2,099 research outputs found
Energy balance of different organic biogas farming systems
The ecological impact of biogas plants depends on their integration into a given farming system. Therefore only farm-specific and no general statements are possible. In this paper, two different concepts of biogas production for an organic cash crop farm have been energetically balanced using a model software. The analysis of input and efficient use of fossil energy carriers provides information on the environmental relevance of the farm operations. Apart from this, renewable energy production in the farming systems is compared to food production, and changes in the farm output are described. It turns out that organically run cash crop farms can benefit from a reasonable integration of a biogas plant, both in food crop and energy production. An increased orientation on the growing of energy crops, however, leads to worse utilization of fossil energy carriers and reduced food production
The Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey parent population - I. Sample selection and number counts
We present the selection of the Jodrell Bank Flat-spectrum (JBF) radio source
sample, which is designed to reduce the uncertainties in the Cosmic Lens
All-Sky Survey (CLASS) gravitational lensing statistics arising from the lack
of knowledge about the parent population luminosity function. From observations
at 4.86 GHz with the Very Large Array, we have selected a sample of 117
flat-spectrum radio sources with flux densities greater than 5 mJy. These
sources were selected in a similar manner to the CLASS complete sample and are
therefore representative of the parent population at low flux densities. The
vast majority (~90 per cent) of the JBF sample are found to be compact on the
arcsecond scales probed here and show little evidence of any extended radio jet
emission. Using the JBF and CLASS complete samples we find the differential
number counts slope of the parent population above and below the CLASS 30 mJy
flux density limit to be -2.07+/-0.02 and -1.96+/-0.12, respectively.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Quantifying morphological variability within extant mammalian species
Main articleIn this study we attempt to establish a baseline for measuring species variability in the
palaeontological record by using linear regression analysis on sets of measurements from extant
mammalian species (males and females within species). In particular, this study explores the
standard error of the m-coefficient (s.e.m) , derived from linear regression analyses associated with
equations of the form y = mx + c, to quantify the degree of morphological variability within extant
mammalian species. The slope m generally centres around 1.00. Even though the species in this
study range in size from small rodents to large ungulates, s.e'm values show a normal distribution
around a mean of 0.035 . The approach outlined here has potential application in palaeontological
contexts where there is uncertainty about any two specimens being conspecific.Foundation for Research Development
The Role of Viperin in the Innate Antiviral Response
AbstractViral infection of the cell is able to initiate a signaling cascade of events that ultimately attempts to limit viral replication and prevent escalating infection through expression of host antiviral proteins. Recent work has highlighted the importance of the host antiviral protein viperin in this process, with its ability to limit a large variety of viral infections as well as play a role in the production of type I interferon and the modulation of a number of transcription factor binding sites. Viperin appears to have the ability to modulate varying conditions within the cell and to interfere with proviral host proteins in its attempts to create an unfavorable environment for viral replication. The study of the mechanistic actions of viperin has come a long way in recent years, describing important functional domains of the protein for its antiviral and immune modulator actions as well as demonstrating its role as a member of the radical SAM enzyme family. However, despite the rapid expansion of knowledge regarding the functions of this highly conserved and ancient antiviral protein, there still remains large gaps in our understanding of the precise mechanisms at play for viperin to exert such a wide variety of roles within the cell
Exchange-energy functionals for finite two-dimensional systems
Implicit and explicit density functionals for the exchange energy in finite
two-dimensional systems are developed following the approach of Becke and
Roussel [Phys. Rev. A 39, 3761 (1989)]. Excellent agreement for the
exchange-hole potentials and exchange energies is found when compared with the
exact-exchange reference data for the two-dimensional uniform electron gas and
few-electron quantum dots, respectively. Thereby, this work significantly
improves the availability of approximate density functionals for dealing with
electrons in quasi-two-dimensional structures, which have various applications
in semiconductor nanotechnology.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Elastic moduli approximation of higher symmetry for the acoustical properties of an anisotropic material
The issue of how to define and determine an optimal acoustical fit to a set
