670 research outputs found
Understorey plant community and light availability in conifer plantations and natural hardwood forests in Taiwan
Questions: What are the effects of replacing mixed species natural forests with Cryptomeria japonica plantations on understorey plant functional and species diversity? What is the role of the understorey light environment in determining understorey diversity and community in the two types of forest?
Location: Subtropical northeast Taiwan.
Methods: We examined light environments using hemispherical photography, and diversity and composition of understorey plants of a 35âyr C. japonica plantation and an adjacent natural hardwood forest.
Results: Understorey plant species richness was similar in the two forests, but the communities were different; only 18 of the 91 recorded understorey plant species occurred in both forests. Relative abundance of plants among different functional groups differed between the two forests. Relative numbers of shadeâtolerant and shadeâintolerant seedling individuals were also different between the two forest types with only one shadeâintolerant seedling in the plantation compared to 23 seedlings belonging to two species in the natural forest. In the natural forest 11 species of tree seedling were found, while in the plantation only five were found, and the seedling density was only one third of that in the natural forest. Across plots in both forests, understorey plant richness and diversity were negatively correlated with direct sunlight but not indirect sunlight, possibly because direct light plays a more important role in understorey plant growth.
Conclusions: We report lower species and functional diversity and higher light availability in a natural hardwood forest than an adjacent 30âyr C. japonica plantation, possibly due to the increased dominance of shadeâintolerant species associated with higher light availability. To maintain plant diversity, management efforts must be made to prevent localized losses of shadeâadapted understorey plants
CAN LABORATORY-BASED BIOMECHANICAL TEST RESULTS REFLECT THE PERCEIVED COMFORT DURING OVERGROUND RUNNING?
The purpose of this study was to measure the relationship between laboratory-based biomechanical test results and the perceived comfort of subjects obtained from overground running. Twelve male runners were recruited (age=20.3 ± 0.8 years, weight=61.1 ± 5.1 kg, height=171 ± 4 cm). They participated in three tests: Heel Cushioning Test, Rearfoot Movement Test, and Perceived Comfort Test. Human pendulum device with a controlled impact velocity at 1.15m/s was used in the first test to measure the heel cushioning properties. A digital camera was located posterior to the treadmill to record the rearfoot movement in the second test. And a questionnaire that consisted of three questions was used to measure the percevied comfort after overground running. The correlations between variables of Heel Cushioning Test and Perceived Comfort Test ranged from low (r = 0.118) to mediate (r = -0.564), and the correlations between variables of Rearfoot Movement Test and Perceived Comfort Test ranged from low (r = 0.160) to mediate (r = -0.563). Peak force plays an important role in determining the comfort rating. Loading rate was negatively related to perceived comfort in heel cushioning. Total rearfoot motion was found to contribute most in perceived comfort in medio-lateral control
Galerkin FEM for fractional order parabolic equations with initial data in
We investigate semi-discrete numerical schemes based on the standard Galerkin
and lumped mass Galerkin finite element methods for an initial-boundary value
problem for homogeneous fractional diffusion problems with non-smooth initial
data. We assume that , is a convex
polygonal (polyhedral) domain. We theoretically justify optimal order error
estimates in - and -norms for initial data in . We confirm our theoretical findings with a number of numerical tests
that include initial data being a Dirac -function supported on a
-dimensional manifold.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
Charmless Decays Based on the six-quark Effective Hamiltonian with Strong Phase Effects II
We provide a systematic study of charmless decays (
and denote pseudoscalar and vector mesons, respectively) based on an
approximate six-quark operator effective Hamiltonian from QCD. The calculation
of the relevant hard-scattering kernels is carried out, the resulting
transition form factors are consistent with the results of QCD sum rule
calculations. By taking into account important classes of power corrections
involving "chirally-enhanced" terms and the vertex corrections as well as weak
annihilation contributions with non-trivial strong phase, we present
predictions for the branching ratios and CP asymmetries of decays into
PP, PV and VV final states, and also for the corresponding polarization
observables in VV final states. It is found that the weak annihilation
