4,288 research outputs found
Ecological effects of strong winds on forests
No full text[Extract] Natural and anthropogenic disturbances shape forest ecosystems by controlling their structure, species composition and functional processes (Dale et al., 2001). Forest ecosystem dynamics are largely dependent on natural disturbances (like strong winds), that reshape ecosystem structure and composition, modulate ecosystem functioning, and reset and accelerate succession (Franklin et al., 2002; Turton and Stork, 2008; Turner, 201 O; Thom et al., 2013). Strong winds - typically those above gale force or 61 km h⁻¹ - are among the most important exogenic disturbance agents affecting forest ecosystems across the world, at a range of scales (Proctor et al., 2001; Zhao et al., 2006; Lugo, 2008; Turton, 2008; Wang and Xu, 2009; Yoshida et al., 2011; Turton, 2012).
Tropical cyclones - also known as hurricanes and typhoons - affect wet and dry tropical forest regions adjacent to eight tropical ocean basins around the world: 1) northwest Pacific; 2) north Indian; 3) southwest Indian; 4) southeast Indian; 5) southwest Pacific; 6) northeast Pacific; 7) north Atlantic/Caribbean; and 8) south Atlantic (Turton, 2013). Forests between about 5-7 degrees north and south of the equator do not experience tropical cyclones due to the weak Coriolis effect near the equator. Nonetheless, there are many anecdotal reports of severe damage to forests over several square kilometres outside the typhoon belt in Southeast Asia (e.g. Whitmore and Burslem, 1998), and there is evidence that these events are common enough to have an influence on the structure of many of the forests in the region (e.g. Proctor et al., 2001; Baker et al., 2005)
Ecosystem services and integrity trend
No full textTurton, SM ORCiD: 0000-0001-6279-7682Ecosystems are dynamic complexes of plant, animal, and microorganism communities, interacting with the nonliving environment (soils, water, minerals, air) in the form of functional units. These functional units occupy a diverse range of scales in the environment. Ecosystem services may be defined as goods and services from ecosystem structures and functions such as food, fiber, and fuel and climate regulation. These services have also been described as nature’s contributions to people, implying that humans are passive and active recipients of these services but rarely pay for them in any monetary sense. Ecosystem integrity may be defined as the system’s capacity to maintain structure and ecosystem functions using processes and components characteristic for its particular eco-region, i.e., an area where there are similar geographical characteristics, such as geology, vegetation, and climate. Ecosystem services integrity trend refers to changes in ecosystem goods and services, their ecosystem structures and functions, and hence their ability to provide food, fiber, and fuel and regulate climate. Human activities are the main drivers of changes in trends in ecosystem services and hence their integrity trend at different spatial and temporal scales. Social-ecological systems are complex adaptive systems composed of many diverse human and non-human entities that interact; these inherently linked systems adapt to changes in their environment, and their environment changes as a result
Yeast metabolism in fresh and frozen dough : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Food Technology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
No full textAuthor also known as SM LovedayFresh bakery products have a very short shelf life, which limits the extent to which manufacturing can be centralised. Frozen doughs are relatively stable and can be manufactured in large volumes, distributed and baked on-demand at the point of sale or consumption. With appropriate formulation and processing a shelf life of several months can be achieved.Shelf life is limited by a decline in proofing rate after thawing, which is attributed to a) the dough losing its ability to retain gas and b) insufficient gas production, i.e. yeast activity. The loss of shelf life is accelerated by delays between mixing and freezing, which allow yeast cells the chance to ferment carbohydrates.This work examined the reasons for insufficient gas production after thawing frozen dough and the effect of pre-freezing fermentation on shelf life. Literature data on yeast metabolite dynamics in fermenting dough were incomplete. In particular there were few data on the accumulation of ethanol, a major fermentation end product which can be injurious to yeast.Doughs were prepared in a domestic breadmaker using compressed yeast from a local manufacturer and analysed for glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose and ethanol. Gas production after thawing declined within 48 hours of frozen storage. This was accelerated by 30 or 90 minutes of fermentation at 30;C prior to freezing.Sucrose was rapidly hydrolysed and yeast consumed glucose in preference to fructose. Maltose was not consumed while other sugars remained. Ethanol, accumulated from consumption of glucose and fructose, was produced in approximately equal amounts to CO2, indicating that yeast cells metabolised reductively.Glucose uptake in fermenting dough followed simple hyperbolic kinetics and fructose uptake was competitively inhibited by glucose. Mathematical modelling indicated that diffusion of sugars and ethanol in dough occurred quickly enough to eliminate solute gradients brought about by yeast metabolism
Converting SrI <sub>2</sub> :Eu <sup>2+</sup> into a near infrared scintillator by Sm <sup>2+</sup> co-doping
No full text The luminescence and scintillation properties of SrI 2 single crystals doped with 5% Eu 2+ and 0.05%, 0.2% and 0.5% Sm 2+ are evaluated. X-ray excited and photoluminescence measurements show energy transfer from excited Eu 2+ ions to Sm 2+ ions. At a concentration of 0.5% Sm 2+ , the luminescence consists almost entirely of 740 nm emission from Sm 2+ 5d-4f transitions. Co-doping SrI 2 :5% Eu 2+ with Sm 2+ provides a novel method to bypass the self-absorption problem encountered in large SrI 2 :Eu 2+ crystals and, at the same time, provides a unique near-infrared emitting scintillator with a light yield of approximately 40,000 photons/MeV. Accepted Author ManuscriptRST/Fundamental Aspects of Materials and EnergyRST/Luminescence Material
'Laws 'Needefull in Later to be Abrogated': Intersex and the Sources of Christian Theology
No full textThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Palgrave Macmillan via the DOI in this record
Introduction: Troubling Bodies?
