Future socioeconomic changes

Development of socio-economic scenarios and translating them into suitable storylines and provide an overview of potential data to be used for a quantification of future disease vulnerabilitie

Extending the functionalities of shear-driven chromatography nano-channels using high aspect ratio etching

An new injection system is presented for shear-driven chromatography. The device has been fabricated by high aspect ratio etching of silicon. The performance of the injection slit is studied through the aid of computational fluid dynamics, and the first experimental results are presented

Matching commercial thrips predating phytoseids with the highly diversified climatic conditions of different strawberry production systems

Flower inhabiting thrips (Order: Thysanoptera) are a major threat to fruit quality in strawberry production around the world. As chemical control is often inefficient, alternative control measures are of broad and current interest. Their fast reproduction makes predatory mites highly suitable for thrips control in a crop with a relatively short cropping season like strawberry. However, climatic conditions of strawberry production can differ strongly depending on the production system (glasshouse, plastic tunnel, open field, etc.) and the time span of cultivation (depending mostly on planting date and the type of cultivar: summer-or everbearing). As predatory mites typically display a temperature-dependent life history and the current commercially available thrips predating phytoseids vary in geographic origin, one can assume that under certain climatic conditions some species will be more applicable than others. The goal of this study is to determine which species are suitable for which climatic conditions. Therefore all (Belgian) production systems and time spans are categorized into three climate types, simulated in the laboratory. The population build-up of seven predatory mite species (A. degenerans, A. montdorensis, A. andersoni, A. limonicus, A. swirskii, N. cucumeris and E. gallicus) were assessed for each of these climatic conditions. Under the coldest condition (A), the in West-Europe indigenous E. gallicus was the only species with a significant population build up. When moderate conditions (B) were simulated E. gallicus, N. cucumeris and A. limonicus were most successful. The warmest regime (C) was most adequate for E. gallicus and A. swirskii

Westward Growth of Laurentia by Pre–Late Jurassic Terrane Accretion, Eastern Oregon and Western Idaho, United States

New U-Pb and Sm-Nd data from the Blue Mountains province, eastern Oregon and western Idaho, clarify terrane correlations and regional evolution of the western Laurentian plate margin during Mesozoic time. We report an Early Jurassic age for a red tuff unit at Pittsburg Landing, Idaho, which is 25 m.yr. older than previous Middle Jurassic estimates. In the Coon Hollow Formation at Pittsburg Landing and at the type location on the Snake River, chemical abrasion thermal ionization mass spectrometry U-Pb zircon ages on interbedded tuff and detrital zircon U-Pb maximum depositional ages indicate that deposition spanned ca. 160–150Ma, entirely during Late Jurassic time. Detrital zircon U-Pb ages represent local Wallowa arc basement and regional magmatic sources spanning ca. 290–140 Ma. Mudrock Nd isotope compositions of the Coon Hollow Formation record an increase in juvenile magmatism consistent with regional Late Jurassic trends in western North American magmatic systems. These data show that the Coon Hollow Formation is not part of a Middle Jurassic overlap assemblage, as has been historically interpreted. Instead, we propose that the Coon Hollow Formation is part of a belt of suprasubduction-zone extensional back-arc basins that formed in latest Jurassic time due to a well-documented period of trench retreat in the western United States. Our new data require that the underlying Wallowa terrane was accreted to and received detritus from western North America by ca. 160 Ma (early Late Jurassic). This minimum estimate for the age of terrane accretion in western Idaho and eastern Oregon is substantially earlier than previous estimates (∼135–118 Ma). In the Blue Mountains region, westward expansion of Laurentia was accomplished by accretion of arc terranes to the North American craton prior to Late Jurassic time

Geodynamics of synconvergent extension and tectonic mode switching: Constraints from the Sevier-Laramide orogen

Many orogenic belts experience alternations in shortening and extension (tectonic mode switches) during continuous plate convergence. The geodynamics of such alternations are not well understood. We present a record of Late Cretaceous to Eocene alternations of shortening and extension from the interior of the retroarc Sevier-Laramide orogen of the western United States. We integrate new Lu-Hf garnet geochronometry with revised PT paths utilizing differential thermobarometry combined with isochemical G-minimization plots, and monazite Th-Pb inclusion geochronometry to produce a well-constrained “M” shaped PTt path. Two burial events (86 and 65 Ma) are separated by ∼3 kbar of decompression. The first burial episode is Late Cretaceous, records a 2 kbar pressure increase at ∼515–550 °C and is dated by a Lu-Hf garnet isochron age of 85.5 ± 1.9 Ma (2σ); the second burial episode records ∼1 kbar of pressure increase at ∼585–615 °C, and is dated by radially decreasing Th-Pb ages of monazite inclusions in garnet between ∼65 and 45 Ma. We propose a synconvergent lithospheric delamination cycle, superimposed on a dynamic orogenic wedge, as a viable mechanism. Wedge tapers may evolve from critical to subcritical (amplification), to supercritical (separation), and back to subcritical (re-equilibration) owing to elevation changes resulting from isostatic adjustments during the amplification and separation of Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, and post-separation thermal and rheological re-equilibration. For the Sevier-Laramide hinterland, the sequence of Late Cretaceous delamination, low-angle subduction, and slab rollback/foundering during continued plate convergence explains the burial-exhumation-burial-exhumation record and the “M-shaped” PTt path

Long-range forecasting of intermittent streamflow

Long-range forecasting of intermittent streamflow in semi-arid Australia poses a number of major challenges. One of the challenges relates to modelling zero, skewed, non-stationary, and non-linear data. To address this, a statistical model to forecast streamflow up to 12 months ahead is applied to five semi-arid catchments in South Western Queensland. The model uses logistic regression through Generalised Additive Models for Location, Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) to determine the probability of flow occurring in any of the systems. We then use the same regression framework in combination with a right-skewed distribution, the Box-Cox t distribution, to model the intensity (depth) of the non-zero streamflows. Time, seasonality and climate indices, describing the Pacific and Indian Ocean sea surface temperatures, are tested as covariates in the GAMLSS model to make probabilistic 6 and 12-month forecasts of the occurrence and intensity of streamflow. The output reveals that in the study region the occurrence and variability of flow is driven by sea surface temperatures and therefore forecasts can be made with some skill

Perceiving Pain in Others: Automatic and Controlled Mechanisms

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Electron and Hole Spin Splitting and Photogalvanic Effect in Quantum Wells

A theory of the circular photogalvanic effect caused by spin splitting in quantum wells is developed. Direct interband transitions between the hole and electron size-quantized subbands are considered. It is shown that the photocurrent value and direction depend strongly on the form of the spin-orbit interaction. The currents induced by structure-, bulk-, and interface-inversion asymmetry are investigated. The photocurrent excitation spectra caused by spin splittings in both conduction and valence bands are calculated.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure