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Short Time Scales (short + time_scale)
Selected AbstractsParsec-scale jet in the distant gigahertz-peaked spectrum quasar PKS 0858,279ASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 2-3 2009Y. Y. KovalevArticle first published online: 13 FEB 200 Abstract The high redshift GPS quasar PKS 0858,279 exhibits the following properties which make the source unusual. Our RATAN-600 monitoring of 1,22 GHz spectrum has detected broad-band radio variability with high amplitude and relatively short time scale. In the same time, the milliarcsecond scale structure observed in a snapshot VLBA survey turned out to be very resolved which is not expected from the fast flux density variations. We performed 1.4,22 GHz VLBA observations of this quasar in 2005,2007. It has revealed a core-jet morphology. A high Doppler factor , is suggested for the jet, its nature is discussed in this report on the basis of the multi-frequency VLBA and RATAN data collected. Synchrotron self-absorption was confirmed to be dominating at low frequencies, the magnetic field strength of the dominating jet feature is estimated of an order of 0.1, mG (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Potential for anthropogenic disturbances to influence evolutionary change in the life history of a threatened salmonidEVOLUTIONARY APPLICATIONS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 2 2008John G. Williams Abstract Although evolutionary change within most species is thought to occur slowly, recent studies have identified cases where evolutionary change has apparently occurred over a few generations. Anthropogenically altered environments appear particularly open to rapid evolutionary change over comparatively short time scales. Here, we consider a Pacific salmon population that may have experienced life-history evolution, in response to habitat alteration, within a few generations. Historically, juvenile fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) from the Snake River migrated as subyearlings to the ocean. With changed riverine conditions that resulted from hydropower dam construction, some juveniles now migrate as yearlings, but more interestingly, the yearling migration tactic has made a large contribution to adult returns over the last decade. Optimal life-history models suggest that yearling juvenile migrants currently have a higher fitness than subyearling migrants. Although phenotypic plasticity likely accounts for some of the change in migration tactics, we suggest that evolution also plays a significant role. Evolutionary change prompted by anthropogenic alterations to the environment has general implications for the recovery of endangered species. The case study we present herein illustrates the importance of integrating evolutionary considerations into conservation planning for species at risk. [source] Optimizing atom interferometry on atom chipsFORTSCHRITTE DER PHYSIK/PROGRESS OF PHYSICS, Issue 11-12 2009U. Hohenester Abstract We theoretically investigate the performance of atom interferometers based on ultracold atoms and atom chips. Within the framework of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, we simulate the splitting and trapping of a condensate. Within the two-mode model and the multi-configurational Hartree method for Bosons, we investigate number squeezing and its impact on the interferometer performance. We show that optimized control strategies allow for efficient condensate trapping and number squeezing on short time scales. [source] The Selective Heating of Iron Nanoparticles in a Single-Mode Microwave for the Patterned Growths of Carbon Nanofibers and NanotubesADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 8 2009Tamara Druzhinina Abstract The fast and cheap synthesis of carbon nanotubes is addressed in a large number of recent publications. At the same time, microwave-assisted synthesis has also gained interest. Besides the fact that reaction kinetics can be positively influenced by the use of microwave irradiation and advanced reaction conditions can be applied, absorption of microwave radiation depends on the material properties, thus resulting in a selective heating mechanism. The selective heating process allows for locally created temperatures high enough to promote the growth of carbon nanofibers and nanotubes on patterned iron catalyst layers. The resulting fibers are micrometers long, and can be synthesized in short time scales of a few minutes, yielding dense films of carbon fibers with uniform height. Here, the selective heating of surface bound iron nanoparticles is investigated in more detail, and experimental evidence for this effect is provided by utilizing a self-assembled monolayer of n -octadecyltrichlorosilane, which acts as a sensitive indicator for locally elevated temperatures. Special emphasis is placed on the development of an improved and controllable experimental setup that permits the safe and fast fabrication of the desired carbon objects. [source] ,-Hairpin folding and stability: molecular dynamics simulations of designed peptides in aqueous solutionJOURNAL OF PEPTIDE SCIENCE, Issue 9 2004Clara M. Santiveri Abstract The structural properties of a 10-residue and a 15-residue peptide in aqueous solution were investigated by molecular dynamics simulation. The two designed peptides, SYINSDGTWT and SESYINSDGTWTVTE, had been studied previously by NMR at 278 K and the resulting model structures were classified as 3:5 ,-hairpins with a type I + G1 ,-bulge turn. In simulations at 278 K, starting from the NMR model structure, the 3:5 ,-hairpin conformers proved to be stable over the time period evaluated (30 ns). Starting from an extended conformation, simulations of the decapeptide at 278 K, 323 K and 353 K were also performed to study folding. Over the relatively short time scales explored (30 ns at 278 K and 323 K, 56 ns at 353 K), folding to the 3:5 ,-hairpin could only be observed at 353 K. At this temperature, the collapse to ,-hairpin-like conformations is very fast. The conformational space accessible to the peptide is entirely dominated by loop structures with different degrees of ,-hairpin character. The