We undertook this study to increase our understanding of how forest clearing for pasture in the Brazilian Amazon is affecting N20 fluxes from tropical soils. More specifically, we wanted to do four things: (1) develop an understanding of the dynamics of N20 fluxes during pasture establishment in the Amazon; (2) evaluate the finding that intact forests have 34,179

We report on energetic surface reconstruction phenomena observed on bimetallic nanoparticle systems of AuPd and AuCu, similar to a resolidification effect observed during the cooling process in lead clusters. These binary alloy nanoparticles show the fivefold edges truncated, resulting in [100] facets on decahedral structures, an effect largely envisioned and reported theoretically, with no experimental evidence so far. We demonstrate experimentally as well as by computational simulations that this new eutectic structure is favored in such nanoalloy systems.

Cobalt nanowires have been electrodeposited into the pores of Anodisc™ alumina membranes after placing on one side a layer of sputtered copper, which acts as electrode and substrate during the electrodeposition. Nanowires are 60 m long, 170-220 nm in diameter depending on the size of the pores of the alumina membrane. This array of nanowires exhibits uniaxial magnetic anisotropy related to the particular shape of each individual nanowire. On the contrary to the expected behavior in a uniaxial magnetic system, the coercivity of the array exhibits a maximum when the applied field is in a perpendicular direction with respect to the easy axis. This magnetic behavior is analyzed considering dipolar interactions among nanowires, and the magnetization of the array is obtained as a function of the magnetic characteristics of each nanowire using an iterative method.

Recent Cryptococcus gattii infections in humans and animals, including several outbreaks in goats, were the basis of this environmental survey in six provinces of Spain. A total of 479 samples from 20 tree species were studied. Cryptococcus gattii was found for the first time in autochthonous Mediterranean trees in Spain. Fourteen isolates of this pathogen were obtained from seven trees of three different species: 12 from carob (Ceratonia siliqua), one from Mediterranean stone pine (Pinus halepensis) and another from eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis). All C. gattii isolates were genotype AFLP4/VGI and mating type alpha, and were found to be genetically identical with C. gattii strains isolated from humans and animals in Spain. This supports the hypothesis that these trees may be a natural source for infection of humans and mammals in the Mediterranean area.

No abstract