The tail of the Jurassic fish Leedsichthys problematicus (Osteichthyes: Actinopterygii) collected by Alfred Nicholson Leeds - an example of the importance of historical records in palaeontology

The specimen of the tail of <i>Leedsichthys problematicus</i>, now in The Natural History Museum, London, was one of the most spectacular fossil vertebrates from the Oxford Clay Formation of Peterborough, but as an isolated find it shares no bones in common with the holotype of the genus and species. However, a letter from Alfred Nicholson Leeds and related documents cast valuable new light on the excavation of the tail, indicating that it was discovered with cranial bones, gill-rakers, and two pectoral fins, thereby including elements that can potentially be compared with those of the holotype. The documents also clearly indicate that The Natural History Museum's specimen is not part of the same individual as any other numbered specimen of <i>Leedsichthys</i> as had been speculated on other occasions. The maximum size of the animal represented by The Natural History Museum's specimen was possibly around 9 metres, considerably less than previous estimates of up to 27.6 metres for <i>Leedsichthys</i>. Historical documentary evidence should therefore be rigorously checked both when studying historical specimens in science, and in preparing text for museum display labels

Ecophysiological traits of grasses: resolving the effects of photosynthetic pathway and phylogeny

C4 photosynthesis is an important example of convergent evolution in plants, having arisen in eudicots, monocots and diatoms. Comparisons between such diverse groups are confounded by phylogenetic and ecological differences, so that only broad generalisations can be made about the role of C4 photosynthesis in
determining ecophysiological traits. However, 60% of C4 species occur in the grasses (Poaceae) and molecular phylogenetic techniques confirm that there are between 8 and 17 independent origins of C4 photosynthesis in the Poaceae. In a screening experiment, we compared leaf physiology and growth traits across several major
independent C3 & C4 groups within the Poaceae, asking 1) which traits differ consistently between photosynthetic
types and 2) which traits differ consistently between clades within each photosynthetic type

Optical transmitter tunable over a 65-nm wavelength range around 1550 nm for quantum key distribution

The ability to create phase-controlled pulses of light with wavelength tunability has applications spanning quantum and classical communications networks. Traditionally, optical transmitters are able to either produce phase-controlled pulses at a fixed wavelength or require a chain of bulky and expensive external modulators to convert wavelength tunable continuous-wave light into optical pulses. One technology of great interest is quantum key distribution (QKD), a technology for generating perfectly random keys at remote nodes to ensure secure communications. Environments such as data centers, where the user needs change regularly, will require adaptability in the deployment of QKD to integrate into classical optical networks. Here we propose and demonstrate an alternative quantum transmitter design consisting of a multimodal Fabry-Perot laser optically injection locked by a wavelength tunable laser. The transmitter is able to produce phase-controlled optical pulses at GHz speeds with a tunable wavelength range of >65nm centered at 1550 nm. With this transmitter, we perform proof-of-principle QKD with secure bit rates of order Mb/s

Partitioning the components of Relative Growth Rate: how important is plant size variation?

Plant growth plays a key role in the functioning of the terrestrial biosphere, and there have been substantial efforts to understand why growth varies among species. To this end, a large number of experimental analyses have been undertaken; however, the emergent patterns between growth rate and its components are often contradictory. We believe that these conflicting results are a consequence of the way growth is measured. Growth is typically characterized by relative growth rate (RGR); however, RGR often declines as organisms get larger, making it difficult to compare species of different sizes. To overcome this problem, we advocate using nonlinear mixed-effects models so that RGR can be calculated at a standard size, and we present easily implemented methods for doing this. We then present new methods for analyzing the traditional components of RGR that explicitly allow for the fact that log (RGR) is the sum of its components. These methods provide an exact decomposition of the variance in log (RGR). Finally, we use simple analytical and simulation approaches to explore the effect of size variation on growth and its components and show that the relative importance of the components of RGR is influenced by the extent to which analyses standardize for plant size

Five Years of Mid-Infrared Evolution of the Remnant of SN 1987A: The Encounter Between the Blast Wave and the Dusty Equatorial Ring

We have used the Spitzer satellite to monitor the mid-IR evolution of SN 1987A over a 5 year period spanning the epochs between days 6000 and 8000 since the explosion. The supernova (SN) has evolved into a supernova remnant (SNR) and its radiative output is dominated by the interaction of the SN blast wave with the pre-existing equatorial ring (ER). The mid-IR spectrum is dominated by emission from ~180 K silicate dust, collisionally-heated by the hot X-ray emitting gas with a temperature and density of ~5x10^6 K and 3x10^4 cm-3, respectively. The mass of the radiating dust is ~1.2x10^(-6) Msun on day 7554, and scales linearly with IR flux. The infrared to soft-X-ray flux ratio is roughly constant with a value of 2.5. Gas-grain collisions therefore dominate the cooling of the shocked gas. The constancy of of this ratio suggests that very little grain processing or gas cooling have occurred throughout this epoch. The shape of the dust spectrum remained unchanged during the observations while the total flux increased with a time dependence of t^(0.87), t being the time since the first encounter between the blast wave and the ER. These observations are consistent with the transitioning of the blast wave from free expansion to a Sedov phase as it propagates into the main body of the ER.Comment: Accepted for publication in the ApJ, 11 pages, 11 figure

