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Abandoned agricultural fields (old fields) are thought to accumulate soil organic matter (SOM) after cultivation cessation. However, most research on old fields soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) sequestration has focused on the surface (10 or 30 cm depth) and overlooked their dynamics below 30 cm. This study quantified C and N stock change in both the surface and subsurface with repeated inventories over 13 years. We conducted repeated soil surveys in 8 old fields that form a 64-year chronosequence at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve (CCESR), Minnesota in 2001 and 2014. On average, soil C and N accumulated by 16.5 ± 14.5 g C m−2 y−1 and 1.0 ± 1.1 g N m−2 y−1 in the surface (0–20 cm). In contrast, we found soil C and N decreased by 78.9 ± 26.3 g C m−2 y−1 and 12.9 ± 2.42 g N m−2 y−1 in the subsurface (20–100 cm). The C and N losses in the subsurface soil were correlated with low deep root biomass; the majority of roots are located in the top 20 cm of soil. Such root distribution may be attributed to the continuing dominance of nonnative and shallow-rooted C3 grasses and the lack of legumes after field abandonment. This study shows that agriculturemore »has a long legacy effect after abandonment on subsurface soil C and N. Some abandoned agricultural fields can continue to lose C and N because surface C and N accumulation does not offset the ongoing deeper soil C and N losses.« less

In this study, we reported the results of high-resolution (${0{^{\prime \prime}_{.}}14}$) Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the 225 GHz dust continuum and CO molecular emission lines from the transitional disk around SY Cha. Our high-resolution observations clearly revealed the inner cavity and the central point source for the first time. The radial profile of the ring can be approximated by a bright narrow ring superimposed on a fainter wide ring. Furthermore, we found that there is a weak azimuthal asymmetry in dust continuum emission. For gas emissions, we detected 12CO(2–1), 13CO(2–1), and C18O(2–1), from which we estimated the total gas mass of the disk to be 2.2 × 10−4 M ⊙ , assuming a CO/H2 ratio of 10−4. The observations showed that the gas is present inside the dust cavity. The analysis of the velocity structure of the 12CO(2–1) emission line revealed that the velocity is distorted at the location of the dust inner disk, which may be owing to a warping of the disk or radial gas flow within the cavity of the dust disk. High-resolution observations of SY Cha showed that this system is composed of a ring and a distorted inner disk, which may be common, as indicated by themore »survey of transitional disk systems at a resolution of ${\sim}{0{^{\prime \prime}_{.}}1}$.

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Allowing for a “virtual” full actuation of a rotary inverted pendulum (RIP) system with only a single physical actuator has been a challenging problem. In this paper, a hybrid control scheme that involves a pole-placement feedback controller and an optimal proportional–integral–derivative (PID) or fractional-order PID (FOPID) controller is proposed to simultaneously enable the tracking control of the rotary arm and the stabilization of the pendulum arm in an input–output feedback linearized RIP system. The PID controller is optimized first with the particle swarm optimization (PSO) to obtain three optimal gains, and then the other two parameters of the FOPID controller are optimized with the PSO. Compared to the optimized PID controller, the optimized FOPID controller improves the tracking and stabilizing accuracy by 53% and 29%, respectively, and demonstrates better adaptability for tracking different reference signals. Moreover, the hybrid FOPID controller exhibits 74.8% and 53% higher tracking accuracy than previous optimized model reference adaptive control PID (MRAC-PID) and linear–quadratic regulator (LQR) controllers, respectively. The proposed hybrid controllers are also digitized with different rules and sampling times, showing a closer performance between the discrete-time and continuous-time hybrid controllers under smaller sampling times.

