Linear tracks and restricted temperature ranges characterise penguin foraging pathways

Marine predators are thought to follow sophisticated scale-dependent search strategies when seeking patchy and unpredictable prey. However, fine-scale information about these strategies has hitherto been difficult to obtain for diving predators that often remain at the sea surface for only limited periods of time. Using ARGOS telemetry and novel, low-powered, archival GPS, we followed the fine-scale at-sea behaviour of king penguins breeding on South Georgia. Results revealed that foraging pathways were generally linear, except at the finest scale, where movements probably reflected either fine-scale searching behaviour, or fine-scale random movements associated with having found prey. King penguins focused 45% of their foraging effort in waters with a specific surface temperature (5.0 to 5.5 degrees C) - an environmental cue potentially important in helping them locate prey, thereby reducing their need to expend energy in area-restricted search patterns. Within these waters, penguins slowed down and increased their dive effort and degree of meandering. First Passage Time analysis revealed that penguins focused much of their effort at local scales, generally in areas with a radius of 2 km. In these areas, penguins dived marginally deeper and targeted waters that, were significantly warmer at the bottom of their dives. Such information about fine-scale foraging behaviour will help increase our understanding of the environmental correlates that characterise areas where marine predators exploit their prey. The scale of these behavioural processes is better resolved using the fine-scale temporal and spatial resolution of GPS tracking data

Spin Physics at Compass

COMPASS is a new fixed target experiment presently in operation at CERN. It has the goal to investigate hadron structure and hadron spectroscopy by using either muon or hadron beams. From measurements of various hadron asymmetries in polarized muon - nucleon scattering it will be possible to determine the contribution of the gluons to the nucleon spin. Main objective of the hadron program is the search of exotic states, and glueballs in particular. This physics programme is carried out with a two-stage magnetic spectrometer, with particle identification and calorimetry in both stages, which has started collecting physics data in 2002, and will run at the CERN SPS at least until 2010. Preliminary results from the 2002 run with a 160 GeV muon beam are presented for several physics channels under investigation.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures. Invited paper at the 26th Course of the "International School of Nuclear Physics": Lepton Scattering and the Structure of Hadrons and Nuclei. Erice-Sicily: 16 - 24 September 2004. to be published on "Progress in Particle and Nuclear Physics

Development and optimization of the Suna trap as a tool for mosquito monitoring and control

Background Monitoring of malaria vector populations provides information about disease transmission risk, as well as measures of the effectiveness of vector control. The Suna trap is introduced and evaluated with regard to its potential as a new, standardized, odour-baited tool for mosquito monitoring and control. Methods Dual-choice experiments with female Anopheles gambiae sensu lato in a laboratory room and semi-field enclosure, were used to compare catch rates of odour-baited Suna traps and MM-X traps. The relative performance of the Suna trap, CDC light trap and MM-X trap as monitoring tools was assessed inside a human-occupied experimental hut in a semi-field enclosure. Use of the Suna trap as a tool to prevent mosquito house entry was also evaluated in the semi-field enclosure. The optimal hanging height of Suna traps was determined by placing traps at heights ranging from 15 to 105 cm above ground outside houses in western Kenya. Results In the laboratory the mean proportion of An. gambiae s.l. caught in the Suna trap was 3.2 times greater than the MM-X trap (P <0.001), but the traps performed equally in semi-field conditions (P = 0.615). As a monitoring tool , the Suna trap outperformed an unlit CDC light trap (P <0.001), but trap performance was equal when the CDC light trap was illuminated (P = 0.127). Suspending a Suna trap outside an experimental hut reduced entry rates by 32.8% (P <0.001). Under field conditions, suspending the trap at 30 cm above ground resulted in the greatest catch sizes (mean 25.8 An. gambiae s.l. per trap night). Conclusions The performance of the Suna trap equals that of the CDC light trap and MM-X trap when used to sample An. gambiae inside a human-occupied house under semi-field conditions. The trap is effective in sampling mosquitoes outside houses in the field, and the use of a synthetic blend of attractants negates the requirement of a human bait. Hanging a Suna trap outside a house can reduce An. gambiae house entry and its use as a novel tool for reducing malaria transmission risk will be evaluated in peri-domestic settings in sub-Saharan Africa

