Isotope variations in white-tailed kites from various habitats in California: possible limitations in assessing prey utilization and population dynamics

White-tailed kite (Elanus leucurus) populations in the 1930s were close to extirpation in the United States. But by the 1940s, an upward trend towards recovery was apparent and continued to their current stable population levels. These dramatic fluctuations in kite numbers may have been related to changes in rodent prey populations due to the conversion of native habitats to agriculture. To address this question, we evaluated the use of stable isotope analysis in determining if a shift in diet could be isotopically differentiated in current and historic kite populations. We first compared delta13C, delta15N, and delta34S values from present-day kite flight feathers and prey fur samples from four locations in California. The total ranges of isotope values for kite and their rodent prey were similar within each site. Carbon isotope values ranged from -27.1 to -22.2 per thousand in Arcata, -26.1 to -16.9 per thousand in Davis, -27.0 to -15.0 per thousand in Cosumnes, and -28.2 to -11.6 per thousand in Santa Barbara. Nitrogen isotope values ranged from 3.2 to 15.7 per thousand in Arcata, 2.8 to 12.7 per thousand in Davis, 4.0 to 15.7 per thousand in Cosumnes, and 1.7 to 20.0 per thousand in Santa Barbara. Sulfur isotope values ranged from -7.8 to 12.4 per thousand in Arcata, -1.1 to 9.2 per thousand in Davis, 0.7 to 10.9 per thousand in Cosumnes, and -8.6 to 15.6 per thousand in Santa Barbara. Carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope values at each site reflect typical trophic enrichments due to physiological processes. At each site, delta13C and delta15N values reflected the influence of a predominantly C3 or a mixed C3/C4 plant community. Sulfur isotope values reflect the influence of predominant marine or terrestrial sulfur sources at each site. However, variability in isotope values may limit the usefulness of such analyses for addressing prey utilization and population dynamics.     

Surface modification of silicon with single ion irradiation

In order to solve the issues in Si nanoelectronics such as fluctuation in the device functions and poor reliability of devices due to relative increase in mass transport in nm size structures and to yield novel functions by rather taking advantage of the nm size, we need to understand the phenomena peculiar to nm size structures. Based on the fact that a practical method to fabricate nm structures in terms of throughput, process time, and cost is to combine modification of solid surfaces with energetic particles (especially with single ions) and subsequent chemical processing in solutions, we describe single ion irradiation effects as a tool to modify solid surfaces in nm scale, a method for nm scale in-situ observation of solid surfaces, and some examples of the acquired knowledge.     

Magnetic resonance imaging of microstructure transition in stainless steel

Magnetic resonance images are prone to artifacts caused by metallic objects. Such artifacts may not only hamper image interpretation, but also have been shown to provide information about the magnetic properties of the substances involved. In this work, we aim to explore the potential of MRI to detect, localize and characterize changes in magnetic properties that may occur when certain alloys have been exposed to a thermomechanical stress. For this purpose, stainless steel 304 L wires were drawn to induce a change from paramagnetic austenitic into ferromagnetic martensitic microstructure. The changes in magnetic behavior were quantified by analyzing the geometric distortion in spin echo and the geometric distortion and intravoxel dephasing in gradient echo images at 0.5, 1.5 and 3 T. The results of both imaging strategies were in agreement and in accordance with independent measurements with a vibrating sample magnetometer. Drawing wire to 2% of its cross-sectional area was found to increase the volume fraction of the ferromagnetic martensite from 0.3% to 80% and to enhance the magnetization up to two or three orders of magnitude. The results demonstrate the potential of MRI to locate and quantify stress-induced changes in the magnetic properties of alloys in a completely noninvasive and nondestructive way.     