of anisotropic elastic constants is addressed. The optimal moduli are defined
as those which minimize the mean squared difference in the acoustical tensors
between the given moduli and all possible moduli of a chosen higher material
symmetry. The solution is shown to be identical to minimizing a Euclidean
distance function, or equivalently, projecting the tensor of elastic stiffness
onto the appropriate symmetry. This has implications for how to best select
anisotropic constants to acoustically model complex materials.Comment: 20 page
Introgressive hybridization and the evolutionary history of the herring gull complex revealed by mitochondrial and nuclear DNA
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Based on extensive mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence data, we previously showed that the model of speciation among species of herring gull (<it>Larus argentatus</it>) complex was not that of a ring species, but most likely due more complex speciation scenario's. We also found that two species, herring gull and glaucous gull (<it>L. hyperboreus</it>) displayed an unexpected biphyletic distribution of their mtDNA haplotypes. It was evident that mtDNA sequence data alone were far from sufficient to obtain a more accurate and detailed insight into the demographic processes that underlie speciation of this complex, and that extensive autosomal genetic analysis was warranted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For this reason, the present study focuses on the reconstruction of the phylogeographic history of a limited number of gull species by means of a combined approach of mtDNA sequence data and 230 autosomal amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) loci. At the species level, the mtDNA and AFLP genetic data were largely congruent. Not only for <it>argentatus </it>and <it>hyperboreus</it>, but also among a third species, great black-backed gull (<it>L. marinus</it>) we observed two distinct groups of mtDNA sequence haplotypes. Based on the AFLP data we were also able to detect distinct genetic subgroups among the various <it>argentatus</it>, <it>hyperboreus</it>, and <it>marinus </it>populations, supporting our initial hypothesis that complex demographic scenario's underlie speciation in the herring gull complex.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We present evidence that for each of these three biphyletic gull species, extensive mtDNA introgression could have taken place among the various geographically distinct subpopulations, or even among current species. Moreover, based on a large number of autosomal AFLP loci, we found evidence for distinct and complex demographic scenario's for each of the three species we studied. A more refined insight into the exact phylogeographic history within the herring gull complex is still impossible, and requires detailed autosomal sequence information, a topic of our future studies.</p
High-resolution 3D reflection seismic on a tidal flat: acquisition, processing and interpretation
The survey was carried out on the Plaat van Oude Tonge, an intertidal shoal in the Eastern Scheldt inlet. The high resolution reveals internal structures in a dune-like structure which is in contradiction with the general NE-SW trend of the ridges of the Westland Formation. The 3D figures show relief in the flanks of the dune, structures which may have been caused by erosion from surface water run-off
Poly-MTO, {(CH_3)_{0.92} Re O_3}_\infty, a Conducting Two-Dimensional Organometallic Oxide
Polymeric methyltrioxorhenium, {(CH_{3})_{0.92}ReO_{3}}_{\infty} (poly-MTO),
is the first member of a new class of organometallic hybrids which adopts the
structural pattern and physical properties of classical perovskites in two
dimensions (2D). We demonstrate how the electronic structure of poly-MTO can be
tailored by intercalation of organic donor molecules, such as
tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) or bis-(ethylendithio)-tetrathiafulvalene (BEDT-TTF),
and by the inorganic acceptor SbF. Integration of donor molecules leads to
a more insulating behavior of poly-MTO, whereas SbF insertion does not
cause any significant change in the resistivity. The resistivity data of pure
poly-MTO is remarkably well described by a two-dimensional electron system.
Below 38 K an unusual resistivity behavior, similar to that found in doped
cuprates, is observed: The resistivity initially increases approximately as
ln) before it changes into a dependence below 2 K.
As an explanation we suggest a crossover from purely two-dimensional
charge-carrier diffusion within the \{ReO\} planes at high
temperatures to three-dimensional diffusion at low temperatures in a
disorder-enhanced electron-electron interaction scenario (Altshuler-Aronov
correction). Furthermore, a linear positive magnetoresistance was found in the
insulating regime, which is caused by spatial localization of itinerant
electrons at some of the Re atoms, which formally adopt a electronic
configuration. X-ray diffraction, IR- and ESR-studies, temperature dependent
magnetization and specific heat measurements in various magnetic fields suggest
that the electronic structure of poly-MTO can safely be approximated by a
purely 2D conductor.Comment: 15 pages, 16 figures, 2 table
- …