Intensity Regime Research Articles

The ‘Goldilocks Zone’ of predation: the level of fox control needed to select predator resistance in a reintroduced mammal in Australia

A large component of the anthropogenic biodiversity crisis is the loss of animal species. In response, there has been significant investment in reintroductions of species to their historical ranges. Predation by native and exotic predators, however, remains a barrier to success. Over the past 200 years, Australia has seen the highest rate of mammal extinction on earth, with mammals within a critical weight range (CWR: 35 g–5.5 kg) most affected due to predation by exotic predators. Populations of some threatened species now exist only in Tasmania, offshore islands, or predator-proof sanctuaries. The next critical step is to return native populations outside of predator-free areas, ‘beyond-the-fence’, on the continental mainland. Given our current inability to completely remove exotic predators from mainland ecosystems, how can we achieve successful mammal reintroductions? A potential solution is to drive adaptation of reintroduced animals towards predator-resistance by exposing them to low levels of predation. We propose the concept of a ‘Goldilocks Zone’—the ‘just right’ levels of predation needed to drive selection for predator-resistant native species, while ensuring population viability. We experimentally reintroduced a mammal, the eastern bettong (Bettongia gaimardi), to mainland Australia, 100 years after its local extinction. Using an intense baiting regime, we reduced the population density of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), the main factor behind the eastern bettong’s extirpation from the continent. Reducing bait take to 15% of previous levels allowed differential survival among bettongs; some surviving under 100 days and others over 450 (~ 4 times longer than some similar trials with related species). Surviving individuals were generally larger at release than those that died earlier, implying selection for larger bettongs. Our results suggest that reducing predation could establish a Goldilocks Zone that could drive selection for bettongs with predator-resistant traits. Our work contributes to a growing body of literature that explores a shift towards harnessing evolutionary principles to combat the challenges posed by animal management and conservation.

What Factors Shape Spatial Distribution of Biomass in Riparian Forests? Insights from a LiDAR Survey over a Large Area

Riparian ecosystems are home to a remarkable biodiversity, but have been degraded in many regions of the world. Vegetation biomass is central to several key functions of riparian systems. It is influenced by multiple factors, such as soil waterlogging, sediment input, flood, and human disturbance. However, knowledge is lacking on how these factors interact to shape spatial distribution of biomass in riparian forests. In this study, LiDAR data were used in an individual tree approach to map the aboveground biomass in riparian forests along 200 km of rivers in the Meuse catchment, in southern Belgium (Western Europe). Two approaches were tested, relying either on a LiDAR Canopy Height Model alone or in conjunction with a LiDAR point cloud. Cross-validated biomass relative mean square error for 0.3 ha plots were, respectively, 27% and 22% for the two approaches. Spatial distribution of biomass patterns were driven by parcel history (and particularly vegetation age), followed by land use and topographical or geomorphological variables. Overall, anthropogenic factors were dominant over natural factors. However, vegetation patches located in the lower parts of the riparian zone exhibited a lower biomass than those in higher locations at the same age, presumably due to a combination of a more intense disturbance regime and more limiting growing conditions in the lower parts of the riparian zone. Similar approaches to ours could be deployed in other regions in order to better understand how biomass distribution patterns vary according to the climatic, geological or cultural contexts.

Soil Bacterial Community Diversity and Composition as Affected by Tillage Intensity Treatments in Corn-Soybean Production Systems

Our understanding on the effects of tillage intensity on the soil microbial community structure and composition in crop production systems are limited. This study evaluated the soil microbial community composition and diversity under different tillage management systems in an effort to identify management practices that effectively support sustainable agriculture. We report results from a three-year study to determine the effects on changes in soil microbial diversity and composition from four tillage intensity treatments and two residue management treatments in a corn-soybean production system using Illumina high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Soil samples were collected from tillage treatments at locations in the Southern Coastal Plain (Verona, MS, USA) and Southern Mississippi River Alluvium (Stoneville, MS, USA) for soil analysis and bacterial community characterization. Our results indicated that different tillage intensity treatments differentially changed the relative abundances of bacterial phyla. The Mantel test of correlations indicated that differences among bacterial community composition were significantly influenced by tillage regime (rM = 0.39, p ≤ 0.0001). Simpson’s reciprocal diversity index indicated greater bacterial diversity with reduction in tillage intensity for each year and study location. For both study sites, differences in tillage intensity had significant influence on the abundance of Proteobacteria. The shift in the soil bacterial community composition under different tillage systems was strongly correlated to changes in labile carbon pool in the system and how it affected the microbial metabolism. This study indicates that soil management through tillage intensity regime had a profound influence on diversity and composition of soil bacterial communities in a corn-soybean production system.

