Condensed Matter Theory of Dipolar Quantum Gases

Recent experimental breakthroughs in trapping, cooling and controlling ultracold gases of polar molecules, magnetic and Rydberg atoms have paved the way toward the investigation of highly tunable quantum systems, where anisotropic, long-range dipolar interactions play a prominent role at the many-body level. In this article we review recent theoretical studies concerning the physics of such systems. Starting from a general discussion on interaction design techniques and microscopic Hamiltonians, we provide a summary of recent work focused on many-body properties of dipolar systems, including: weakly interacting Bose gases, weakly interacting Fermi gases, multilayer systems, strongly interacting dipolar gases and dipolar gases in 1D and quasi-1D geometries. Within each of these topics, purely dipolar effects and connections with experimental realizations are emphasized.Comment: Review article; submitted 09/06/2011. 158 pages, 52 figures. This document is the unedited author's version of a Submitted Work that was subsequently accepted for publication in Chemical Reviews, copyright American Chemical Society after peer review. To access the final edited and published work, a link will be provided soo

The Social Cost of Dredging: The Bahia Blanca Estuary Case

The Bahia Blanca Estuary System constitutes an ecosystem unique in the world by its physical, geographic and biological characteristics. In the frame of a major investment project related with natural gas provision, a dredging process has been planned and its execution results imminent. However, the analysis of socioeconomic effects of this dredging process has not been performed up to now. In this context, our objective is to estimate social costs and benefits of the dredging process related with the gas plant project mainly derived from the loss of the nursery services of the estuary and the loss of the jobs associated with fishing activities. Our results indicate that socioeconomic cost of the dredging related with the project is between US$5 million and US$ 6.5 million depending on how the displaced labor force can be reallocated.Fil: Zilio, Mariana Ines. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Bahia Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; Argentina; Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economia; Argentina;Fil: London, Silvia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Bahia Blanca. Instituto de Investigaciones Económicas y Sociales del Sur; Argentina; Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Economia; Argentina;Fil: Perillo, Gerardo Miguel E.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Bahia Blanca. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía (i); Argentina; Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geografía; Argentina;Fil: Piccolo, Maria Cintia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - CONICET - Bahia Blanca. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía (i); Argentina; Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geografía; Argentina

Modeling and estimating the economic and social impact of the results of the project Re-search Alps

The idea behind the Re-search Alps project has been conceived inside within the EUSALP Action Group 1 - “to develop an effective research and innovation ecosystem” (AG1). EUSALP is the EU-Strategy for the Alpine Region, which is composed of seven countries: Austria, France, Germany, Italy Liechtenstein, Slovenia and Switzerland. The strategy aims at ensuring mutually beneficial interactions between the mountain regions at its core and the surrounding lowlands and urban areas. The goal of the Re-search Alps project is the publication on the web of an open dataset describing the private and public laboratories, research and innovation centers (hereinafter, referred as “labs”, in short) existing in the seven aforementioned countries, with particular reference to the 48 Regions constituting the Alpine Area

Tectonics and seismicity in the Northern Apennines driven by slab retreat and lithospheric delamination

Understanding how long-term subduction dynamics relates to the short-term seismicity and crustal tec tonics is a challenging but crucial topic in seismotectonics. We attempt to address this issue by linking long-term geodynamic evolution with short-term seismogenic deformation in the Northern Apennines. This retreating subduction orogen displays tectonic and seismogenic behaviors on various spatiotemporal scales that also characterize other subduction zones in the Mediterranean area. We use visco-elasto-plastic seismo-thermo-mechanical (STM) modeling with a realistic 2D setup based on available geological and geophysical data. The subduction dynamics and seismicity are coupled in the numerical modeling, and driven only by buoyancy forces, i.e., slab pull. Our results suggest that lower crustal rheology and lithospheric mantle temperature modulate the crustal tectonics of the Northern Apennines, as inferred by previous studies. The observed spatial distribution of upper crustal tectonic regimes and surface displacements requires buoyant, highly ductile material in the subduction channel beneath the internal part of the orogen. This allows protrusion of the asthenosphere in the lower crust and lithospheric delamination associated with slab retreat. The resulting surface velocities and principal stress axes generally agree with present-day observations, suggesting that slab delamination and retreat can explain the dynamics of the orogen. Our simulations successfully reproduce the type and overall distribution of seismicity with thrust faulting events in the external part of the orogen and normal faulting in its internal part. Slab temperatures and lithospheric mantle stiffness affect the cumulative seismic moment release and spatial distribution of upper crustal earthquakes. The properties of deep, sub-crustal material are thus shown to influence upper crustal seismicity in an orogen driven by slab retreat, even though the upper crust is largely decoupled from the lithospheric mantle. Our simulations therefore highlight the effect of deep lower crustal rheologies, self-driven subduction dynamics and mantle properties in controlling shallow deformation and seismicity

Can scenario-planning support community-based natural resource management? Experiences from three countries in latin america

Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) is a concept critical to managing socio-ecological systems, but whose implementation needs strengthening. Scenario-planning is one approach that may offer benefits relevant to CBNRM, but whose potential is not yet well understood. We therefore designed, trialled and evaluated a scenario-planning method intended to support CBNRM at three cases, located in Colombia, Mexico and Argentina. Implementing scenario-planning was judged as worthwhile in all three cases, although aspects of it could be challenging to facilitate. The benefits generated were relevant to strengthening CBNRM: encouraging the participation of local people and using their knowledge; enhanced consideration and adaption of future change; and supporting the development of systems thinking. Tracing exactly when and how these benefits arise is challenging, but two elements of the method seemed particularly useful. Firstly, using a systematic approach to discuss how drivers of change may affect local socio-ecological systems helped to foster systems thinking and identify connections between issues. Secondly, explicitly focusing on how to use and respond to scenarios helped identify specific practical activities ('response options') that would support CBNRM despite the pressures of future change. Discussions about response options also highlighted the need for support by other actors (e.g. policy groups): this raises the question of when and how other actors and other sources of knowledge should be involved in scenario-planning, so as to encourage their buy-in to actions identified by the process. We suggest other CBNRM initiatives may benefit from adapting and applying scenario-planning. However, these initiatives should be carefully monitored since further research is required to understand how and when scenario-planning methods may produce benefits, and their strengths and weaknesses versus other methods

Measuring ammonia and odours emissions during full field digestate use in agriculture

The use of digestate in agriculture represents an opportunity for reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers while promoting nutrient and organic matter recycling, i.e. contributing to a circular economy. However, some environmental impacts could result from digestate use, with particular reference to N emissions, which can contribute to particulate matter formation in the atmosphere. So, correct digestate spreading methods need to be tested to reduce ammonia emission and, possibly, also to avoid annoyance to the inhabitants. In this work a digestate from organic wastes was used as a fertilizer by its injection at 15 cm, in comparison with a synthetic one (urea) for three consecutive years in open fields, measuring ammonia and odours emission. On average, the ammonia emission from digestate was of 25.6 ± 9.4 kg N Ha−1 (11.6% ± 4 of Total Ammonia Nitrogen - TAN - dosed), while urea emitted 24.8 ± 8.3 kg N Ha−1 (13.4% ± 4.5 of TAN dosed). The injected digestate also emitted less odour than urea (601 ± 531 and 1767 ± 2221 OU m−2 h−1, respectively), being ammonia coming from urea hydrolysis responsible for odour productions. The different N fertilizers did not lead to differences in crop yields, i.e. 18.5 ± 2.9 Mg grain Ha−1 and 17.4 ± 1.2 Mg grain Ha−1 for digestate and urea respectively

The S phase checkpoint promotes the Smc5/6 complex dependent SUMOylation of Pol2, the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase ε

Replication fork stalling and accumulation of single-stranded DNA trigger the S phase checkpoint, a signalling cascade that, in budding yeast, leads to the activation of the Rad53 kinase. Rad53 is essential in maintaining cell viability, but its targets of regulation are still partially unknown. Here we show that Rad53 drives the hyper-SUMOylation of Pol2, the catalytic subunit of DNA polymerase ε, principally following replication forks stalling induced by nucleotide depletion. Pol2 is the main target of SUMOylation within the replisome and its modification requires the SUMO-ligase Mms21, a subunit of the Smc5/6 complex. Moreover, the Smc5/6 complex co-purifies with Pol ε, independently of other replisome components. Finally, we map Pol2 SUMOylation to a single site within the N-terminal catalytic domain and identify a SUMO-interacting motif at the C-terminus of Pol2. These data suggest that the S phase checkpoint regulate Pol ε during replication stress through Pol2 SUMOylation and SUMO-binding abilit

Fecal N excretion as an approach to estimate forage intake by sheep and cattle.

This study was carried out to evaluate the reliability of using faecal N as a predictor of organic matter (OM) intake by sheep and cattle fed a natural pasture hay

Assessment of methods to reduce the energy consumption of food cold stores

Energy is a major cost in the operation of food cold stores. Work has shown that considerable energy savings can be achieved in cold stores. Results from 38 cold store audits carried out across Europe are presented. Substantial savings could be achieved if operation of cold storage facilities were optimised in terms of heat loads on the rooms and the operation of the refrigeration system. Many improvements identified were low in cost (improved door protection, defrost optimisation, control settings and repairs). In large stores (>100 m3) most improvements identified were cost effective and had short payback times, whereas in small stores there were fewer energy saving options that had realistic payback times. The potential for large energy savings of at minimum 8% and at maximum 72% were identified by optimising usage of stores, repairing current equipment and by retrofitting of energy efficient equipment. Often these improvements had short payback times of less than 1 year. In each facility the options to reduce energy consumption varied. This indicated that to fully identify the maximum energy savings, recommendations need to be specific to a particular plant. General recommendations cannot fully exploit the energy savings available and therefore to maximise energy savings it is essential to monitor and analyse data from each facility. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved