997 research outputs found
Geographic variation in Sundew (Drosera ) leaf colour: plant-plant interactions counteract expected effects of abiotic factors
Aim To identify geographic patterns in leaf colour of roundleaved sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) growing on ombrotrophic (rain fed) bogs across Europe and establish the controls over these patterns. Location North-west Europe. Taxon Angiosperms, Drosera rotundifolia. Methods We measured leaf colour of D. rotundifolia plants growing on 24 ombrotrophic bogs across north-west Europe covering 26.4 degrees of longitude and 21.1 degrees of latitude. We measured the height and cover of co-occurring vascular plant vegetation and the amount of incident light intercepted by the vegetation canopy. We determined the role of abiotic variables in controlling the patterns found. In a separate experimental study, we manipulated plantâplant interactions with D. rotundifolia by removing aboveground vascular plant vegetation and monitoring leaf colour over a single summer. Results Drosera rotundifolia leaf colour varied between bogs. Leaves were redder in northern latitudes and eastern longitudes, and in sites/plots with lower canopy influence, lower nutrient deposition, and a more continental climate. Canopy influence was greater on sites in southern latitudes, eastern longitudes, and with higher nutrient deposition, longer growing seasons and a more maritime climate. Nutrient deposition was higher at more southerly latitudes, eastern sites had a more continental climate, and southern and western sites had warmer and longer growing seasons. In the in situ experiment, leaves became more red when canopy light transmission was increased by removing vegetation, but not when shade net was subsequently added to reduce light transmission. Main Conclusion Geographic variation in Drosera rotundifolia leaf colour is strongly affected by its light environment, mediated by plantâplant interactions, but leaf colour is also affected by other abiotic factors. The relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors in determining geographic patterns in traits, and also species responses to environmental change, might depend on the growth form and competitive ability of a species
Selectron Studies at e-e- and e+e- Colliders
Selectrons may be studied in both e-e- and e+e- collisions at future linear
colliders. Relative to e+e-, the e-e- mode benefits from negligible backgrounds
and \beta threshold behavior for identical selectron pair production, but
suffers from luminosity degradation and increased initial state radiation and
beamstrahlung. We include all of these effects and compare the potential for
selectron mass measurements in the two modes. The virtues of the e-e- collider
far outweigh its disadvantages. In particular, the selectron mass may be
measured to 100 MeV with a total integrated luminosity of 1 fb^-1, while more
than 100 fb^-1 is required in e+e- collisions for similar precision.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figure
The Quenching of the Axial Coupling in Nuclear and Neutron-Star Matter
Using a chirally invariant effective Lagrangian, we calculate the density and
isospin dependences of the in-medium axial coupling, , in spatially
uniform matter present in core collapse supernovae and neutron stars. The
quenching of with density in matter with different proton fractions is
found to be similar. However, our results suggest that the quenching of the
nucleon's in matter with hyperons is likely to be significantly greater
than in matter with nucleons only.Comment: 4 pages revtex, 2 eps figure
A Matrix Hyperbolic Cosine Algorithm and Applications
In this paper, we generalize Spencer's hyperbolic cosine algorithm to the
matrix-valued setting. We apply the proposed algorithm to several problems by
analyzing its computational efficiency under two special cases of matrices; one
in which the matrices have a group structure and an other in which they have
rank-one. As an application of the former case, we present a deterministic
algorithm that, given the multiplication table of a finite group of size ,
it constructs an expanding Cayley graph of logarithmic degree in near-optimal
O(n^2 log^3 n) time. For the latter case, we present a fast deterministic
algorithm for spectral sparsification of positive semi-definite matrices, which
implies an improved deterministic algorithm for spectral graph sparsification
of dense graphs. In addition, we give an elementary connection between spectral
sparsification of positive semi-definite matrices and element-wise matrix
sparsification. As a consequence, we obtain improved element-wise
sparsification algorithms for diagonally dominant-like matrices.Comment: 16 pages, simplified proof and corrected acknowledging of prior work
in (current) Section
Variable expression and silencing of CRISPR-Cas9 targeted transgenes identifies the AAVS1 locus as not an entirely safe harbour
