Seedling Establishment of Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens on Dredged Materials in Texas

Effects of fertilizer, elevation, and tidal inundation on seedling establishment of Spartina alterniflora and Spartina patens were tested at a wave-protected sandy dredged material site, Galveston Bay, Texas. No seedlings that grew from sown seeds became established at elevations below 36 cm (msl) while the greatest number established in the upper tier. Seedlings of S. alterniflora were more numerous than S. patens in the upper and middle tiers. Naturally occurring seedlings of S. alterniflora, which apparently germinated from seeds produced on transplants in adjacent plots, established at all elevations of the site during winter. The average time of tidal inundation at a particular elevation was less during winter than spring. Thus, establishment of plants by seed at low intertidal elevations appears feasible only during low seasonal winter tides and with S. alterniflora. Fertilizers did not enhance growth, and high concentrations of fertilizer caused stress to some S. alterniflora seedlings

Towards a sensitive search for variation of the fine structure constant using radio-frequency E1 transitions in atomic dysprosium

It has been proposed that the radio-frequency electric-dipole (E1) transition between two nearly degenerate opposite-parity states in atomic dysprosium should be highly sensitive to possible temporal variation of the fine structure constant ($\alpha$) [V. A. Dzuba, V. V. Flambaum, and J. K. Webb, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 59}, 230 (1999)]. We analyze here an experimental realization of the proposed search in progress in our laboratory, which involves monitoring the E1 transition frequency over a period of time using direct frequency counting techniques. We estimate that a statistical sensitivity of |\adota| \sim 10^{-18}/yr may be achieved and discuss possible systematic effects that may limit such a measurement.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Periodic harmonic functions on lattices and points count in positive characteristic

This survey addresses pluri-periodic harmonic functions on lattices with values in a positive characteristic field. We mention, as a motivation, the game "Lights Out" following the work of Sutner, Goldwasser-Klostermeyer-Ware, Barua-Ramakrishnan-Sarkar, Hunzikel-Machiavello-Park e.a.; see also 2 previous author's preprints for a more detailed account. Our approach explores harmonic analysis and algebraic geometry over a positive characteristic field. The Fourier transform allows us to interpret pluri-periods of harmonic functions on lattices as torsion multi-orders of points on the corresponding affine algebraic variety.Comment: These are notes on 13p. based on a talk presented during the meeting "Analysis on Graphs and Fractals", the Cardiff University, 29 May-2 June 2007 (a sattelite meeting of the programme "Analysis on Graphs and its Applications" at the Isaac Newton Institute from 8 January to 29 June 2007

Critical properties of superconducting Ba1-xKxFe2As2

Magnetisation and magnetoresistance measurements have been carried out on superconducting Ba1-xKxFe2As2 samples with x=0.40 and 0.50. From low field magnetization data carried out at different temperatures below TC, HC1 has been extracted. The plot of HC1 versus temperature shows an anomalous increase at low temperatures. From high field magnetization hysterisis measurements carried out in fields up to 16 T at 4.2 K and 20 K, the critical current density has been evaluated using the Bean critical state model. The JC determined from the high field data is >104A/cm2 at 4.2 K and 5 T. The superconducting transitions were also measured resistively in increasing applied magnetic fields up to 12 Tesla. From the variation of the TC onset with applied field, dHC2/dT at TC was obtained to be -7.708 T/K and -5.57 T/K in the samples with x=0.40 and 0.50.Comment: 14 pages; 7 figure

Many happy returns: combining insights from the environmental and behavioural sciences to understand what is required to make reusable packaging mainstream

The introduction of reusable packaging systems (both refill and return) has the potential to significantly reduce waste from single-use plastic packaging. However, for these schemes to be successful, both the environmental impact and the willingness of consumers to engage with such systems need to be carefully considered. This paper combines and discusses two complementary studies: (i) a life cycle assessment comparing the environmental impacts of single-use, refillable, and returnable containers for a takeaway meal, and (ii) a large online survey of UK adults exploring what types of product and packaging consumers are willing to reuse, how, and why. The findings of the life cycle assessment indicate that reusable containers outperform single-use plastic containers on most measures of environmental impact. The survey found that given the choice of disposal, reuse or recycling, that recycling is the preferred method of dealing with packaging once empty in the UK, and that people's decisions with regards to what types of packaging they are willing to reuse are largely driven by the aspects of the packaging itself (e.g., material and type) rather than the nature of the product inside of the packaging (e.g., state of matter of the contents). The survey also showed that people were more willing to engage in reuse systems with which they were already familiar. Additionally the language used to describe these schemes and the term ‘reuse’ needs to be considered. Combined, these factors can be used to determine the best packaging reuse system for a given product and situation

