Room temperature chiral discrimination in paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy

A recently proposed theory of chiral discrimination in NMR spectroscopy based on the detection of a molecular electric polarization $\mathbf{P}$ rotating in a plane perpendicular to the NMR magnetic field [A. D. Buckingham, J. Chem. Phys. $\mathbf{140}$, 011103 (2014)], is here generalized to paramagnetic systems. Our theory predicts new contributions to $\mathbf{P}$, varying as the square of the inverse temperature. Ab initio calculations for ten Dy$^{3+}$ complexes, at 293K, show that in strongly anisotropic paramagnetic molecules $\mathbf{P}$ can be more than 1000 times larger than in diamagnetic molecules, making paramagnetic NMR chiral discrimination amenable to room temperature detection.Comment: Physical Review Letters, in press (2016). The paper has 5 pages, no figures. Supplementary Material file has 24 page

Physical and optical properties of atmospheric aerosols by in-situ and radiometric measurements

Physical and optical properties of atmospheric aerosols collected by using a high resolution (1.5 nm) spectroradiometer (spectral range 400–800 nm), a 13-stage Dekati Low Pressure Impactor (size range 30 nm–10 μm), and an AE31 Aethalometer (7 wavelenghts from 370 nm to 950 nm), have been examined in a semi-rural site in Southwest Italy (Tito Scalo, 40°35' N, 15°41' E, 750 m a.s.l.). In particular, daily averaged values of AOD and Ångström turbidity parameters from radiometric data together with mass-size distributions from impactor data and Black Carbon (BC) concentrations have been analyzed from May to October 2008. Furthermore, by inverting direct solar radiances, aerosol columnar number and volume size distributions have been obtained for the same period. The comparison of different observation methods, allowed to verify if, and in what conditions, changes in aerosol properties measured at ground are representative of columnar properties variations. Agreement between columnar and in-situ measurements has been obtained in case of anthropogenic aerosol loading, while in case of Saharan dust intrusions some discrepancies have been found when dust particles were located at high layers in the atmosphere (4–8 km) thus affecting columnar properties more than surface ones. For anthropogenic aerosols, a good correlation has been confirmed through the comparison of fine aerosol fraction contribution as measured by radiometer, impactor and aethalometer, suggesting that, in this case, the particles are more homogeneously distributed over the lower layers of atmosphere and columnar aerosol optical properties are dominated by surface measured component

Community-based perceptions of emergency care in Kenya

Access to quality emergency services is an essential component of the human right to health, but barriers to emergency care are found throughout Africa and the wider world. Data to support the development of emergency care are essential to improve access to care and further infrastructure development. We undertook this study to understand the community\u27s emergency care needs and the barriers they face when trying to access care and to engage community members with developing high impact solutions to expand access to essential emergency services. To accomplish this, we used a qualitative research methodology to conduct 59 focus groups with 528 total Kenyan community member participants. Data were coded, aggregated, and analysed using the content analysis approach. Participants were uniformly selected from all eight of the historical Kenyan provinces (Central. Coast, Eastern, Nairobi, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, and Western), with equal rural and urban community representation. We found that socioeconomic and cultural factors play a major role both in seeking and reaching emergency care. Community members in Kenya experience a wide range of medical emergencies and seem to understand their time-critical nature. They rely on one another for assistance in the face of substantial barriers to care: a lack of a structured system, resources, transportation, trained healthcare providers, and initial care on scene. The results of this study indicate the need for specific interventions to reduce barriers to access essential emergency services in Kenya. Access to emergency care can be improved by encouraging recognition and initial treatment of emergent illness in the community, strengthening the pre­-hospital care system, improving emergency care delivery at health facilities, and creating new policies at both county and national levels

Spectrally resolved observations of atmospheric emitted radiance in the H2O rotation band

This paper presents the project Earth Cooling by Water Vapor Radiation, an observational programme, which aims at developing a database of spectrally resolved far infrared observations, in atmospheric dry conditions, in order to validate radiative transfer models and test the quality of water vapor continuum and line parameters. The project provides the very first set of far-infrared spectral downwelling radiance measurements, in dry atmospheric conditions, which are complemented with Raman Lidar-derived temperature and water vapor profiles

Mammalian Fauna From The Fullerton Gravel Pit (Ogallala Group, Late Miocene), Morton County, Kansas

