653 research outputs found
Temporal dynamics and spatial patterns of Galliform birds in Trentino – Italy.
This study examines the population dynamics of 5 species of closely related galliform birds in the Dolomites, north-east Italian Alps. The aim was to assess the dynamics of these populations at the edge of their European distribution and to investigate the patterns of spatial synchrony. Three main types of data sets were used in the analysis. First, the hunting statistics collected from 210 hunting areas between 1965 and 1994 for each of the 5 galliform species. Second, rock partridge count data from 29 sample areas during the period 1994 to 1998. Third, guts helminths collected from rock partridge shot between 1995 and 1998.
Tetraonid populations at the edge of their southern European distribution exhibited a weak tendency to cycle. These cycles only showed significant negative autocorrelation at half the cycle period and were classified as phase-forgetting quasi-cycles contrasting with the more regular oscillations recorded in the same species in Finland. Cycles were not found in time series of black grouse Tetrao tetrix or capercaillie Tetrao urogallus. Rock partridge Alectoris graeca saxatilis exhibited a higher tendency to fluctuate.
Rock partridge populations declined between 1965 and 1975 with populations in the western province declining earlier. Total winter loss and spring to summer loss of adults were the most important population parameters influencing the year to year change in numbers. There was some compensation to hunting mortality.
The hypothesis that macroparasites may be of significance in destabilising partridge abundance and generating cyclic oscillations was examined by investigating the intensity of parasite infection in cyclic and non cyclic populations. Ascaridia compar and Heterakis tenuicauda were prevalent in the rock partridge populations and significantly greater in cyclic populations than non-cyclic populations.
There were large variations in synchrony both within and between species and only weak negative relationships between synchrony and distance. Species in neighbouring habitats were more likely to be in synchrony than species separated by several habitats. A detailed spatial analysis on rock partridge populations found an increase in synchrony with scale from the population to meta-population level. Rock partridge clustered in two groups DRY and WET and synchrony was stronger in populations in the same habitat with populations in the dry habitat showing a higher tendency to cycle. The modelling of the long term dynamics of spatially structured populations indicated that environmental stochasticity was the main cause of synchrony although there is also some dispersal between populations and the importance of this varied between species.
Population viability analysis of the grey partridge Perdix perdix in populations in Britain between 1930-1960 and the "declining" continental populations from 1970 to 1994 confirms that the UK populations prior to 1960 were more resilient than the continental populations. Even very small harvesting cannot be tolerated by the present continental populations and this may indicate that the persistence of hunting activity, although with a limited effort, has contributed to the extinction of many sub-populations and is critically threatening the remaining ones
Abelian family symmetries and the simplest models that give theta13=0 in the neutrino mixing matrix
I construct predictive models of neutrino mass and mixing that have fewer
parameters, both in the lepton sector and overall, than the default seesaw
model. The predictions are theta13=0 and one massless neutrino, with the models
having a Z4 or Z2 symmetry and just one extra degree of freedom: one real
singlet Higgs field. It has been shown that models with an unbroken family
symmetry, and with no Higgs fields other than the Standard Model Higgs doublet
produce masses and mixing matrices that have been ruled out by experiment.
Therefore, this article investigates the predictions of models with Abelian
family symmetries that involve Higgs singlets, doublets and triplets, in the
hope that they may produce the maximal and minimal mixing angles seen in the
best fit neutrino mixing matrix. I demonstrate that these models can only
produce mixing angles that are zero, maximal or unconfined by the symmetry. The
maximal mixing angles do not correspond to physical mixing, so an Abelian
symmetry can, at best, ensure that theta13=0, while leaving the solar and
atmospheric mixing angles as free parameters. To generate more features of the
best-fit mixing matrix a model with a non-Abelian symmetry and a complicated
Higgs sector would have to be used.Comment: 16 pages, no figure
Lung function with carvedilol and bisoprolol in chronic heart failure: is beta selectivity relevant?
BACKGROUND: Carvedilol is a beta-blocker with similar affinity for beta1- and beta2 receptors, while bisoprolol has higher beta1 affinity. The respiratory system is characterized by beta2-receptor prevalence. Airway beta receptors regulate bronchial tone and alveolar beta receptors regulate alveolar fluid re-absorption which influences gas diffusion. AIMS: To compare the effects of carvedilol and bisoprolol on lung function in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a double-blind, cross-over study in 53 CHF patients. After 2 months of full dose treatment with either carvedilol or bisoprolol, we assessed lung function by salbutamol challenge, carbon monoxide lung diffusion (DLCO), including membrane conductance (DM), and gas exchange during exercise. FEV1 and FVC were similar; after salbutamol FEV1 was higher with bisoprolol (p<0.04). DLco was 82+/-21% of predicted with carvedilol and 90+/-20% with bisoprolol (p<0.01) due to DM changes. Peak VO2 was 17.8+/-4.5 mL/min/kg on bisoprolol and 17.0+/-4.6 on carvedilol, (p<0.05) with no differences in bronchial tone (same expiratory time) throughout exercise. Differences were greater in the 22 subjects with DLCO<80%. CONCLUSION: Carvedilol and bisoprolol have different effects on DLCO and response to salbutamol. DLCO differences, being DM related, are due to changes in active membrane transport which is under alveolar beta2-receptor control. Peak VO2 was slightly higher with bisoprolol particularly in CHF patients with reduced DLCO
Evolutionary History and Attenuation of Myxoma Virus on Two Continents
The attenuation of myxoma virus (MYXV) following its introduction as a biological control into the European rabbit populations of Australia and Europe is the canonical study of the evolution of virulence. However, the evolutionary genetics of this profound change in host-pathogen relationship is unknown. We describe the genome-scale evolution of MYXV covering a range of virulence grades sampled over 49 years from the parallel Australian and European epidemics, including the high-virulence progenitor strains released in the early 1950s. MYXV evolved rapidly over the sampling period, exhibiting one of the highest nucleotide substitution rates ever reported for a double-stranded DNA virus, and indicative of a relatively high mutation rate and/or a continually changing selective environment. Our comparative sequence data reveal that changes in virulence involved multiple genes, likely losses of gene function due to insertion-deletion events, and no mutations common to specific virulence grades. Hence, despite the similarity in selection pressures there are multiple genetic routes to attain either highly virulent or attenuated phenotypes in MYXV, resulting in convergence for phenotype but not genotype. © 2012 Kerr et al
Signal modeling of high-purity Ge detectors with a small read-out electrode and application to neutrinoless double beta decay search in Ge-76
The GERDA experiment searches for the neutrinoless double beta decay of Ge-76
using high-purity germanium detectors enriched in Ge-76. The analysis of the
signal time structure provides a powerful tool to identify neutrinoless double
beta decay events and to discriminate them from gamma-ray induced backgrounds.
