3,554 research outputs found
Raman Spectroscopy Study of alpha-, beta-, gamma-NaxCoO2 and gamma-(Ca,Sr)xCoO2
Raman spectroscopy measurements have been performed on alpha-, beta-,
gamma-NaxCoO2 phases differing in their stacking of CoO6 octahedra along the
c-axis direction. The results demonstrate that, in general, there are five
active phonons for gamma-Na0.75CoO2, two Raman active phonons for alpha-NaCoO2,
and four Raman active phonons for beta-NaCoO2. We have also performed Raman
scattering measurements on several gamma-(Ca,Sr)xCoO2 (0.15 <= x <= 0.35)
samples which show well-defined intercalated Ca/Sr-ordering. The experimental
data show that the intercalated cation ordering could result in visible
alterations on Raman spectral structures. The observations of the spectral
changes along with the variation of the CoO6 stacking, as well as the
intercalated Sr/Ca ordering suggest that the interlayer interaction plays an
important role for understanding the lattice dynamics in this layered system.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures, Physical Review B, in pres
Simulating carbon and water fluxes using a coupled process-based terrestrial biosphere model and joint assimilation of leaf area index and surface soil moisture
Reliable modeling of carbon and water fluxes is essential for understanding
the terrestrial carbon and water cycles and informing policy strategies
aimed at constraining carbon emissions and improving water use efficiency.
We designed an assimilation framework (LPJ-Vegetation and soil moisture
Joint Assimilation, or LPJ-VSJA) to improve gross primary production (GPP)
and evapotranspiration (ET) estimates globally. The integrated model, LPJ-PM (LPJ-PT-JPLSM Model) as the underlying model, was coupled from the
Lund–Potsdam–Jena Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (LPJ-DGVM version 3.01)
and a hydrology module (i.e., the updated Priestley–Taylor Jet Propulsion
Laboratory model, PT-JPLSM). Satellite-based soil moisture products derived from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) and leaf area index (LAI) from the Global LAnd and Surface Satellite (GLASS) product were assimilated into LPJ-PM to improve GPP and ET simulations using a proper orthogonal decomposition (POD)-based ensemble four-dimensional variational assimilation method (PODEn4DVar). The joint assimilation framework LPJ-VSJA achieved the best model performance (with an R2 ( coefficient of determination) of 0.91 and 0.81 and an ubRMSD (unbiased root mean square deviation) reduced by 40.3 % and 29.9 % for GPP and ET, respectively, compared with those of LPJ-DGVM at the monthly scale). The GPP and ET resulting from the assimilation demonstrated a better
performance in the arid and semi-arid regions (GPP: R2 = 0.73,
ubRMSD = 1.05 g C m−2 d−1; ET: R2 = 0.73, ubRMSD = 0.61 mm d−1) than in the humid and sub-dry humid regions (GPP: R2 = 0.61, ubRMSD = 1.23 g C m−2 d−1; ET: R2 = 0.66; ubRMSD = 0.67 mm d−1). The ET simulated by LPJ-PM that assimilated SMAP or SMOS data had a slight difference, and the SMAP soil moisture data performed better than
SMOS data. Our global simulation modeled by LPJ-VSJA was compared
with several global GPP and ET products (e.g., GLASS GPP, GOSIF GPP, GLDAS
ET, and GLEAM ET) using the triple collocation (TC) method. Our products,
especially ET, exhibited advantages in the overall error distribution
(estimated error (μ): 3.4 mm per month; estimated standard deviation
of μ: 1.91 mm per month). Our research showed that the assimilation
of multiple datasets could reduce model uncertainties, while the model
performance differed across regions and plant functional types. Our
assimilation framework (LPJ-VSJA) can improve the model simulation
performance of daily GPP and ET globally, especially in water-limited
regions.</p
Measurement of the final states , , and from \psip electromagnetic decays and \ee annihilations
Cross sections and form factors for \ee \to \wpi, , and
\rho\etap at center of mass energies of 3.650, 3.686, and 3.773 GeV are
measured using data samples collected with the BESII detector at the BEPC.