The Fullerton Gravel Pit, Morton County, Kansas is one of many sites in western Kansas at which the Ogallala Group crops out. The Ogallala Group was deposited primarily by streams flowing from the Rocky Mountains. Evidence of water transport is observable at the Fullerton Gravel Pit through the presence of allochthonous clasts, cross-bedding, pebble alignment, and fossil breakage and subsequent rounding. Fluvial mechanisms also played an important role in the distribution of fossil material. When the fossils from the Fullerton Gravel Pit are placed in Voorhies Groups, it appears that a majority of them were removed from suspension gradually and transported through traction. This interaction created a distinct bias in the accumulation of specific specimens at the site. The identity of the mammalian taxa recovered from the Fullerton Gravel Pit was determined by comparison with previously identified specimens, as well as previously utilized comparative techniques. Camels are the majority of identifiable elements at the site. In particular, the medium-sized camel, Hemiauchenia is best represented. The canid, Osteoborus, proboscideans, such as gomphotherids, and perissodactyls, predominantly horses, are also present. Conspicuous by its absence, Teleoceras, a common Miocene rhinoceros, has yet to be discovered. The absence of Teleoceras may in part be due to channel velocity and depth. The presence of the canid Osteoborus restricts the Fullerton Gravel Pit to the Hemphillian age. The biochronologic range of the camels, Aepycamelus, Protolabis, and Procamelus end in the early Hemphillian, providing evidence restricting the Fullerton Gravel Pit to an early Hemphillian age. Of the horse species found at the site, only Neohipparion trampasense partitions the Hemphillian, being confined to the late Barstovian to early Hemphillian. The biostratigraphic range of these genera results in an assignment of the Fullerton Gravel Pit to an early Hemphillian age. Within the Equidae, hypsodont dentition and muzzle width indicate that horses were grazers. However, the varying degree of hypsodonty in the Camelidae indicates they were more diverse. Whereas, Hemiauchenia, exploited a grazing niche; others such as Procamelus occupied a browsing niche. Tooth condition and the percent δ13C reinforce the interpretations obtained for camel feeding. Grazing and browsing niches are supported in a savanna-grassland environment. Grasses would have sustained the grazers, and intermittent trees and brush the browsers. This interpretation of the Fullerton Gravel Pit is in agreement with analyses describing the spread of the savanna-grassland landscape across North America during the Miocene. A number of factors influence fossil distribution at the Fullerton Gravel Pit. Niche specialization, fluvial filtering, and an evolving landscape each accounts for the abundance of camel material, as well as the distribution of other taxa

Predicting Rainfall-induced Movements of Slides in Stiff Clays

A physically-based numerical method is presented for displacements hazard analyses, at large-scale, in the case of landslides characterized by movements along pre-existing slip surfaces induced by rainfall-triggered pore pressure fluctuations. The method comprises a transient seepage finite element analysis and a kinematic model. With reference to the latter, the rates of displacement are assumed to be of the viscous type and are related to the factors of safety along the slip surface computed performing time-dependent limit equilibrium analyses. Monitoring data from an active slide in Central Italy are then used both for calibrating the models, by means of an inverse analysis procedure that minimizes the errors between numerically computed results and available observations, and for validating the results of the calibrated models. Subsequently, the calibrated and validated models are used to predict the response of the slope to different rainfall scenarios. The proposed method has been named “R-u-F-v prediction.

FraneItalia: a catalog of recent Italian landslides

Abstract Background In Italy landslides are widespread natural phenomena causing a significant number of fatalities and huge economic losses throughout the country every year. Information on the spatial and temporal distribution of landslides at national scale is critical for developing landslide susceptibility, hazard and risk maps, as well as, more generally, for decision making in landslide risk management. Description The paper presents, after a brief review on global and national landslide databases, a new geo-referenced catalog of recent landslides affecting the Italian territory. The catalog, called Franeitalia, includes both fatal landslide events and events that did not produce physical harm to people. It has been developed consulting online news sources from 2010 onwards. The following seven steps have been performed to define and populate the catalog: i) selection of news sources; ii) identification of effective search keywords; iii) collection of relevant news articles; iv) identification of landslide categories; v) definition of catalog fields; vi) information mining from news articles; vii) geo-referencing of the events. Landslide events are classified considering two numerosity categories and three consequence categories. The numerosity categories are: single landslide events (SLE), for records only reporting one landslide; and areal landslide events (ALE), for records referring to multiple landslides triggered by the same cause in the same geographic area. Both SLEs and ALEs are divided in three consequence classes according to whether the event produced victims and/or missing people (C1, very severe), injured persons and/or evacuations (C2, severe), or did not cause any physical harm to people (C3, minor). Information on the landslide events collected in the catalog always includes: data on the location of the event, day of occurrence of the landslide (s), source (s) of information, and number of landslides in case of areal events. Additional information may include: onset and duration of the landslide event, landslide characteristics, phase of activity, details on the consequences. Conclusions Reports and statistics on the landslides included in the catalog are presented highlighting: the main figures of the landslide inventory, currently spanning from the 2010 to 2017 and including 8931 landslides; and time-dependent national and regional trends, with a focus on the consequences induced by the events. The paper also compares and discusses the figures in relation to other catalogs reporting recent landslides that occurred in the Italian territory