Microwave Communication Under Weak Intensity to Quantumized Level: Recent Progress and Future Challenges

We provide an overview of the recent progresses on the system architecture design and performance prediction for microwave signal detection under weak signal intensity regime, up to quantumized level. The technique roadmap includes two perspectives, the opto-electro-mechanical (OEM) and superconducting devices. For the former one, we first overview the concept of OEM, and then introduce the signal detection based on capacitive-opto-electro-mechanical systems and piezo- opto-electro-mechanical systems. For the latter one, we first overview the concept and architecture of Josephson junction, and then introduce the signal detection based on superconducting Hanbury Brown-Twiss (HBT) experiments and Λ energy-level splitting system. Besides, we review the microwave detection based on Rydberg atom system. We believe that this overview can provide a guidance for future transmission limit, signal processing, detection device fabrication and real experiments.

Understanding \u2018culture\u2019 of pastoralism and \u2018modern development\u2019 in Thar: Muslim pastoralists of north-west Rajasthan, India

The paper attempts to understand the relation between pastoral cultures and irrigation-based intensive farming regimes promoted by modern development represented by the Indira Gandhi Canal (IGNP) in western Rajasthan. Participant observation and development practice engagement with pastoral communities over the past three decades give an opportunity to reflect on epistemic rationality that constitutes the discourse of modern development, formal statecraft of technocracy, and rule by experts. Historical markers of pastoralism in the interconnected regions of north-west Rajasthan and bordering regions of Multan and Bahawalpur in Pakistan are situated to trace the longuee duree of pastoral life systems in the Thar desert region. This oscillation between enhanced moisture regimes following inundation and increased desiccation of a moisture-deficient arid region has been at the core of sustaining the culture of pastoralism among semi-nomadic pastoralists of Muslim communities in north-west Rajasthan. The IGNP canal produces a space for modern development that opens up irrigated farming and an intensive natural resource use regime. This political economy of the IGNP canal systematically marginalizes pastoral natural resource use that was ecologically embedded. The varied experiences of adaptation responses by pastoral communities to this state-led marginalization points to the tenacious ability of pastoralism to continually adapt to the radically changing ecology. The paper argues for a complementarity of pastoral and farming use as an inclusive development vision. Beginnings can be made by a compassionate engagement with cultures of pastoralism that are endowed with resilience rooted in a historically constituted rationality to adapt and innovate with changing times. This may hold cues for a sustainable future of Thar.

Earthworm gut passage reinforces land-use effects on soil microbial communities across climate treatments

The interactions between earthworms and soil microbial communities have attracted a lot of scientific attention, but if and how important soil invertebrates may modulate climate effects on soil microorganisms in different land-use types is less clear. Here we collected earthworm casts as an indicator of earthworm effects on soil microbial communities and bulk soil from the Global Change Experiment Facility (GCEF) situated at Bad Lauchstädt, Germany. We tested the interactive effect of two climate treatments (ambient and future), land-use type (conventional farming, organic farming, and extensively used meadows), and sample type (cast and bulk soil) on the soil microbial community. The biomass and community composition of the bacterial and fungal communities were assessed by fatty acid analysis. Climate, alone and in interaction with land-use type, had no significant effects on the biomass and composition of soil microorganisms in bulk soil and casts produced by earthworms. The biomasses of almost all microbial markers (except for 18:2ω6t and 18:1ω9t) were significantly higher in the cast than in bulk soil in all land-use types (+185%), with the most substantial impact on all other fungal makers in soil. However, the land-use effect was significantly modulated by soil type, i.e., earthworms. Mainly extensively managed meadows had more than double (+237%) the microbial biomass in casts than in bulk soil, whereas in the other land-use types, the positive effect of cast soil was much smaller (conventional farming: +166%; organic farming: +123%). The microbial community composition showed no difference between the two cropping systems (conventional farming and organic farming). Here, bulk soil was more associated with fungal biomarkers, whereas casts were more dominated by bacterial markers; however, this effect was rather weak. Extensively managed meadows showed strong differences to both cropping systems, mainly due to higher microbial biomass and a more heterogeneous association of either more fungal or bacterial communities. We suggest that the main factors that led to differences between land-use types were a more diverse plant community in meadows and the less intensive management regime with undisturbed soils. The conditions in extensively managed meadows allowed earthworms to strongly amplify those positive effects in casts, suggesting that earthworms can act as important biotic filters modulating land-use effects on soil microbes across climate treatments.