Background: Diseases such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) can lead to severe outcomes including sudden death. The generation of human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) reporter lines can be useful for disease modelling and drug screening by providing physiologically relevant in vitro models of disease. The AAVS1 locus is cited as a safe harbour that is permissive for stable transgene expression, and hence is favoured for creating gene targeted reporter lines.Methods: We generated hiPSC reporters using a plasmid-based CRISPR/Cas9 nickase strategy. The first intron of PPP1R12C, the AAVS1 locus, was targeted with constructs expressing a genetically encoded calcium indicator (R-GECO1.0) or HOXA9-T2A-mScarlet reporter under the control of a pCAG or inducible pTRE promoter, respectively. Transgene expression was compared between clones before, during and/or after directed differentiation to mesodermal lineages.Results: Successful targeting to AAVS1 was confirmed by PCR and sequencing. Of 24 hiPSC clones targeted with pCAG-R-GECO1.0, only 20 expressed the transgene and in these, the percentage of positive cells ranged from 0% to 99.5%. Differentiation of a subset of clones produced cardiomyocytes, wherein the percentage of cells positive for R-GECO1.0 ranged from 2.1% to 93.1%. In the highest expressing R-GECO1.0 clones, transgene silencing occurred during cardiomyocyte differentiation causing a decrease in expression from 98.93% to 1.3%. In HOXA9-T2A-mScarlet hiPSC reporter lines directed towards mesoderm lineages, doxycycline induced a peak in transgene expression after two days but this reduced by up to ten-thousand-fold over the next 8-10 days. Nevertheless, for R-GECO1.0 lines differentiated into cardiomyocytes, transgene expression was rescued by continuous puromycin drug selection, which allowed the Ca2+ responses associated with HCM to be investigated in vitro using single cell analysis.Conclusions: Targeted knock-ins to AAVS1 can be used to create reporter lines but variability between clones and transgene silencing requires careful attention by researchers seeking robust reporter gene expression
Spin-dependent effective interactions for halo nuclei
We discuss the spin-dependence of the effective two-body interactions
appropriate for three-body computations. The only reasonable choice seems to be
the fine and hyperfine interactions known for atomic electrons interacting with
the nucleus. One exception is the nucleon-nucleon interaction imposing a
different type of symmetry. We use the two-neutron halo nucleus 11Li as
illustration. We demonstrate that models with the wrong spin-dependence are
basically without predictive power. The Pauli forbidden core and valence states
must be consistently treated.Comment: TeX file, 6 pages, 3 postscript figure
Milagrito: a TeV air-shower array
Milagrito, a large, covered water-Cherenkov detector, was the world's first
air-shower-particle detector sensitive to cosmic gamma rays below 1 TeV. It
served as a prototype for the Milagro detector and operated from February 1997
to May 1998. This paper gives a description of Milagrito, a summary of the
operating experience, and early results that demonstrate the capabilities of
this technique.Comment: 38 pages including 24 figure
On the geometrization of matter by exotic smoothness
In this paper we discuss the question how matter may emerge from space. For
that purpose we consider the smoothness structure of spacetime as underlying
structure for a geometrical model of matter. For a large class of compact
4-manifolds, the elliptic surfaces, one is able to apply the knot surgery of
Fintushel and Stern to change the smoothness structure. The influence of this
surgery to the Einstein-Hilbert action is discussed. Using the Weierstrass
representation, we are able to show that the knotted torus used in knot surgery
is represented by a spinor fulfilling the Dirac equation and leading to a
mass-less Dirac term in the Einstein-Hilbert action. For sufficient complicated
links and knots, there are "connecting tubes" (graph manifolds, torus bundles)
which introduce an action term of a gauge field. Both terms are genuinely
geometrical and characterized by the mean curvature of the components. We also
discuss the gauge group of the theory to be U(1)xSU(2)xSU(3).Comment: 30 pages, 3 figures, svjour style, complete reworking now using
Fintushel-Stern knot surgery of elliptic surfaces, discussion of Lorentz
metric and global hyperbolicity for exotic 4-manifolds added, final version
for publication in Gen. Rel. Grav, small typos errors fixe
Fate of biosolids trace metals in a dryland wheat agroecosystem
Biosolids land application for beneficial reuse applies varying
amounts of trace metals to soils. Measuring plant-available or
total soil metals is typically performed to ensure environmental
protection, but these techniques do not quantify which
soil phases play important roles in terms of metal release or
attenuation. This study assessed the distribution of Cd, Cr,
Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, and Zn associated with soluble/exchangeable,
specifically adsorbed/carbonate-bound, amorphous Mn
hydroxyoxide-bound, amorphous Fe hydroxyoxideâbound,
organically complexed, and residual inorganic phases. Biosolids
were applied every 2 yr from 1982 to 2002 (except in 1998)
at rates of 0, 6.7, 13.4, 26.8, and 40.3 dry Mg biosolids ha?1
to 3.6- by 17.1-m plots. In 2003, 0- to 20-cm and 20- to
60-cm soil depths were collected and subjected to 4 mol L?1
HNO3 digestion and sequential extraction. Trace metals were
concentrated in the 0- to 20-cm depth, with no significant
observable downward movement using 4 mol L?1 HNO3 or
sequential extraction. The sequential extraction showed nearly
all measurable Cd present in relatively mobile forms and Cr,
Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, and Zn present in more resistant phases.
Biosolids application did not affect Cd or Cr fractionation
but did increase relatively immobile Cu, Mo, and Zn phases
and relatively mobile Cu, Ni, and Pb pools. The mobile
phases have not contributed to significant downward metal
movement. Long-term, repeated biosolids applications at rates
considered several times greater than agronomic levels should
not significantly contribute to downward metal transport and
ground water contamination for soils under similar climatic
conditions, agronomic practices, and histories
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