No full textThis is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Palgrave Macmillan via the DOI in this record
Reef-to-ridge ecological perspectives of high-energy storm events in northeast Australia
No full textTurton, SM ORCiD: 0000-0001-6279-7682Tropical cyclones (TCs) are the dominant high-energy storm (HES) events affecting marine, coastal, and terrestrial ecosystems in northeast Australia. My study provides the first synthetic analysis of ecological effects of TCs on key ecosystems along a reef-to-ridge gradient in the region. This gradient includes outer and mid-shelf, and nearshore coral reefs, seagrass communities, mangrove forests, and lowland, and upland rain forests. Firstly, I synthesize published research on ecological effects of HES events on natural ecosystems along the reef-to-ridge gradient, with a particular focus on evaluating their ecological resistance and resilience to HES events. Secondly, utilizing two case studies, I compare and contrast the large-scale wind energy effects of two severe tropical cyclones (TC Larry and TC Yasi) on natural ecosystems along their respective reef-to-ridge gradients, with a focus on damage patterns and early stages of recovery for key ecosystems. Finally, I consider the likely effects of climate change on future HES events, and how these may affect the resistance and resilience of ecosystems along the reef-to-ridge gradient. Damage patterns for ecosystems along the reef-to-ridge gradient for both TCs were largely determined by distance from the TC track, side of track, shelf position in the case of reefs, topography in the case of forests, forest type, and forest integrity (contiguous vs. fragmented). Major structural damage to coral reefs and contiguous rain forests after both TCs was patchy, suggesting some degree of larger-scale resistance of these ecosystems to HES events. In the case of littoral forests, small forest remnants, regrowth forests, and riparian forests much lower levels of resistance to high-energy winds were observed, due to patch size and edge effects. Apart from mangroves, most intact ecosystems along the reef-to-ridge gradient have shown early stages of recovery. However,
small forests remnants and riparian forests in the agricultural matrix had lower levels of recovery compared with areas of contiguous forest. Anthropogenic climate change may reduce the resistance and resilience
of ecosystems along the reef-to-ridge gradient to cope with future HES events, due to increased wind and wave energy, higher storm surges, higher intensity rainfall, and larger river plume events
Intrafullerene electron transfers in Sm-containing metallofullerenes: Sm@C-2n (74 <= 2n <= 84)
No full textThe electronic properties of Sm-containing metallofullerenes, Sm@C-74, Sm@C-76 (I, II), Sm@C-78, Sm@C-80, Sm@C-82 (I, II, III) and Sm@C-84 (I, II, III), are characterized by UV-Vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS). the UV-Vis-NIR absorption spectra of Sm@C-74, Sm@C-80, Sm@C-82 (I, II, III) and Sm@C-84 (I, II) are quite similar to those of the corresponding Ca, Sr, Ba, Eu, Tm, Yb-based metallofullerenes. In contrast, the absorption spectra of Sm@C-76 (I, II), Sm@C-78 and Sm@C-84(III) show a novel feature: the onset for Sm@C-78 is observed similar to 2600 nm, which corresponds to a small band gap (similar to0.5 eV). Furthermore, the oxidation states of Sm atom in the various fullerene cages are investigated by EELS, which reveals that the Sm atom takes +2 oxidation state in the fullerene cages. A probable rationale for the tendency to have the Sm2+ state is presented based on a simple thermochemical cycle model. (C) 2001 by Elsevier Science Inc.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000168906500014&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Biochemical Research MethodsBiochemistry & Molecular BiologyComputer Science, Interdisciplinary ApplicationsCrystallographyMathematical & Computational BiologySCI(E)EI30ARTICLE2244-2511
beta-decay spectroscopy of neutron-rich Sm-160,Sm-161,Sm-162 isotopes
No full textNeutron-rich Sm-160,Sm-161,Sm-162 isotopes have been populated at the RIBF, RIKEN via beta decay for the first time. beta-coincident gamma rays were observed in all three isotopes including gamma rays from the isomeric decay of Sm-160 and Sm-162. The isomers in Sm-160 and Sm-162 have previously been observed but have been populated via beta decay for the first time. The isomeric state in Sm-162 is assigned a 4(-) nu 7/2(+)[633]circle times nu 1/2(-)[521] configuration based on the decay pattern. The level schemes of Sm-160 and Sm-162 are presented. The ground states in the parent nuclei Pm-160 and Pm-162 are both assigned a 6(-) nu 7/2(+)[633]circle times pi 5/2(-)[532] configuration based on the population of states in the daughter nuclei. Blocked BCS calculations were performed to further investigate the spin-parities of the ground states in Pm-160, Pm-161, and Pm-162, and the isomeric state in Sm-162.CPCI-S(ISTP)[email protected]
Discovering the Similarities between SM Communities and Other Organizations
No full textThe current research study is comparing and contrasting the demographic diversity of Sadomasochist (SM) organizations and other community organizations by surveying an SM organization and a non-SM organization. A confidential online survey was used to collect data. Fourteen general questions were asked: age, gender, sexual orientation, relationship status, number of children, ethnicity, highest level of education completed, employment, hours worked, income, religious affiliation, personality, infidelity and self esteem. Data was analyzed using Levene\u27s test and t-tests. Relationship status and religion were two differences between the SM group and the non SM group. The author discusses limitations and future directions of this study
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