46,986 research outputs found
Higher diversity of Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae populations in arable soils than in grass soils
The bacterial genetic diversity after long-term arable cultivation was compared with that under permanent grassland using replicated paired contrasts, Pea-nodulating Rhizobium leguminosarum populations were sampled from pairs of arable and grass sites at four locations in Yorkshire, United Kingdom, isolates were characterized using both chromosomal (16S-23S ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism) and plasmid (group-specific repC PCR amplification) markers. The diversities of chromosomal types, repC profiles, and combined genotypes were calculated using richness in types (adjusted to equal sample sizes by rarefaction), Shannon-Wiener index, and Simpson's index. The relative differences in diversity within each pair of sites were similar for all three diversity measures, Chromosomal types, repC profiles, and combined genotypes were each more diverse in arable soils than in grass soils at two of the four locations. The other comparisons showed no significant differences. We conclude that rhizobial diversity can be affected by differences between these two management regimens. Multiple regression analyses indicated that lower diversity was associated with high potential nitrogen and phosphate levels or with acidity
Earthquake source parameters of the 2009 Mw 7.8 Fiordland (New Zealand) earthquake from L-band InSAR observations
The 2009 MW7.8 Fiordland (New Zealand) earthquake is the largest to have occurred in New Zealand since the 1931 Mw 7.8 Hawke’s Bay earthquake, 1 000 km to the northwest. In this paper two tracks of ALOS PALSAR interferograms (one ascending and one descending) are used to determine fault geometry and slip distribution of this large earthquake. Modeling the event as dislocation in an elastic half-space suggests that the earthquake resulted from slip on a SSW-NNE orientated thrust fault that is associated with the subduction between the Pacific and Australian Plates, with oblique displacement of up to 6.3 m. This finding is consistent with the preliminary studies undertaken by the USGS using seismic data
Structural and Correlation Effects in the Itinerant Insulating Antiferromagnetic Perovskite NaOsO3
The orthorhombic perovskite NaOsO3 undergoes a continuous metal-insulator
transition (MIT), accompanied by antiferromagnetic (AFM) order at T_N=410 K,
suggested to be an example of the rare Slater (itinerant) MIT. We study this
system using ab initio and related methods, focusing on the origin and nature
of magnetic ordering and the MIT. The rotation and tilting of OsO6 octahedra in
the GdFeO3 structure result in moderate narrowing the band width of the t_{2g}
manifold, but sufficient to induce flattening of bands and AFM order within the
local spin density approximation (LSDA), where it remains metallic but with a
deep pseudogap. Including on-site Coulomb repulsion U, at U_c ~2 eV a MIT
occurs only in the AFM state. Effects of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) on the band
structure seem minor as expected for a half-filled shell, but SOC
doubles the critical value U_c necessary to open a gap and also leads to large
magnetocrystalline energy differences in spite of normal orbital moments no
greater than 0.1. Our results are consistent with a Slater MIT driven by
magnetic order, induced by a combination of structurally-induced band narrowing
and moderate Coulomb repulsion, with SOC necessary for a full picture. Strong
p-d hybridization reduces the moment, and when bootstrapped by the reduced
Hund's rule coupling (proportional to the moment) gives a calculated moment of
~1 , consistent with the observed moment and only a third of the formal
value. We raise and discuss one important question: since this AFM
ordering is at q=0 (in the 20 atom cell) where nesting is a moot issue, what is
the microscopic driving force for ordering and the accompanying MIT?Comment: 9 page
Single spin- and chiral-glass transition in vector spin glasses in three-dimensions
Results of Monte Carlo simulations of XY and Heisenberg spin glass models in
three dimensions are presented. A finite size scaling analysis of the
correlation length of the spins and chiralities of both models shows that there
is a single, finite-temperature transition at which both spins and chiralities
order.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures. Replaced by published versio
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