A review of the microtremor horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (MHVSR) method.

The single-station microtremor horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (MHVSR) method was initially proposed to retrieve the site amplification function and its resonance frequencies produced by unconsolidated sediments overlying high-velocity bedrock. Presently, MHVSR measurements are predominantly conducted to obtain an estimate of the fundamental site frequency at sites where a strong subsurface impedance contrast exists. Of the earthquake site characterization methods presented in this special issue, the MHVSR method is the furthest behind in terms of consensus towards standardized guidelines and commercial use. The greatest challenges to an international standardization of MHVSR acquisition and analysis are (1) the what - the underlying composition of the microtremor wavefield is site-dependent, and thus, the appropriate theoretical (forward) model for inversion is still debated; and (2) the how - many factors and options are involved in the data acquisition, processing, and interpretation stages. This paper reviews briefly a historical development of the MHVSR technique and the physical basis of an MHVSR (the what). We then summarize recommendations for MHVSR acquisition and analysis (the how). Specific sections address MHVSR interpretation and uncertainty assessment.

Realization of a Townes Soliton in a Two-Component Planar Bose Gas.

Most experimental observations of solitons are limited to one-dimensional (1D) situations, where they are naturally stable. For instance, in 1D cold Bose gases, they exist for any attractive interaction strength g and particle number N. By contrast, in two dimensions, solitons appear only for discrete values of gN, the so-called Townes soliton being the most celebrated example. Here, we use a two-component Bose gas to prepare deterministically such a soliton: Starting from a uniform bath of atoms in a given internal state, we imprint the soliton wave function using an optical transfer to another state. We explore various interaction strengths, atom numbers, and sizes and confirm the existence of a solitonic behavior for a specific value of gN and arbitrary sizes, a hallmark of scale invariance.

Tan's two-body contact across the superfluid transition of a planar Bose gas.

Tan's contact is a quantity that unifies many different properties of a low-temperature gas with short-range interactions, from its momentum distribution to its spatial two-body correlation function. Here, we use a Ramsey interferometric method to realize experimentally the thermodynamic definition of the two-body contact, i.e., the change of the internal energy in a small modification of the scattering length. Our measurements are performed on a uniform two-dimensional Bose gas of 87Rb atoms across the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless superfluid transition. They connect well to the theoretical predictions in the limiting cases of a strongly degenerate fluid and of a normal gas. They also provide the variation of this key quantity in the critical region, where further theoretical efforts are needed to account for our findings.

Magnetic Dipolar Interaction between Hyperfine Clock States in a Planar Alkali Bose Gas.

In atomic systems, clock states feature a zero projection of the total angular momentum and thus a low sensitivity to magnetic fields. This makes them widely used for metrological applications like atomic fountains or gravimeters. Here, we show that a mixture of two such nonmagnetic states still displays magnetic dipole-dipole interactions comparable to the one expected for the other Zeeman states of the same atomic species. Using high-resolution spectroscopy of a planar gas of ^{87}Rb atoms with a controlled in plane shape, we explore the effective isotropic and extensive character of these interactions and demonstrate their tunability. Our measurements set strong constraints on the relative values of the s-wave scattering lengths a_{ij} involving the two clock states.

Synergistic effects of nisin and thymol on antimicrobial activities in Listeria monocytogenes and Bacillus subtilis.

Nisin Z and thymol were tested, alone and in combination, for antibacterial activity against Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 7644 and Bacillus subtilis ATCC 33712. The antibacterial effect of nisin Z, produced by Lactococcus lactis KE3 isolated from the traditional Moroccan fermented milk, was greatly potentiated by sub-inhibitory concentrations of thymol in both bacterial strains. Our data showed that the concentration of nisin required for effective control of food-borne pathogenic bacteria could be considerably lowered by the use of thymol in combination. The use of low concentrations of nisin could lead to a less favourable condition for the occurrence of nisin-resistant bacterial sub-populations.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of large-flowered purslane (Portulaca grandiflora H.).

Transformation of Portulaca grandiflora has been developed with Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains A281 and T1272. Transformation was assessed by the following criteria: selection of hormone independent callus, antibiotic-resistant callus, and transgenic antibiotic-resistant plants. In addition, DNA hybridization analysis demonstrated that the DNA from tumor lines contained sequences homologous to binary vector T-DNA of strain A281. Following transformation with strain T1272, segregation analysis of the progeny of transgenic plants showed that the transgene was inherited in a Mendelian manner. The kanamycin-resistant progeny tested contained the T-DNA sequence of the strain T1272.

[Demonstration of transposition in Portulaca grandiflora (HOOK)]. / Preuves de transposition chez Portulaca grandiflora (HOOK).

The gene C of Portulaca grandiflora encodes a product required for the synthesis of flower pigment. The cmI allele gives white flowers with violet spots and sectors. It is also germinally unstable and can give rise to a series of cm alleles conferring different flower color phenotypes. These findings suggest that allele C may be rendered genetically unstable as a consequence of transposable element insertion and excision.

[Genetic instability in Portulaca grandiflora (Hook)]. / Instabilité génétique chez Portulaca grandiflora (Hook).

Portulaca grandiflora, a member of the Centrospermae, produces the alkaloid-type betalain pigment in its petals and stems. Variegation patterns were observed on the corolla of some clones. The authors postulate that in Portulaca grandiflora a relation exist between unstable mutations and the presence of transposable elements in the genome. Experiments with unstable mutants of Portulaca grandiflora having variegated flowers were done. The unstable loci cmI and rmI, which are involved in betalain synthesis were genetically analysed.