Glow discharge plasma electrolysis for nanoparticles synthesis

There are many methods available to synthesize nanomaterials and the glow discharge plasma electrolysis is a novel and a green method in this category. It is seen that most of the papers are published after 2005 and the interest in it is growing due to its applicability in the industry for preparing nanomaterials at large scale. But, only few results are available yet and most of them are on metal nanoparticle preparation, so that more studies are needed to understand the nature of growth of the nanoparticles under glow discharge in liquid and its applicability in preparing semi-conductor nanomaterials. Many have tried many methods to prepare nanoparticles by the glow discharge and a review like this is the need of the time to understand its present status that helps to modify the present situation to a better one. This review classifies all the available methods of nanomaterials synthesis in liquid by glow discharge in to three and it is discussed in detail.     

Attenuation of ultrasound in homogenates of bovine skeletal muscle and other tissues

The attenuation of ultrasound in homogenates of bovine skeletal muscle and suspensions of myofibrils was measured over the frequency range 1.5-7 MHz, and found to be proportional to protein concentration in both. In the homogenates it varied with frequency and temperature in a similar way to the attenuation in post rigor muscle tissue; myofibrils showed a higher frequency dependence. The attenuation in homogenates of bovine muscle, liver and kidney and in suspensions of myofibrils was measured over the pH range 3.5-13, and each showed a peak at about pH 11.5. This was thought to be due to a proton transfer process between NH3+ groups on the tissue proteins and OH- ions in the suspending fluid. A substantial peak at about pH 5 in the muscle and myofibril suspensions was not observed in homogenates of liver and kidney and was thought to be due to components of muscle that are absent from the other tissues. Myofibrils suspended in percoll solution of density 1.05 g cm-3, chosen to match approximately the density of the myofibrils, showed a slightly lower attenuation over the pH range 5-7, but a pH dependence similar to that of the myofibrils suspended in saline. The difference in the attenuations may be interpreted as the viscous component of the attenuation due to relative motion between the myofibril and its surrounding saline. The peak at pH 5 did not, however, appear to be due to the viscous loss mechanism peaking due to maximum shrinkage (and therefore maximum density) of the myofibril near this pH.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Quantitative evaluation of the lung cancer deaths attributable to residential radon: A simple method and results for all the 21 Italian Regions

Pooled analyses of epidemiological case--control studies on lung cancer and residential radon have shown that radon exposure in dwellings increases lung cancer risk, and that the increase is statistically significant also for prolonged exposures to low-medium level of radon concentration, i.e. levels commonly found in many dwellings. In this paper, a simple method to evaluate the health burden due to the presence of radon in homes (i.e. the number of lung cancer deaths attributable to radon exposure in dwellings) was presented. This method is based on the following parameters: i) the excess relative risk per unit of exposure evaluated in case-control studies; ii) the average radon concentration that can be considered representative of population exposure in dwellings; iii) the total number of lung cancer deaths occurring each year. Moreover, the interaction between radon and cigarette smoking is needed to be taken into account: in fact, although most of the persons are non-smokers, most of the lung cancer deaths attributed to radon are actually due to the multiplicative effect of radon and cigarette smoking. To show this effect, the number of radon related lung cancer deaths estimated to occur among current, former and never smokers was calculated separately for males and females, taking into account the relative risk of lung cancer for the different smoking categories and the prevalence of smoking habits. The methodology described in this work was applied to all the 21 Italian Regions in order to illustrate it. The overall fraction of lung cancer deaths attributable to radon in Italy is about 10%, with values in individual Regions ranging from 4% to 16%. The greater part of the lung cancers attributable to radon is estimated to occur among current smokers for both males and females (72% and 60%, respectively, at national level). This is due to the synergistic effects of radon and cigarette smoking, which should therefore be taken into account in policies aimed to reduce the health burden from radon.     

Writing the Biography of Hans Bethe: Contextual History and Paul Forman1

Some facets of the life of Hans Bethe after World War II are presented to illustrate how Paul Forman’s works, and in particular his various theses—on mathematics and physics in Wilhelmine and Weimar Germany, on physics in the immediate post-World War II period, and on postmodernity—have influenced my biography of Bethe. Some aspects of the history of post-World War II quantum field theory, of solid state/condensed matter physics, and of the development of neoliberalism—the commitment to the belief that the market knows best, to free trade, to enhanced privatization, and to a drastic reduction of the government’s role in regulating the economy—are reviewed in order to make some observations regarding certain “top-down” views in solid state physics in postmodernity, the economic and cultural condition of many Western societies since the 1980s, the decade in which many historians assume modernity to have ended.     