Seismicity and crustal structure of the southern main Ethiopian rift: new evidence from Lake Abaya

The Main Ethiopian Rift (MER) has developed during the 18 Ma-Recent separation of the Nubian and Somalian plates. Extension in its central and northern sectors is associated with seismic activity and active magma intrusion, primarily within the rift, where shallow (urn:x-wiley:15252027:media:ggge22586:ggge22586-math-00015 km) seismicity along magmatic centers is commonly caused by fluid flow through open fractures in hydrothermal systems. However, the extent to which similar magmatic rifting persists into the southern MER is unknown. Using data from a temporary network of five seismograph stations, we analyze patterns of seismicity and crustal structure in the Abaya region of the southern MER. Magnitudes range from 0.9 to 4.0; earthquake depths are 0–30 km. urn:x-wiley:15252027:media:ggge22586:ggge22586-math-0002 ratios of urn:x-wiley:15252027:media:ggge22586:ggge22586-math-00031.69, estimated from Wadati diagram analysis, corroborate bulk-crustal urn:x-wiley:15252027:media:ggge22586:ggge22586-math-0004 ratios determined via teleseismic P-to-S receiver function H-urn:x-wiley:15252027:media:ggge22586:ggge22586-math-0005 stacking and reveal a relative lack of mafic intrusion compared to the MER rift sectors to the north. There is a clear association of seismicity with the western border fault system of the MER everywhere in our study area, but earthquake depths are shallow near Duguna volcano, implying a shallowed geothermal gradient associated with rift valley silicic magmatism. This part of the MER is thus interpreted best as a young magmatic system that locally impacts the geothermal gradient but that has not yet significantly modified continental crustal composition via rift-axial magmatic rifting

Characterization of the second- and third-order nonlinear optical susceptibilities of monolayer MoS2_2 using multiphoton microscopy

We report second- and third-harmonic generation in monolayer MoS$_\mathrm{2}$ as a tool for imaging and accurately characterizing the material's nonlinear optical properties under 1560 nm excitation. Using a surface nonlinear optics treatment, we derive expressions relating experimental measurements to second- and third-order nonlinear sheet susceptibility magnitudes, obtaining values of $|\chi_s^{(2)}|=2.0\times10^{-20}$ m$^2$ V$^{-1}$ and for the first time for monolayer MoS$_\mathrm{2}$, $|\chi_s^{(3)}|=1.7\times10^{-28}$ m$^3$ V$^{-2}$. These sheet susceptibilities correspond to effective bulk nonlinear susceptibility values of $|\chi_{b}^{(2)}|=2.9\times10^{-11}$ m V$^{-1}$ and $|\chi_{b}^{(3)}|=2.4\times10^{-19}$ m$^2$ V$^{-2}$, accounting for the sheet thickness. Experimental comparisons between MoS$_\mathrm{2}$ and graphene are also performed, demonstrating $\sim$3.4 times stronger third-order sheet nonlinearity in monolayer MoS$_\mathrm{2}$, highlighting the material's potential for nonlinear photonics in the telecommunications C band.Comment: Accepted by 2D Materials, 28th Oct 201

Total Cost of Ownership Driven Methodology for Predictive Maintenance Implementation in Industrial Plants

Part 4: Product and Asset Life Cycle Management in Smart Factories of Industry 4.0International audienceThis paper proposes a methodology to drive from a strategic point of view the implementation of a predictive maintenance policy within an industrial plant. The methodology integrates the evaluation of system performances, used to identify the critical components, with simulation and cost analysis. The goal is to evaluate predictive maintenance implementation scenarios based on alternative condition monitoring (CM) solutions, under the lenses of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). This allows guiding the decision on where in the industrial system to install diagnostic solutions for monitoring of asset health, by keeping a systemic and life cycle-oriented perspective. Technical systemic performances are evaluated through Monte Carlo simulation based on the Reliability Block Diagram (RBD) model of the system. To validate the methodology, an application case study focused on a production line of a relevant Italian company in the food sector is presented

All-optical trapping and acceleration of heavy particles

A scheme for fast, compact, and controllable acceleration of heavy particles in vacuum is proposed, in which two counterpropagating lasers with variable frequencies drive a beat-wave structure with variable phase velocity, thus allowing for trapping and acceleration of heavy particles, such as ions or muons. Fine control over the energy distribution and the total charge of the beam is obtained via tuning of the frequency variation. The acceleration scheme is described with a one-dimensional theory, providing the general conditions for trapping and scaling laws for the relevant features of the particle beam. Two-dimensional, electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations confirm the validity and the robustness of the physical mechanism.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, to appear in New Journal of Physic