Morphological budgeting in the Motueka River: an analysis of technique

Morphological budgeting is a key method for monitoring and studying sediment transfers within gravelly rivers. We assess the utility of traditional cross‐section approaches to budgeting using Digital Elevation Model (DEM) analysis. DEMs give a more accurate volume calculation within the constraint of sampling frequency compared with cross sections, since a greater area of river bed is sampled. DEM volume calculation within the 1.7 km ‘Three Beaches’ reach in the upper Motueka revealed a net loss of 3219 m3 in this reach between 2008‐2009. Comparisons of this value with cross section‐based volume calculations at a range of section spacing using (i) Mean Bed Level (MBL) analysis and (ii) DEMs generated from cross section data, suggest accuracy of the budget is maximised at a critical cross section spacing not exceeding 90 m. Careful positioning of cross sections could lengthen this distance further and is essential to accurately represent river channel morphology. MBL analysis using cross‐sections in the reach monumented by Tasman District Council (TDC) for river monitoring underestimates the magnitude of net sediment transfers by c. 30%

Combined chips for atom-optics

We present experiments with Bose-Einstein condensates on a combined atom chip. The combined structure consists of a large-scale "carrier chip" and smaller "atom-optics chips", containing micron-sized elements. This allows us to work with condensates very close to chip surfaces without suffering from fragmentation or losses due to thermally driven spin flips. Precise three-dimensional positioning and transport with constant trap frequencies are described. Bose-Einstein condensates were manipulated with submicron accuracy above atom-optics chips. As an application of atom chips, a direction sensitive magnetic field microscope is demonstrated.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure

Nucleotide specificity of the enzymatic and motile activities of dynein, kinesin, and heavy meromyosin.

The substrate specificities of dynein, kinesin, and myosin substrate turnover activity and cytoskeletal filament-driven translocation were examined using 15 ATP analogues. The dyneins were more selective in their substrate utilization than bovine brain kinesin or muscle heavy meromyosin, and even different types of dyneins, such as 14S and 22S dynein from Tetrahymena cilia and the beta-heavy chain-containing particle from the outer-arm dynein of sea urchin flagella, could be distinguished by their substrate specificities. Although bovine brain kinesin and muscle heavy meromyosin both exhibited broad substrate specificities, kinesin-induced microtubule translocation varied over a 50-fold range in speed among the various substrates, whereas heavy meromyosin-induced actin translocation varied only by fourfold. With both kinesin and heavy meromyosin, the relative velocities of filament translocation did not correlate well with the relative filament-activated substrate turnover rates. Furthermore, some ATP analogues that did not support the filament translocation exhibited filament-activated substrate turnover rates. Filament-activated substrate turnover and power production, therefore, appear to become uncoupled with certain substrates. In conclusion, the substrate specificities and coupling to motility are distinct for different types of molecular motor proteins. Such nucleotide "fingerprints" of enzymatic activities of motor proteins may prove useful as a tool for identifying what type of motor is involved in powering a motility-related event that can be reconstituted in vitro

Critical fluctuations in the spin-orbit Mott insulator Sr3_3Ir2_2O7_7

X-ray magnetic critical scattering measurements and specific heat measurements were performed on the perovskite iridate Sr$_3$Ir$_2$O$_7$. We find that the magnetic interactions close to the N\'{e}el temperature $T_N$ = 283.4(2) K are three-dimensional. This contrasts with previous studies which suggest two-dimensional behaviour like Sr$_2$IrO$_4$. Violation of the Harris criterion ($d\nu>2$) means that weak disorder becomes relevant. This leads a rounding of the antiferromagnetic phase transition at $T_N$, and modifies the critical exponents relative to the clean system. Specifically, we determine that the critical behaviour of Sr$_3$Ir$_2$O$_7$ is representative of the diluted 3D Ising universality class.Comment: Accepted in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matte

Can trial quality be reliably assessed from published reports of cancer trials: evaluation of risk of bias assessments in systematic reviews

To evaluate the reliability of risk of bias assessments based on published trial reports, for determining trial inclusion in meta-analyses

Contact and sum-rules in a near-uniform Fermi gas at unitarity

We present an experimental study of the high-energy excitation spectra of unitary Fermi gases. Using focussed beam Bragg spectroscopy, we locally probe atoms in the central region of a harmonically trapped cloud where the density is nearly uniform, enabling measurements of the dynamic structure factor for a range of temperatures both below and above the superfluid transition. Applying sum-rules to the measured Bragg spectra, we resolve the characteristic behaviour of the universal contact parameter, ${\cal C}$, across the superfluid transition. We also employ a recent theoretical result for the kinetic (second-moment) sum-rule to obtain the internal energy of gases at unitarity.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Is policy leading to improved sustainability at the local urban scale?