物理实验线上线下混合式课程思政的探索

课程思政是目前高等学校教学改革的首要工作,我们开展了物理实验线上线下混合式课程思政的探索,在大学物理实验慕课构建立体多元的课程思政平台,在线上线下、课内课外开展课程思政建设.紧密结合物理实验教学内容和学生特点,挖掘工大元素、中国元素和物理学史元素.讲好工大故事,厚植爱校情怀,增强成才信心.讲好中国故事,厚植爱国情怀,坚...     

Longitudinal surveys on effects of changes in road traffic noise-annoyance, activity disturbances, and psycho-social well-being

The adverse effects of long-term exposure to a high volume of road traffic were studied in socio-acoustic surveys in 1997 and in 1999 after a substantial reduction in road traffic. The results obtained in 1997 showed a similar response pattern as in previously performed studies in the area in 1986 [Ohrstr?m, J. Sound Vib. 122, 277-290 (1989)]. In 1999, road traffic had been reduced from 25000 to 2400 vehicles per day, and this resulted not only in a large decrease in annoyance and activity disturbances, but also in a better general well-being. The results suggest that a reduction in both noise and other pollutants from road traffic contribute to these effects. To be able to use the outdoor environment and to have the possibility to keep windows open is essential for general well-being and daily behavior, which implies that access both to quiet indoor and outdoor sections of the residency is of importance for achievement of a healthy sound environment. More knowledge of long-term health consequences of exposure to noise and simultaneous pollutants from road traffic is needed. Studies should focus more on "softer" health outcomes and well-being than hitherto and preferably be performed in connection with traffic abatement measures.     

Radial motion of a solid spherical body in a magnetic field

The object of the present paper is to investigate the radial motion of a solid spherical body, assumed to be homogeneous, isotropic and elastic, in presence of a magnetic field in the azimuthal direction. The body is assumed to be in a state of initial stress which is hydrostatic in nature. This theory of radial motion of a solid spherical body in a magnetic field has been utilised to find the small radial motion of a solid Earth assumed to be homogeneous isotropic elastic sphere in presence of a magnetic field in the azimuthal direction. Considering the effect of gravity and the initial stress produced by slow process of creep due to extra masses over the surface of the Earth, the fundamental equations of motion are derived which are non-linear in character and are solved. The times of a desired radial displacement are calculated in presence of a magnetic field only and in presence of the same magnetic field, initial stress and gravitational field, which are compared and exhibited numerically.     

Growing Partnership Asia-Oceania: Initiative by AOFSRR

No matter the location, it is particularly important to achieve sustainable and efficient access to a synchrotron radiation (SR) facility in order for there to be rapid progress in science and technology. Asia-Oceania is now a vibrant and thriving area in terms of making feasible a broad expansion of access to SR facility services and laying the foundation for more competitive industrial science and future economic growth to which SR science can contribute. Recently, SR facilities have started to pop up, one after another, in the Asia-Oceania region. To enhance global cooperation for SR research in this region, the AOFSRR (Asia-Oceania Forum for Synchrotron Radiation Research) was established by Australia, China, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Japan in 2006. The objective of the AOFSRR is to organize a general framework of collaboration for the development of science and technology of mutual benefit to advancing the research goals and promoting comprehensive cooperation in synchrotron radiation research in the Asia-Oceania region.     

Noise emitted by water supply installations

This work deals with the problem of noise generated by water supply systems in homes. Measurements were made in situ to determine normal conditions of installations and noise levels generated in different rooms in the home. In order to determine the sources of noise and the best construction methods to minimise noise generation, a laboratory was also built to reproduce the conditions of this type of installation in homes. Tests were carried out in this laboratory on different configurations of type of tap, installation material, walling and fastening of the installation, to allow quantitative determination of the differences in noise generation between the various configurations used in households.     

