Evaluating ex situ rates of carbon dioxide flux from northern Borneo peat swamp soils

This study quantified CO2 emissions from tropical peat swamp soils in Brunei Darussalam. At each site, soil was collected from areas of intact and degraded peat and CO2 flux, and total organic content were measured ex situ. Soil organic content (20-99%) was not significantly different between intact and degraded forest samples. CO2 flux was higher for intact forest samples than degraded forest samples (1.0 vs. 0.6molCO2m-2s-1, respectively) but did not differ among forest locations. From our laboratory experiments, we estimated a potential emissions of 10-20tCO2ha-1y-1 which is in the lower range of values reported for other tropical peat swamps. However, our results are likely affected by unmeasured variation in root respiration and the lability of resident carbon. Overall, these findings provide experimental evidence to support that clearance of tropical peat swamp forests can increase CO2 emissions due to faster rates of decomposition

Using health surveillance systems data to assess the impact of AIDS and antiretroviral treatment on adult morbidity and mortality in Botswana

Introduction: Botswana's AIDS response included free antiretroviral treatment (ART) since 2002, achieving 80% coverage of persons with CD450% and >30% through 2011, while continuing to increase in older women. Conclusions: Adult mortality in Botswana fell markedly as ART coverage increased. HIV prevalence declines may reflect ART-associated reductions in sexual transmission. Triangulation of surveillance system data offers a reasonable approach to evaluate impact of HIV/AIDS interventions, complementing cohort approaches that monitor individual-level health outcomes

Compton Scattering and the Spin Structure of the Nucleon at Low Energies

We analyze polarized Compton scattering which provides information on the spin-structure of the nucleon. For scattering processes with photon energies up to 100 MeV the spin-structure dependence can be encoded into four independent parameters-the so-called spin-polarizabilities $\gamma_i, i=1...4$ of the nucleon, which we calculate within the framework of the "small scale expansion" in SU(2) baryon chiral perturbation theory. Specific application is made to "forward" and "backward" spin- polarizabilities.Comment: 8 pages revtex file, separation between pion-pole and regular contributions detailed + minor wording changes, results and conclusions unchange

Effective theory of the Delta(1232) in Compton scattering off the nucleon

We formulate a new power-counting scheme for a chiral effective field theory of nucleons, pions, and Deltas. This extends chiral perturbation theory into the Delta-resonance region. We calculate nucleon Compton scattering up to next-to-leading order in this theory. The resultant description of existing $\gamma$p cross section data is very good for photon energies up to about 300 MeV. We also find reasonable numbers for the spin-independent polarizabilities $\alpha_p$ and $\beta_p$.Comment: 29 pp, 9 figs. Minor revisions. To be published in PR

Generalized Polarizabilities of the Nucleon in Chiral Effective Theories

Using the techniques of chiral effective field theories we evaluate the so called generalized polarizabilities of the nucleon, which characterize the structure dependent components in virtual Compton scattering (VCS) as probed in the electron scattering reaction e N \to e' N gamma. Results are given for both spin-dependent and spin-independent structure effects to O(p^3) in SU(2) Heavy Baryon Chiral Perturbation Theory and to O(epsilon^3) in the SU(2) Small Scale Expansion. Finally we compare our calculations with results from the pioneering VCS experiment on the proton from Mainz.Comment: 39 pages, 12 figures, revte

The triple-pomeron regime and the structure function of the pomeron in the diffractive deep inelastic scattering at very small x

Misprints and numerical coefficients corrected, a bit of phenomenology and one figure added. The case for the linear evolution of the unitarized structure functions made stronger.Comment: KFA-IKP(Th)-1993-17, Landau-16/93, 46 pages, 14 figures upon request from N.Nikolaev, [email protected]

Svestka's Research: Then and Now

Zdenek Svestka's research work influenced many fields of solar physics, especially in the area of flare research. In this article I take five of the areas that particularly interested him and assess them in a "then and now" style. His insights in each case were quite sound, although of course in the modern era we have learned things that he could not readily have envisioned. His own views about his research life have been published recently in this journal, to which he contributed so much, and his memoir contains much additional scientific and personal information (Svestka, 2010).Comment: Invited review for "Solar and Stellar Flares," a conference in honour of Prof. Zden\v{e}k \v{S}vestka, Prague, June 23-27, 2014. This is a contribution to a Topical Issue in Solar Physics, based on the presentations at this meeting (Editors Lyndsay Fletcher and Petr Heinzel

Predictive powers of chiral perturbation theory in Compton scattering off protons

We study low-energy nucleon Compton scattering in the framework of baryon chiral perturbation theory (B$\chi$PT) with pion, nucleon, and $\Delta$(1232) degrees of freedom, up to and including the next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO). We include the effects of order $p^2$, $p^3$ and $p^4/\varDelta$, with $\varDelta\approx 300$ MeV the $\Delta$-resonance excitation energy. These are all "predictive" powers in the sense that no unknown low-energy constants enter until at least one order higher (i.e, $p^4$). Estimating the theoretical uncertainty on the basis of natural size for $p^4$ effects, we find that uncertainty of such a NNLO result is comparable to the uncertainty of the present experimental data for low-energy Compton scattering. We find an excellent agreement with the experimental cross section data up to at least the pion-production threshold. Nevertheless, for the proton's magnetic polarizability we obtain a value of $(4.0\pm 0.7)\times 10^{-4}$ fm$^3$, in significant disagreement with the current PDG value. Unlike the previous $\chi$PT studies of Compton scattering, we perform the calculations in a manifestly Lorentz-covariant fashion, refraining from the heavy-baryon (HB) expansion. The difference between the lowest order HB$\chi$PT and B$\chi$PT results for polarizabilities is found to be appreciable. We discuss the chiral behavior of proton polarizabilities in both HB$\chi$PT and B$\chi$PT with the hope to confront it with lattice QCD calculations in a near future. In studying some of the polarized observables, we identify the regime where their naive low-energy expansion begins to break down, thus addressing the forthcoming precision measurements at the HIGS facility.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, RevTeX4, revised version published in EPJ

The survival probability of large rapidity gaps in a three channel model

The values and energy dependence for the survival probability $< \mid S\mid^2 >$ of large rapidity gaps (LRG) are calculated in a three channel model. This model includes single and double diffractive production, as well as elastic rescattering. It is shown that $$ decreases with increasing energy, in line with recent results for LRG dijet production at the Tevatron. This is in spite of the weak dependence on energy of the ratio $(\sigma_{el}+ \sigma_{SD})/\sigma_{tot}$.Comment: 26 pages in latex file,11 figures in eps file

Dense Stellar Populations: Initial Conditions

This chapter is based on four lectures given at the Cambridge N-body school "Cambody". The material covered includes the IMF, the 6D structure of dense clusters, residual gas expulsion and the initial binary population. It is aimed at those needing to initialise stellar populations for a variety of purposes (N-body experiments, stellar population synthesis).Comment: 85 pages. To appear in The Cambridge N-body Lectures, Sverre Aarseth, Christopher Tout, Rosemary Mardling (eds), Lecture Notes in Physics Series, Springer Verla