1,368 research outputs found
Deadwood as "pedogenic hotspots" in forest ecosystems
Removing forest biomass is an ecological disturbance both in the physical event itself and the counterfactual state that there is less bio- and necromass in present and future states. Such removal is known to affect forest ecosystems and their nutrient cycles, but how such removal affects soil functioning is unclear. Consequently how deadwood can be considered in soil and forest ecosystems remains underdeveloped. In our case study, we sampled 32 pairs of Deadwood-Control points in eight Fagus sylvatica (L.) stands in Southwest Germany. Dissolved metabolites and particulate organic matter from deadwood influenced the composition and distribution of soil organic matter within soil pores, aggregates, and on mineral surfaces. Correlated changes in soil pH, cation exchange capacity, phosphorus availability, and pore size distribution were also found. The extent these soil properties were influenced by deadwood also depended on site and deadwood characteristics, namely state of decay, forest floor type, and underlying bedrock. These results suggest that the input and incorporation of decayed organic matter from deadwood can contribute to nutrient exchange, aggregation, mineral weathering, and horizon differentiation both directly and indirectly through biological networks at meter and sub-meter scales. Those dynamics and cycles indicate deadwood is spatially defined and transient centers of concentrated biogeochemical and –physical processes that influence soil development and functioning within forests. As such deadwood warrants the designation as “pedogenic hotspots” that can better inform current research and forest soil management
Trigger and readout electronics for the STEREO experiment
The STEREO experiment will search for a sterile neutrino by measuring the
anti-neutrino energy spectrum as a function of the distance from the source,
the ILL nuclear reactor. A dedicated electronic system, hosted in a single
microTCA crate, was designed for this experiment. It performs triggering in two
stages with various selectable conditions, processing and readout via UDP/IPBUS
of 68 photomultiplier signals continuously digitized at 250 MSPS. Additionally,
for detector performance monitoring, the electronics allow on-line calibration
by driving LED synchronously with the data acquisition. This paper describes
the electronics requirements, architecture and the performances achieved.Comment: Topical Workshop on Electronics for Particle Physics (TWEPP) 2015,
Lisboa. 9 pages, 9 figure
Star Formation Under the Outflow: The Discovery of a Non-Thermal Jet from OMC-2 FIR 3 and its Relationship to the Deeply Embedded FIR 4 Protostar
We carried out multiwavelength (0.7-5 cm), multiepoch (1994-2015) Very Large
Array (VLA) observations toward the region enclosing the bright far-IR sources
FIR 3 (HOPS 370) and FIR 4 (HOPS 108) in OMC-2. We report the detection of 10
radio sources, seven of them identified as young stellar objects. We image a
well-collimated radio jet with a thermal free-free core (VLA 11) associated
with the Class I intermediate-mass protostar HOPS 370. The jet presents several
knots (VLA 12N, 12C, 12S) of non-thermal radio emission (likely synchrotron
from shock-accelerated relativistic electrons) at distances of ~7,500-12,500 au
from the protostar, in a region where other shock tracers have been previously
identified. These knots are moving away from the HOPS 370 protostar at ~ 100
km/s. The Class 0 protostar HOPS 108, which itself is detected as an
independent, kinematically decoupled radio source, falls in the path of these
non-thermal radio knots. These results favor the previously proposed scenario
where the formation of HOPS 108 has been triggered by the impact of the HOPS
370 outflow with a dense clump. However, HOPS 108 presents a large proper
motion velocity of ~ 30 km/s, similar to that of other runaway stars in Orion,
whose origin would be puzzling within this scenario. Alternatively, an apparent
proper motion could result because of changes in the position of the centroid
of the source due to blending with nearby extended emission, variations in the
source shape, and /or opacity effects.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journa
Polarization control of single photon quantum orbital angular momentum states
The orbital angular momentum of photons, being defined in an infinitely
dimensional discrete Hilbert space, offers a promising resource for
high-dimensional quantum information protocols in quantum optics. The biggest
obstacle to its wider use is presently represented by the limited set of tools
available for its control and manipulation. Here, we introduce and test
experimentally a series of simple optical schemes for the coherent transfer of
quantum information from the polarization to the orbital angular momentum of
single photons and vice versa. All our schemes exploit a newly developed
optical device, the so-called "q-plate", which enables the manipulation of the
photon orbital angular momentum driven by the polarization degree of freedom.