Homeowner preferences drive lawn care practices and species diversity patterns in new lawn floras

Abstract Households intensively manage lawns to create uniformly green, low diversity plant communities. Because lawns occupy a large proportion of urban green space, they are a crucial case for understanding how people manipulate urban vegetation. In this study, I focused on 58 homeowners who purchased a newly constructed home and yard in the Seattle Metropolitan Statistical Area, USA, to see how preferences, lawn care regimes and new lawn floras develop within a multi-scalar urban environment. A typical homeowner watered 3 times in spring, watered 24 times in summer, applied fertilizer twice, mowed 21 times and edged 15 times. Most new lawn turfgrasses were Lolium perenne, Poa pratensis and/or Festuca spp. Mean species richness was 6.5 ± 5.3 species. The most frequent species were non-native and cosmopolitan (turfgrasses, Hypochaeris radicata, Taraxacum officinale and Trifolium repens). Five variables increased the probability of homeowners managing their lawns as turfgrass monocultures: living in a neighborhood with larger yards, summer watering frequency, fertilizer frequency, valuing space for children and valuing wildlife habitat. Valuing an easy to manage yard decreased the turfgrass monoculture probability. In polyculture yards, having a larger lawn was positively correlated with non-turfgrass species richness, but elevation was negatively correlated. Homeowners who valued space for children appeared to have more intensive lawn care regimes than those who valued wildlife habitat or easy to manage yards. Although lawn floras result from complex interactions of the environment and households, urban characteristics appeared to be weaker drivers of diversity than homeowner preferences and lawn care.

Precipitation response to aerosol–radiation and aerosol–cloud interactions in regional climate simulations over Europe

Abstract. The effect of aerosols on regional climate simulations presents large uncertainties due to their complex and non-linear interactions with a wide variety of factors, including aerosol–radiation (ARI) and aerosol–cloud (ACI) interactions. These interactions are strongly conditioned by the meteorological situation and type of aerosol, but, despite their increase, only a limited number of studies have covered this topic from a regional and climatic perspective. This contribution thus aims to quantify the impacts on precipitation of the inclusion of ARI and ACI processes in regional climate simulations driven by ERA20C reanalysis. A series of regional climatic simulations (for the period 1991–2010) for the Euro-CORDEX domain were conducted including ARI and ARI + ACI (ARCI), establishing as a reference a simulation where aerosols were not included interactively (BASE). The results show that the effects of ARI and ACI on time-mean spatially averaged precipitation over the whole domain are limited. However, a spatial redistribution of precipitation occurs when the ARI and ACI processes are introduced into the model, as well do changes in the precipitation intensity regimes. The main differences with respect to the base-case simulations occur in central Europe, where a decrease in precipitation is associated with a depletion in the number of rainy days and clouds at low level (CLL). This reduction in precipitation presents a strong correlation with the ratio PM2.5∕PM10, since the decrease is especially intense during those events with high values of that ratio (pointing to high levels of anthropogenic aerosols) over central Europe. The precipitation decrease occurs for all ranges of precipitation rates. On the other hand, the model produces an increase in precipitation over the eastern Mediterranean basin associated with an increase in clouds and rainy days when ACIs are implemented. Here, the change is caused by the high presence of PM10 (low PM2.5∕PM10 ratios, pointing to natural aerosols). In this case, the higher amount of precipitation affects only days with low rates of precipitation. Finally, there are some disperse areas where the inclusion of aerosols leads to an increase in precipitation, especially for moderate and high precipitation rates.