Vowel errors in noise and in reverberation by hearing-impaired listeners

The effects of noise and reverberation on the identification of monophthongs and diphthongs were evaluated for ten subjects with moderate sensorineural hearing losses. Stimuli were 15 English vowels spoken in a /b-t/ context, in a carrier sentence. The original tape was recorded without reverberation, in a quiet condition. This test tape was degraded either by recording in a room with reverberation time of 1.2 s, or by adding a babble of 12 voices at a speech-to-noise ratio of 0 dB. Both types of degradation caused statistically significant reductions of mean identification scores as compared to the quiet condition. Although the mean identification scores for the noise and reverberant conditions were not significantly different, the patterns of errors for these two conditions were different. Errors for monophthongs in reverberation but not in noise seemed to be related to an overestimation of vowel duration, and there was a tendency to weight the formant frequencies differently in the reverberation and quiet conditions. Errors for monophthongs in noise seemed to be related to spectral proximity of formant frequencies for confused pairs. For the diphthongs in both noise and reverberation, there was a tendency to judge a diphthong as the beginning monophthong. This may have been due to temporal smearing in the reverberation condition, and to a higher masked threshold for changing compared to stationary formant frequencies in the noise condition.     

Fluorescence Origin of 6,P-toluidinyl-naphthalene-2-sulfonate (TNS) Bound to Proteins

6,P-toluidinylnaphthalene-2-sulfonate (TNS) is a highly fluorescent molecule when dissolved in a low polarity medium or when bound to proteins. The aim of the present work is to explain origin of this fluorescence, to find out how the medium (solvent, protein matrix) affects fluorescence observables such as lifetimes and spectra and finally to put into evidence possible relation that exists between these observables and fluorophore structure. To achieve our goal we performed studies on TNS dissolved in ethanol, at high concentrations in water (aggregated form) and bound to proteins. Our experiments allowed us to find out that TNS in the three environments has different structures. Presence of three lifetimes observed in proteins and in water instead of one lifetime found in ethanol can be assigned to the high contact between TNS molecules. Our results are discussed in terms of solvent polarity and interaction within fluorophore molecules bound to proteins.     

Sono-oxidative desulfurization of fuels using heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts: A comprehensive review

Recently, environmental pollution has increased significantly due to petroleum-based fuels widely used in vehicles. This environmental pollution is mainly due to the acidic SO₂ gas generated by the combustion of fuels and emitted into the atmosphere. SO₂ gas causes not only acid rain but also corrosion of metal parts of engines in vehicles. In addition, it functions as a catalyst poison in catalytic converters in exhaust system. Due to these damages, strict regulations have been introduced to reduce the amount of sulfur in fuels. As of 2005, the permissible amount of sulfur in diesel fuels in Europe and America has been limited to 10 and 15 ppm by weight, respectively.Due to the decreasing oil reserves in the world, high viscosity petroleums containing high sulfur and heavier fractions (i.e., low-quality oils) are increasing, thus making desulfurization difficult and leading to high costly process. Since time and economic loss are very important today, these two terms have to be reduced to a minimum. Recently, ultrasound wave in ODS shown as an alternative to HDS is utilized to further increase desulfurization in shorter times. Ultrasound wave locally creates high temperatures and high pressures (hot-spot theory) in liquid, causing the desulfurization reaction to accelerate further.In this review, the advantages and difficulties of oxidative desulfurization, the economics of ultrasound-assisted oxidative desulfurization are summarized and recommendations for improving the process are presented.     

Ultrasonic wave propagation in heterogeneous solid media: theoretical analysis and experimental validation

This research deals with the ultrasonic characterization of thermal damage in concrete. This damage leads to the appearance of microcracks which then evolve in terms of volume rate and size in the material. The scattering of ultrasonic waves from the inclusions is present in this type of medium. The propagation of the longitudinal wave in the heterogeneous media is studied via a homogenization model that integrates the multiple scattering of waves. The model allows us to determine the phase velocity and the attenuation according to the elements which make the medium. Simulations adapted to the concrete are developed in order to test the responses of the model. These behaviors are validated by an experimental study: the measurements of phase velocity and attenuation are performed in immersion, with a comparison method, on a frequency domain which ranges from 160 kHz to 1.3 MHz. The analysis of different theoretical and experimental results obtained on cement-based media leads to the model validation, on the phase velocity behavior, in the case of a damage simulated by expanded polystyrene spheres in granular media. The application to the case of a thermally damaged concrete shows a good qualitative agreement for the changes in velocity and attenuation.     

