10,349 research outputs found
Genomic regions associated with common root rot resistance in the barley variety Delta
Common root rot (CRR) caused by Bipolaris sorokiniana is a serious disease constraint in the dry temperate cereal growing regions of the world. Currently little is known about the genetic control of resistance to CRR in cereals. In this study based on a Delta/Lindwall barley population we have undertaken a bulked segregant analysis (BSA) and whole genome mapping approach utilising Diversity Arrays Technology (DArT) to identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with CRR expression. One QTL each was identified on chromosomes 4HL and 5HL explaining 12 and 11% of the phenotypic variance, respectively
Emerging Investigators Series: Pyrolysis Removes Common Microconstituents Triclocarban, Triclosan, and Nonylphenol from Biosolids
Reusing biosolids is vital for the sustainability of wastewater management. Pyrolysis is an anoxic thermal degradation process that can be used to convert biosolids into energy rich py-gas and py-oil, and a beneficial soil amendment, biochar. Batch biosolids pyrolysis (60 minutes) revealed that triclocarban and triclosan were removed (to below quantification limit) at 200 Ā°C and 300 Ā°C, respectively. Substantial removal (\u3e90%) of nonylphenol was achieved at 300 Ā°C as well, but 600 Ā°C was required to remove nonylphenol to below the quantification limit. At 500 Ā°C, the pyrolysis reaction time to remove \u3e90% of microconstituents was less than 5 minutes. Fate studies revealed that microconstituents were both volatilized and thermochemically transformed during pyrolysis; microconstituents with higher vapor pressures were more likely to volatilize and leave the pyrolysis reactor before being transformed than compounds with lower vapor pressures. Reductive dehalogenation products of triclocarban and suspected dehalogenation products of triclosan were identified in py-gas. Application of biosolids-derived biochar to soil in place of biosolids has potential to minimize organic microconstituents discharged to the environment provided appropriate management of py-gas and py-oil
Hillslope Hydrology in Global Change Research and Earth System Modeling
Earth System Models (ESMs) are essential tools for understanding and predicting global change, but they cannot explicitly resolve hillslopeāscale terrain structures that fundamentally organize water, energy, and biogeochemical stores and fluxes at subgrid scales. Here we bring together hydrologists, Critical Zone scientists, and ESM developers, to explore how hillslope structures may modulate ESM gridālevel water, energy, and biogeochemical fluxes. In contrast to the oneādimensional (1āD), 2ā to 3ām deep, and freeādraining soil hydrology in most ESM land models, we hypothesize that 3āD, lateral ridgeātoāvalley flow through shallow and deep paths and insolation contrasts between sunny and shady slopes are the top two globally quantifiable organizers of water and energy (and vegetation) within an ESM grid cell. We hypothesize that these two processes are likely to impact ESM predictions where (and when) water and/or energy are limiting. We further hypothesize that, if implemented in ESM land models, these processes will increase simulated continental water storage and residence time, buffering terrestrial ecosystems against seasonal and interannual droughts. We explore efficient ways to capture these mechanisms in ESMs and identify critical knowledge gaps preventing us from scaling up hillslope to global processes. One such gap is our extremely limited knowledge of the subsurface, where water is stored (supporting vegetation) and released to stream baseflow (supporting aquatic ecosystems). We conclude with a set of organizing hypotheses and a call for global syntheses activities and model experiments to assess the impact of hillslope hydrology on global change predictions
The energy flux into a fluidized granular medium at a vibrating wall
We study the power input of a vibrating wall into a fluidized granular
medium, using event driven simulations of a model granular system. The system
consists of inelastic hard disks contained between a stationary and a vibrating
elastic wall, in the absence of gravity. Two scaling relations for the power
input are found, both involving the pressure. The transition between the two
occurs when waves generated at the moving wall can propagate across the system.
Choosing an appropriate waveform for the vibrating wall removes one of these
scalings and renders the second very simple.Comment: 5 pages, revtex, 7 postscript figure
Energy flows in vibrated granular media
We study vibrated granular media, investigating each of the three components
of the energy flow: particle-particle dissipation, energy input at the
vibrating wall, and particle-wall dissipation. Energy dissipated by
interparticle collisions is well estimated by existing theories when the
granular material is dilute, and these theories are extended to include
rotational kinetic energy. When the granular material is dense, the observed
particle-particle dissipation rate decreases to as little as 2/5 of the
theoretical prediction. We observe that the rate of energy input is the weight
of the granular material times an average vibration velocity times a function
of the ratio of particle to vibration velocity. `Particle-wall' dissipation has
been neglected in all theories up to now, but can play an important role when
the granular material is dilute. The ratio between gravitational potential
energy and kinetic energy can vary by as much as a factor of 3. Previous
simulations and experiments have shown that E ~ V^delta, with delta=2 for
dilute granular material, and delta ~ 1.5 for dense granular material. We
relate this change in exponent to the departure of particle-particle
dissipation from its theoretical value.Comment: 19 pages revtex, 10 embedded eps figures, accepted by PR
Homogeneous cooling of rough, dissipative particles: Theory and simulations
We investigate freely cooling systems of rough spheres in two and three
dimensions. Simulations using an event driven algorithm are compared with
results of an approximate kinetic theory, based on the assumption of a
generalized homogeneous cooling state. For short times , translational and
rotational energy are found to change linearly with . For large times both
energies decay like with a ratio independent of time, but not
corresponding to equipartition. Good agreement is found between theory and
simulations, as long as no clustering instability is observed. System
parameters, i.e. density, particle size, and particle mass can be absorbed in a
rescaled time, so that the decay of translational and rotational energy is
solely determined by normal restitution and surface roughness.Comment: 10 pages, 10 eps-figure
A Degenerate Bose-Fermi Mixture of Metastable Atoms
We report the observation of simultaneous quantum degeneracy in a dilute
gaseous Bose-Fermi mixture of metastable atoms. Sympathetic cooling of helium-3
(fermion) by helium-4 (boson), both in the lowest triplet state, allows us to
produce ensembles containing more than 10^6 atoms of each isotope at
temperatures below 1 micro-Kelvin, and achieve a fermionic degeneracy parameter
of T/Tf=0.45. Due to their high internal energy, the detection of individual
metastable atoms with sub-nanosecond time resolution is possible, permitting
the study of bosonic and fermionic quantum gases with unprecedented precision.
This may lead to metastable helium becoming the mainstay of quantum atom
optics.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures submitted to PR
- ā¦