Enhancing high-order harmonic generation in light molecules by using chirped pulses

One of the current challenges in high-harmonic generation is to extend the harmonic cutoff to increasingly high energies while maintaining or even increasing the efficiency of the high-harmonic emission. Here we show that the combined effect of down-chirped pulses and nuclear dynamics in light molecules allows one to achieve this goal, provided that long enough IR pulses are used to allow the nuclei to move well outside the Franck-Condon region. We also show that, by varying the duration of the chirped pulse or by performing isotopic substitution while keeping the pulse duration constant, one can control the extension of the harmonic plateauWe gratefully acknowledge fruitful discussions with Y.Mairesse. This work has been accomplished with a generous allocation of computer time from Mare Nostrum BSC and CCC-UAM and has been partially supported by the European Research Council Advanced Grant No. XCHEM 290853, MINECO Project No. FIS2013-42002-R, ERA-Chemistry Project No. PIM2010EEC-00751, European Grant No. MC-ITN CORINF, European COST Action XLIC CM1204, and the CAM project NANOFRONTMAG. R. E. F. S. acknowledges FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal, Grant No. SFRH/BD/84053/201

Stand density management diagrams of Eucalyptus Viminalis: predicting stem volume, biomass and canopy cover for different production purposes

Stand density management diagrams (SDMD) provide a guide for forest density management taking into account stands attributes such as trees´ diameter or volume. One of the most common species planted in Pampean plains of Argentina is Eucalyptus viminalis for multiple objectives: solid wood use or firewood in local markets, pulp for cellulose industry and to provide services for agriculture and cattle raising (windbreaks or cattle refuge). The objective of this study was to gather the available production information /inventory data and to develop a first SDMD for estimating standing volume, biomass and canopy cover of E. viminalis as a tool for forest managers aiming at different plantation purposes. Data to develop the SDMD were obtained from 161 plots, distributed along a climate and soil gradient. We also generated two predictive equations capable of estimating dominant height from the diameter of the trees as well as canopy cover from stand basal area. As an example of application, the SDMD was used to estimate the wood production of three alternative systems: a) an unmanaged plantation (simulating a common practice in the region), b) a mixed production system such as an agroforestry system, and c) a plantation that maximizes wood biomass or volume production.Estación Experimental Agropecuaria BarilocheFil: Gyenge, Javier. INTA. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Agencia de Extensión Rural Tandil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lupi, Ana Maria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales. Instituto De Investigación Suelos; ArgentinaFil: Ferrere, Paula. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Pergamino. Agencia de Extensión Rural 9 de Julio; ArgentinaFil: Milione, Germán Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff (IHLLA); ArgentinaFil: Martinez Meier, Alejandro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experiemental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Área de Recursos Forestales. Grupo de Ecología Forestal; ArgentinaFil: Caballe, Gonzalo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experiemental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Área de Recursos Forestales. Grupo de Ecología Forestal; ArgentinaFil: Dominguez Daguer, Diego. Ministerio de Agroindustria de la Nación. Subsecretaría de Desarrollo Foresto Industrial; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez, María Elena. INTA. Estación Experiemental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Agencia de Extensión Rural Tandil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Impact of Donor Milk on Short- and Long-Term Growth of Very Low Birth Weight Infants

Mother’s own milk (MOM) reduces the risk of morbidities in very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. When MOM is unavailable, donor breastmilk (DM) is used, with unclear impact on short- and long-term growth. This retrospective analysis compared anthropometric data at six time points from birth to 20–24 months corrected age in VLBW infants who received MOM supplements of preterm formula (n = 160) versus fortified DM (n = 161) during neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization. The cohort was 46% female; mean birth weight and gestational age (GA) were 998 g and 27.3 weeks. Multilevel linear growth models assessed changes in growth z-scores short-term (to NICU discharge) and long-term (post-discharge), controlling for amount of DM or formula received in first 28 days of life, NICU length of stay (LOS), birth GA, and sex. Z-scores for weight and length decreased during hospitalization but increased for all parameters including head circumference post-discharge. Short-term growth was positively associated with LOS and birth GA. A higher preterm formula proportion, but not DM proportion, was associated with slower rates of decline in short-term growth trajectories, but feeding type was unrelated to long-term growth. In conclusion, controlling for total human milk fed, DM did not affect short- or long-term growth

Lactation and neonatal nutrition: defining and refining the critical questions.

This paper resulted from a conference entitled "Lactation and Milk: Defining and refining the critical questions" held at the University of Colorado School of Medicine from January 18-20, 2012. The mission of the conference was to identify unresolved questions and set future goals for research into human milk composition, mammary development and lactation. We first outline the unanswered questions regarding the composition of human milk (Section I) and the mechanisms by which milk components affect neonatal development, growth and health and recommend models for future research. Emerging questions about how milk components affect cognitive development and behavioral phenotype of the offspring are presented in Section II. In Section III we outline the important unanswered questions about regulation of mammary gland development, the heritability of defects, the effects of maternal nutrition, disease, metabolic status, and therapeutic drugs upon the subsequent lactation. Questions surrounding breastfeeding practice are also highlighted. In Section IV we describe the specific nutritional challenges faced by three different populations, namely preterm infants, infants born to obese mothers who may or may not have gestational diabetes, and infants born to undernourished mothers. The recognition that multidisciplinary training is critical to advancing the field led us to formulate specific training recommendations in Section V. Our recommendations for research emphasis are summarized in Section VI. In sum, we present a roadmap for multidisciplinary research into all aspects of human lactation, milk and its role in infant nutrition for the next decade and beyond

Adaptive Introgression across Semipermeable Species Boundaries between Local Helicoverpa zea and Invasive Helicoverpa armigera Moths.

