Estimating Mass Properties of Dinosaurs Using Laser Imaging and 3D Computer Modelling

Body mass reconstructions of extinct vertebrates are most robust when complete to near-complete skeletons allow the reconstruction of either physical or digital models. Digital models are most efficient in terms of time and cost, and provide the facility to infinitely modify model properties non-destructively, such that sensitivity analyses can be conducted to quantify the effect of the many unknown parameters involved in reconstructions of extinct animals. In this study we use laser scanning (LiDAR) and computer modelling methods to create a range of 3D mass models of five specimens of non-avian dinosaur; two near-complete specimens of Tyrannosaurus rex, the most complete specimens of Acrocanthosaurus atokensis and Strutiomimum sedens, and a near-complete skeleton of a sub-adult Edmontosaurus annectens. LiDAR scanning allows a full mounted skeleton to be imaged resulting in a detailed 3D model in which each bone retains its spatial position and articulation. This provides a high resolution skeletal framework around which the body cavity and internal organs such as lungs and air sacs can be reconstructed. This has allowed calculation of body segment masses, centres of mass and moments or inertia for each animal. However, any soft tissue reconstruction of an extinct taxon inevitably represents a best estimate model with an unknown level of accuracy. We have therefore conducted an extensive sensitivity analysis in which the volumes of body segments and respiratory organs were varied in an attempt to constrain the likely maximum plausible range of mass parameters for each animal. Our results provide wide ranges in actual mass and inertial values, emphasizing the high level of uncertainty inevitable in such reconstructions. However, our sensitivity analysis consistently places the centre of mass well below and in front of hip joint in each animal, regardless of the chosen combination of body and respiratory structure volumes. These results emphasize that future biomechanical assessments of extinct taxa should be preceded by a detailed investigation of the plausible range of mass properties, in which sensitivity analyses are used to identify a suite of possible values to be tested as inputs in analytical models

High Frequency Properties of Josephson Junctions

In this chapter we will discuss the high frequency properties of Josephson junctions. In the first part we review the effect of a large ac perturbation on the current voltage characteristic (IVC) of a Josephson junction. Here we follow closely the original treatment by Barone and Paterno [1]. For large ac perturbations the externally applied microwave frequency (and integer multiples of it) lock to the Josephson oscillation causing distinct current steps at fixed voltage values in the IVC. In the second part we give a short overview on the response of an underdamped\ua0Josephson junction to small microwave perturbations. In this case, when the applied microwave frequency is in resonance with the electromagnetic plasma frequency\ua0higher levels of this plasma mode get excited. This mechanism, also called resonant activation, leads for instance to a premature switching from the zero voltage state to the finite voltage state of a current biased Josephson junction. This procedure can be exploited to detect the quantized nature, i.e. the quantized energy levels, of the plasma modes. In fact the lowest two quantized energy levels\ua0of the plasma resonance mode are the key ingredient of superconducting qubits, such as the phase qubit\ua0and the transmon qubit

The Short-Term Effects of a Routine Poisoning Campaign on the Movements and Detectability of a Social Top-Predator.

Top-predators can be important components of resilient ecosystems, but they are still controlled in many places to mitigate a variety of economic, environmental and/or social impacts. Lethal control is often achieved through the broadscale application of poisoned baits. Understanding the direct and indirect effects of such lethal control on subsequent movements and behaviour of survivors is an important pre-requisite for interpreting the efficacy and ecological outcomes of top predator control. In this study, we use GPS tracking collars to investigate the fine-scale and short-term movements of dingoes (Canis lupus dingo and other wild dogs) in response to a routine poison-baiting program as an example of how a common, social top-predator can respond (behaviourally) to moderate levels of population reduction. We found no consistent control-induced differences in home range size or location, daily distance travelled, speed of travel, temporal activity patterns or road/trail usage for the seven surviving dingoeswemonitored immediately before and after a typical lethal control event. These data suggest that the spatial behaviour of surviving dingoes was not altered in ways likely to affect their detectability, and if control-induced changes in dingoes\u27 ecological function did occur, these may not be related to altered spatial behaviour or movement patterns