Some rigorous results on the phase transition of finitary random interlacements

In this paper, we show several rigorous results on the phase transition of Finitary Random Interlacements (FRI). For the high intensity regime, we show the existence of a critical fiber length, and find its exact asymptotic as intensity goes to infinity. At the same time, our result for the low intensity regime proves the global existence of a non-trivial phase transition with respect to the system intensity.

Жаропрочные сплавы на основе RuAl. III. Порошковые сплавы RuAl — механическое легирование

Refractory (Tmelt = 2100 °C), heat-resistant ruthenium monoaluminide RuAl, lighter (ρ = 7.97 g/cm3) than Ni superalloys, is considered as a promising candidate material for operation at high temperatures and relatively low loads in high-speed gas oxidizing flows at temperatures higher not only operating temperatures, but also the melting temperatures of both nickel superalloys and nickel and titanium aluminides. RuAl is also an ideal candidate for potential protective coatings. In the first part of the article, RuAl-based cast alloys were considered. In the second part of the article, the possibilities of obtaining alloys based on RuAl directly from the initial powders of ruthenium and aluminum are considered by combining the temperature-time regimes of reaction alloy formation (RA), the sequence and intensity of pressure application during RA. The third part of the article is devoted to studying the possibilities of using powders doped with RuAl (NiAl, TiAl) of a given composition, obtained by mechanical alloying, as a starting material.

Quantification of nitromethane in mainstream smoke using gas chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry.

Nitromethane is a volatile organic compound categorized as a Group 2B carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It has been detected in mainstream cigarette smoke, but few reliable methods have been reported for accurate quantification. We developed, a sensitive, selective, fully validated method for the targeted determination of nitromethane in mainstream tobacco smoke in ten U.S. domestic brands and two quality control materials (3R4F and CM6). The vapor phase portion of machine-generated cigarette mainstream smoke, under modified ISO 3308:2000 regime (ISO) and modified intense regime (HCI), from single cigarettes was collected using airtight polyvinylfluoride sampling bags. The bags' contents were extracted using methanol containing an isotopically labeled internal standard followed by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. This approach is sufficiently sensitive to measure nitromethane levels in the nanogram range, with a method limit of detection of 72.3 ng/cig. Within-product variability estimated from the replicate analysis of 10 products ranged from 4.6%-16.3% (n = 6) over the two different smoking regimes, and method reproducibility estimated from two products used as quality control materials (3R4F and CM6) yielded intermediate precision values ranging from 16.6 to 20.8% (n = 20). Under HCI, nitromethane yields in machine-generated cigarette smoke from ten different domestic cigarette products ranged from 3.2 to 12 μg/cig; under ISO yields ranged from 1.6 to 4.9 μg/cig under standardized smoking machine conditions. Nitromethane yields are related to both the smoke regime (blocking of vent holes, puff duration and puff volume) and the heterogeneity of tobacco mixtures. This method provides a selective and fully validated technique to accurately quantify nitromethane in mainstream cigarette smoke, with minimal waste generation. It is an improvement over previous methods with regards to specificity, throughput, and simplicity of the sample collection process.

A Rare Case of Recurrent Pancreatitis Secondary to Rifampicin in a Patient with Disseminated Tuberculosis

