797 research outputs found
Peatland hydrology and carbon release: why small-scale process matters
Peatlands cover over 400 million hectares of the Earth's surface and store between one-third and one-half of the world's soil carbon pool. The long-term ability of peatlands to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere means that they play a major role in moderating global climate. Peatlands can also either attenuate or accentuate flooding. Changing climate or management can alter peatland hydrological processes and pathways for water movement across and below the peat surface. It is the movement of water in peats that drives carbon storage and flux. These small-scale processes can have global impacts through exacerbated terrestrial carbon release. This paper will describe advances in understanding environmental processes operating in peatlands. Recent (and future) advances in high-resolution topographic data collection and hydrological modelling provide an insight into the spatial impacts of land management and climate change in peatlands. Nevertheless, there are still some major challenges for future research. These include the problem that impacts of disturbance in peat can be irreversible, at least on human time-scales. This has implications for the perceived success and understanding of peatland restoration strategies. In some circumstances, peatland restoration may lead to exacerbated carbon loss. This will also be important if we decide to start to create peatlands in order to counter the threat from enhanced atmospheric carbon
Grid-based simulation of soil moisture in the UK: future changes in extremes and wetting and drying dates
Soil moisture, typically defined as the amount of water in the unsaturated soil layer, is a central component of the hydrological cycle. The potential impacts of climate change on soil moisture have been less specifically studied than those on river flows, despite soil moisture deficits/excesses being a factor in a range of natural hazards, as well as having obvious importance for agriculture. Here, 1 km grids of monthly mean soil moisture content are simulated using a national-scale grid-based hydrological model, more typically applied to look at changes in river flows across Britain. A comparison of the soil moisture estimates from an observation-based simulation, with soil moisture deficit data from an operational system developed by the UK Met Office (Meteorological Office Rainfall and Evaporation Calculation System; MORECS), shows relatively good correspondence in soil drying and wetting dates, and in the month when soils are driest. The UK Climate Projections 2018 Regional projections are then used to drive the hydrological model, to investigate changes in occurrence of indicative soil moisture extremes and changes in typical wetting and drying dates of soils across the country. Analyses comparing baseline (December 1981âNovember 2011) and future (December 2050âNovember 2080) time-slices suggest large increases in the spatial occurrence of low soil moisture levels, along with later soil wetting dates, although changes to soil drying dates are less clear. Such information on potential future changes in soil moisture is important to enable the development of appropriate adaptation strategies for a range of sectors vulnerable to soil moisture levels
Approximate Particle Number Projection for Rotating Nuclei
Pairing correlations in rotating nuclei are discussed within the
Lipkin-Nogami method. The accuracy of the method is tested for the
Krumlinde-Szyma\'nski R(5) model. The results of calculations are compared with
those obtained from the standard mean field theory and particle-number
projection method, and with exact solutions.Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures available on request, REVTEX3.
Linking working memory and long-term memory: A computational model of the learning of new words
The nonword repetition (NWR) test has been shown to be a good predictor of childrenâs vocabulary size. NWR performance has been explained using phonological working memory, which is seen as a critical component in the learning of new words. However, no detailed specification of the link between phonological working memory and long-term memory (LTM) has been proposed. In this paper, we present a computational model of childrenâs vocabulary acquisition (EPAM-VOC) that specifies how phonological working memory and LTM interact. The model learns phoneme sequences, which are stored in LTM and mediate how much information can be held in working memory. The modelâs behaviour is compared with that of children in a new study of NWR, conducted in order to ensure the same nonword stimuli and methodology across ages. EPAM-VOC shows a pattern of results similar to that of children: performance is better for shorter nonwords and for wordlike nonwords, and performance improves with age. EPAM-VOC also simulates the superior performance for single consonant nonwords over clustered consonant nonwords found in previous NWR studies. EPAM-VOC provides a simple and elegant computational account of some of the key processes involved in the learning of new words: it specifies how phonological working memory and LTM interact; makes testable predictions; and suggests that developmental changes in NWR performance may reflect differences in the amount of information that has been encoded in LTM rather than developmental changes in working memory capacity.
Keywords: EPAM, working memory, long-term memory, nonword repetition, vocabulary acquisition, developmental change
An Invitation to Higher Gauge Theory
In this easy introduction to higher gauge theory, we describe parallel
transport for particles and strings in terms of 2-connections on 2-bundles.
Just as ordinary gauge theory involves a gauge group, this generalization
involves a gauge '2-group'. We focus on 6 examples. First, every abelian Lie
group gives a Lie 2-group; the case of U(1) yields the theory of U(1) gerbes,
which play an important role in string theory and multisymplectic geometry.
