Low-altitude measurements of 2–6 MeV electron trapping lifetimes at 1.5 ≤ L ≤ 2.5

During the Halloween Storm period (October–November 2003), a new Van Allen belt electron population was powerfully accelerated. The inner belt of electrons formed in this process decayed over a period of days to years. We have examined quantitatively the decay rates for electrons seen in the region of 1.5 ≤ L ≤ 2.5 using SAMPEX satellite observations. At L = 1.5 the e-folding lifetime for 2–6 MeV electrons was τ ∼ 180 days. On the other hand, for the half-dozen distinct acceleration (or enhancement) events seen during late-2003 through 2005 at L ∼ 2.0, the lifetimes ranged from τ ∼ 8 days to τ ∼ 35 days. We compare these loss rates to those expected from prior studies. We find that lifetimes at L = 2.0 are much shorter than the average 100–200 days that present theoretical estimates would suggest for the overall L = 2 electron population. Additional wave-particle interaction aspects must be included in theoretical treatments and we describe such possibilities here

The Prophetic Key

https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/lib_mono/1001/thumbnail.jp

A sodium fluoride sensitive mutant of Aspergillus nidulans

Fluoride is a widely spread naturally occurring substance in many foods and is used extensively for industrial purposes. The addition of fluoride to drinking water has been assumed to be safe. However, a number of studies have indicated that sodium fluoride is both genotoxic and cytotoxic to mammalian cells (Tsutsui et al. 1984 Mut. Res. 139:193-198). There is conflicting evidence suggesting that NaF is not genotoxic (Kram et al. 1978 Mut. Res. 57:51-55; Martin et al. 1979 Mut. Res. 66:159-167; Li et al. 1987 Mut. Res. 192:191-202) and can suppress the activity of polyfunctional alkylating agents (Obe and Slacik-Erben 1973 Mut. Res. 18:369-371)

Global patterns in the divergence between phylogenetic diversity and species richness in terrestrial birds

Aim The conservation value of sites is often based on species richness (SR).However, metrics of phylogenetic diversity (PD) reflect a community’s evolu-tionary potential and reveal the potential for additional conservation valueabove that based purely on SR. Although PD is typically correlated with SR,localized differences in this relationship have been found in different taxa.Here, we explore geographical variation in global avian PD. We identify wherePD is higher or lower than expected (from SR) and explore correlates of thosedifferences, to find communities with high irreplaceability, in terms of theuniqueness of evolutionary histories.Location Global terrestrial.Methods Using comprehensive avian phylogenies and global distributionaldata for all extant birds, we calculated SR and Faith’s PD, a widely appliedmeasure of community PD, across the terrestrial world. We modelled the rela-tionship between avian PD for terrestrial birds and its potential environmentalcorrelates. Analyses were conducted at a global scale and also for individualbiogeographical realms. Potential explanatory variables of PD included SR,long-term climate stability, climatic diversity (using altitudinal range as aproxy), habitat diversity and proximity to neighbouring realms.Results We identified areas of high and low relative PD (rPD; PD relative tothat expected given SR). Areas of high rPD were associated with deserts andislands, while areas of low rPD were associated with historical glaciation. Ourresults suggest that rPD is correlated with different environmental variables indifferent parts of the world.Main conclusions There is geographical variation in avian rPD, much ofwhich can be explained by putative drivers. However, the importance of thesedrivers shows pronounced regional variation. Moreover, the variation in avianrPD differs substantially from patterns found for mammals and amphibians.We suggest that PD adds additional insights about the irreplaceability of com-munities to conventional metrics of biodiversity based on SR, and could beusefully included in assessments of site valuation and prioritizatio

Optical Flow on Evolving Surfaces with an Application to the Analysis of 4D Microscopy Data

We extend the concept of optical flow to a dynamic non-Euclidean setting. Optical flow is traditionally computed from a sequence of flat images. It is the purpose of this paper to introduce variational motion estimation for images that are defined on an evolving surface. Volumetric microscopy images depicting a live zebrafish embryo serve as both biological motivation and test data.Comment: The final publication is available at link.springer.co

Equidistribution of expanding translates of curves and Dirichlet's theorem on Diophantine approximation

We show that for almost all points on any analytic curve on R^{k} which is not contained in a proper affine subspace, the Dirichlet's theorem on simultaneous approximation, as well as its dual result for simultaneous approximation of linear forms, cannot be improved. The result is obtained by proving asymptotic equidistribution of evolution of a curve on a strongly unstable leaf under certain partially hyperbolic flow on the space of unimodular lattices in R^{k+1}. The proof involves ergodic properties of unipotent flows on homogeneous spaces.Comment: 26 page