<i>Background</i>: Anti-tuberculous drug (ATD) induced pancreatitis is a rare complication of ATDs, but it has serious consequences if it is not managed promptly. Early recognition of ATD induced pancreatitis and identification of the culprit ATD are important approach with subsequent causative drug withdrawal, while at the same time, not impeding the ATD treatment of tuberculosis infection are unquestionably challenging. The objective of this clinical case report is to highlight an unusual case of Rifampicin induced pancreatitis to avoid future delayed diagnosis and management. <i>Case Report</i>: A 38 year-old male presented with acute dyspnea and cough. He was diagnosed to have smear positive disseminated tuberculosis infection with pulmonary and urinary system involvement. The intensive regime of ATDs (Rifampicin, Isoniazid, Pyrazinamide and Ethambutol) was started immediately. Nonetheless, he developed acute pancreatitis with severe abdominal pain after 1 week of ATDs therapy initiation. Usual etiologies of pancreatitis were eliminated. He demonstrated clinical improvement and his serum amylase reduced after his ATD regimen was withheld. Once his pancreatitis resolved, he was re-challenged with individual ATD one at a time in order to form an effective ATD regime. However, he developed another 3 episodes of pancreatitis in the following weeks with failed attempts to re-challenge with Rifampicin, which is an important core drug of ATD. Eventually, he succumbed to his severe tuberculosis illness. <i>Conclusion</i>: This clinical case is a rare case of Rifampicin induced pancreatitis with an unfavourable outcome. It is essential for clinicians to have a high index of suspicion for ATD induced acute pancreatitis in the patients with active tuberculosis infection and to identify the offending agent promptly without compromising the intensive phase of ATD treatment.

Long-term effects of shade and input levels on coffee yields in the Pacific region of Nicaragua

The suitability and profitability of coffee cultivation in Central America are at risk due to pest and disease outbreaks, price fluctuations and climate change. Proper shading is claimed to be one of the most promising practices to seek sustainability and better adapt coffee cultivation to climate change in marginal areas. This study recorded and compared coffee cherry yields over a ten-year period from shaded coffee (N-fixing-trees and timber trees) agroforestry systems under different management regimes (conventional vs. organic) in a suboptimal site. Significant differences in production were detected between conventional inputs vs. combination of organic inputs and shade types in some years of the evaluation period. Full-sun cultivation under intensive management was the most productive system for coffee yields, followed by shaded systems under timber trees. Interestingly, and regardless of management systems (intensive conventional or intensive organic) the worst combinations in terms of coffee yield were shaded systems under leguminous species (Inga laurina (Sw.) Willd. + Simarouba glauca DC.). Across all experimental plots, the timber species Simarouba glauca and Tabebuia rosea (Bertol.) DC. grew well, reaching a mean annual increment in diameter of 2.5-3.3 cm/year (age 12 years). Average gross revenues were higher in full-sun and timber-shaded agroforestry systems. Overall, intensive management regimes were the most expensive cultivation system to run but also the best in terms of coffee yield performance.

Tailoring Asymmetric Lossy Channels to Test the Robustness of Mesoscopic Quantum States of Light

In the past twenty years many experiments have demonstrated that quantum states of light can be used for secure data transfer, despite the presence of many noise sources. In this paper we investigate, both theoretically and experimentally, the role played by a statistically-distributed asymmetric amount of loss in the degradation of nonclassical photon-number correlations between the two parties of multimode twin-beam states in the mesoscopic intensity regime. To be as close as possible to realistic scenarios, we consider two different statistical distributions of such a loss, a Gaussian distribution and a log-normal one. The results achieved in the two cases show to what extent the involved parameters, both those connected to loss and those describing the employed states of light, preserve nonclassicality.

A Sea Breeze Study during Ticosonde-NAME 2004 in the Central Pacific of Costa Rica: Observations and Numerical Modeling

Surface and upper air observations and MM5v3 simulations examined the structure and inland penetration of sea breeze (SB) along the Grande de Tárcoles river basin (GTRB), central Pacific, Costa Rica, for two different intensity regimes of the Caribbean Low-Level Jet (CLLJ). Data comprise the period of 1 July to 16 September 2004 from Ticosonde-North American Monsoon Experiment, and a local University of Costa Rica-National Meteorological Institute field campaign. Maximum precipitation occurs between 14:00–17:00 LST, showing a time lag of 2 to 3 h after the temperature maximum, suggesting that local diurnal heating is key to convection. July–August precipitation exhibited a rainfall decrease along GTRB due to the SB dynamical processes interaction with a strong CLLJ. The SB maximum inland incursion was 24 km, with no evidence of its penetration into the Central Valley. The MM5v3 simulations for two convective and boundary layer (BL) schemes captured some SB structure features along the GTRB. Comparison of model results with observed data shows deficiencies in the model representation of the surface flow near coastal regions. Differences may be the result of time lag model’s poor responses to actual early morning BL sea–land temperature gradients. MM5v3 configurations used in this study resulted in biased wind speed simulations.

