153 research outputs found
Complex Feeding Tracks of the Sessile Herbivorous Insect Ophiomyia maura as a Function of the Defense against Insect Parasitoids
Because insect herbivores generally suffer from high mortality due to their natural enemies, reducing the risk of being located by natural enemies is of critical importance for them, forcing them to develop a variety of defensive measures. Larvae of leaf-mining insects lead a sedentary life inside a leaf and make conspicuous feeding tracks called mines, exposing themselves to the potential risk of parasitism. We investigated the defense strategy of the linear leafminer Ophiomyia maura Meigen (Diptera: Agromyzidae), by focusing on its mining patterns. We examined whether the leafminer could reduce the risk of being parasitized (1) by making cross structures in the inner area of a leaf to deter parasitoids from tracking the mines due to complex pathways, and (2) by mining along the edge of a leaf to hinder visually searching parasitoids from finding mined leaves due to effective background matching of the mined leaves among intact leaves. We quantified fractal dimension as mine complexity and area of mine in the inner area of the leaf as interior mine density for each sample mine, and analyzed whether these mine traits affected the susceptibility of O. maura to parasitism. Our results have shown that an increase in mine complexity with the development of occupying larvae decreases the probability of being parasitized, while interior mine density has no influence on parasitism. These results suggest that the larval development increases the host defense ability through increasing mine complexity. Thus the feeding pattern of these sessile insects has a defensive function by reducing the risk of parasitism
Detection of Multi-TeV Gamma Rays from Markarian 501 during an Unforeseen Flaring State in 1997 with the Tibet Air Shower Array
In 1997, the BL Lac Object Mrk 501 entered a very active phase and was the
brightest source in the sky at TeV energies, showing strong and frequent
flaring. Using the data obtained with a high density air shower array that has
been operating successfully at Yangbajing in Tibet since 1996, we searched for
gamma-ray signals from this source during the period from February through
August in 1997. Our observation detected multi-TeV -ray signals at the
3.7-Sigma level during this period. The most rapid increase of the excess
counts was observed between April 7 and June 16 and the statistical
significance of the excess counts in this period was 4.7-Sigma. Among several
observations of flaring TeV gamma-rays from Mrk 501 in 1997, this is the only
observation using a conventional air shower array. We present the energy
spectrum of gamma-rays which will be worthy to compare with those obtained by
imaging atmospheric Cerenkov telescopes.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, To appear in Ap
Observation of Multi-Tev Gamma Rays from the Crab Nebula Using the Tibet Air Shower Array
The Tibet experiment, operating at Yangbajing (4,300 m above sea level), is
the lowest energy air shower array and the new high density array constructed
in 1996 has sensitivity to -ray air showers at energies as low as 3
TeV. With this new array, the Crab Nebula was observed in multi-TeV
-rays and a signal was detected at the 5.5 level. We also
obtained the energy spectrum of -rays in the energy region above 3 TeV
which partially overlaps those observed with imaging atmospheric Cherenkov
telescopes. This is the first observation of -ray signals from point
sources with a conventional air shower array using scintillation detectors.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Observation by an Air-Shower Array in Tibet of the Multi-TeV Cosmic-Ray Anisotropy due to Terrestrial Orbital Motion Around the Sun
We report on the solar diurnal variation of the galactic cosmic-ray intensity
observed by the Tibet III air shower array during the period from 1999 to 2003.