contributions with non-trivial strong phase have remarkable effects on the
observables in the color-suppressed and penguin-dominated decay modes. In
addition, we discuss the SU(3) flavor symmetry and show that the symmetry
relations are generally respected
Study of f_0(980) and f_0(1500) from B_s \to f_0(980)\pi, f_0(1500)\pi Decays
In this paper, we analyze the scalar mesons and from
the decays within Perturbative
QCD approach. From the leading order calculations, we find that (a) in the
allowed mixing angle ranges, the branching ratio of is about , which is smaller than
that of (the difference is a few times even one
order); (b) the decay is better to distinguish
between the lowest lying state or the first excited state for ,
because the branching ratios for two scenarios have about one-order difference
in most of the mixing angle ranges; and (c) the direct CP asymmetries of for two scenarios also exists great difference. In
scenario II, the variation range of the value according to the mixing angle is very small, except for
the values corresponding to the mixing angles being near or
, while the variation range of in scenario I is very large. Compared with the future data for
the decay , it is ease to determine the nature
of the scalar meson .Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, Revte
Sources of CP Violation in the Two-Higgs Doublet Model
Assuming CP violation arises solely through the Higgs potential, we develop
the most general two-Higgs doublet model. There is no discrete symmetry that
distinguishes the two Higgs bosons. It is assumed that an approximate global
family symmetry sufficiently suppresses flavor-changing neutral scalar
interactions. In addition to a CKM phase, neutral boson mixing, and superweak
effects, there can be significant CP violation due to charged Higgs boson
exchange. The value of due to this last effect could be as
large as in the standard model.Comment: 8 pages, RevTex, (appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, (1994) 1762 ),
CMU-HEP94-1
The lifetime of B_c-meson and some relevant problems
The lifetime of the B_c-meson is estimated with consistent considerations on
all of the heavy mesons () and the double
heavy meson B_c. In the estimate, the framework, where the non-spectator
effects for nonleptonic decays are taken into account properly, is adopted, and
the parameters needed to be fixed are treated carefully and determined by
fitting the available data. The bound-state effects in it are also considered.
We find that in decays of the meson B_c, the QCD correction terms of the
penguin diagrams and the main component terms c_1O_1, c_2O_2 of the effective
interaction Lagrangian have direct interference that causes an enhancement
about 3 ~ 4% in the total width of the B_c meson.Comment: 27 pages, 0 figur
What can the braking indices tell us about pulsars' nature?
As a result of observational difficulties, braking indices of only six
rotation-powered pulsars are obtained with certainty, all of which are
remarkably smaller than the value () expected for pure magnetodipole
radiation model. This is still a real fundamental question not being well
answered after nearly forty years of the discovery of pulsar. The main problem
is that we are shamefully not sure about the dominant mechanisms that result in
pulsars' spin-down. Based on the previous works, the braking index is
re-examined, with a conclusion of suggesting a constant gap potential drop for
pulsars with magnetospheric activities. New constrains on model parameters from
observed braking indices are presented.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, submitted to "Advances in Space Research"
(Proceedings of COSPAR 2006
Muon anomalous magnetic moment in the standard model with two Higgs doublets
The muon anomalous magnetic moment is investigated in the standard model with
two Higgs doublets (S2HDM) motivated from spontaneous CP violation. Thus all
the effective Yukawa couplings become complex. As a consequence of the non-zero
phase in the couplings, the one loop contribution from the neutral scalar
bosons could be positive and negative relying on the CP phases. The
interference between one and two loop diagrams can be constructive in a large
parameter space of CP-phases. This will result in a significant contribution to
muon anomalous magnetic moment even in the flavor conserving process with a
heavy neutral scalar boson ( 200 GeV) once the effective muon Yukawa
coupling is large (). In general, the one loop contributions
from lepton flavor changing scalar interactions become more important. In
particular, when all contributions are positive in a reasonable parameter space
of CP phases, the recently reported 2.6 sigma experiment vs. theory deviation
can be easily explained even for a heavy scalar boson with a relative small
Yukawa coupling in the S2HDM.Comment: 8 pages, RevTex file, 5 figures, published version Phys. Rev. D 54
(2001) 11501
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