Microbial deterioration of lamb meat from European local breeds as affected by its intrinsic properties

• Quality characteristics of lamb meat from eight European breeds was characterised. • Proximate composition of lamb meat was affected by production system. • Substantial variability in the levels of spoilage bacteria in lamb meat was found. • Growth of spoilage bacteria in meat was exarcerbated by higher ultimate pH. • Meat from heavier lamb carcasses underwent a slower spoilage process. Although sheep meat has a small share of ∼1.5 % of the total meat production in the EU, sheep farming is of great importance to rural development and the environment. Enhancing the quality of lamb meat of local breeds is essential to ensure both profitability for sheep producers and the conservation of endangered breeds. This study aimed to (i) characterise the evolution of spoilage microorganisms in refrigerated vacuum-packed lamb meat from a total of 10 farms housing 8 local breeds of Portuguese, Spanish, Italian and Slovenian origin raised in intensive, extensive or semi-extensive regime; and (ii) elucidate how intrinsic properties of meat can affect its microbial spoilage. Cold carcass weight (CCW), ultimate pH (pH 24 ) and proximate analysis were quantified on carcass/meat from each of the 285 animals raised and slaughtered for this purpose; while mesophiles, lactic acid bacteria, Pseudomonas spp. and psychrotrophic bacteria were enumerated during 15-day storage at 4 °C. Substantial variability in all attributes were found between the ten farms. CCW of intensively-raised lambs (21.4 kg; 95 % CI: 20.6–22.1 kg) were higher (p < 0.05) than the ones in semi-extensive regime (14.9 kg; 95 % CI: 14.4–15.4 kg), and in turn these were heavier (p < 0.05) than the extensively raised lambs (12.4 kg; 95 % CI: 12.0–12.7). Mean contents of protein (76.5–87.4% db), fat (3.78–13.1% db) and ashes (4.62–5.65% db) in lamb meat were highly dependent on the farm. Although meat from some farms was associated to higher microbial levels, in general, microbial growth was found to be modulated by intrinsic properties of meat. Higher pH 24 (p < 0.05), moisture (p < 0.05), protein content (p < 0.05) and ashes content (p < 0.01) accelerated spoilage rate; whereas meat from heavier carcasses (p < 0.001) and of higher fat content (p < 0.01) presented slower growth of spoilage bacteria. In order to improve the microbial quality of lamb meat, animal handling must be enhanced to minimise pre-slaughter stress; slaughtering practices and hygiene must be improved; and a carcass classification system could be adopted towards the selection of fatter animals and chilled carcasses of optimal pH 24 .

Biochar Reduces the Stability of Soil Aggregates during Intensive Leaching Experiment

The interplay of different mechanisms shaping the biochar impact on soil structure remains relatively unexplored. We investigated the impact of biochar application to two contrasting soils on the stability of soil aggregates under an intensive intermittent leaching regime. A greenhouse experiment was established using PVC columns filled with 500 g soil from an Acrisol or Calcisol amended with three biochar applications (0, 1 and 2% w/w). The columns were watered weekly (100 mL) during two leaching cycles (each lasting 10 weeks). The amount of leached base cations, the stability of 1–2 mm aggregates fraction and soil chemical properties were determined. Biochar enhanced the leaching of the studied cations, but the content of base cations and effective cation exchange capacity remained higher in the biochar-amended Acrisol when compared to control soil. In both soils, biochar reduced the amount of water-stable aggregates, which seemed to be attributed to the increase of K in the exchange complex in the Acrisol while no significant correlation was detected between aggregation in Calcisol and other variables. The negative impact of biochar on soil aggregation is likely linked to higher sensitivity of biochar-amended soils to aggregate disruption under changing moisture conditions caused by frequent and intensive leaching events. These results highlight the gaps in our understanding of biochar impact on soil aggregation, which have implications for soil erodibility or restoration of degraded lands under changing climate.

