An analysis of the transient behavior of infiltrated tungsten composites including the effect of the melt layer Final report

Transient one dimensional heat transfer analysis of infiltrated tungsten composite

Sturgeon spawning grounds in the Odra River tributaries: A first assessment

As part of a feasibility study for the re-establishment of Acipenser sturio L., 1758 in its previous range in German and Polish waters, a habitat assessment was initiated for the Odra River watershed. Spawning habitat for sturgeons is considered to be of major importance for the successful restoration and subsequent reproduction of the species, since it supports the most vulnerable life stages. The ongoing restoration project comprises three distinct phases; the first phase included the evaluation of readily available habitat. Habitat requirements were identified based on published information on sturgeon reproduction, historical catch data, and early life history. Potential spawning habitats were determined in a first step based on historic records. For the identified historic spawning sites, recent data on migration obstacles and water pollution were evaluated, thus excluding non-accessible or adversely affected sites. In the Drawa River -described as a sturgeon spawning habitat until 1939- potentially suitable habitats were determined to be readily available. Data were gathered on the dynamic of the discharge, water quality, longitudinal profiles and cross-sections of the river, as well as substrate composition. Five river stretches comprising approximately 15 000 m³ were identified as being potentially suitable for sturgeon spawning. Assuming an average fertility of 1 million eggs per female and a maximum density of 3 500 eggs/m³, the spawning-site surface required for an average female would comprise approximately 350 m³. Thus, the Drawa River could provide a spawning habitat for approx. 50 females.Como parte de un estudio de viabilidad para el restablecimiento de Acipenser sturio L., 1758 en su distribución original en aguas alemanas y polacas, se inició una valoración del hábitat en la cuenca del río Oder. Se considera que el hábitat de freza para los esturiones es de mayor importancia para el éxito de la recuperación y subsecuente reproducción de las especies, ya que mantiene los estados vitales más vulnerables. El proyecto de recuperación en marcha comprende tres fases diferentes; la primera incluyó la evaluación de hábitat fácilmente disponible. Los requerimientos de hábitat fueron identificados a partir de información publicada sobre la reproducción del esturión, datos históricos de capturas, e historia natural temprana. Los hábitats potenciales de freza fueron determinados, en una primera fase, a partir de citas históricas. Para los lugares de freza históricos identificados, los datos recientes sobre obstáculos a la migración y contaminación del agua fueron evaluados, excluyendo los lugares no accesibles o adversamente afectados. En el río Drawa -descrito como un hábitat de freza para el esturión hasta 1939- los hábitats potencialmente apropiados fueron determinados para ser fácilmente disponibles. Se reunieron datos sobre dinámica de la descarga, calidad del agua, perfiles longitudinales y secciones transversales del río, así como de la composición del sustrato. Cinco secciones fluviales, comprendiendo aproximadamente 15 000 m³, fueron identificadas como potencialmente apropiadas para la freza del esturión. Asumiendo una fecundidad media de un millón de huevos por hembra y una densidad máxima de 3 500 huevos/m³, la superficie de lugar de freza requerida para una hembra media comprendería aproximadamente 350 m³. Así, el río Drawa podría proporcionar un hábitat de freza para aproximadamente 50 hembras.Instituto Español de Oceanografí

Inferring functional extinction based on sighting records

© The Author(s), 2016. This is the author's version of the work and is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Biological Conservation 199 (2016): 84-87, doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.04.034.The term functional extinction is used to describe a permanent failure of reproduction or recruitment in a population. Functional extinction results in a truncation of the age distribution, but this can be very difficult to detect in poorly studied populations. Here, we describe a novel statistical method for detecting functional extinction based on a sighting record of individuals of known or estimated ages. The method is based on a simple population dynamics model and simulation results show that it works well even with limited data. The method is illustrated using a sighting record of the ship sturgeon (Acipenser nudiventris) in the Danube River. The results indicate that this population is functionally extinct, most likely by 2002. Management implications of this finding are discussed.The authors also acknowledge the sponsorship provided by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Federal German Ministry for Education and Research, as well as the support by the Project No. 173045, funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia.2017-05-1

