Description: In this article, the authors present analytical solutions for the problem of a two-level atom driven by a class of chirped pulses. The solutions are given in terms of Heun functions. By use of the appropriate chirping parameters, an enhancement of four orders of magnitude in the population transfer is obtained.

Description: This book chapter discusses a research project to promote biocultural conservation in Cape Horn, Chile. At the southernmost tip of the Americas, the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve (CHBR) encompasses one of the world's most pristine remaining wilderness areas and is home to the indigenous Yaghan (or Yamana) community, which featured prominently in Charles Darwin's 'Voyage of the Beagle'. Its remoteness and uniqueness, however, are threatened by the introduction of exotic species such as the North American beaver and American mink, increasing development pressures from new connectivity, resource exploitation, and the development of tourism. To implement the biosphere reserve and conserve its natural and cultural richness requires the active participation of the community, as well as linkages and integration between various disciplines and institutions. In an effort to achieve the goal of transdisciplinary integration, the authors used the strategy of identifying a charismatic species, since doing so serves to motivate people towards biodiversity conservation, to communicate ecological concepts, and to integrate both the ecological and social dimensions of sustainability. This study was developed together with the population of Puerto Williams, a town with 2200 inhabitants located on Navarino Island, and the largest human settlement within the CHBR.

Description: This article discusses building a Chilean network for long-term socio-ecological research. Abstract: Since their formal inception in 1980, long-term ecological research (LTER) programs have served as a successful organizing framework to create research agendas and funding mechanisms that allow scientists to address meaningful ecological phenomena at the scales they occur. In its 30 years of existence, LTER has expanded its geographic range (currently the International LTER network has more than 40 country members with sites on every continent) and disciplinary foci (principally encompassing the natural and social sciences and leading some to call for a name change to long-term socio-ecological research efforts exist in both Chile and Argentina, and in 2008, the Institute of Ecology and Biodiversity launched Chile's first concerted effort to link three existing sites (Fray Jorge Forest National Park -33° S, Senda Darwin Biological Station - 43° S, and Omora Ethnobotanical Park - 55° S). Here, the authors present a special feature of the Revista Chilena de Historia Natural, dedicated to LTSER, with the aim of 1) providing a synthesis of some of the most emblematic cases of long-term socio-ecological research in Chile; 2) demonstrating the value of these efforts for the integration of research, education and ...

Description: This article discusses carbon tunneling. Abstract: Calculations on the role of tunneling in the degenerate Cope rearrangements of semibullvalene (1) and barbaralane (3) predict that, at temperatures below 40 K, tunneling from the lowest vibrational level should make the temperature-independent rate constants k = 1.43 x 10(-3) s(-1) and k = 7.28 x 10(-9) s(-1), respectively. An experiment, using semibullvalene-2(4)-d1, is proposed to test the prediction of rapid tunneling by 1 at cryogenic temperatures.

Description: This article discusses cation-specific and anion-specific Abraham model correlations for solute transfer into ionic liquid solvents. Abstract: Data have been assembled from the published literature on the infinite dilution activity coefficients and gas solubilities of solutes dissolved in ionic liquid (IL) solvents. In total data for more than 1790 solute-IL pairs were compiled. The published experimental data were converted to gas-to-IL and water-to-IL partition coefficients, and correlated with the ion-specific equation coefficient version of the Abraham general solvation model. Ion-specific equation coefficients describe the experimental gas-to-IL and water-to-IL partition coefficient data to within 0.114 and 0.139 log units, respectively. Reported for the first time are equation coefficients for diethylphosphate, tris(pentafluoroethyl)trifluorophosphate and tetracyanoborate anions.