Dynamic Multi-Mode Mie Model for Gain-Assisted Metal Nano-Spheres.

Coupling externally pumped gain materials with plasmonic spherical particles, even in the simplest case of a single spherical nanoparticle in a uniform gain medium, generates an incredibly rich variety of electrodynamic phenomena. The appropriate theoretical description of these systems is dictated by the quantity of the included gain and the size of the nano-particle. On the one hand, when the gain level is below the threshold separating the absorption and the emission regime, a steady-state approach is a rather adequate depiction, yet a time dynamic approach becomes fundamental when this threshold is exceeded.

β-Diversity partitioning of moth communities within and between different forest types.

The partitioning of β-diversity is a recurrent practice in biogeographic and ecological studies that can provide key insights for land management, such as identification of biodiversity hot-spots. In this study, we used Baselga's metrics to measure the contribution of spatial turnover (β) and nestedness-resultant dissimilarity (β) to overall β-diversity (β) within- and between-forest types. We analyzed a presence/absence dataset concerning 593 species of nocturnal Lepidoptera sampled within chestnut, silver fir, beech, and black pine forests of southern Italy.

Optical vortices generated by edge dislocations in electro-convective instability arrays of nematic liquid crystals.

We demonstrated by means of interferometry that optical vortices can be generated by diffraction of a laser beam from a birefringent nematic liquid crystal that spontaneously creates a periodic array of electro-convective domains and edge dislocations under an applied electric field. The diffracted beam of order m produced by an elementary dislocation comprises a number |m| of distinct optical vortices, each with unit topological charge. Birefringent liquid crystal arrays provide a fast, convenient, and promising way of generating and studying optical vortices.

Ptilophora variabilis Hartig, 1968, bona species, and description of Ptilophora nebrodensis sp. n. from Sicily (Lepidoptera, Notodontidae).

In this paper, we redescribe Ptilophora plumigera variabilis Hartig, 1968 and raise it to species rank. Furthermore we describe Ptilophora nebrodensis sp. n.

Nothocasis rosariae sp. n., a new sylvicolous, montane species from southern Europe (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Larentiinae).

In this paper, we describe Nothocasis rosariae sp. n. as the second European species belonging to the genus Nothocasis Prout, 1937.