The nitrogen cycle in the Seine and Scheldt estuaries

The Seine and Scheldt estuaries are both located in the same geographical area and they represent important tributaries of the North Sea. Due to their high population density and large agricultural areas, the Seine and Scheldt estuaries receive extremely high nitrogen loads, mainly originating from wastewater and land fertilisers. The way this nitrogen is transformed in the system and exported to the North Sea depends on the characteristics of each system. The Seine and Scheldt estuaries are the outlet of river systems with respectively 78600 km² and 21500 km² watershed area, 420 and 108 m³/s average discharge, 46 and 40 % of agriculture area, and 195 and 425 inh./km² population density. Major difference between the estuaries lays in their hydrological characteristics. While the Seine estuary is typically channelled over most of its length with very reduced intertidal areas and short residence times (in the order of 1 week on the average), the Scheldt estuary has a typical funnel shape with large intertidal areas and long residence times (in the order of 1 month). The influence of these characteristics on major N-transformation processes (inorganic N assimilation by plankton, organic N mineralisation, nitrification, and denitrification) is presented and discussed, and the importance of both estuaries as sources of N for the North Sea is be evaluated

Direct evidence for ferroelectric polar distortion in ultrathin lead titanate perovskite films

X-ray photoelectron diffraction is used to directly probe the intra-cell polar atomic distortion and tetragonality associated with ferroelectricity in ultrathin epitaxial PbTiO3 films. Our measurements, combined with ab-initio calculations, unambiguously demonstrate non-centro-symmetry in films a few unit cells thick, imply that films as thin as 3 unit cells still preserve a ferroelectric polar distortion, and also show that there is no thick paraelectric dead layer at the surface

Comparative study of the Martian suprathermal electron depletions based on Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Express and Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN missions observations

Nightside suprathermal electron depletions have been observed at Mars by three spacecraft to date: Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Express, and the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission. This spatial and temporal diversity of measurements allows us to propose here a comprehensive view of the Martian electron depletions through the first multispacecraft study of the phenomenon. We have analyzed data recorded by the three spacecraft from 1999 to 2015 in order to better understand the distribution of the electron depletions and their creation mechanisms. Three simple criteria adapted to each mission have been implemented to identify more than 134,500 electron depletions observed between 125 and 900 km altitude. The geographical distribution maps of the electron depletions detected by the three spacecraft confirm the strong link existing between electron depletions and crustal magnetic field at altitudes greater than ~170 km. At these altitudes, the distribution of electron depletions is strongly different in the two hemispheres, with a far greater chance to observe an electron depletion in the Southern Hemisphere, where the strongest crustal magnetic sources are located. However, the unique MAVEN observations reveal that below a transition region near 160–170 km altitude the distribution of electron depletions is the same in both hemispheres, with no particular dependence on crustal magnetic fields. This result supports the suggestion made by previous studies that these low-altitudes events are produced through electron absorption by atmospheric CO2

Supersymmetry versus Integrability in two-dimensional Classical Mechanics

Supersymmetric extensions of Hamilton-Jacobi separable Liouville mechanical systems with two degrees of freedom are defined. It is shown that supersymmetry can be implemented in this type of systems in two independent ways. The structure of the constants of motion is unveiled and the entanglement between integrability and supersymmetry is explored.Comment: 28 pages, Added reference

X-ray photoelectron diffraction study of ultrathin PbTiO3 films

Abstract.: Full hemispherical X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) experiments have been performed to investigate at the atomic level ultrathin epitaxial c-axis oriented PbTiO3 (PTO) films grown on Nb-doped SrTiO3 substrates. Comparison between experiment and theory allows us to identify a preferential ferroelectric polarization state in a 60 Å -thick PTO film. Multiple scattering theory based on a cluster-model [ Phys. Rev. B $\textbf{63}$ , 075404 (2001)] is used to simulate the experiment

Resveratrol Improves Survival, Hemodynamics and Energetics in a Rat Model of Hypertension Leading to Heart Failure

Heart failure (HF) is characterized by contractile dysfunction associated with altered energy metabolism. This study was aimed at determining whether resveratrol, a polyphenol known to activate energy metabolism, could be beneficial as a metabolic therapy of HF. Survival, ventricular and vascular function as well as cardiac and skeletal muscle energy metabolism were assessed in a hypertensive model of HF, the Dahl salt-sensitive rat fed with a high-salt diet (HS-NT). Resveratrol (18 mg/kg/day; HS-RSV) was given for 8 weeks after hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy were established (which occurred 3 weeks after salt addition). Resveratrol treatment improved survival (64% in HS-RSV versus 15% in HS-NT, p<0.001), and prevented the 25% reduction in body weight in HS-NT (P<0.001). Moreover, RSV counteracted the development of cardiac dysfunction (fractional shortening −34% in HS-NT) as evaluated by echocardiography, which occurred without regression of hypertension or hypertrophy. Moreover, aortic endothelial dysfunction present in HS-NT was prevented in resveratrol-treated rats. Resveratrol treatment tended to preserve mitochondrial mass and biogenesis and completely protected mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation and PPARα (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α) expression. We conclude that resveratrol treatment exerts beneficial protective effects on survival, endothelium–dependent smooth muscle relaxation and cardiac contractile and mitochondrial function, suggesting that resveratrol or metabolic activators could be a relevant therapy in hypertension-induced HF

Fluctuation theorems for stochastic dynamics

Fluctuation theorems make use of time reversal to make predictions about entropy production in many-body systems far from thermal equilibrium. Here we review the wide variety of distinct, but interconnected, relations that have been derived and investigated theoretically and experimentally. Significantly, we demonstrate, in the context of Markovian stochastic dynamics, how these different fluctuation theorems arise from a simple fundamental time-reversal symmetry of a certain class of observables. Appealing to the notion of Gibbs entropy allows for a microscopic definition of entropy production in terms of these observables. We work with the master equation approach, which leads to a mathematically straightforward proof and provides direct insight into the probabilistic meaning of the quantities involved. Finally, we point to some experiments that elucidate the practical significance of fluctuation relations.Comment: 48 pages, 2 figures. v2: minor changes for consistency with published versio

Is it possible to experimentally verify the fluctuation relation? A review of theoretical motivations and numerical evidence

The theoretical motivations to perform experimental tests of the stationary state fluctuation relation are reviewed. The difficulties involved in such tests, evidenced by numerical simulations, are also discussed.Comment: 36 pages, 4 figures. Extended version of a presentation to the discussion "Is it possible to experimentally verify the fluctuation theorem?", IHP, Paris, December 1, 2006. Comments are very welcom

Spreading Dynamics of Polymer Nanodroplets

The spreading of polymer droplets is studied using molecular dynamics simulations. To study the dynamics of both the precursor foot and the bulk droplet, large drops of ~200,000 monomers are simulated using a bead-spring model for polymers of chain length 10, 20, and 40 monomers per chain. We compare spreading on flat and atomistic surfaces, chain length effects, and different applications of the Langevin and dissipative particle dynamics thermostats. We find diffusive behavior for the precursor foot and good agreement with the molecular kinetic model of droplet spreading using both flat and atomistic surfaces. Despite the large system size and long simulation time relative to previous simulations, we find no evidence of hydrodynamic behavior in the spreading droplet.Comment: Physical Review E 11 pages 10 figure