From salmon to salmonberry: The effects of salmon-derived nutrients on the stomatal density of leaves of the nitriphilic shrub Rubus spectabilis

Nutrients derived from the carcasses of Pacific salmon have been shown to have wide-ranging effects on riparian systems. These include changes in community species composition and an increase in leaf nitrogen concentration, with the latter effect pronounced in the nitriphilic shrub Rubus spectabilis (salmonberry). Experimental work with other species has shown that leaf stomatal density increases in response to nitrogen fertilization. We predicted that the stomatal density of salmonberry leaves would vary directly with the density of spawning salmon in salmonberry leaves collected from 16 streams in the vicinity of Bella Bella, on British Columbia’s central coast. We estimated the stomatal density along each stream, and quantified stream characteristics, including the number of spawning salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.), canopy cover, stem density and soil moisture. We found that salmon have both direct and indirect effects on stomatal density, the latter mediated by canopy cover and stem density. Salmonberry stomatal density increased by 1.12 stomata per mm2 (~0.5%) for every kg of salmon per metre of stream. Over the range of salmon densities observed (1.8–49.0 kg per metre of stream), stomatal density increased by almost 45 mm− 2, or more than 20%. These data confirm that the stomatal density in salmonberry responds positively to the opportunity for greater productivity provided by salmon carcasses. The data provide insight into the physiological and morphological processes supporting nitrogen uptake, which in turn influences plant community composition. A plain language summary is available for this article.</p

Intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing large African herbivore movements

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Jan A. Venter, Herbert H. T. Prins, Alla Mashanova, Willem F. de Boer, and Rob Slotow, 'Intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing large African herbivore movements', Ecological Informatics, Vol. 30: 257-262, November 2015, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2015.05.006. This manuscript version is made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.Understanding environmental as well as anthropogenic factors that influence large herbivore ecological patterns and processes should underpin their conservation and management. We assessed the influence of intrinsic, extrinsic environmental and extrinsic anthropogenic factors on movement behaviour of eight African large herbivore species. A cumulative odds ordinal logistic regression was used to determine the effect of season, feeding niche, number of vegetation types, home range size, and fences on the number of exponential distributions observed. When animals faced the trade-off between forage quality and quantity during the dry season, they moved further between forage areas and water sources in order to get to better forage, which added to the number of movement scales observed. Elephants had a lower number of movement scales, compared to all the other feeding types, which could be attributed to them being able to switch between browse and graze. The number of movement scales increased in more heterogeneous areas. Animals with larger home ranges, which are also larger species, and animals more restricted by fences, had fewer movement scales. In order for managers to effectively manage protected areas and associated biodiversity they need take cognisance of the different scales animals operate under, and the different factors that may be important for different species.Peer reviewe

Orientation of Galaxies in the Local Supercluster: A Review

The progress of the studies on the orientation of galaxies in the Local Supercluster (LSC) is reviewed and a summary of recent results is given. Following a brief introduction of the LSC, we describe the results of early studies based on two-dimensional analysis, which were mostly not conclusive. We describe next the three-dimensional analysis, which is used widely today. Difficulties and systematic effects are explained and the importance of selection effects is described. Then, results based on the new method and modern databases are given, which are summarized as follows. When the LSC is seen as a whole, galaxy planes tend to align perpendicular to the LSC plane with lenticulars showing the most pronounced tendency. Projections onto the LSC plane of the spin vectors of Virgo cluster member galaxies, and to some extent, those of the total LSC galaxies, tend to point to the Virgo cluster center. This tendency is more pronounced for lenticulars than for spirals. It is suggested that 'field' galaxies, i.e., those which do not belong to groups with more than three members, may be better objects than other galaxies to probe the information at the early epoch of the LSC formation through the analysis of galaxy orientations. Field lenticulars show a pronounced anisotropic distribution of spin vectors in the sense that they lay their spin vectors parallel to the LSC plane while field spirals show an isotropic spin-vector distribution.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures; Accepted for publication in Astrophysics and Space Scienc