Azimuthal single spin asymmetries in SIDIS in the light of chiral symmetry breaking

An attempt is made to understand the z-dependence of the azimuthal single spin asymmetries observed by the HERMES collaboration in terms of chiral models based on effective quark and Goldstone boson degrees of freedom. The effects of respectively neglecting and considering Gaussian intrinsic parton transverse momenta and the Sivers effect are explored. Predictions for the transverse target polarization experiment at HERMES are presented.Comment: 14 pages, 18 figure

Helicity-dependent generalized parton distributions in constituent quark models

Helicity-dependent generalized parton distributions of the nucleon are derived from the overlap representation of generalized parton distributions using light-cone wave functions obtained in constituent quark models. Results from two different quark models are used also to study the angular momentum sum rule and the spin asymmetry in polarized electron scattering.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures, 2 table

The PAndAS Field of Streams: stellar structures in the Milky Way halo toward Andromeda and Triangulum

We reveal the highly structured nature of the Milky Way stellar halo within the footprint of the PAndAS photometric survey from blue main sequence and main sequence turn-off stars. We map no fewer than five stellar structures within a heliocentric range of ~5 to 30 kpc. Some of these are known (the Monoceros Ring, the Pisces/Triangulum globular cluster stream), but we also uncover three well-defined stellar structures that could be, at least partly, responsible for the so-called Triangulum/Andromeda and Triangulum/Andromeda 2 features. In particular, we trace a new faint stellar stream located at a heliocentric distance of ~17 kpc. With a surface brightness of \Sigma_V ~ 32-32.5 mag/arcsec^2, it follows an orbit that is almost parallel to the Galactic plane north of M31 and has so far eluded surveys of the Milky Way halo as these tend to steer away from regions dominated by the Galactic disk. Investigating our follow-up spectroscopic observations of PAndAS, we serendipitously uncover a radial velocity signature from stars that have colors and magnitudes compatible with the stream. From the velocity of eight likely member stars, we show that this stellar structure is dynamically cold, with an unresolved velocity dispersion that is lower than 7.1 km/s at the 90-percent confidence level. Along with the width of the stream (300-650 pc), its dynamics points to a dwarf-galaxy-accretion origin. The numerous stellar structures we can map in the Milky Way stellar halo between 5 and 30 kpc and their varying morphology is a testament to the complex nature of the stellar halo at these intermediate distances.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in the ApJ, Figure 3 is the money plo

Are profiles of social, cultural, and economic capital related to living well with dementia? Longitudinal findings from the IDEAL programme

Rationale: Research exploring social, cultural, and economic capital among people with dementia is scarce. Objective: We describe levels of social, cultural, and economic capital in people with dementia at baseline and levels of social and cultural capital 12 and 24 months later. We identify groups of people with dementia having different combinations of capital and explore whether the identified groups differ in personal characteristics at baseline and in quality of life (QoL), satisfaction with life (SwL), and well-being over time. Method: Baseline, 12-months, and 24-months data from 1537 people with dementia (age, mean = 76.4 years; SD = 8.5; Alzheimer's Disease = 55.4%) enrolled in the IDEAL cohort were analyzed. Social (interactions with friends, civic participation, social participation, neighborhood trust, social network), cultural (education, cultural participation) and economic (annual income) capital, QoL, SwL, well-being, and personal characteristics were assessed. Results: Compared to people their age, people with dementia reported slightly lower frequency of interactions with friends, social networks and social support, civic and cultural participation, education, and annual income. However, social engagement, cultural participation, and annual income are low among British older adults. Latent profile analysis identified four groups that, based on their levels of social, cultural, and economic capital were named socially and economically privileged (18.0% of participants); financially secure (21.0% of participants); low capital (36.9% of participants); and very low capital (24.1% of participants). Latent growth curve models showed that over time QoL, SwL, and well-being remained largely stable for all groups. Compared to the low capital group, the socially and economically privileged and financially secure groups had higher QoL and well-being whereas the group with very low capital had poorer QoL, SwL, and well-being. Conclusions: New policies and efforts from the government, philanthropic foundations, the voluntary and primary care sectors are needed to address social, cultural, and economic disadvantage among people with dementia