In New Zealand, urban growth strategies and environmental policies at national and regional levels are influencing urban transformations at the local scale. Intensified residential and mixed use developments are emerging at growth nodes as outcomes of the Auckland Regional Growth Strategy 2050. The New Zealand Urban Design Protocol identified significant influences from government legislation, strategies and policies on urban design and the built forms at local level. The national walking and cycling strategy indicates that supportive local-scale layout and design in both existing and new developments could significantly influence travel behaviour. One of the six goals of the National Energy Efficiency and Conservation Strategy is to reduce local environmental effects of energy production and use. The Urban Form Design and Development (UFDD) work, part of the 'Auckland Sustainable Cities Programme' under the NZ Sustainable Development Programme of Action (NZSDPOA), focussed on policy mechanisms to drive sustainable urban form at the local scale in the Auckland Region. Using a case study-based approach, this paper investigates how national and regional policies influence the environmental sustainability of emerging local residential forms at this scale, especially in the Auckland Region. Three selected case studies are examined in terms of: applied urban design principles; design characteristics including street patterns, subdivision layouts and open space provisions; density of development; potential and actual renewable energy use and available transport options. A comparison of the New Zealand approach to sustainable urban forms with an international zero energy residential development is made. Results indicate the policies could influence emerging local-scale urban forms in varied manners generating significantly different contributions to environmental sustainability

A random walker on a ratchet potential: Effect of a non Gaussian noise

We analyze the effect of a colored non Gaussian noise on a model of a random walker moving along a ratchet potential. Such a model was motivated by the transport properties of motor proteins, like kinesin and myosin. Previous studies have been realized assuming white noises. However, for real situations, in general we could expect that those noises be correlated and non Gaussian. Among other aspects, in addition to a maximum in the current as the noise intensity is varied, we have also found another optimal value of the current when departing from Gaussian behavior. We show the relevant effects that arise when departing from Gaussian behavior, particularly related to current's enhancement, and discuss its relevance for both biological and technological situations.Comment: Submitted to Europ.Phys. J. B (LaTex, 16 pgs, 8 figures

Optimizing the colour and fabric of targets for the control of the tsetse fly Glossina fuscipes fuscipes

Background: Most cases of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) start with a bite from one of the subspecies of Glossina fuscipes. Tsetse use a range of olfactory and visual stimuli to locate their hosts and this response can be exploited to lure tsetse to insecticide-treated targets thereby reducing transmission. To provide a rational basis for cost-effective designs of target, we undertook studies to identify the optimal target colour. Methodology/Principal Findings: On the Chamaunga islands of Lake Victoria , Kenya, studies were made of the numbers of G. fuscipes fuscipes attracted to targets consisting of a panel (25 cm square) of various coloured fabrics flanked by a panel (also 25 cm square) of fine black netting. Both panels were covered with an electrocuting grid to catch tsetse as they contacted the target. The reflectances of the 37 different-coloured cloth panels utilised in the study were measured spectrophotometrically. Catch was positively correlated with percentage reflectance at the blue (460 nm) wavelength and negatively correlated with reflectance at UV (360 nm) and green (520 nm) wavelengths. The best target was subjectively blue, with percentage reflectances of 3%, 29%, and 20% at 360 nm, 460 nm and 520 nm respectively. The worst target was also, subjectively, blue, but with high reflectances at UV (35% reflectance at 360 nm) wavelengths as well as blue (36% reflectance at 460 nm); the best low UV-reflecting blue caught 3× more tsetse than the high UV-reflecting blue. Conclusions/Significance: Insecticide-treated targets to control G. f. fuscipes should be blue with low reflectance in both the UV and green bands of the spectrum. Targets that are subjectively blue will perform poorly if they also reflect UV strongly. The selection of fabrics for targets should be guided by spectral analysis of the cloth across both the spectrum visible to humans and the UV region