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On the backdrop of drastic declines in both heathland habitats and insect volumes, this study identifies wild heather and bumblebee co-occurrences and wild heather-pollinator interaction networks within current heathland habitats in Great Britain. Many wild heather-bumblebee mutualisms have been identified, which provide insights into which species which may be most at risk of decline and extinction in the event of continued environmental and anthropogenic pressures. Ecosystem network keystone heather species are identified as Calluna vulgaris, Erica cinerea and Erica tetralix. Keystone Bombus species are identified as Bombus jonellus, Bombus terrestris, Bombus vestalis, Bombus lapidarius and Bombus hypnorum. Of the keystone species, Bombus jonellus and Erica tetralix are considered most at threat of extinction. In the case of Bombus jonellus this is due to the reliance on nectar and pollen within heathland environments and in the case of Erica tetralix this is due to a limited range of pollinators which provide a clear non-incidental pollination service to the dwarf shrub. In wild heather-pollinator networks, Erica ciliaris is also considered at risk due to its strong reliance on Bombus terrestris / Bombus lucorum agg. and limited pollinator network size, which partly may be due to a general requirement for a relatively long proboscis to access nectar in the deep corolla of that species. The natural hybrids Erica x watsonii and Erica x williamsii are already rare and may become extinct if their parent plants distributions were subject to further contractions. Andrena fuscipes and Colletes succinctus, due to their oligolectic preference for ericaceous dwarf shrub pollen, may also be at higher risk of extinction than more generalist pollinator species. It is recommended that further research is undertaken on the degree of decline of the range of wild heather species and their associated pollinators in order to best target emerging conservation needs with a view to pr

In the wake of the highly electrified future ahead of us, the role of energy storage is crucial wherever distributed generation is abundant, such as in microgrid settings. Given the variety of storage options that are becoming more and more economical, determining which type of storage technology to invest in, along with the appropriate timing and capacity becomes a critical research question. It is inevitable that these problems will continue to become increasingly relevant in the future and require strategic planning and holistic and modern frameworks in order to be solved. Reinforcement Learning algorithms have already proven to be successful in problems where sequential decision-making is inherent. In the operations planning area, these algorithms are already used but mostly in short-term problems with well-defined constraints. On the contrary, we expand and tailor these techniques to long-term planning by utilizing model-free algorithms combined with simulation-based models. A model and expansion plan have been developed to optimally determine microgrid designs as they evolve to dynamically react to changing conditions and to exploit energy storage capabilities. We show that it is possible to derive better engineering solutions that would point to the types of energy storage units which could be at the core of future microgrid applications. Another key finding is that the optimal storage capacity threshold for a system depends heavily on the price movements of the available storage units. By utilizing the proposed approaches, it is possible to model inherent problem uncertainties and optimize the whole streamline of sequential investment decision-making.

Monowai is a submarine volcanic center in the Kermadec Arc, Southwest Pacific Ocean. In the past, activity at the volcano had been intermittently observed in the form of fallout at the sea surface, discolored water, changes in seafloor topography, and T phase seismicity, but there is no continuous record for more recent years. In this study, we investigated 3.5 years of recordings at a hydrophone array of the International Monitoring System (IMS), located near Juan Fernández Islands for long‐range underwater sound waves from Monowai. Results from direction‐of‐arrival calculations and density‐based spatial clustering indicate that 82 discrete episodes of activity occurred between July 2003 and March 2004, and from April 2014 to January 2017. Volcanic episodes are typically spaced days to weeks apart, range from hours to days in length, and amount to a cumulative sum of 137 days of arrivals in total, making Monowai one of the most active submarine arc volcanoes on Earth. The resolution of the hydrophone recordings surpasses broadband network data by at least one order of magnitude, identifying seismic events as low as 2.2 mb in the Kermadec Arc region. Further observations suggest volcanic activity at a location approximately 400 km north of Monowai in the Tonga Arc, and at Healy or Brothers volcano in the southern Kermadec Arc. Our findings are consistent with previous studies and highlight the exceptional capabilities of the IMS network for the scientific study of active volcanism in the global ocean. Supporting Information

Monowai is an active submarine volcanic center in the Kermadec Arc, Southwest Pacific Ocean. During May 2011, it erupted over a period of 5 days, with explosive activity directly linked to the generation of seismoacoustic T phases. We show, using cross-correlation and time-difference-of-arrival techniques, that the eruption is detected as far as Ascension Island, equatorial South Atlantic Ocean, where a bottom moored hydrophone array is operated as part of the International Monitoring System of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. Hydroacoustic phases from the volcanic center must therefore have propagated through the Sound Fixing and Ranging channel in the South Pacific and South Atlantic Oceans, a source-receiver distance of ~15,800 km. We believe this to be the furthest documented range of a naturally occurring underwater signal above 1 Hz. Our findings, which are consistent with observations at regional broadband stations and long-range, acoustic parabolic equation modeling, have implications for submarine volcano monitoring.

