Isoscaling in central Sn+Sn collisions at 270 MeV/u

Experimental information on fragment emissions is important in understanding the dynamics of nuclear collisions and in the development of transport model simulating heavy-ion collisions. The composition of complex fragments emitted in the heavy-ion collisions can be explained by statistical models, which assume that thermal equilibrium is achieved at collision energies below 100 MeV/u. Our new experimental data together with theoretical analyses for light particles from Sn+Sn collisions at 270 MeV/u, suggest that the hypothesis of thermal equilibrium breaks down for particles emitted with high transfer momentum. To inspect the system's properties in such limit, the scaling features of the yield ratios of particles from two systems, a neutron-rich system of ${}^{132}\mathrm{Sn}+{}^{124}\mathrm{Sn}$ and a nearly symmetric system of ${}^{108}\mathrm{Sn}+{}^{112}\mathrm{Sn}$, are examined in the framework of the statistical multifragmentation model and the antisymmetrized molecular dynamics model. The isoscaling from low energy particles agree with both models. However the observed breakdown of isoscaling for particles with high transverse momentum cannot be explained by the antisymmetrized molecular dynamics model

Early life stages are not always the most sensitive: Heat stress responses in the copepod Tigriopus californicus

Because of their complex life histories, different life stages of many marine invertebrates may be exposed to varying environmental challenges. Ultimately, the life stage that is least tolerant of its environment will determine the species' abundance and distribution. The intertidal copepod Tigriopus californicus lives in high intertidal pools along the Pacific coast of North America. Unlike most other invertebrates, the different life stages of T. californicus all share the same tidepool habitat. To determine physiological tolerances of various life history stages of this species, we examined responses to acute heat stress in nauplii, copepodids, and adults from 6 populations along a latitudinal gradient. Results show that early developmental stages (nauplii and copepodids) are generally more tolerant than adults. Our results contrast with the widely accepted generalization that larval forms are more sensitive to physical stressors than adults. As previously observed in adults, nauplii and copepodids from southern populations survive higher temperatures than those from northern populations. Acute heat stress was found to delay development but did not affect adult size. We hypothesize that variation in the thermal tolerance of early life stages among intertidal species reflects ecological differences in larval habitats: where larvae remain in the intertidal zone and experience the same high temperatures as adults, selection will favor high larval thermal tolerance, while in species with planktonic larvae, the buffered temperature regime of the water column might relax such selection, and thermal tolerance will be highest in the more exposed intertidal adults

Early life stages are not always the most sensitive: Heat stress responses in the copepod Tigriopus californicus

Because of their complex life histories, different life stages of many marine invertebrates may be exposed to varying environmental challenges. Ultimately, the life stage that is least tolerant of its environment will determine the species' abundance and distribution. The intertidal copepod Tigriopus californicus lives in high intertidal pools along the Pacific coast of North America. Unlike most other invertebrates, the different life stages of T. californicus all share the same tidepool habitat. To determine physiological tolerances of various life history stages of this species, we examined responses to acute heat stress in nauplii, copepodids, and adults from 6 populations along a latitudinal gradient. Results show that early developmental stages (nauplii and copepodids) are generally more tolerant than adults. Our results contrast with the widely accepted generalization that larval forms are more sensitive to physical stressors than adults. As previously observed in adults, nauplii and copepodids from southern populations survive higher temperatures than those from northern populations. Acute heat stress was found to delay development but did not affect adult size. We hypothesize that variation in the thermal tolerance of early life stages among intertidal species reflects ecological differences in larval habitats: where larvae remain in the intertidal zone and experience the same high temperatures as adults, selection will favor high larval thermal tolerance, while in species with planktonic larvae, the buffered temperature regime of the water column might relax such selection, and thermal tolerance will be highest in the more exposed intertidal adults

Multiple Modes of Adaptation: Regulatory and Structural Evolution in a Small Heat Shock Protein Gene.

Thermal tolerance is a key determinant of species distribution. Despite much study, the genetic basis of adaptive evolution of thermal tolerance, including the relative contributions of transcriptional regulation versus protein evolution, remains unclear. Populations of the intertidal copepod Tigriopus californicus are adapted to local thermal regimes across their broad geographic range. Upon thermal stress, adults from a heat tolerant southern population, San Diego (SD), upregulate several heat shock proteins (HSPs) to higher levels than those from a less tolerant northern population, Santa Cruz (SC). Suppression of a specific HSP, HSPB1, significantly reduces T. californicus survival following acute heat stress. Sequencing of HSPB1 revealed population specific nucleotide substitutions in both promoter and coding regions of the gene. HSPB1 promoters from heat tolerant populations contain two canonical heat shock elements (HSEs), the binding sites for heat shock transcription factor (HSF), whereas less tolerant populations have mutations in these conserved motifs. Allele specific expression of HSPB1 in F1 hybrids between tolerant and less tolerant populations showed significantly biased expression favoring alleles from tolerant populations and supporting the adaptive divergence in these cis-regulatory variants. The functional impact of population-specific nonsynonymous substitutions in HSPB1 coding sequences was tested by assessing the thermal stabilization properties of SD versus SC HSPB1 protein variants. Recombinant HSPB1 from the southern SD population showed greater capacity for protecting protein structure under elevated temperature. Our results indicate that both regulatory and protein coding sequence evolution within a single gene appear to contribute to thermal tolerance phenotypes and local adaptation among conspecific populations

Application of the Generic Electronics for Time Projection Chamber (GET) readout system for heavy Radioactive isotope collision experiments

International audienceWe have implemented the Generic Electronics for Time Projection Chamber (GET) in a SAMURAI Pion Reconstruction and Ion-Tracker (S π RIT) readout system for heavy radioactive ion collision experiments at RIKEN-RIBF. The S π RIT experiment is designed for heavy ion collision experiments with radioactive ion beams, where a Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with 12096 pixelized readout pads is employed as the main device. Since the TPC is located on the beam line, the readout electronics must handle small signals from pions as well as very large signals from beam or large fragment particles. Operation of the GET electronics during experiment functioned well using 270 time-bucket readout with 25 MHz sampling at an event Data acquisition (DAQ) rate of 60 Hz. Using the slope information of acquired signals it is possible to extend the dynamic range of dE/dx information compared to using the peak height information. However, huge signals arising from energetic δ -rays produced by un-interacted projectiles induce dead channels, which can be recovered after 70  μs on average