By stacking several q-plates in a suitable sequence, one can also access to
higher-order angular momentum subspaces. In particular, we demonstrate the
control of the orbital angular momentum degree of freedom within the
subspaces of and per photon. Our experiments prove
that these schemes are reliable, efficient and have a high fidelity.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
Tracheal tube-tip displacement in children during head-neck movement—a radiological assessment
Background. Aims of this study were to assess the maximum displacement of tracheal tube tip during head-neck movement in children, and to evaluate the appropriateness of the intubation depth marks on the Microcuff Paediatric Endotracheal Tube regarding the risk of inadvertent extubation and endobronchial intubation. Methods. We studied children, aged from birth to adolescence, undergoing cardiac catheterization. The patients' tracheas were orally intubated and the tracheal tubes positioned with the intubation depth mark at the level of the vocal cords. The tracheal tube tip-to-carina distances were fluoroscopically assessed with the patient supine and the head-neck in 30° flexion, 0° neutral position and 30° extension. Results. One hundred children aged between 0.02 and 16.4 yr (median 5.1 yr) were studied. Maximum tracheal tube-tip displacement after head-neck 30° extension and 30° flexion demonstrated a linear relationship to age [maximal upward tube movement (mm)=0 0.71×age (yr)+9.9 (R2=0.893); maximal downward tube movement (mm)=0.83×age (yr)+9.3 (R2=0.949)]. Maximal tracheal tube-tip downward displacement because of head-neck flexion was more pronounced than upward displacement because of head-neck extension. Conclusions. The intubation depth marks were appropriate to avoid inadvertent tracheal extubation and endobronchial intubation during head-neck movement in all patients. However, during head-neck extension the tracheal tube cuff may become positioned in the subglottic region and should be re-adjusted when the patient remains in this position for a longer tim
Increased levels of RNA oxidation enhance the reversion frequency in aging pro-apoptotic yeast mutants
Despite recent advances in understanding the complexity of RNA processes, regulation of the metabolism of oxidized cellular RNAs and the mechanisms through which oxidized ribonucleotides affect mRNA translation, and consequently cell viability, are not well characterized. We show here that the level of oxidized RNAs is markedly increased in a yeast decapping Kllsm4Δ1 mutant, which accumulates mRNAs, ages much faster that the wild type strain and undergoes regulated-cell-death. We also found that in Kllsm4Δ1 cells the mutation rate increases during chronological life span indicating that the capacity to han- dle oxidized RNAs in yeast declines with aging. Lowering intracellular ROS levels by antioxidants recovers the wild- type phenotype of mutant cells, including reduced amount of oxidized RNAs and lower mutation rate. Since mRNA oxidation was reported to occur in different neurodegen- erative diseases, decapping-deficient cells may represent a useful tool for deciphering molecular mechanisms of cell response to such conditions, providing new insights into RNA modification-based pathogenesis
Sub MeV Particles Detection and Identification in the MUNU detector ((1)ISN, IN2P3/CNRS-UJF, Grenoble, France, (2)Institut de Physique, Neuch\^atel, Switzerland, (3) INFN, Padova Italy, (4) Physik-Institut, Z\"{u}rich, Switzerland)
We report on the performance of a 1 m TPC filled with CF at 3
bar, immersed in liquid scintillator and viewed by photomultipliers. Particle
detection, event identification and localization achieved by measuring both the
current signal and the scintillation light are presented. Particular features
of particle detection are also discussed. Finally, the Mn
photopeak, reconstructed from the Compton scattering and recoil angle is shown.Comment: Latex, 19 pages, 20 figure
Radio emission of extensive air shower at CODALEMA: Polarization of the radio emission along the v*B vector
Cosmic rays extensive air showers (EAS) are associated with transient radio
emission, which could provide an efficient new detection method of high energy
cosmic rays, combining a calorimetric measurement with a high duty cycle. The
CODALEMA experiment, installed at the Radio Observatory in Nancay, France, is
investigating this phenomenon in the 10^17 eV region. One challenging point is
the understanding of the radio emission mechanism. A first observation
indicating a linear relation between the electric field produced and the cross
product of the shower axis with the geomagnetic field direction has been
presented (B. Revenu, this conference). We will present here other strong
evidences for this linear relationship, and some hints on its physical origin.Comment: Contribution to the 31st International Cosmic Ray Conference, Lodz,
Poland, July 2009. 4 pages, 8 figures. v2: Typo fixed, arxiv references adde
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