The dissociation of protonated methyl-d(3) thiourea-4-butyric acid methyl amide (1), a model of thiourea-based protein cross-linking compounds, is examined both experimentally and computationally. Using a guided ion beam tandem mass spectrometer (GIBMS), the threshold collision-induced dissociation (TCID) of [1 + H](+) with Xe is examined as a function of collision energy. Analysis of the kinetic energy-dependent CID cross sections provides the 0 K barriers for four primary and four secondary dissociation pathways, after accounting for competition between channels, sequential dissociations, unimolecular decay rates, internal energy of reactant ions, and multiple ion-neutral collisions. Computations are used to explore the pathways for the various processes and elucidation of their rate-limiting transition states. These results indicate that dissociation is initiated by migration of the excess proton from sulfur to one of three nitrogen atoms in 1, similar to the mobile proton model of peptide fragmentation. The computational energies for the rate-limiting transition states are generally in good agreement with the experimentally derived threshold energies, with MP2(full)/6-311+G(2d,2p)//B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) results being particularly favorable. This good comparison validates the mechanisms explored theoretically and allows identification of the structures of the various product ions and neutrals.

The interactions of SDS and AOT with PVP have been investigated by microcalorimetric, conductometric, fluorimetric and dynamic light scattering methods. The occurrence of a CAC and a CMC have been observed in microcalorimetric measurements, but were not clearly evident in the conductometric and fluorimetric experiments. From the microcalorimetric results, the energetics of CAC and CMC formation have been computed. The conductometric method has indicated two CMC points and the extent of counter ion binding to the aggregated SDS. Similar data for AOT remain inconclusive. Fluorimetric results indicating a decline in the polarity of the environment of a pyrene probe permitted the estimation of a single CMC for both SDS and AOT in PVP solution. The aggregation numbers of SDS and AOT have been found to be independent of the PVP concentration. DLS measurements have shown an increase in the hydrodynamic diameter of the polymer upon interaction with the surfactants.

The interactions of SDS and AOT with PVP have been investigated by microcalorimetric, conductometric, fluorimetric and dynamic light scattering methods. The occurrence of a CAC and a CMC have been observed in microcalorimetric measurements, but were not clearly evident in the conductometric and fluorimetric experiments. From the microcalorimetric results, the energetics of CAC and CMC formation have been computed. The conductometric method has indicated two CMC points and the extent of counter ion binding to the aggregated SDS. Similar data for AOT remain inconclusive. Fluorimetric results indicating a decline in the polarity of the environment of a pyrene probe permitted the estimation of a single CMC for both SDS and AOT in PVP solution. The aggregation numbers of SDS and AOT have been found to be independent of the PVP concentration. DLS measurements have shown an increase in the hydrodynamic diameter of the polymer upon interaction with the surfactants.

Spatial and temporal variability of HfOx-based resistive random access memory (RRAM) are investigated for manufacturing and product designs. Manufacturing variability is characterized at different levels including lots, wafers, and chips. Bit-error-rate (BER) is proposed as a holistic parameter for the write cycle resistance statistics. Using the electrical in-line-test cycle data, a method is developed to derive BERs as functions of the design margin, to provide guidance for technology evaluation and product design. The proposed BER calculation can also be used in the off-line bench test and build-in-self-test (BIST) for adaptive error correction and for the other types of random access memories., Comment: 4 pages. Memory Workshop (IMW), 2015 IEEE International

Introduction: Because of ongoing controversy, renal and vital outcomes are compared between systemically administered unfractionated heparin and regional anticoagulation with citrate-buffered replacement solution in predilution mode, during continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH) in critically ill patients with acute kidney injury (AKI).Methods: In this multi-center randomized controlled trial, patients admitted to the intensive care unit requiring CVVH and meeting inclusion criteria, were randomly assigned to citrate or heparin. Primary endpoints were mortality and renal outcome in intention-to-treat analysis. Secondary endpoints were safety and efficacy. Safety was defined as absence of any adverse event necessitating discontinuation of the assigned anticoagulant. For efficacy, among other parameters, survival times of the first hemofilter were studied.Results: Of the 139 patients enrolled, 66 were randomized to citrate and 73 to heparin. Mortality rates at 28 and 90 days did not differ between groups: 22/66 (33%) of citrate-treated patients died versus 25/72 (35%) of heparin-treated patients at 28 days, and 27/65 (42%) of citrate-treated patients died versus 29/69 (42%) of heparin-treated patients at 90 days (P = 1.00 for both). Renal outcome, i.e. independency of renal replacement therapy 28 days after initiation of CVVH in surviving patients, did not differ between groups: 29/43 (67%) in the citrate-treated patients versus 33/47 (70%) in heparin-treated patients (P = 0.82). Heparin was discontinued in 24/73 (33%) of patients whereas citrate was discontinued in 5/66 (8%) of patients (P < 0.001). Filter survival times were superior for citrate (median 46 versus 32 hours

