting the recoil protons corresponding to the two
beam-helicity states. Due to the high accuracy required on the asymmetry, the
G experiment was based on a custom experimental setup with its own
associated electronics and data acquisition (DAQ) system. Highly specialized
time-encoding electronics provided time-of-flight spectra for each detector for
each helicity state. More conventional electronics was used for monitoring
(mainly FastBus). The time-encoding electronics and the DAQ system have been
designed to handle events at a mean rate of 2 MHz per detector with low
deadtime and to minimize helicity-correlated systematic errors. In this paper,
we outline the general architecture and the main features of the electronics
and the DAQ system dedicated to G forward-angle measurements.Comment: 35 pages. 17 figures. This article is to be submitted to NIM section
A. It has been written with Latex using \documentclass{elsart}. Nuclear
Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators,
Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment In Press (2007
A precise measurement of the deuteron elastic structure function A(Q^2)
The A(Q^2) structure function in elastic electron-deuteron scattering was
measured at six momentum transfers Q^2 between 0.66 and 1.80 (GeV/c)^2 in Hall
C at Jefferson Laboratory. The scattered electrons and recoil deuterons were
detected in coincidence, at a fixed deuteron angle of 60.5 degrees. These new
precise measurements resolve discrepancies between older sets of data. They put
significant constraints on existing models of the deuteron electromagnetic
structure, and on the strength of isoscalar meson exchange currents.Comment: 3 LaTeX pages plus 2 PS figure
Total Reaction Cross Section in an Isospin-Dependent Quantum Molecular Dynamics (IDQMD) Model
The isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics (IDQMD) model is used to
study the total reaction cross section . The energy-dependent Pauli
volumes of neutrons and protons have been discussed and introduced into the
IDQMD calculation to replace the widely used energy-independent Pauli volumes.
The modified IDQMD calculation can reproduce the experimental well
for both stable and exotic nuclei induced reactions. Comparisons of the
calculated induced by with different initial density
distributions have been performed. It is shown that the calculation by using
the experimentally deduced density distribution with a long tail can fit the
experimental excitation function better than that by using the
Skyrme-Hartree-Fock calculated density without long tails. It is also found
that at high energy is sensitive to the long tail of density
distribution.Comment: 4 page, 4 fig
Measurement of Tensor Polarization in Elastic Electron-Deuteron Scattering at Large Momentum Transfer
Tensor polarization observables (t20, t21 and t22) have been measured in
elastic electron-deuteron scattering for six values of momentum transfer
between 0.66 and 1.7 (GeV/c)^2. The experiment was performed at the Jefferson
Laboratory in Hall C using the electron HMS Spectrometer, a specially designed
deuteron magnetic channel and the recoil deuteron polarimeter POLDER. The new
data determine to much larger Q^2 the deuteron charge form factors G_C and G_Q.
They are in good agreement with relativistic calculations and disagree with
pQCD predictions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, for associated informations, see
http://isnwww.in2p3.fr/hadrons/t20/t20_ang.html clarification about several
topics, one figure has been had, extraction of form factors use AQ
interpolation in our Q2 range onl
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