transitions between different types of ordered loops and ,-hairpins occur through two unstructured loop conformations stabilized by a single side-chain interaction between Tyr2 and Trp9, which facilitates the changes of the hydrogen-bond register. In agreement with previous experimental results, ,-hairpin formation is initially driven by the bending propensity of the turn segment. Nevertheless, the fine organization of the turn region appears to be a late event in the folding process. Copyright © 2004 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] UPTAKE AND RELEASE OF NITROGEN BY THE MACROALGAE GRACILARIA VERMICULOPHYLLA (RHODOPHYTA),JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 3 2006Anna Christina Tyler Macroalgae, often the dominant primary producers in shallow estuaries, can be important regulators of nitrogen (N) cycling. Like phytoplankton, actively growing macroalgae release N to the water column; yet little is known about the quantity or nature of this release. Using 15N labeling in laboratory and field experiments, we estimated the quantity of N released relative to assimilation and gross uptake by Gracilaria vermiculophylla (Ohmi) Papenfuss (Rhodophyta, Gracilariales), a non-native macroalgae. Field experiments were carried out in Hog Island Bay, a shallow back-barrier lagoon on the Virginia coast where G. vermiculophylla makes up 85%,90% of the biomass. There was good agreement between laboratory and field measurements of N uptake and release. Daily N assimilation in field experiments (32.3±7.2 ,mol N·g dw,1·d,1) was correlated with seasonal and local N availability. The average rate of N release across all sites and dates (65.8±11.6 ,mol N·g dw,1·d,1) was 67% of gross daily uptake, and also varied among sites and seasons (range=33%,99%). Release was highest when growth rates and nutrient availability were low, possibly due to senescence during these periods. During summer biomass peaks, estimated N release from macroalgal mats was as high as 17 mmol N·m,2·d,1. Our results suggest that most estimates of macroalgal N uptake severely underestimate gross N uptake and that N is taken up, transformed, and released to the water column on short time scales (minutes,hours). [source] 122 Local to Coastal-Scale Macrophyte Community Structure: Surprizing Patterns and Possible MechanismsJOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY, Issue 2003B. A. Menge Understanding large-scale patterns in ecological communities is a central goal of ecology, and yet, rigorous quantitative geographic data on distribution, abundance and diversity are almost totally lacking. Even in rocky intertidal habitats, our data on community structure are spatially and temporally limited, with most surveys limited to a few sites over short time periods. When linked to studies of community dynamics on similar scales, such studies should provide insights into the determinants of pattern at more relevant scales. In 1999 PISCO, the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans, initiated survey programs aimed at determining patterns of community structure along the US west coast from Washington to Baja California. Sites are regularly spaced along the coast in a nested design, and were physically similar. Surveys used randomly placed quadrats in transects run parallel to shore in high, mid and low zones. Results show that, contrary to expectation, macroalgal diversity along the northern coast was higher, not lower than that along the southern coast. Possible factors associated with this unexpected pattern include along-coast variation in tidal amplitude, time of tide, thermal stress, upwelling intensity and resulting nutrient gradients, disturbance from storms or sand burial, and grazing. We review evidence relevant to these factors, and focus on the possible role of grazing, using field experiments done under differing oceanographic conditions along the Oregon coast as a model. Although short-term grazing rates can vary with oceanographic condition, we hypothesize that despite these results and those of many similar studies showing strong grazing effects on local spatial and short time scales, that bottom-up factors are stronger determinants of macroalgal community structure on larger spatial scales and longer time scales. [source] Adhesion control for injection overmolding of polypropylene with elastomeric ethylene copolymersPOLYMER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE, Issue 10 2009Marco Dondero Two types of random semicrystalline copolymers (ethylene,octene and ethylene,butene) were overmolded on a core polypropylene. Maximum solid,liquid interface temperature achieved for the overmolding injection process is used as the key parameter for adhesion control. The main bonding process is shown to be a Rouse-type fingering mechanism that develops in short time scales. Normalized peel tests were conducted on overmolded samples to measure the resulting polypropylene copolymers' bonding strength. All the ethylene random copolymers used for this study give good adhesion to polypropylene in overmolding processes, provided the right range of interface temperature is reached. Adhesion strength can be easily controlled for efficient debonding and recycling of used overmolded parts. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers [source] The effect of ram-pressure stripping and starvation on the star formation properties of cluster galaxiesASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 9-10 2009A. Boselli Abstract We have combined UV to radio centimetric observations of resolved galaxies in the Virgo cluster with multizone, chemospectrophotometric models of galaxy evolution especially tailored to take into account the effects of the cluster environment (ram pressure stripping and starvation). This exercise has shown that anemic spirals with truncated radial profiles of the gas component and of the young stellar populations, typical in rich clusters of galaxies, have been perturbed by a recent (,100 Myr) ram pressure stripping event induced by their interaction with the cluster intergalactic medium. Starvation is not able to reproduce the observed truncated radial profiles. Both ram pressure and starvation induce a decrease of the stellar surface brightness of the perturbed disc, and thus can hardly be invoked to explain the formation of lenticular galaxies inhabiting rich clusters, which are characterised by higher surface brightnesses than early type spirals of similar luminosity. In dwarfs the ram pressure stripping event is so efficient to totally remove their gas thus stopping on short time scales (<2 Gyr) their star formation activity. Low luminosity star forming discs can be transformed in dE galaxies (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Masses of distant radio galaxies: A coherent view for evolution and originASTRONOMISCHE NACHRICHTEN, Issue 2-3 2006B. Rocca-VolmerangeArticle first published online: 3 FEB 200 Abstract We hereafter aim to present mass estimates and main parameters of distant powerful radio sources, respectively for evolved stars, ionized gas, and dust. Observations and models are consistent with a scenario where large masses are accumulated whithin extremely short time scales < 1 Gyr at redshifts z > 2: a strong constraint for large-scale structure models. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Modern and ancient fluvial megafans in the foreland basin system of the central Andes, southern Bolivia: implications for drainage network evolution in fold-thrust beltsBASIN RESEARCH, Issue 1 2001B. K. Horton ABSTRACT Fluvial megafans chronicle the evolution of large mountainous drainage networks, providing a record of erosional denudation in adjacent mountain belts. An actualistic investigation of the development of fluvial megafans is presented here by comparing active fluvial megafans in the proximal foreland basin of the central Andes to Tertiary foreland-basin deposits exposed in the interior of the mountain belt. Modern fluvial megafans of the Chaco Plain of southern Bolivia are large (5800,22 600 km2), fan-shaped masses of dominantly sand and mud deposited by major transverse rivers (Rio Grande, Rio Parapeti, and Rio Pilcomayo) emanating from the central Andes. The rivers exit the mountain belt and debouch onto the low-relief Chaco Plain at fixed points along the mountain front. On each fluvial megafan, the presently active channel is straight in plan view and dominated by deposition of mid-channel and bank-attached sand bars. Overbank areas are characterized by crevasse-splay and paludal deposition with minor soil development. However, overbank areas also contain numerous relicts of recently abandoned divergent channels, suggesting a long-term distributary drainage pattern and frequent channel avulsions. The position of the primary channel on each megafan is highly unstable over short time scales. Fluvial megafans of the Chaco Plain provide a modern analogue for a coarsening-upward, > 2-km-thick succession of Tertiary strata exposed along the Camargo syncline in the Eastern Cordillera of the central Andean fold-thrust belt, about 200 km west of the modern megafans. Lithofacies of the mid-Tertiary Camargo Formation include: (1) large channel and small channel deposits interpreted, respectively, as the main river stem on the proximal megafan and distributary channels on the distal megafan; and (2) crevasse-splay, paludal and palaeosol deposits attributed to sedimentation in overbank areas. A reversal in palaeocurrents in the lowermost Camargo succession and an overall upward coarsening and thickening trend are best explained by progradation of a fluvial megafan during eastward advance of the fold-thrust belt. In addition, the present-day drainage network in this area of the Eastern Cordillera is focused into a single outlet point that coincides with the location of the coarsest and thickest strata of the Camargo succession. Thus, the modern drainage network may be inherited from an ancestral mid-Tertiary drainage network. Persistence and expansion of Andean drainage networks provides the basis for a geometric model of the evolution of drainage networks in advancing fold-thrust belts and the origin and development of fluvial megafans. The model suggests that fluvial megafans may only develop once a drainage network has reached a particular size, roughly 104 km2, a value based on a review of active fluvial megafans that would be affected by the tectonic, climatic and geomorphologic processes operating in a given mountain belt. Furthermore, once a drainage network has achieved this critical size, the river may have sufficient stream power to prove relatively insensitive to possible geometric changes imparted by growing frontal structures in the fold-thrust belt. [source] Do community-based support services benefit bereaved children?CHILD: CARE, HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 6 2001A review of empirical evidence Abstract Aims To consider the evidence of effect from English language, empirically based quantitative evaluations of community-based interventions for bereaved children; community-based interventions being understood as those taking place outside a clinical setting. Methods MedLine, PsychInfo, Applied Social Sciences Index and Sociological Abstracts were searched for documents containing the words ,child', ,bereavement' and ,program', ,group', ,intervention', ,support' or ,evaluation'. The criterion for inclusion was that studies use a control group or pre- and post-test measurements using a standardized instrument. Results Nine relevant studies were identified. However, empirical evidence of positive outcomes for children was limited and compromised by methodological weaknesses in the design of the studies. Small sample sizes, irregular attendance, high levels of attrition, short time scales between pre- and post-testing and difficulty in developing appropriate instrumentation, including assessment of adherence to the agreed intervention programme, all created problems. Conclusions The case for universal inclusion of this group of children in such support programmes remains unproven, and further exploration of the outcomes of a range of different community interventions is required, with a specific focus on long-term and/or unwanted effects and evaluation of the basis for referral. [source] | ||||||||||||||||