Background: Antimicrobial resistance is an increasing concern in ICUs worldwide. Infection with an antibiotic resistant (ABR) strain of an organism is associated with greater mortality than infection with the non-resistant strain, but there are few data assessing whether being admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) with high levels of antimicrobial resistance is associated with a worse outcome than being admitted to an ICU with low rates of resistance. The aim of this study was, therefore, to compare the characteristics of infections and antibiotic treatments and patient outcomes in patients admitted to ICUs in countries considered as having high levels of antibiotic resistance and those admitted to ICUs in countries considered as having low levels of antibiotic resistance.Methods: Data from the large, international EPIC II one-day point prevalence study on infections in patients hospitalized in ICUs were used. For the current study, we compared the data obtained from patients from two groups of countries: countries with reported MRSA rates of ≥ 25% (highABR: Greece, Israel, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey) and countries with MRSA rates of < 5% (lowABR: Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden).Results: On the study day, 1187/2204 (53.9%) patients in the HighABR ICUs were infected and 255/558 (45.7%) in the LowABR ICUs (P < 0.01). Patients in the HighABR ICUs were more severely ill than those in the LowABR ICUs, as reflected by a higher SAPS II score (35.6 vs 32.7, P < 0.05) and had longer median ICU (12 days vs 5 days) and hospital (24 days vs 16 days) lengths of stay. They also had higher crude ICU (20.0% vs 15.4%) and hospital (27.0% vs 21.5%) mortality rates (both P < 0.05). However, after multivariable adjustment and matched pair analysis there were no differences in ICU or hospital mortality rates between High or LowABR ICU patients overall or among those with infections.Conclusions: Being hospitalized in an ICU in a region with high level

In this article we provide representations for the one-loop three point functions in 4 and 6 dimensions in the general case with complex masses. The latter are part of the GOLEM library used for the computation of one-loop multileg amplitudes. These representations are one-dimensional integrals designed to be free of instabilites induced by inverse powers of Gram determinants, therefore suitable for stable numerical implementations., Comment: 40 pages, 1 figure

Angiogenesis plays a critical role in processes such as organ development, wound healing, and tumor growth. It requires well-orchestrated integration of soluble and matrix factors and timely recognition of such signals to regulate this process. Previous work has shown that newly forming vessels express the chemokine receptor CXC receptor 3 (CXCR3) and, activation by its ligand IP-10 (CXCL10), both inhibits development of new vasculature and causes regression of newly formed vessels. To identify and develop new therapeutic agents to limit or reverse pathological angiogenesis, we identified a 21 amino acid fragment of IP-10, spanning the α-helical domain residues 77-98, that mimic the actions of the whole IP-10 molecule on endothelial cells. Treatment of the endothelial cells with the 22 amino acid fragment referred to as IP-10p significantly inhibited VEGF-induced endothelial motility and tube formation in vitro, properties critical for angiogenesis. Using a Matrigel plug assay in vivo, we demonstrate that IP-10p both prevented vessel formation and induced involution of nascent vessels. CXCR3 neutralizing antibody was able to block the inhibitory effects of the IP-10p, demonstrating specificity of the peptide. Inhibition of endothelial function by IP-10p was similar to that described for IP-10, secondary to CXCR3-mediated increase in cAMP production, activation of PKA inhibiting cell migration, and inhibition of VEGF-mediated m-calpain activation. IP-10p provides a novel therapeutic agent that inhibits endothelial cell function thus, allowing for the modulation of angiogenesis. © 2012 Yates-Binder et al.