Bifurcations in the Space of Exponential Maps

This article investigates the parameter space of the exponential family $z\mapsto \exp(z)+\kappa$. We prove that the boundary (in \C) of every hyperbolic component is a Jordan arc, as conjectured by Eremenko and Lyubich as well as Baker and Rippon. In fact, we prove the stronger statement that the exponential bifurcation locus is connected in \C, which is an analog of Douady and Hubbard's celebrated theorem that the Mandelbrot set is connected. We show furthermore that $\infty$ is not accessible through any nonhyperbolic ("queer") stable component. The main part of the argument consists of demonstrating a general "Squeezing Lemma", which controls the structure of parameter space near infinity. We also prove a second conjecture of Eremenko and Lyubich concerning bifurcation trees of hyperbolic components.Comment: 29 pages, 3 figures. The main change in the new version is the introduction of Theorem 1.1 on the connectivity of the bifurcation locus, which follows from the results of the original version but was not explicitly stated. Also, some small revisions have been made and references update

Uric acid: an old actor for a new role

The role of uric acid as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events is still debated. In fact, other confounding factors such as glucose intolerance, obesity, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, use of diuretics and insulin resistance may play a role in determining the increased vascular risk associated to elevated uric acid concentrations. These factors (including high uric acid) have been mentioned in one or more definitions of the metabolic syndrome. Recently, much attention has been paid to the metabolic syndrome due to its possible role as a risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The worldwide increase in the prevalence of obesity and diabetes is a reason not only for the increasing prevalence of the metabolic syndrome but also of hyperuricaemia. A better understanding of the role of uric acid in health and in disease states may help physicians to improve their performance in preventing and treating cardiovascular disease

Direct observation of dynamic lithium diffusion behavior in nickel-rich, LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) cathodes using operando muon spectroscopy

Ni-rich layered oxide cathode materials such as LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) are widely tipped as the next-generation cathodes for lithium-ion batteries. The NMC class offers high capacities but suffers an irreversible first cycle capacity loss, a result of slow Li+ diffusion kinetics at a low state of charge. Understanding the origin of these kinetic hindrances to Li+ mobility inside the cathode is vital to negate the first cycle capacity loss in future materials design. Here, we report on the development of operando muon spectroscopy (μSR) to probe the Å-length scale Li+ ion diffusion in NMC811 during its first cycle and how this can be compared to electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique (GITT). Volume-averaged muon implantation enables measurements that are largely unaffected by interface/surface effects, thus providing a specific characterization of the fundamental bulk properties to complement surface-dominated electrochemical methods. First cycle measurements show that the bulk Li+ mobility is less affected than the surface Li+ mobility at full depth of discharge, indicating that sluggish surface diffusion is the likely cause of first cycle irreversible capacity loss. Additionally, we demonstrate that trends in the nuclear field distribution width of the implanted muons during cycling correlate with those observed in differential capacity, suggesting the sensitivity of this μSR parameter to structural changes during cycling

Magnetic ground state of the two isostructual polymeric quantum magnets [Cu(HF2)(pyrazine)2]SbF6 and [Co(HF2)(pyrazine)2]SbF6 investigated with neutron powder diffraction

The magnetic ground state of two isostructural coordination polymers, (i) the quasi-two-dimensional S=1/2 square-lattice antiferromagnet [Cu(HF2)(pyrazine)2]SbF6 and (ii) a related compound [Co(HF2)(pyrazine)2]SbF6, was examined with neutron powder diffraction measurements. We find that the ordered moments of the Heisenberg S=1/2 Cu(II) ions in [Cu(HF2)(pyrazine)2]SbF6 are 0.6(1)μb, while the ordered moments for the Co(II) ions in [Co(HF2)(pyrazine)2]SbF6 are 3.02(6)μb. For Cu(II), this reduced moment indicates the presence of quantum fluctuations below the ordering temperature. We show from heat capacity and electron spin resonance measurements that due to the crystal electric field splitting of the S=3/2 Co(II) ions in [Co(HF2)(pyrazine)2]SbF6, this isostructual polymer also behaves as an effective spin-half magnet at low temperatures. The Co moments in [Co(HF2)(pyrazine)2]SbF6 show strong easy-axis anisotropy, neutron diffraction data, which do not support the presence of quantum fluctuations in the ground state, and heat capacity data, which are consistent with 2D or close to 3D spatial exchange anisotropy