Also, the branching fractions of \psi(2S) \rar \wpi, , and
\rho\etap are determined to be ,
, and
, respectively.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 4 table
Mortality benefits of vigorous air quality improvement interventions during the periods of APEC Blue and Parade Blue in Beijing, China
Vigorous air pollution control measures were implemented during the 2014 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and a large-scale military parade (described here as “APEC Blue” and “Parade Blue” periods) in Beijing, China. A natural experiment was conducted in a health impact assessment framework to estimate the number of deaths attributable to PM2.5, using concentration-response functions derived from previous studies conducted in Beijing, combined with the differences in PM2.5 concentrations between intervention and reference periods. Substantial reductions in daily PM2.5 concentrations were observed during both intervention periods. Using the same dates from the prior year as a reference, daily PM2.5 concentration decreased from 98.57 μg/m3 to 47.53 μg/m3 during “APEC Blue”, and from 59.15 μg/m3 to 17.07 μg/m3 during the “Parade Blue”. We estimated that 39–63 all-cause deaths (21–51 cardiovascular, 6–13 respiratory deaths) have been prevented during the APEC period; and 41–65 deaths (22–52 cardiovascular, 6–13 respiratory deaths) have been prevented during the Parade period. This study shows that substantial mortality reductions could be achieved by implementing stringent air pollution mitigation measures
MicroRNA-130b promotes lung cancer progression via PPARγ/VEGF-A/BCL-2-mediated suppression of apoptosis
Arsenic and Fluoride Exposure in Drinking Water: Children’s IQ and Growth in Shanyin County, Shanxi Province, China
BACKGROUND: Recently, in a cross-sectional study of 201 children in Araihazar, Bangladesh, exposure to arsenic (As) in drinking water has been shown to lower the scores on tests that measure children’s intellectual function before and after adjustment for sociodemographic features. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the effects of As and fluoride exposure on children’s intelligence and growth. METHODS: We report the results of a study of 720 children between 8 and 12 years of age in rural villages in Shanyin county, Shanxi province, China. The children were exposed to As at concentrations of 142 ± 106 μg/L (medium-As group) and 190 ± 183 μg/L (high-As group) in drinking water compared with the control group that was exposed to low concentrations of As (2 ± 3 μg/L) and low concentrations of fluoride (0.5 ± 0.2 mg/L). A study group of children exposed to high concentrations of fluoride (8.3 ± 1.9 mg/L) but low concentrations of As (3 ± 3 μg/L) was also included because of the common occurrence of elevated concentrations of fluoride in groundwater in our study area. A standardized IQ (intelligence quotient) test was modified for children in rural China and was based on the classic Raven’s test used to determine the effects of these exposures on children’s intelligence. A standardized measurement procedure for weight, height, chest circumference, and lung capacity was used to determine the effects of these exposures on children’s growth. RESULTS: The mean IQ scores decreased from 105 ± 15 for the control group, to 101 ± 16 for the medium-As group (p < 0.05), and to 95 ± 17 for the high-As group (p < 0.01). The mean IQ score for the high-fluoride group was 101 ± 16 and significantly different from that of the control group (p < 0.05). Children in the control group were taller than those in the high-fluoride group (p < 0.05); weighed more than the those in the high-As group (p < 0.05); and had higher lung capacity than those in the medium-As group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Children’s intelligence and growth can be affected by high concentrations of As or fluoride. The IQ scores of the children in the high-As group were the lowest among the four groups we investigated. It is more significant that high concentrations of As affect children’s intelligence. It indicates that arsenic exposure can affect children’s intelligence and growth
Observation of decays into vector meson pairs , , and
Decays of to vector meson pairs , and
are observed for the first time using
\psip events accumulated at the BESIII detector at the BEPCII
collider. The branching fractions are measured to be , , and , for , , and ,
respectively. The observation of decays into a pair of vector
mesons , and indicates that the hadron
helicity selection rule is significantly violated in decays. In
addition, the measurement of gives the rate of doubly
OZI-suppressed decay. Branching fractions for and
decays into other vector meson pairs are also measured with improved precision.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Study of and
The decays and have been
investigated with a sample of 225.2 million events collected with the
BESIII detector at the BEPCII collider. The branching fractions are
determined to be and . Distributions of the angle
between the proton or anti-neutron and the beam direction are well
described by the form , and we find
for and
for . Our branching-fraction
results suggest a large phase angle between the strong and electromagnetic
amplitudes describing the decay.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, the 2nd version, submitted to PR
Precision measurement of the branching fractions of J/psi -> pi+pi-pi0 and psi' -> pi+pi-pi0
We study the decays of the J/psi and psi' mesons to pi+pi-pi0 using data
samples at both resonances collected with the BES III detector in 2009. We
measure the corresponding branching fractions with unprecedented precision and
provide mass spectra and Dalitz plots. The branching fraction for J/psi ->
pi+pi-pi0 is determined to be (2.137 +- 0.004 (stat.) +0.058-0.056 (syst.)
+0.027-0.026 (norm.))*10-2, and the branching fraction for psi' -> pi+pi-pi0 is
measured as (2.14 +- 0.03 (stat.) +0.08-0.07 (syst.) +0.09-0.08 (norm.))*10-4.
The J/psi decay is found to be dominated by an intermediate rho(770) state,
whereas the psi' decay is dominated by di-pion masses around 2.2 GeV/c2,
leading to strikingly different Dalitz distributions.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure
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