872 research outputs found
Ozone sensitivity of wild field layer plant species of northern Europe.
The increasing tropospheric ozone (O3) concentration constitutes a potential threat to nature. Plants are known to
react to O3, but knowledge of the sensitivity and type of responses of different species and plant communities is
widely lacking. This review focuses on the ecological effects of O3 on northern wild field layer plant species.
Most of the 65 species examined thus far have proven to be quite tolerant of O3. Visible symptoms were observed
in 54% of the 61 species studied, and growth reduction in 31% of the 55 species studied for growth.
There were no signs to suggest that certain families or vegetation types are more sensitive or tolerant than others.
There were, however, clear differences in sensitivity between the different species. It seems that forbs are usually
more sensitive than grasses. It should be kept in mind, however, that we still lack knowledge on the responses of
many common and abundant key species. The long-term effects are also far from clear. Hardly any field examinations
have been carried out on the effects of O3 on plant communities
Kinetics of the Reactions of CH2Cl, CH3CHCl, and CH3CCl2 Radicals with Cl2 in the Temperature Range 191-363 K
Peer reviewe
Magnetic nanocomposites at microwave frequencies
Most conventional magnetic materials used in the electronic devices are
ferrites, which are composed of micrometer-size grains. But ferrites have small
saturation magnetization, therefore the performance at GHz frequencies is
rather poor. That is why functionalized nanocomposites comprising magnetic
nanoparticles (e.g. Fe, Co) with dimensions ranging from a few nm to 100 nm,
and embedded in dielectric matrices (e.g. silicon oxide, aluminium oxide) have
a significant potential for the electronics industry. When the size of the
nanoparticles is smaller than the critical size for multidomain formation,
these nanocomposites can be regarded as an ensemble of particles in
single-domain states and the losses (due for example to eddy currents) are
expected to be relatively small. Here we review the theory of magnetism in such
materials, and we present a novel measurement method used for the
characterization of the electromagnetic properties of composites with
nanomagnetic insertions. We also present a few experimental results obtained on
composites consisting of iron nanoparticles in a dielectric matrix.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, 5 table
Developing LCA-based benchmarks for sustainable consumption - for and with users
This article presents the development process of a consumer-oriented, illustrative benchmarking tool enabling consumers to use the results of environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) to make informed decisions. Active and environmentally conscious consumers and environmental communicators were identified as key target groups for this type of information. A brochure presenting the benchmarking tool was developed as an participatory, iterative process involving consumer focus groups, stakeholder workshops and questionnaire-based feedback. In addition to learning what works and what does not, detailed suggestions on improved wording and figures were obtained, as well as a wealth of ideas for future applications
Ferromagnetic resonance in -Co magnetic composites
We investigate the electromagnetic properties of assemblies of nanoscale
-cobalt crystals with size range between 5 nm to 35 nm, embedded in a
polystyrene (PS) matrix, at microwave (1-12 GHz) frequencies. We investigate
the samples by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging, demonstrating
that the particles aggregate and form chains and clusters. By using a broadband
coaxial-line method, we extract the magnetic permeability in the frequency
range from 1 to 12 GHz, and we study the shift of the ferromagnetic resonance
with respect to an externally applied magnetic field. We find that the
zero-magnetic field ferromagnetic resonant peak shifts towards higher
frequencies at finite magnetic fields, and the magnitude of complex
permeability is reduced. At fields larger than 2.5 kOe the resonant frequency
changes linearly with the applied magnetic field, demonstrating the transition
to a state in which the nanoparticles become dynamically decoupled. In this
regime, the particles inside clusters can be treated as non-interacting, and
the peak position can be predicted from Kittel's ferromagnetic resonance theory
for non-interacting uniaxial spherical particles combined with the
Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert (LLG) equation. In contrast, at low magnetic fields
this magnetic order breaks down and the resonant frequency in zero magnetic
field reaches a saturation value reflecting the interparticle interactions as
resulting from aggregation. Our results show that the electromagnetic
properties of these composite materials can be tuned by external magnetic
fields and by changes in the aggregation structure.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figure
Effect of Methyl Group Substitution on the Kinetics of Vinyl Radical + O-2 Reaction
The kinetics of (CH3)(2)CCH + O-2 (1) and (CH3)(2)CCCH3 + O-2 (2) reactions have been measured as a function of temperature (223-600 K) at low pressures (0.4-2 Torr) using a tubular laminar flow reactor coupled to a photoionization mass spectrometer (PIMS). These reactions are important for accurate modeling of unsaturated hydrocarbon combustion. Photolysis of a brominated precursor by a pulsed excimer laser radiation at 248 nm wavelength along the flow reactor axis was used for the production of radicals. The measured bimolecular rate coefficient of reaction 1 shows a negative temperature dependence over the temperature range 223-384 K and becomes temperature independent at higher temperatures. The bimolecular rate coefficient of reaction 2 exhibits a negative temperature dependence throughout the experimental temperature range. The bimolecular rate coefficients of reactions 1 and 2 are expected to be at the high-pressure limit under the current experimental conditions, and the following values are obtained at 298 K: k(1)(298 K) = (4.5 +/- 0.5) x 10(-12) cm(3) s(-1) and k(2)(298 = (8.9 +/- 1.0) x 10(-12) cm(3) s(-1). The observed products for reactions 1 and 2 were CH3COCH3 and CH3 + CH3COCH3, respectively. Substituting both beta-hydrogens in the vinyl radical (CH2CH) with methyl groups decreases the rate coefficient of the CH2CH + O-2 reaction by about 50%. However, the rate coefficient of the triply substituted (CH3)(2)CCCH3 radical reaction with O-2 is almost identical to the CH2CH + O-2 rate coefficient under the covered temperature range.Peer reviewe
Impalement transitions in droplets impacting microstructured superhydrophobic surfaces
Liquid droplets impacting a superhydrophobic surface decorated with
micro-scale posts often bounce off the surface. However, by decreasing the
impact velocity droplets may land on the surface in a fakir state, and by
increasing it posts may impale droplets that are then stuck on the surface. We
use a two-phase lattice-Boltzmann model to simulate droplet impact on
superhydrophobic surfaces, and show that it may result in a fakir state also
for reasonable high impact velocities. This happens more easily if the surface
is made more hydrophobic or the post height is increased, thereby making the
impaled state energetically less favourable.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Europhysics Letter
Archaea are prominent members of the prokaryotic communities colonizing common forest mushrooms
In this study, the abundance and composition of prokaryotic communities associated with the inner tissue of fruiting bodies of Suillus bovinus, Boletus pinophilus, Cantharellus cibarius, Agaricus arvensis, Lycoperdon perlatum, and Piptoporus betulinus were analyzed using culture-independent methods. Our findings indicate that archaea and bacteria colonize the internal tissues of all investigated specimens and that archaea are prominent members of the prokaryotic community. The ratio of archaeal 16S rRNA gene copy numbers to those of bacteria was >1 in the fruiting bodies of four out of six fungal species included in the study. The largest proportion of archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences belonged to thaumarchaeotal classes Terrestrial group, Miscellaneous Crenar-chaeotic Group (MCG), and Thermoplasmata. Bacterial communities showed characteristic compositions in each fungal species. Bacterial classes Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacilli, and Clostridia were prominent among communities in fruiting body tissues. Bacterial populations in each fungal species had different characteristics. The results of this study imply that fruiting body tissues are an important habitat for abundant and diverse populations of archaea and bacteria.Peer reviewe
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