Active noise control of a diesel generator in a luxury yacht

Active noise control has been applied to a variety of systems in order to improve performance without the increases in size and weight that would otherwise be required by traditional passive noise control treatments. This paper investigates the application of an active noise control system to the control of generator noise in the master cabin of a luxury yacht. A multichannel, multi-tonal active noise control system employing loudspeakers and microphones in the master cabin of the yacht is investigated. It is shown that, due to the high number of engine orders produced by the generator, in order to achieve significantly perceptible levels of noise attenuation it is necessary to control at least 7 individual orders. A controller is investigated which targets 19 engine orders and it is shown to achieve in excess of 5 dB broadband attenuation, whilst achieving up to 23 dB attenuation in individual orders. This corresponds to a 23% reduction in the Zwicker loudness.     

Analyzing and correcting spectrometer temperature sensitivity

Stability and reproducibility of the spectrometer are fundamental to the success of many modern NMR experiments. Variation in room temperature is a particularly important source of instability, in part because it can cause coherent artifacts in NMR spectra. Small changes in room temperature lead to corresponding changes in the phases, amplitudes, and frequencies of NMR signals. These can lead in turn to apparently random spectral artifacts such as t(1)-noise in two-dimensional (2D) NMR and to the incomplete cancellation of signals in difference spectra, but also, importantly, to F(1) satellite signals in 2D spectra. These "parallel diagonals" arise from the use of air conditioning, which typically forces room temperature to oscillate within a fixed band. Work to identify, quantify, and suppress sources of temperature sensitivity in a modern 300-MHz spectrometer has led to a greater than 10-fold improvement in the signal-to-artifact ratio.     

Introduction: Mapping and control of complex cardiac arrhythmias

This paper serves as an introduction to the Focus Issue on mapping and control of complex cardiac arrhythmias. We first introduce basic concepts of cardiac electrophysiology and describe the main clinical methods being used to treat arrhythmia. We then provide a brief summary of the main themes contained in the articles in this Focus Issue. In recent years there have been important advances in the ability to map the spread of excitation in intact hearts and in laboratory settings. This work has been combined with simulations that use increasingly realistic geometry and physiology. Waves of excitation and contraction in the heart do not always propagate with constant velocity but are often subject to instabilities that may lead to fluctuations in velocity and cycle time. Such instabilities are often treated best in the context of simple one- or two-dimensional geometries. An understanding of the mechanisms of propagation and wave stability is leading to the implementation of different stimulation protocols in an effort to modify or eliminate abnormal rhythms. (c) 2002 American Institute of Physics.     

Applications of Raman spectroscopy in dentistry part II: Soft tissue analysis

Raman spectroscopy is rapidly moving from an experimental technique for the analysis of biological molecules to a tool for the real-time clinical diagnosis and in situ evaluation of the oral tissue in medical and dental research. The purpose of this study is to identify various applications of Raman spectroscopy, to evaluate the contemporary status, and to explore future directions in the field of dentistry. Several in-depth applications are presented to illustrate Raman spectroscopy in early diagnosis of soft tissue abnormalities. Raman spectroscopy allows researchers to analyze histological and biochemical composition of biological tissues. The technique not only demonstrates its role in the disclosure of dysplasia and malignancy, but also in performing guided biopsies, diagnosing sialoliths, and assessment of surgical margins. Raman spectroscopy is used to identify the molecular structures and their components to give substantial information about the chemical structure properties of these molecules. In this article, we acquaint the utilization of Raman spectroscopy in analyzing the soft tissues in relation to dentistry.