Local Detection of Quantum Correlations with a Single Trapped Ion

As one of the most striking features of quantum mechanics, quantum correlations are at the heart of quantum information science. Detection of correlations usually requires access to all the correlated subsystems. However, in many realistic scenarios this is not feasible since only some of the subsystems can be controlled and measured. Such cases can be treated as open quantum systems interacting with an inaccessible environment. Initial system-environment correlations play a fundamental role for the dynamics of open quantum systems. Following a recent proposal, we exploit the impact of the correlations on the open-system dynamics to detect system-environment quantum correlations without accessing the environment. We use two degrees of freedom of a trapped ion to model an open system and its environment. The present method does not require any assumptions about the environment, the interaction or the initial state and therefore provides a versatile tool for the study of quantum systems.Comment: 6 Pages, 5 Figures + 6 Pages, 1 Figure of Supplementary Materia

Leaf-associated fungal diversity in acidified streams: insights from combining traditional and molecular approaches

We combined microscopic and molecular methods to investigate fungal assemblages on alder leaf litter exposed in the benthic and hyporheic zones of five streams across a gradient of increasing acidification for 4 weeks. The results showed that acidification and elevated Al concentrations strongly depressed sporulating aquatic hyphomycetes diversity in both zones of streams, while fungal diversity assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) appeared unaffected. Clone library analyses revealed that fungal communities on leaves were dominated by members of Ascomycetes and to a lesser extent by Basidiomycetes and Chytridiomycetes. An important contribution of terrestrial fungi was observed in both zones of the most acidified stream and in the hyporheic zone of the reference circumneutral stream. The highest leaf breakdown rate was observed in the circumneutral stream and occurred in the presence of both the highest diversity of sporulating aquatic hyphomycetes and the highest contribution to clone libraries of sequences affiliated with aquatic hypho- mycetes. Both methods underline the major role played by aquatic hyphomycetes in leaf decom- position process. Our findings also bring out new highlights on the identity of leaf-associated fungal communities and their responses to anthropogenic alteration of running water ecosystems

Vaccine-preventable haemophilus influenza type B disease burden and cost-effectiveness of infant vaccination in Indonesia.

BACKGROUND: Most of Asia, including Indonesia, does not use Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) conjugate vaccines. We estimated total vaccine-preventable disease burden and the cost-effectiveness of Hib conjugate vaccine in Indonesia. METHODS: Hib pneumonia and meningitis incidences for children with access to health care were derived from a randomized vaccine probe study on Lombok Island, Indonesia during 1998-2002. Incidences were adjusted for limited access to care. Health system and patient out-of-pocket treatment cost data were collected concurrent with the probe study. For Hib vaccine in monovalent and combined (with DTP-HepB) presentations, we used 2007 UNICEF vaccine prices of US$3.30 and$3.75 per dose. RESULTS: For the 2007 Indonesian birth cohort, Hib vaccine would prevent meningitis in 1 of every 179 children, pneumonia in 1 of every 18 children, and 4.9% of mortality among those younger than 5 years. The total incremental societal costs of introducing Hib vaccine in monovalent and pentavalent presentations were, respectively, US$11.74 and$8.93 per child vaccinated. Annual discounted treatment costs averted amounted to 20% of pentavalent vaccine costs. For the pentavalent vaccine, the incremental costs per discounted death and disability adjusted life-year averted amounted to US$3102 and$74, respectively, versus $4438 and$102 for monovalent vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: Routine infant Hib vaccination would prevent a large burden of pediatric illness and death in Indonesia. Even without external funding support, Hib vaccine will be a highly cost-effective intervention in either a monovalent or pentavalent presentation based on commonly used benchmarks

Commissioning of the electron injector for the AWAKE experiment

The advanced wakefield experiment (AWAKE) at CERN is the first proton beam-driven plasma wakefield acceleration experiment. The main goal of AWAKE RUN 1 was to demonstrate seeded self-modulation (SSM) of the proton beam and electron witness beam acceleration in the plasma wakefield. For the AWAKE experiment, a 10-meter-long Rubidium-vapor cell together with a high-power laser for ionization was used to generate the plasma. The plasma wakefield is driven by a 400 GeV/c proton beam extracted from the super proton synchrotron (SPS), which undergoes a seeded self-modulation process in the plasma. The electron witness beam used to probe the wakefields is generated from an S-band RF photo-cathode gun and then accelerated by a booster structure up to energies between 16 and 20 MeV. The first run of the AWAKE experiment revealed that the maximum energy gain after the plasma cell is 2 GeV, and the SSM mechanism of the proton beam was verified. In this paper, we will present the details of the AWAKE electron injector. A comparison of the measured electron beam parameters, such as beam size, energy, and normalized emittance, with the simulation results was performed