A stratified sand filter column, operated in recirculation mode and treating synthetic effluent resembling high strength dairy wastewaters was studied over a 342 day duration. The aim of this paper was to examine the organic, total suspended solids (TSS) and nutrient removal rates of the sand filter, operated in recirculation mode, under incrementally increasing hydraulic and organic loading rates and to propose a field filter sizing criterion. Best performance was obtained at a system hydraulic loading rate of 10 L m-2 d-1; a higher system hydraulic loading rate (of 13.4 L m-2 d-1) caused surface ponding. The system hydraulic loading rate of 10 L m-2 d-1 gave a filter chemical oxygen demand (COD), TSS, and TKN loading rate of 14, 3.7, and 2.1 g m-2 d-1, respectively, and produced consistent COD and TSS removals of greater than 99%, and an effluent NO3-N concentration of 42 mg L-1 (accounting for an 86% reduction in total nitrogen (Tot-N)). As the proportional surface area requirement for the sand filter described in this study is less than the recommended surface area requirement of a free-water surface (FWS) wetland treating an effluent of similar quality, it could provide an economic and sustainable alternative to conventional wetland treatment., peer-reviewed

We present a program for the numerical evaluation of scalar integrals and tensor form factors entering the calculation of one-loop amplitudes which supports the use of complex masses in the loop integrals. The program is built on an earlier version of the golem95 library, which performs the reduction to a certain set of basis integrals using a formalism where inverse Gram determinants can be avoided. It can be used to calculate one-loop amplitudes with arbitrary masses in an algebraic approach as well as in the context of a unitarity-inspired numerical reconstruction of the integrand., Comment: 22 pages, 3 figures

This report summarizes the activities of the SM and NLO Multileg Working Group of the Workshop "Physics at TeV Colliders", Les Houches, France 8-26 June, 2009., Comment: 169 pages, Report of the SM and NLO Multileg Working Group for the Workshop "Physics at TeV Colliders", Les Houches, France 8-26 June, 2009

Dow Water Solutions' bipicolyamine (BisPA) chelating resin XUS-43578 could be used to recover nickel from laterite leach solutions. In the pH range of 1-3, its selectivity for nickel over iron allows the recovery of nickel without the prior precipitation of iron. The results of laboratory studies into its use in continuous ion exchange (CIX) are presented and discussed. These were at a proof of concept level, but indicate that its use in nickel laterite processing could eliminate several precipitation stages, with a consequent reduction in both nickel losses and the capital costs of the plant., Dow Water Solutions' bipicolyamine (BisPA) chelating resin XUS-43578 could be used to recover nickel from laterite leach solutions. In the pH range of 1-3, its selectivity for nickel over iron allows the recovery of nickel without the prior precipitation of iron. The results of laboratory studies into its use in continuous ion exchange (CIX) are presented and discussed. These were at a proof of concept level, but indicate that its use in nickel laterite processing could eliminate several precipitation stages, with a consequent reduction in both nickel losses and the capital costs of the plant.

Discrepancies in switched polarization values obtained with pulse measurements and hysteresis measurements have been observed in ferroelectric PZT thin film capacitors. We attribute the differences as partially due to the effects of rapid depolarization. To measure rapid depolarization a pulse was applied to pole a ferroelectric capacitor; and then a second identical pulse of the same polarity was applied after a specified time. Significant switched charge was observed after the second pulse. This depolarization was observed to occur in the time frame from microseconds to seconds. Secondly, the effect of cycling voltage on fatigue was studied on several samples processed by different vendors. A strong dependence on voltage was obtained for one sample which was characterized using a voltage activation approach. A second sample showed no appreciable effect of cycling voltage on fatigue. The difference in behavior demonstrates that the dependence of the fatigue mechanism on voltage can vary significantly depending on the sample., This article is from 'Proceedings of the International Symposium on Integrated Ferroelectrics (ISIF) (3rd) Held in Colorado Springs, Colorado on 3-5 April 1991,' AD-A253 000, p-376-389.

Singlet delta oxygen lifetime in deuterated basic hydrogen peroxide was measured. The contributing bimolecular rate constants were measured as a function of temperature. The measured lifetime of 20 microseconds compared favorably to the lifetime of 24 microseconds arrived at by using contributing bimolecular rates. Keywords: Singlet delta oxygen; Lifetime; Quenching rates; Deuterated basic hydrogen peroxide; Temperature; Bimolecular rate constants.