Understanding the Potential Impact of Multiple Robots in Odor Source Localization

We investigate the performance of three bio-inspired odor source localization algorithms used in non-cooperating multi-robot systems. Our performance metric is the distance overhead of the first robot to reach the source, which is a good measure for the speed of an odor source localization algorithm. Using the performance distribution of single-robot experiments, we calculate an ideal performance for multi-robot teams. We carry out simulations in a realistic robotic simulator and provide quantitative evidence of the differences between ideal and realistic performances of a given algorithm. A closer analysis of the results show that these differences are mainly due to physical interference among robots

Tracking Odor Plumes in a Laminar Wind Field with Bio-Inspired Algorithms

We introduce a novel bio-inspired odor source localization algorithm (surge- cast) for environments with a main wind flow and compare it to two well-known algorithms. With all three algorithms, systematic experiments with real robots are carried out in a wind tunnel under laminar flow conditions. The algorithms are compared in terms of distance overhead when tracking the plume up to the source, but a variety of other experimental results and some theoretical considerations are provided as well. We conclude that the surge-cast algorithm yields significantly better performance than the casting algorithm, and slightly better performance than the surge-spiral algorithm

Primordial Nucleosynthesis as a Test of the Friedmann Equation in the Early Universe

In the standard hot big bang model, the expansion of the early universe is given by the Friedmann equation with an energy density dominated by relativistic particles. Since in a variety of models this equation is altered, we introduce modifications in the Friedmann equation and show that we can constrain them using big bang nucleosynthesis data. When there is no neutrino/antineutrino asymmetry these modifications are tightly bounded but in presence of an asymmetry the bounds become much looser. As an illustration, we apply our results to a model where the second and third families couple to gravity differently than the first family (non-universal gravity).Comment: 6 figures. Revised version. Matches with the accepted one for publication in PR

The protein kinase LKB1 promotes self-renewal and blocks invasiveness in glioblastoma

The role of liver kinase B1 (LKB1) in glioblastoma (GBM) development remains poorly understood. LKB1 may regulate GBM cell metabolism and has been suggested to promote glioma invasiveness. After analyzing LKB1 expression in GBM patient mRNA databases and in tumor tissue via multiparametric immunohistochemistry, we observed that LKB1 was localized and enriched in GBM tumor cells that co-expressed SOX2 and NESTIN stemness markers. Thus, LKB1-specific immunohistochemistry can potentially reveal subpopulations of stem-like cells, advancing GBM patient molecular pathology. We further analyzed the functions of LKB1 in patient-derived GBM cultures under defined serum-free conditions. Silencing of endogenous LKB1 impaired 3D-gliomasphere frequency and promoted GBM cell invasion in vitro and in the zebrafish collagenous tail after extravasation of circulating GBM cells. Moreover, loss of LKB1 function revealed mitochondrial dysfunction resulting in decreased ATP levels. Treatment with the clinically used drug metformin impaired 3D-gliomasphere formation and enhanced cytotoxicity induced by temozolomide, the primary chemotherapeutic drug against GBM. The IC50 of temozolomide in the GBM cultures was significantly decreased in the presence of metformin. This combinatorial effect was further enhanced after LKB1 silencing, which at least partially, was due to increased apoptosis. The expression of genes involved in the maintenance of tumor stemness, such as growth factors and their receptors, including members of the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) family, was suppressed after LKB1 silencing. The defect in gliomasphere growth caused by LKB1 silencing was bypassed after supplementing the cells with exogenous PFDGF-BB. Our data support the parallel roles of LKB1 in maintaining mitochondrial homeostasis, 3D-gliomasphere survival, and hindering migration in GBM. Thus, the natural loss of, or pharmacological interference with LKB1 function, may be associated with benefits in patient survival but could result in tumor spread.Cancer Signaling networks and Molecular Therapeutic

Big Bang nucleosynthesis and cosmic microwave background constraints on the time variation of the Higgs vacuum expectation value

We derive constraints on the time variation of the Higgs vacuum expectation value $$ through the effects on Big Bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) and the cosmic microwave background (CMB). In the former case, we include the (previously-neglected) effect of the change in the deuteron binding energy, which alters both the $^4$He and deuterium abundances significantly. We find that the current BBN limits on the relative change in \higgs are $-(0.6 - 0.7) \times 10^{-2} / < (1.5 - 2.0) \times 10^{-2}$, where the exact limits depend on the model we choose for the dependence of the deuteron binding energy on \higgs.The limits from the current CMB data are much weaker.Comment: 5 pages including 5 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.