356 research outputs found
Species Richness Affects Grassland Yield and Yield Stability Across Seasons, Sites and Years
The benefits of biodiversity (specifically species richness) are proposed to include both greater yield and greater stability of yield in a variable environment (Sanderson et al., 2004). Experimental evidence showing yield benefits is inconsistent (White et al., 2004). There is relatively little experimental data showing the effects of species richness on yield stability. The objective of this study was to measure the yield from mixtures with up to 12 species, and to measure the variability of yield between 2 sites, between spring and summer, and in 2 successive years
New Exclusion Limits for the Search of Scalar and Pseudoscalar Axion-Like Particles from "Light Shining Through a Wall"
Physics beyond the Standard Model predicts the possible existence of new
particles that can be searched at the low energy frontier in the sub-eV range.
The OSQAR photon regeneration experiment looks for "Light Shining through a
Wall" from the quantum oscillation of optical photons into "Weakly Interacting
Sub-eV Particles", such as axion or Axion-Like Particles (ALPs), in a 9 T
transverse magnetic field over the unprecedented length of m.
In 2014, this experiment has been run with an outstanding sensitivity, using an
18.5 W continuous wave laser emitting in the green at the single wavelength of
532 nm. No regenerated photons have been detected after the wall, pushing the
limits for the existence of axions and ALPs down to an unprecedented level for
such a type of laboratory experiment. The di-photon couplings of possible
pseudo-scalar and scalar ALPs can be constrained in the nearly massless limit
to be less than GeV and
GeV, respectively, at 95% Confidence Level.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
30 Years of Progress toward Increased Biomass Yield of Switchgrass and Big Bluestem
Breeding to improve biomass production of switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) for conversion to bioenergy began in 1992. The purpose of this study was (i) to develop a platform for uniform regional testing of cultivars and experimental populations for these species, and (ii) to estimate the gains made by breeding during 1992 to 2012. A total of 25 switchgrass populations and 16 big bluestem populations were planted in uniform regional trials at 13 locations in 2012 and 2014. The reference region was USDA Hardiness Zones 3 through 6 in the humid temperate United States. Significant progress toward increased biomass yield was made in big bluestem and within upland-ecotype populations, lowland-ecotype populations, and hybrid-derived populations of switchgrass. Four mechanisms of increasing biomass yield were documented: (i) increased biomass yield per se, (ii) later flowering to extend the growing season, (iii) combined later flowering from the lowland ecotype with survivorship of the upland ecotype in hybrid-derived populations, and (iv) increased survivorship of late-flowering lowland populations in hardiness zones that represent an expansion of their natural adaption zone. Switchgrass exhibited all four mechanisms in one or more improved populations, whereas improved populations of big bluestem were likely influenced by two of the four mechanisms. The uniform testing program was successful at documenting increases in biomass yield, identifying the mechanisms for increased yield, and determining adaptation characteristics and limitations of improved populations
HNO Binding in a Heme Protein: Structures, Spectroscopic Properties, and Stabilities
HNO can interact with numerous heme proteins, but atomic level structures are largely unknown. In this work, various structural models for the first stable HNO heme protein complex, MbHNO (Mb, myoglobin), were examined by quantum chemical calculations. This investigation led to the discovery of two novel structural models that can excellently reproduce numerous experimental spectroscopic properties. They are also the first atomic level structures that can account for the experimentally observed high stabilities. These two models involve two distal His conformations as reported previously for MbCNR and MbNO. However, a unique dual hydrogen bonding feature of the HNO binding was not reported before in heme protein complexes with other small molecules such as CO, NO, and O2. These results shall facilitate investigations of HNO bindings in other heme proteins
Fast Photon Detection for Particle Identification with COMPASS RICH-1
Particle identification at high rates is an important challenge for many
current and future high-energy physics experiments. The upgrade of the COMPASS
RICH-1 detector requires a new technique for Cherenkov photon detection at
count rates of several per channel in the central detector region, and a
read-out system allowing for trigger rates of up to 100 kHz. To cope with these
requirements, the photon detectors in the central region have been replaced
with the detection system described in this paper. In the peripheral regions,
the existing multi-wire proportional chambers with CsI photocathode are now
read out via a new system employing APV pre-amplifiers and flash ADC chips. The
new detection system consists of multi-anode photomultiplier tubes (MAPMT) and
fast read-out electronics based on the MAD4 discriminator and the F1-TDC chip.
The RICH-1 is in operation in its upgraded version for the 2006 CERN SPS run.
We present the photon detection design, constructive aspects and the first
Cherenkov light in the detector.Comment: Proceedings of the Imaging 2006 conference, Stockholm, Sweden, 27-30
June 2006, 5 pages, 6 figures, to appear in NIM A; corrected typo in caption
of Fig.
Latest Results of the OSQAR Photon Regeneration Experiment for Axion-Like Particle Search
The OSQAR photon regeneration experiment searches for pseudoscalar and scalar
axion-like particles by the method of "Light Shining Through a Wall", based on
the assumption that these weakly interacting sub-eV particles couple to two
photons to give rise to quantum oscillations with optical photons in strong
magnetic field. No excess of events has been observed, which constrains the
di-photon coupling strength of both pseudoscalar and scalar particles down to
GeV in the massless limit. This result is the most
stringent constraint on the di-photon coupling strength ever achieved in
laboratory experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures. appears in Proceedings of the 10th PATRAS
Workshop on Axions, WIMPs and WISPs (2014
Fast photon detection for the COMPASS RICH detector
The COMPASS experiment at the SPS accelerator at CERN uses a large scale Ring
Imaging CHerenkov detector (RICH) to identify pions, kaons and protons in a
wide momentum range. For the data taking in 2006, the COMPASS RICH has been
upgraded in the central photon detection area (25% of the surface) with a new
technology to detect Cherenkov photons at very high count rates of several 10^6
per second and channel and a new dead-time free read-out system, which allows
trigger rates up to 100 kHz. The Cherenkov photons are detected by an array of
576 visible and ultra-violet sensitive multi-anode photomultipliers with 16
channels each. The upgraded detector showed an excellent performance during the
2006 data taking.Comment: Proceeding of the IPRD06 conference (Siena, Okt. 06
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