The first and second order moments of the polarization profiles of hydrogen lines

The main properties of the first- and second-order moments of polarized hydrogen lines, forming in the presence of stationary electric and magnetic fields, are reviewed. The analytical results presented here apply directly to the case of optically-thin emission lines in the LTE regime. Some applications of such results to electric- and magnetic-field diagnostics in (solar) plasmas are then briefly considered.On leave from the Dipartimento di Astronomia e Scienza dello Spazio, Università di Firenze, Largo E. Fermi 5, I-50125 Firenze, Italy     

“BASS 300 PARACOM”: a “model” underwaterparametric communication system

Parametric transduction offers valuable advantages for underwater acoustic communications. Perhaps the most significant benefit is the fact that high directivity is achieved by means of a physically small transmit transducer. This feature may, ultimately, be employed to permit long-range, low-frequency communication using a compact source. The high directivity is desirable to combat multipath propagation and to achieve data communications in water which is shallow by comparison with range. A real-time, high data-rate “model” differential phase shift keying (DPSK) communication system has been constructed and demonstrated. This system uses parametric transduction, with a 300-kHz primary frequency and a 50-kHz secondary frequency. Experimental results show that the system can be employed to combat multipath propagation in shallow water and can achieve high data-rate text and color image transmission at 10 and 20 kb s^-1 for 2-DPSK and 4-DPSK, respectively, through a transmission bandwidth of 10 kHz. The “model” system was developed to confirm performance predictions for a future, operational long-range link employing a 50-kHz primary frequency and a 5-kHz secondary frequency     

Bacterial productivity in the Prydz Bay and its adjacent waters,Antarctic

1　IntroductionBacteriaandtheiractivitiesplayanimportantroleintheelementalbiogeochemicalcyclesandenergytransformingintheocean (Zhenetal.1 997) .DortchandPackard(1 989) proposedthatfoodwebsintheeutrophicwatersaredominatedbythebiomassofprimaryproducerswhilefoodwebsintheoligotrophicwatersaredominatedbythebiomassofmicrobes.Heterotrophicbacteriahadbeenshowntoplayanimportantroleinthedecompositionoflarge ,rapidlysinkingorganicparticleswithinandbelowtheeuphot iczone ,andfurthertoaffecttheelementaldyn…     

2060 Chiron back to a minimum of brightness

The results of photometric observations of comet/asteroid 2060 Chiron at the Observatório do Pico dos Dias (Brazil-OPD) and the Observatoire de Haute-Provence (France-OHP) during 1994 and 1995 are presented. The analysis of the data shows a decrease of 2060 Chiron brightness from its peak values of 1988–1991. The absolute magnitude, H_v, varies from a maximum of 6.6 in February 1994 up to a minimum of 6.8 in June 1995. Therefore 2060 Chiron is back to a minimum of activity close to that of 1983–1985. The slope parameter G is found to be G = 0.71 ± 0.15. It is suggested that the H-G magnitude system, generally adopted to present 2060 Chiron brightness, is not the most appropriate due to the cometary activity of this object.     

Elm bark beetle in Holocene peat deposits and the northwest European elm decline

The elm decline of 5000 ¹⁴C yr ago has been the most widely discussed phenomenon in post‐glacial vegetation history. This pan‐European reduction of elm populations, echoed in the decimation of elmwoods in Europe during the twentieth century, has attracted a series of interrelated hypotheses involving climate change, human activity, disease and soil deterioration. The elm bark beetle (Scolytus scolytus L.) is an essential component of disease explanations. We present evidence for the presence of the beetle over a prolonged period (ca. 7950–4910 yr BP [8800–5660 cal. yr BP]) from a lowland raised mire deposit in northeast Scotland, with its final appearance at this site, and the first and only appearance in another mire of a single scolytid find, around the time of the elm decline. The subfossil S. scolytus finds are not only the first from Scotland, but they also represent the most comprehensive sequence of finds anywhere. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ontogeny of the lymphoid organs of Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus

Histological study on the ontogeny of the lymphoid organs, kidney, thymus and spleen of Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, from hatching to 40 d was carried out. The pronephric kidney duct appeared early in hatching although the primordial haemopoietic stem cells were observed within a week after hatching. The spleen was first seen after 8d of hatching. The thymus appeared after 15d, situated near the pronephric kidney. Small lymphoid cells appeared during the later phase of the post-larval stage in the sequence of thymus, kidney and spleen. During the 40d of observations, there were no distinct inner or outer zones in thymus and no red or white pulp in spleen. These results suggest that the nonspecific defense immune system plays a very important role in the early larval stage of Japanese flounder.