Second, every group representation gives a Lie 2-group; the representation of
the Lorentz group on 4d Minkowski spacetime gives the Poincar\'e 2-group, which
leads to a spin foam model for Minkowski spacetime. Third, taking the adjoint
representation of any Lie group on its own Lie algebra gives a 'tangent
2-group', which serves as a gauge 2-group in 4d BF theory, which has
topological gravity as a special case. Fourth, every Lie group has an 'inner
automorphism 2-group', which serves as the gauge group in 4d BF theory with
cosmological constant term. Fifth, every Lie group has an 'automorphism
2-group', which plays an important role in the theory of nonabelian gerbes. And
sixth, every compact simple Lie group gives a 'string 2-group'. We also touch
upon higher structures such as the 'gravity 3-group' and the Lie 3-superalgebra
that governs 11-dimensional supergravity.Comment: 60 pages, based on lectures at the 2nd School and Workshop on Quantum
Gravity and Quantum Geometry at the 2009 Corfu Summer Institut
Callophycoic acids and callophycols from the Fijian red alga Callophycus serratus
Callophycoic acids AâH (1â8) and callophycols A and B (9 and 10) were isolated from extracts of the Fijian red alga Callophycus serratus, and identified by NMR, X-ray, and mass spectral analyses. These natural products represent four novel carbon skeletons, providing the first examples of diterpeneâbenzoic acids and diterpeneâphenols in macroalgae. Compounds 1â10 exhibited antibacterial, antimalarial, and anticancer activity, although they are less bioactive than diterpene-benzoate macrolides previously isolated from this red alga
Schistosoma mansoni: inflammatory foci around larvae in the peritoneal cavity of naive mice is radiosensitive
Nuclear Alpha-Particle Condensates
The -particle condensate in nuclei is a novel state described by a
product state of 's, all with their c.o.m. in the lowest 0S orbit. We
demonstrate that a typical -particle condensate is the Hoyle state
( MeV, state in C), which plays a crucial role for
the synthesis of C in the universe. The influence of antisymmentrization
in the Hoyle state on the bosonic character of the particle is
discussed in detail. It is shown to be weak. The bosonic aspects in the Hoyle
state, therefore, are predominant. It is conjectured that -particle
condensate states also exist in heavier nuclei, like O,
Ne, etc. For instance the state of O at MeV
is identified from a theoretical analysis as being a strong candidate of a
condensate. The calculated small width (34 keV) of ,
consistent with data, lends credit to the existence of heavier Hoyle-analogue
states. In non-self-conjugated nuclei such as B and C, we discuss
candidates for the product states of clusters, composed of 's,
triton's, and neutrons etc. The relationship of -particle condensation
in finite nuclei to quartetting in symmetric nuclear matter is investigated
with the help of an in-medium modified four-nucleon equation. A nonlinear order
parameter equation for quartet condensation is derived and solved for
particle condensation in infinite nuclear matter. The strong qualitative
difference with the pairing case is pointed out.Comment: 71 pages, 41 figures, review article, to be published in "Cluster in
Nuclei (Lecture Notes in Physics) - Vol.2 -", ed. by C. Beck,
(Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 2011
Sotagliflozin in combination with optimized insulin therapy in adults with type 1 diabetes: The North American in Tandem1 study
OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the efficacy and safety of the dual sodium-glucose cotransporter 1 (SGLT1) and SGLT2 inhibitor sotagliflozin in combination with optimized insulin in type 1 diabetes (T1D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The in Tandem1 trial, a double-blind, 52-week phase 3 trial, randomized North American adults with T1D to placebo (n = 268), sotagliflozin 200 mg (n = 263), or sotagliflozin 400mg(n =262) after6 weeks ofinsulin optimization. The primary end point was HbA1c change from baseline at 24 weeks. HbA1c, weight, and safety were also assessed through 52 weeks. RESULTS: From a mean baseline of 7.57%, placebo-adjusted HbA1c reductions were 0.36% and 0.41% with sotagliflozin 200 and 400 mg, respectively, at 24 weeks and 0.25% and 0.31% at 52 weeks (all P < 0.001). Among patients with a baseline HbA1c â„7.0%, an HbA1c <7% was achieved by 15.7%, 27.2%, and 40.3% of patients receiving placebo, sotagliflozin 200 mg, and sotagliflozin 400 mg, respectively (P †0.003 vs. placebo) at 24 weeks. At 52 weeks, mean treatment differences between sotagliflozin 400 mg and placebo were 21.08 mmol/L for fasting plasma glucose, 24.32 kg for weight, and 215.63% for bolus insulin dose and 211.87% for basal insulin dose (all P < 0.001). Diabetes Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire scores increased significantly by 2.5 points with sotagliflozin versus placebo (P < 0.001) at 24 weeks. Genital mycotic infections and diarrhea occurred more frequently with sotagliflozin. Adjudicated diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) occurred in 9 (3.4%) and 11 (4.2%) patients receiving sotagliflozin 200 and 400 mg, respectively, and in 1 (0.4%) receiving placebo. Severe hypoglycemia occurred in 17 (6.5%) patients from each sotagliflozin group and 26 (9.7%) patients receiving placebo. CONCLUSIONS: In a 1-year T1D study, sotagliflozin combined with optimized insulin therapy was associated with sustained HbA1c reduction, weight loss, lower insulin dose, fewer episodes of severe hypoglycemia, improved patient-reported outcomes, and more DKA relative to placebo (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02384941)
Measurement of the dijet invariant mass cross section in proton anti-proton collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV
The inclusive dijet production double differential cross section as a
function of the dijet invariant mass and of the largest absolute rapidity of
the two jets with the largest transverse momentum in an event is measured in
proton anti-proton collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.96 TeV using 0.7 fb^{-1}
integrated luminosity collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron
Collider. The measurement is performed in six rapidity regions up to a maximum
rapidity of 2.4. Next-to-leading order perturbative QCD predictions are found
to be in agreement with the data.Comment: Published in Phys. Lett. B, 693, (2010), 531-538, 8 pages, 2 figures,
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