In the higher-energy event samples (12 TeV and 6.2 TeV), the variations are
fairly consistent with the Compton-Getting anisotropy due to the terrestrial
orbital motion around the sun, while the variation in the lower-energy event
sample (4.0 TeV) is inconsistent with this anisotropy. This suggests an
additional anisotropy superposed at the multi-TeV energies, e.g. the solar
modulation effect. This is the highest-precision measurement of the
Compton-Getting anisotropy ever made.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, includes .bbl fil
Observation of Multi-Tev Diffuse Gamma Rays from the Galactic Plane with the Tibet Air Shower Array
Data from the Tibet-III air shower array (with energies around 3 TeV) and
from the Tibet-II array (with energies around 10 TeV) have been searched for
diffuse gamma rays from the Galactic plane. These arrays have an angular
resolution of about 0.9 degrees. The sky regions searched are the inner Galaxy,
20 degrees <= l <= 55 degrees, and outer Galaxy, 140 degrees <= l <= 225
degrees, and |b| <= 2 degrees or <= 5 degrees. No significant Galactic plane
gamma-ray excess was observed. The 99% confidence level upper limits for
gamma-ray intensity obtained are (for |b| <= 2 degrees) 1.1 times 10^{-15}
cm^{-2}s^{-1}sr^{-1}MeV^{-1} at 3 TeV and 4.1 times 10^{-17}
cm^{-2}s^{-1}sr^{-1}MeV^{-1} at 10 TeV for the inner Galaxy, and 3.6 times
10^{-16} cm^{-2}s^{-1}sr^{-1}MeV^{-1} at 3 TeV and 1.3 times 10^{-17}
cm^{-2}s^{-1}sr^{-1}MeV^{-1} at 10 TeV for the outer Galaxy, assuming a
differential spectral index of 2.4. The upper limits are significant in the
multi-TeV region when compared to those from Cherenkov telescopes in the lower
energy region and other air shower arrays in the higher energy region; however,
the results are not sufficient to rule out the inverse Compton model with a
source electron spectral index of 2.0.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap
Large-Scale Sidereal Anisotropy of Galactic Cosmic-Ray Intensity Observed by the Tibet Air Shower Array
We present the large-scale sidereal anisotropy ofgalactic cosmic-ray
intensity in the multi-TeV region observed with the Tibet-IIIair shower array
during the period from 1999 through 2003. The sidereal daily variation of
cosmic rays observed in this experiment shows an excess of relative intensity
around hours local sidereal time, as well as a deficit around 12
hours local sidereal time. While the amplitude of the excess is not significant
when averaged over all declinations, the excess in individual declinaton bands
becomes larger and clearer as the viewing direction moves toward the south. The
maximum phase of the excess intensity changes from 7 at the northern
hemisphere to 4 hours at the equatorial region. We also show that both
the amplitude and the phase of the first harmonic vector of the daily variation
are remarkably independent of primary energy in the multi-TeV region. This is
the first result determining the energy and declination dependences of the full
24-hour profiles of the sidereal daily variation in the multi-TeV region with a
single air shower experiment.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in ApJ
Primary proton spectrum between 200 TeV and 1000 TeV observed with the Tibet burst detector and air shower array
Since 1996, a hybrid experiment consisting of the emulsion chamber and burst
detector array and the Tibet-II air-shower array has been operated at
Yangbajing (4300 m above sea level, 606 g/cm^2) in Tibet. This experiment can
detect air-shower cores, called as burst events, accompanied by air showers in
excess of about 100 TeV. We observed about 4300 burst events accompanied by air
showers during 690 days of operation and selected 820 proton-induced events
with its primary energy above 200 TeV using a neural network method. Using this
data set, we obtained the energy spectrum of primary protons in the energy
range from 200 to 1000 TeV. The differential energy spectrum obtained in this
energy region can be fitted by a power law with the index of -2.97 0.06,
which is steeper than that obtained by direct measurements at lower energies.
We also obtained the energy spectrum of helium nuclei at particle energies
around 1000 TeV.Comment: 25 pages, 22 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
The energy spectrum of all-particle cosmic rays around the knee region observed with the Tibet-III air-shower array
We have already reported the first result on the all-particle spectrum around
the knee region based on data from 2000 November to 2001 October observed by
the Tibet-III air-shower array. In this paper, we present an updated result
using data set collected in the period from 2000 November through 2004 October
in a wide range over 3 decades between eV and eV, in which
the position of the knee is clearly seen at around 4 PeV. The spectral index is
-2.68 0.02(stat.) below 1PeV, while it is -3.12 0.01(stat.) above 4
PeV in the case of QGSJET+HD model, and various systematic errors are under
study now.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted by Advances in space researc
Interventional bronchoscopy for benign tracheobronchial diseases under cardiopulmonary bypass support: case reports and literature review
The use of cardiopulmonary bypass as an adjunct to airway surgery for non-malignant diseases in adults is not well established in the UK. We are reporting two cases which demonstrate the additional benefits of using cardiopulmonary bypass during difficult bronchoscopy and complex airway stenting. The first case presents an emergency indication for cardiopulmonary bypass in a life-threatening but benign condition. The second case presented, utilises cardiopulmonary bypass standby as adjunct to a potentially life threatening procedure. A review of the literature is also provided
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