Hybridization between invasive and native species has raised global concern, given the dramatic increase in species range shifts and pest outbreaks due to anthropogenic dispersal. Nevertheless, secondary contact between sister lineages of local and invasive species provides a natural laboratory to understand the factors that determine introgression and the maintenance or loss of species barriers. Here, we characterize the early evolutionary outcomes following secondary contact between invasive Helicoverpa armigera and native H. zea in Brazil. We carried out whole-genome resequencing of Helicoverpa moths from Brazil in two temporal samples: during the outbreak of H. armigera in 2013 and 2017. There is evidence for a burst of hybridization and widespread introgression from local H. zea into invasive H. armigera coinciding with H. armigera expansion in 2013. However, in H. armigera, the admixture proportion and the length of introgressed blocks were significantly reduced between 2013 and 2017, suggesting selection against admixture. In contrast to the genome-wide pattern, there was striking evidence for adaptive introgression of a single region from the invasive H. armigera into local H. zea, including an insecticide resistance allele that increased in frequency over time. In summary, despite extensive gene flow after secondary contact, the species boundaries are largely maintained except for the single introgressed region containing the insecticide-resistant locus. We document the worst-case scenario for an invasive species, in which there are now two pest species instead of one, and the native species has acquired resistance to pyrethroid insecticides through introgression

Nuevas herramientas para desarrollar propuestas de manejo de plantaciones de eucaliptos en la provincia de Buenos Aires

Este diagrama de manejo surge a partir de la información recabada por varios grupos de investigación, de datos publicados en revistas científicas e inclu- so, de material inédito. La información necesaria para construir este diagrama fue el número de individuos por hectárea (densidad del rodal1) y su tamaño (diá- metro estándar a la altura de 1,30 m o altura al pecho). A esto se le sumó la capacidad de estimar el volumen y la bio- masa, así como también, la cobertura aérea generada por el dosel arbóreo. Con esta información se construyó el diagrama de densidad cuyo principal objetivo fue el de poder estimar la cantidad de madera en pie o cosechada en cada momento (pudiendo valorarse el producto econó- micamente), así como también, el grado de cobertura arbórea para poder diagra- mar manejos de sistemas mixtos de pro- ducción como los silvopastoriles.EEA BalcarceFil: Gyenge, Javier. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Agencia de Extensión Rural Tandil; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lupi, Ana Maria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Centro de Investigación de Recursos Naturales. Instituto De Investigación Suelos; ArgentinaFil: Ferrere, Paula. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Pergamino. Agencia de Extensión Rural 9 de Julio; ArgentinaFil: Milione, Germán Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Técnicas. Instituto de Hidrología de Llanuras Dr. Eduardo Jorge Usunoff (IHLLA); ArgentinaFil: Martinez Meier, Alejandro. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Área de Recursos Forestales. Grupo de Ecología Forestal; ArgentinaFil: Caballé, Gonzalo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche. Área de Recursos Forestales. Grupo de Ecología Forestal; ArgentinaFil: Domínguez Daguer, Diego. Ministerio de Agroindustria de la Nación. Subsecretaría de Desarrollo Foresto Industrial; ArgentinaFil: Fernandez, María Elena. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Agencia de Extensión Rural Tandil; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Automatic Individual Identification of Patterned Solitary Species Based on Unlabeled Video Data

The manual processing and analysis of videos from camera traps is time-consuming and includes several steps, ranging from the filtering of falsely triggered footage to identifying and re-identifying individuals. In this study, we developed a pipeline to automatically analyze videos from camera traps to identify individuals without requiring manual interaction. This pipeline applies to animal species with uniquely identifiable fur patterns and solitary behavior, such as leopards (Panthera pardus). We assumed that the same individual was seen throughout one triggered video sequence. With this assumption, multiple images could be assigned to an individual for the initial database filling without pre-labeling. The pipeline was based on well-established components from computer vision and deep learning, particularly convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) features. We augmented this basis by implementing additional components to substitute otherwise required human interactions. Based on the similarity between frames from the video material, clusters were formed that represented individuals bypassing the open set problem of the unknown total population. The pipeline was tested on a dataset of leopard videos collected by the Pan African Programme: The Cultured Chimpanzee (PanAf) and achieved a success rate of over 83% for correct matches between previously unknown individuals. The proposed pipeline can become a valuable tool for future conservation projects based on camera trap data, reducing the work of manual analysis for individual identification, when labeled data is unavailable

Persistent anthrax as a major driver of wildlife mortality in a tropical rainforest

Anthrax is a globally important animal disease and zoonosis. Despite this, our current knowledge of anthrax ecology is largely limited to arid ecosystems, where outbreaks are most commonly reported. Here we show that the dynamics of an anthrax-causing agent, Bacillus cereus biovar anthracis, in a tropical rainforest have severe consequences for local wildlife communities. Using data and samples collected over three decades, we show that rainforest anthrax is a persistent and widespread cause of death for a broad range of mammalian hosts. We predict that this pathogen will accelerate the decline and possibly result in the extirpation of local chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) populations. We present the epidemiology of a cryptic pathogen and show that its presence has important implications for conservation

Differential branching fraction and angular analysis of the decay B0→K∗0μ+μ−

The angular distribution and differential branching fraction of the decay B 0→ K ∗0 μ + μ − are studied using a data sample, collected by the LHCb experiment in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.0 fb−1. Several angular observables are measured in bins of the dimuon invariant mass squared, q 2. A first measurement of the zero-crossing point of the forward-backward asymmetry of the dimuon system is also presented. The zero-crossing point is measured to be q20=4.9±0.9GeV2/c4 , where the uncertainty is the sum of statistical and systematic uncertainties. The results are consistent with the Standard Model predictions