Enhanced pulse shape discrimination capabilities of "Broad Energy Germanium"
detectors with a small read-out electrode have been recently reported. This
paper describes the full simulation of the response of such a detector,
including the Monte Carlo modeling of radiation interaction and subsequent
signal shape calculation. A pulse shape discrimination method based on the
ratio between the maximum current signal amplitude and the event energy applied
to the simulated data shows quantitative agreement with the experimental data
acquired with calibration sources. The simulation has been used to study the
survival probabilities of the decays which occur inside the detector volume and
are difficult to assess experimentally. Such internal decay events are produced
by the cosmogenic radio-isotopes Ge-68 and Co-60 and the neutrinoless double
beta decay of Ge-76. Fixing the experimental acceptance of the double escape
peak of the 2.614 MeV photon to 90%, the estimated survival probabilities at
Qbb = 2.039 MeV are (86+-3)% for Ge-76 neutrinoless double beta decays,
(4.5+-0.3)% for the Ge-68 daughter Ga-68, and (0.9+0.4-0.2)% for Co-60 decays.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures. v2: fixed typos and references. Submitted to
JINS
A new approach to the front-end readout of cryogenic ionization detectors
We present a novel approach to the readout of ionization detectors. The
solution allows to minimize the number of components and the space occupation
close to the detector. This way a minimal impact is added on the radioactive
background in those experiments where very low signal rates are expected, such
as GERDA and MAJORANA. The circuit consists in a JFET transistor and a remote
second stage. The DC feedback path is closed using a diode. Two signal cables
are only necessary for biasing and readout.Comment: 14 pages, 15 figures and 15 equation
Highly sensitive gamma-spectrometers of GERDA for material screening: Part I
The GERDA experiment aims to search for the neutrinoless double beta-decay of
76Ge and possibly for other rare processes. The sensitivity of the first phase
is envisioned to be more than one order of magnitude better than in previous
neutrinoless double beta-decay experiments. This implies that materials with
ultra-low radioactive contamination need to be used for the construction of the
detector and its shielding. Therefore the requirements on material screening
include high-sensitivity low-background detection techniques and long
measurement times. In this article, an overview of material-screening
laboratories available to the GERDA collaboration is given, with emphasis on
the gamma-spectrometry. Additionally, results of an intercomparison of the
evaluation accuracy in these laboratories are presented.Comment: Featured in: Proceedings of the XIV International Baksan School
"Particles and Cosmology" Baksan Valley, Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia, April
16-21,2007. INR RAS, Moscow 2008. ISBN 978-5-94274-055-9, pp. 228-232; (5
pages, 0 figures
Beta decay of 115-In to the first excited level of 115-Sn: Potential outcome for neutrino mass
Recent observation of beta decay of 115-In to the first excited level of
115-Sn with an extremely low Q_beta value (Q_beta ~ 1 keV) could be used to set
a limit on neutrino mass. To give restriction potentially competitive with
those extracted from experiments with 3-H (~2 eV) and 187-Re (~15 eV), atomic
mass difference between 115-In and 115-Sn and energy of the first 115-Sn level
should be remeasured with higher accuracy (possibly of the order of ~1 eV).Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures; talk at the NANP'05 Conferenc
Neutrino Signal Variation in KamLAND
Large Mixing Angle (LMA) neutrino oscillation is the main solution for the
long-standing Solar Neutrino Problem (SNP). Whether there is any subdominant
effect accompanying the dominant LMA solution can not be ruled out at the
moment, but will be settled by the forthcoming data from highly skilled real
time experiments targeting essentially the low energy domain of solar
neutrinos. Assuming a subdominant effect converting one of the active neutrinos
into a sterile partner in the varying solar field with changing sunspot
activity, we performed field-profile-independent predictions for
neutrino signal variation, which might be tested in the KamLAND's future solar
neutrino detection program. We found that after a substantial reduction of
background and running of KamLAND solar mode through the sunspot maximum period
(around 2010 - 2012), when the solar field at the resonance may vary from few
to , the subdominant time variation effect might be clearly
visible (more than ) for neutrinos.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, typos corrected. To appear in JHE
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