Monitoring equine ascarid and cyathostomin parasites: Evaluating health parameters under different treatment regimens.

Strongylid and ascarid parasites are omnipresent in equine stud farms, and ever-increasing levels of anthelmintic resistance are challenging the industry with finding more sustainable and yet effective parasite control programs. To evaluate egg count levels, bodyweight and equine health under defined parasite control protocols in foals and mares at two Standardbred and two Thoroughbred stud farms. Longitudinal randomised field trial. A total of 93 foals were enrolled and split into two treatment groups, and 99 mares were enrolled and assigned to three treatment groups. All horses underwent a health examination, and episodes of colic or diarrhoea were recorded at each faecal collection date. Bodyweights were assessed using a weight tape, and mares were body condition scored. Group A foals (FA) were dewormed at 2 and 5months of age with a fenbendazole/ivermectin/praziquantel product, while group B foals (FB) were dewormed on a monthly basis, alternating between the above-mentioned product and an oxfendazole/pyrantel embonate product. Group A mares (MA) were dewormed twice with fenbendazole/ivermectin/praziquantel, group B mares (MB) were dewormed with the same product, when egg counts exceeded 300 strongylid eggs per gram, and group C mares (MC) were dewormed every 2months, alternating between the two products. Health data were collected monthly for 6months (foals) and bimonthly for 13months (mares). Data were analysed with mixed linear models and interpreted at the α=0.05 significance level. There were no significant bodyweight differences between foal groups, but MA mares were significantly lighter than the other two groups. Very few health incidents were recorded. Foals in group FA had significantly higher ascarid and strongylid egg counts, whereas no significant differences were observed between mare groups. Study duration limited to one season. Anthelmintic treatment intensity was lowered from the traditional intensive regimes without measurable negative health consequences for mares and foals.

Enhanced Light-Induced Biosynthesis of Fatty Acids Suitable for Biodiesel Production by the Yellow-Green Alga Eustigmatos magnus

Optimization of the fatty acid profile in microalgae is one of the key strategies for obtaining valuable products and sustainable biofuels. Light intensity and light regimes exert an impact on the growth and metabolic process in microalgae. The objective of the present investigations was to assess the effect of light intensity and continuous light vs. photoperiod conditions on the growth and changes in the biomass composition in Eustigmatos magnus, with a focus on bioactive molecules such as lipids and fatty acids. The highest daily productivity of Eustigmatos magnus biomass and lipid yields were detected at continuous illumination and at the highest intensity of light. The results show that the content and composition of fatty acids was influenced by the culture conditions. The biomass of Eustigmatos magnus contained the highest concentrations of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the pphotoperiod conditions with the highest light intensity. This study shows that Eustigmatos magnus has a capacity for the accumulation of palmitoleic acid. A high intensity of continuous light improves the profile of fatty acids in Eustigmatos magnus, which can be suitable for biodiesel applications. At the high intensity of continuous light, Eustigmatos magnus lipids are characterized by high content of oleic acids and low content of saturated and monounsaturated acids.

Signatures of optical phase transitions in superradiant and subradiant atomic arrays

Resonant light interacting with matter supports different phases of a polarisable medium, and optical bistability where two phases coexist. Such phases have previously been actively studied in cavities. Here, we identify signatures of optical phase transitions and optical bistability mapped onto scattered light in free-space planar arrays of cold atoms. Methods on how to explore such systems in superradiant and extreme subradiant states are proposed. The cooperativity threshold and intensity regimes for the intrinsic optical bistability, supported by resonant dipole-dipole interactions alone, are derived in several cases of interest analytically. Subradiant states require lower intensities, but stronger cooperativity for the existence of non-trivial phases than superradiant states. The transmitted light reveals phase transitions and bistability that are predicted by mean-field theory as large jumps in coherent and incoherent signals and hysteresis. In the quantum solution, traces of phase transitions are identified in enhanced quantum fluctuations of excited level populations.