Using X-ray sorter technology originally developed for waste recycling industries, NAC engineers are able to eject reject material from raw coal before it enters the coal preparation plant (CPP). This technology is currently used in processing metalliferous ores like tungsten and nickel, and this trial has shown that it can also process New Acland coal with good results. The testing of the technology was carried out at pilot scale at Steinert Australia in Melbourne, using coal sourced from NAC. A stream of sized material is fed to the X-Ray sorter, spreads out on a wide horizontal conveyor and passes between the X-Ray source and a detector. Dual energy X-Ray transmission scanners are used to measure the amount of X-Ray radiation absorbed within each particle at two different energy levels. Thus, the sorter can distinguish a ‘coal’ particle from a ‘stone’ particle with a very high degree of accuracy. The prime target outcome of the pilot trial was to remove stone from generally poor quality ROM coal and at the same time ensure that no significant quantity of recoverable coal was lost. The most effective benefit from raw coal upgrade occurs when treating the poor quality seams. Eliminating stone from the CPP feed is equivalent to an increase in plant capacity, ie. remove a tonne of stone from the feed and replace it with a tonne of coal. It is intended to put the technology to use in a full scale, commercial operation., Using X-ray sorter technology originally developed for waste recycling industries, NAC engineers are able to eject reject material from raw coal before it enters the coal preparation plant (CPP). This technology is currently used in processing metalliferous ores like tungsten and nickel, and this trial has shown that it can also process New Acland coal with good results. The testing of the technology was carried out at pilot scale at Steinert Australia in Melbourne, using coal sourced from NAC. A stream of sized material is fed to the X-Ray sorter, spreads out on a wide horizontal conveyor and passes between the X-Ray source and a detector. Dual energy X-Ray transmission scanners are used to measure the amount of X-Ray radiation absorbed within each particle at two different energy levels. Thus, the sorter can distinguish a ‘coal’ particle from a ‘stone’ particle with a very high degree of accuracy. The prime target outcome of the pilot trial was to remove stone from generally poor quality ROM coal and at the same time ensure that no significant quantity of recoverable coal was lost. The most effective benefit from raw coal upgrade occurs when treating the poor quality seams. Eliminating stone from the CPP feed is equivalent to an increase in plant capacity, ie. remove a tonne of stone from the feed and replace it with a tonne of coal. It is intended to put the technology to use in a full scale, commercial operation.

The particular functional groups of different ion exchange resins can make them highly selective for specific elements. A Type 1 strong-base anion exchange resin will load U(CO3)3 even when it is present only at ppb levels in the presence of ppm levels of sulphates and chlorides. The amine functional groups of anion exchange resins can be modified for selective removal of perchlorate over nitrate. Nitrate itself may be removed either by non-selective trimethylamine (Type 1) or dimethyl ethanolamine (Type 2) strong-base anion exchangers or by selective exchangers with more exotic trimethylamine functional groups. Unusual functional groups developed to be very selective for Cu, Ni, Zn and Co under acidic conditions are hydroxypropyl picolylamine (HPPA) and bispicolylamine (BPA), BPA resins being particularly useful to separate Co and Ni in refineries or mine circuits. The thiouronium group can achieve almost complete removal of Pt, Pd and Rh from strongly acidic solutions with negligible loading of other metals, despite the presence of significant Cu and Zn concentrations; cost-effective recovery by ashing is practical. Ions with low solubility, such as Ra, can be precipitated within ion exchange beads while As can be removed by complexing with Fe- or Ti-based media. Hg, challenging because of its redox nature and existence in multiple forms as metal, cation or organic complex, is best tackled by a family of different media with varying functional groups and properties, that together can reduce Hg levels to less than 5 parts per trillion., The particular functional groups of different ion exchange resins can make them highly selective for specific elements. A Type 1 strong-base anion exchange resin will load U(CO3)3 even when it is present only at ppb levels in the presence of ppm levels of sulphates and chlorides. The amine functional groups of anion exchange resins can be modified for selective removal of perchlorate over nitrate. Nitrate itself may be removed either by non-selective trimethylamine (Type 1) or dimethyl ethanolamine (Type 2) strong-base anion exchangers or by selective exchangers with more exotic trimethylamine functional groups. Unusual functional groups developed to be very selective for Cu, Ni, Zn and Co under acidic conditions are hydroxypropyl picolylamine (HPPA) and bispicolylamine (BPA), BPA resins being particularly useful to separate Co and Ni in refineries or mine circuits. The thiouronium group can achieve almost complete removal of Pt, Pd and Rh from strongly acidic solutions with negligible loading of other metals, despite the presence of significant Cu and Zn concentrations; cost-effective recovery by ashing is practical. Ions with low solubility, such as Ra, can be precipitated within ion exchange beads while As can be removed by complexing with Fe- or Ti-based media. Hg, challenging because of its redox nature and existence in multiple forms as metal, cation or organic complex, is best tackled by a family of different media with varying functional groups and properties, that together can reduce Hg levels to less than 5 parts per trillion.