Ultrathin epitaxial Fe films in vicinal GaAs(001): A study by spin-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy

Thin epitaxial Fe films have been grown on vicinal GaAs(001) substrates and their remanent magnetic properties and the degree of substrate atom diffusion investigated using synchrotron-based photoelectron spectroscopy. The vicinal Fe films, though exhibiting greater As diffusion than their singular homologues, displayed better film quality both from the structural and the magnetic points of view. The spin-resolved valence spectra of the vicinal films resemble those for crystalline bulk Fe at lower film thicknesses than for singular films

SocialSensor: sensing user generated input for improved media discovery and experience

SocialSensor will develop a new framework for enabling real-time multimedia indexing and search in the Social Web. The project moves beyond conventional text-based indexing and retrieval models by mining and aggregating user inputs and content over multiple social networking sites. Social Indexing will incorporate information about the structure and activity of the users‟ social network directly into the multimedia analysis and search process. Furthermore, it will enhance the multimedia consumption experience by developing novel user-centric media visualization and browsing paradigms. For example, SocialSensor will analyse the dynamic and massive user contributions in order to extract unbiased trending topics and events and will use social connections for improved recommendations. To achieve its objectives, SocialSensor introduces the concept of Dynamic Social COntainers (DySCOs), a new layer of online multimedia content organisation with particular emphasis on the real-time, social and contextual nature of content and information consumption. Through the proposed DySCOs-centered media search, SocialSensor will integrate social content mining, search and intelligent presentation in a personalized, context and network-aware way, based on aggregation and indexing of both UGC and multimedia Web content

Atmospheric halogen and acid rains during the main phase of Deccan eruptions: magnetic and mineral evidence

Environmental changes linked to Deccan volcanism are still poorly known. A major limitation resides in the paucity of direct Deccan volcanism markers and in the geologically short interval where both impact and volcanism occurred, making it hard to evaluate their contributions to the mass extinction. We investigated the low-magnetic-susceptibility interval just below the iridium-rich layer of the Bidart (France) section, which was recently hypothesized to be the result of paleoenvironmental perturbations linked to paroxysmal Deccan phase 2. Results show a drastic decrease of detrital magnetite and presence of scarce akaganeite, a hypothesized reaction product formed in the aerosols derived from reaction of a volcanic plume with water and oxygen in the high atmosphere. A weathering model of the consequences of acidic rains on a continental regolith reveals nearly complete magnetite dissolution after ~31,000 yr, which is consistent with our magnetic data and falls within the duration of the Deccan phase 2. These results highlight the nature and importance of the Deccan-related environmental changes leading up to the end- Cretaceous mass extinction

Atmospheric halogen and acid rains during the major Deccan episode: magnetic and mineral evidences

Environmental and climatic changes linked to Deccan volcanism are still poorly known. A major limitation resides in the paucity of direct Deccan volcanism markers and in the geologically short interval where both impact and volcanism occurred, making it hard to evaluate their contributions to the mass extinction. We investigated the low magnetic susceptibility interval just below the Iridium-rich layer of the Bidart (France) section, which was recently hypothesized to be the result of palaeoenvironmental perturbations linked to paroxysmal Deccan phase-2. Results show a drastic decrease of detrital magnetite and presence of fine specular akaganeite, a hypothesized reaction product between FeCl2 from the volcanic plume with water and oxygen in the high atmosphere. A weathering model of the consequences of acidic rains on a continental regolith reveals nearly complete magnetite dissolution after about 33,000 years, which is consistent with our magnetic data and the duration of the Deccan phase-2. This discovery represents an unprecedented piece of evidence of the nature and importance of the Deccan-related environmental changes

The Objectives of Stakeholder Involvement in Transdisciplinary Research. A Conceptual Framework for a Reflective and Reflexive Practise

Transdisciplinary research is a well-recognised approach to address complex real-world problems. However, the literature on a central aspect of transdisciplinarity, namely stakeholder involvement, largely lacks a reflection on its objectives. In response, we present a framework defining four general rationales for stakeholder involvement: normative, substantive, social-learning, and implementation objectives. We demonstrate the applicability of the framework and analyse how the design and processes of three collaborative research projects dealing with sustainable land management in Southern Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America were affected by motivations to include stakeholders. Our assessment indicates that at the projects' outset, many scientists pursued a normative rationale and saw stakeholder involvement as a burden. In the course of the projects, the substantive objective became more relevant as being closely linked to the core mandate of scientists. The projects also aimed for social learning and implementation processes, which, however, did not remain uncontested among team members. Overall, our study indicates that jointly negotiating, clarifying, communicating, and reflecting the underlying objectives of stakeholder involvement can help developing more effective interaction strategies and clarifying expectations. The conceptual framework can guide a systematic reflective and reflexive practise and support the planning and co-designing of future transdisciplinary research projects

LXR\u3csup\u3eTM\u3c/sup\u3e White Clover: Development of Transgenic White Clover (\u3cem\u3eTrifolium Repens\u3c/em\u3e) with Delayed Leaf Senescence

Leaf senescence is a type of programmed cell death characterized by loss of chlorophyll, lipids, protein, and RNA. Cytokinins are a class of plant hormones that play roles in many aspects of plant growth and development, including leaf senescence, apical dominance, the formation and activity of shoot meristems, nutrient mobilization, seed germination, and pathogen responses. They also appear to mediate a number of light- regulated processes, such as de-etiolation and chloroplast differentiation. It is known that the concentrations of endogenous cytokinins decline in plant tissues as senescence progresses. This observation provides the opportunity to manipulate the senescence program in transgenic plants to enhance biomass and seed production, through the regulated expression of cytokinin biosynthesis genes

Comparison of CALIPSO-Like, LaRC, and MODIS Retrievals of Ice Cloud Properties over SIRTA in France and Florida during CRYSTAL-FACE

This study compares cirrus particle effective radius retrieved by a CALIPSO-like method with two similar methods using MODIS, MODI Airborne Simulator (MAS), and GOES imagery. The CALIPSO-like method uses lidar measurements coupled with the split-window technique that uses the infrared spectral information contained at the 8.65-micrometer, 11.15-micrometer and 12.05-micrometer bands to infer the microphysical properties of cirrus clouds. The two other methods, sing passive remote sensing at visible and infrared wavelengths, are the operational MODIS cloud products (referred to by its archival product identifier MOD06 for MODIS Terra) and MODIS retrievals performed by the CERES team at LaRC (Langley Research Center) in support of CERES algorithms; the two algorithms will be referred to as MOD06- and LaRC-method, respectively. The three techniques are compared at two different latitudes: (i) the mid-latitude ice clouds study uses 18 days of observations at the Palaiseau ground-based site in France (SIRTA: Site Instrumental de Recherche par Teledetection Atmospherique) including a ground-based 532 nm lidar and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) overpasses on the Terra Platform, (ii) the tropical ice clouds study uses 14 different flight legs of observations collected in Florida, during the intensive field experiment CRYSTAL-FACE (Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and cirrus Layers-Florida Area Cirrus Experiment), including the airborne Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) and the MAS. The comparison of the three methods gives consistent results for the particle effective radius and the optical thickness, but discrepancies in cloud detection and altitudes. The study confirms the value of an active remote-sensing method (CALIPSO-like) for the study of sub-visible ice clouds, in both mid-latitudes and tropics. Nevertheless, this method is not reliable in optically very thick tropical ice clouds