Optical spectropolarimetry of the normal thermonuclear supernova (SN) 2019np from −14.5 to +14.5 d relative to B-band maximum detected an intrinsic continuum polarization (pcont) of 0.21 ± 0.09 per cent at the first epoch. Between days −11.5 and  +0.5, pcont remained ∼0 and by day +14.5 was again significant at 0.19 ± 0.10 per cent. Not considering the first epoch, the dominant axis of ${\rm Si\, {\small II}}$ λ6355 was roughly constant staying close the continuum until both rotated in opposite directions on day  +14.5. Detailed radiation-hydrodynamical simulations produce a very steep density slope in the outermost ejecta so that the low first-epoch pcont ≈ 0.2 per cent nevertheless suggests a separate structure with an axis ratio ∼2 in the outer carbon-rich (3.5–4) × 10−3 M⊙. Large-amplitude fluctuations in the polarization profiles and a flocculent appearance of the polar diagram for the ${\rm Ca\, {\small II}}$ near-infrared triplet (NIR3) may be related by a common origin. The temporal evolution of the polarization spectra agrees with an off-centre delayed detonation. The late-time increase in polarization and the possible change in position angle are also consistent with an aspherical 56Ni core. The pcont and the absorptions due to ${\rm Si\, {\small II}}$ λ6355 and ${\rm Ca\, {\small II}}$ NIR3 formmore »in the same region of the extended photosphere, with an interplay between line occultation and thermalization producing p. Small-scale polarization features may be due to small-scale structures, but many could be related to atomic patterns of the quasi-continuum; they hardly have an equivalent in the total-flux spectra. We compare SN 2019np to other SNe and develop future objectives and strategies for SN Ia spectropolarimetry.

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Abstract FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC (F3/C) constellation of six micro-satellites was launched into the circular low-earth orbit at 800 km altitude with a 72-degree inclination angle on 15 April 2006, uniformly monitoring the ionosphere by the GPS (Global Positioning System) Radio Occultation (RO). Each F3/C satellite is equipped with a TIP (Tiny Ionospheric Photometer) observing 135.6 nm emissions and a TBB (Tri-Band Beacon) for conducting ionospheric tomography. More than 2000 RO profiles per day for the first time allows us globally studying three-dimensional ionospheric electron density structures and formation mechanisms of the equatorial ionization anomaly, middle-latitude trough, Weddell/Okhotsk Sea anomaly, etc. In addition, several new findings, such as plasma caves, plasma depletion bays, etc., have been reported. F3/C electron density profiles together with ground-based GPS total electron contents can be used to monitor, nowcast, and forecast ionospheric space weather. The S4 index of GPS signal scintillations recorded by F3/C is useful for ionospheric irregularities monitoring as well as for positioning, navigation, and communication applications. F3/C was officially decommissioned on 1 May 2020 and replaced by FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 (F7/C2). F7/C2 constellation of six small satellites was launched into the circular low-Earth orbit at 550 km altitude with a 24-degree inclination angle on 25 June 2019. F7/C2 carries anmore »advanced TGRS (Tri Gnss (global navigation satellite system) Radio occultation System) instrument, which tracks more than 4000 RO profiles per day. Each F7/C2 satellite also has a RFB (Radio Reference Beacon) on board for ionospheric tomography and an IVM (Ion Velocity Meter) for measuring ion temperature, velocity, and density. F7/C2 TGRS, IVM, and RFB shall continue to expand the F3/C success in the ionospheric space weather forecasting.« less

With an increasing prevalence of electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use, especially among youth, there is an urgent need to better understand the biological risks and pathophysiology of health conditions related to e-cigarettes. A majority of e-cigarette aerosols are in the submicron size and would deposit in the alveolar region of the lung, where they must first interact with the endogenous pulmonary surfactant. To date, little is known whether e-cigarette aerosols have an adverse impact on the pulmonary surfactant. We have systematically studied the effect of individual e-cigarette ingredients on an animal-derived clinical surfactant preparation, bovine lipid extract surfactant, using a combination of biophysical and analytical techniques, including in vitro biophysical simulations using constrained drop surfactometry, molecular imaging with atomic force microscopy, chemical assays using carbon nuclear magnetic resonance and circular dichroism, and in silico molecular dynamics simulations. All data collectively suggest that flavorings used in e-cigarettes, especially menthol, play a predominant role in inhibiting the biophysical function of the surfactant. The mechanism of biophysical inhibition appears to involve menthol interactions with both phospholipids and hydrophobic proteins of the natural surfactant. These results provide novel insights into the understanding of the health impact of e-cigarettes and may contribute to better regulation ofmore »e-cigarette products.« less