Exposure and dose assessment to particle components among an elderly population

People spend the majority of their time indoors and the composition and toxicity of indoor particles is very complex and present significant differences comparing with outdoor aerosols. Consequently, ambient particles cannot represent a real exposure. The aim of this work was to determine the daily exposure and the daily inhaled dose to particle components of elders living in Elderly Care Centers. A questionnaire was applied to 193 institutionalized elders in order to achieve their daily time pattern and to define the micro-environments where PM10 and its components (carbonaceous components and trace elements) were assessed. Daily exposure was calculated by integrating the elder's time spend in each micro-environment and the concentration of the pollutants for the period of interest. This parameter, together with the inhalation rate and the standard body weight, were used to calculate the daily inhaled dose. PM10 daily exposure and daily inhaled dose ranged between 11 e 16 mg m 3 and 20 10 3 e 28 10 3 mg kg 1, respectively. This work not only allowed a fully quantification of the magnitude of the elders exposure, but also showed that the assessment of the integrated exposure to PM components is determinant to accomplish the dose inhaled by elders living in ECCs

Searches for lepton-flavour-violating decays of the Higgs boson in s=13\sqrt{s}=13 TeV pp\mathit{pp} collisions with the ATLAS detector

This Letter presents direct searches for lepton flavour violation in Higgs boson decays, H → eτ and H → μτ , performed with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The searches are based on a data sample of proton–proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy √s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb−1. No significant excess is observed above the expected background from Standard Model processes. The observed (median expected) 95% confidence-level upper limits on the leptonflavour-violating branching ratios are 0.47% (0.34+0.13−0.10%) and 0.28% (0.37+0.14−0.10%) for H → eτ and H → μτ , respectively.publishedVersio

Combination of searches for Higgs boson pairs in pp collisions at \sqrts = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This letter presents a combination of searches for Higgs boson pair production using up to 36.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy root s = 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The combination is performed using six analyses searching for Higgs boson pairs decaying into the b (b) over barb (b) over bar, b (b) over barW(+)W(-), b (b) over bar tau(+)tau(-), W+W-W+W-, b (b) over bar gamma gamma and W+W-gamma gamma final states. Results are presented for non-resonant and resonant Higgs boson pair production modes. No statistically significant excess in data above the Standard Model predictions is found. The combined observed (expected) limit at 95% confidence level on the non-resonant Higgs boson pair production cross-section is 6.9 (10) times the predicted Standard Model cross-section. Limits are also set on the ratio (kappa(lambda)) of the Higgs boson self-coupling to its Standard Model value. This ratio is constrained at 95% confidence level in observation (expectation) to -5.0 &lt; kappa(lambda) &lt; 12.0 (-5.8 &lt; kappa(lambda) &lt; 12.0). In addition, limits are set on the production of narrow scalar resonances and spin-2 Kaluza-Klein Randall-Sundrum gravitons. Exclusion regions are also provided in the parameter space of the habemus Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and the Electroweak Singlet Model. For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2019.135103</p

Search for flavour-changing neutral currents in processes with one top quark and a photon using 81 fb⁻¹ of pp collisions at \sqrts = 13 TeV with the ATLAS experiment

A search for flavour-changing neutral current (FCNC) events via the coupling of a top quark, a photon, and an up or charm quark is presented using 81 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data taken at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events with a photon, an electron or muon, a b-tagged jet, and missing transverse momentum are selected. A neural network based on kinematic variables differentiates between events from signal and background processes. The data are consistent with the background-only hypothesis, and limits are set on the strength of the tqγ coupling in an effective field theory. These are also interpreted as 95% CL upper limits on the cross section for FCNC tγ production via a left-handed (right-handed) tuγ coupling of 36 fb (78 fb) and on the branching ratio for t→γu of 2.8×10−5 (6.1×10−5). In addition, they are interpreted as 95% CL upper limits on the cross section for FCNC tγ production via a left-handed (right-handed) tcγ coupling of 40 fb (33 fb) and on the branching ratio for t→γc of 22×10−5 (18×10−5). © 2019 The Author(s

Comparison between simulated and observed LHC beam backgrounds in the ATLAS experiment at Ebeam =4 TeV

Results of dedicated Monte Carlo simulations of beam-induced background (BIB) in the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) are presented and compared with data recorded in 2012. During normal physics operation this background arises mainly from scattering of the 4 TeV protons on residual gas in the beam pipe. Methods of reconstructing the BIB signals in the ATLAS detector, developed and implemented in the simulation chain based on the \textscFluka Monte Carlo simulation package, are described. The interaction rates are determined from the residual gas pressure distribution in the LHC ring in order to set an absolute scale on the predicted rates of BIB so that they can be compared quantitatively with data. Through these comparisons the origins of the BIB leading to different observables in the ATLAS detectors are analysed. The level of agreement between simulation results and BIB measurements by ATLAS in 2012 demonstrates that a good understanding of the origin of BIB has been reached