A comparison of methods to evaluate energy expenditure of incubating wandering albatrosses

Measurements of incubation energetics can vary depending on the method used to measure metabolism of an incubating bird. Therefore, we evaluated the energy expenditure of six male and four female wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans Linnaeus) using doubly labeled water (DLW), the rate of mass loss, and estimates of metabolic water production derived from water influx rate (WIR). Incubation metabolic rates (IMR) determined with DLW ( 169 ± 21 kJ kg d SD) were significantly lower than estimates derived from mass loss ( 277 ± 46kJ kg d SD) and WIR ( males=289 ± 60 kJ kg d vs. females = 400 ± 69 kJ kg d SD). Estimates of IMR from f WIR were similar to IMR (305 ± 39 kJ kg d SD) determined by respirometry in a previous study, and IMR from DLW was similar to estimates based on heart rate (HR; 147 ± 26 kJ d SD) determined in another study. Ap- 147 26 plying the different measurements of IMR to construct an en-ergy budget, we estimate that a breeding pair of wandering albatrosses spends 124--234 MJ to incubate the egg for 78 d. Finally, IMRs determined with DLW and HR were similar

Long-Time Behaviour and Self-Similarity in a Coagulation Equation with Input of Monomers

For a coagulation equation with Becker-Doring type interactions and time-independent monomer input we study the detailed long-time behaviour of nonnegative solutions and prove the convergence to a self-similar function.Comment: 30 pages, 5 Figures, now published in Markov Processes and Related Fields 12, 367-398, (2006

Some properties of two Nambu--Jona-Lasinio -type models with inputs from lattice QCD

We investigate the phase diagram of the so-called Polyakov--Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (PNJL) model at finite temperature and nonzero chemical potential. The calculations are performed in the light and strange quark sectors ($u$, $d$, $s$), which includes the 't Hooft instanton induced interaction term that breaks the axial symmetry, and the quarks are coupled to the (spatially constant) temporal background gauge field. On one hand, a special attention is payed to the critical end point (CEP). The strength of the flavor-mixing interaction alters the CEP location, since when it becomes weaker the CEP moves to low temperatures and can even disappear. On the other hand, we also explore the connection between QCD, a nonlocal Nambu--Jona-Lasinio type model and the Landau gauge gluon propagator. Possible links between the quenched gluon propagator and low energy hadronic phenomenology are investigated.Comment: Contribution to the International Meeting "Excited QCD", Peniche, Portugal, 06 - 12 May 201

Quantum Topology Change in (2 + 1)d

The topology of orientable (2 + 1)d spacetimes can be captured by certain lumps of non-trivial topology called topological geons. They are the topological analogues of conventional solitons. We give a description of topological geons where the degrees of freedom related to topology are separated from the complete theory that contains metric (dynamical) degrees of freedom. The formalism also allows us to investigate processes of quantum topology change. They correspond to creation and annihilation of quantum geons. Selection rules for such processes are derived.Comment: LaTeX file, 33 pages, 10 postscript figures, some typos corrected, references updated, and other minor change

Seismic strengthening of beam-column joints with multidirectional CFRP laminates

An experimental program was carried out to analyse the potentialities of a technique based on the use of multidirectional CFRP laminates (MDL-CFRP) for the seismic repair and strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) beam-column joints. This experimental program comprises cyclic tests on three full-scale RC joints, representative of interior beam-column connections in buildings. The joints were initially submitted to a cyclic test inducing a damage pattern representative of a seismic event. Subsequently, they were repaired and strengthened with MDL-CFRP. The strengthened joints were then tested for the same loading history of the original ones up to their failure. The adopted strengthening technique uses the MDL-CFRP that are simultaneously glued and anchored to the concrete surfaces. This technique is called Mechanically Fastened and Externally Bonded Reinforcement (MF-EBR). In the present study, the effectiveness of two different strengthening configurations was investigated. The tests are described and the main results are presented and analyzed

Differential mesenteric fat deposition in bovines fed on silage or concentrate is independent of glycerol membrane permeability

© The Animal Consortium 2011In the meat industry, the manipulation of fat deposition in cattle is of pivotal importance to improve production efficiency, carcass composition and ultimately meat quality. There is an increasing interest in the identification of key factors and molecular mechanisms responsible for the development of specific fat depots. This study aimed at elucidating the influence of breed and diet on adipose tissue membrane permeability and fluidity and their interplay on fat deposition in bovines. Two Portuguese autochthonous breeds, Alentejana and Barrosã, recognized as late- and early-maturing breeds, respectively, were chosen to examine the effects of breed and diet on fat deposition and on adipose membrane composition and permeability. Twenty-four male bovines from these breeds were fed on silage-based or concentrate-based diets for 11 months. Animals were slaughtered to determine their live slaughter and hot carcass weights, as well as weights of subcutaneous and visceral adipose depots. Mesenteric fat depots were excised and used to isolate adipocyte membrane vesicles where cholesterol content, fatty acid profile as well as permeability and fluidity were determined. Total accumulation of neither subcutaneous nor visceral fat was influenced by breed. In contrast, mesenteric and omental fat depots weights were higher in concentrate-fed bulls relative to silage-fed animals. Membrane fluidity and permeability to water and glycerol in mesenteric adipose tissue were found to be independent of breed and diet. Moreover, the deposition of cholesterol and unsaturated fatty acids, which may influence membrane properties, were unchanged among experimental groups. Adipose membrane lipids from the mesenteric fat depot of ruminants were rich in saturated fatty acids, and unaffected by polyunsaturated fatty acids dietary levels. Our results provide evidence against the involvement of cellular membrane permeability to glycerol on fat accumulation in mesenteric fat tissue of concentrate-fed bovines, which is consistent with the unchanged membrane lipid profile found among experimental groups.This study was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through grant PTDC/CVT/2006/66114 and individual fellowships to Ana P. Martins (SFRH/BD/2009/65046), Ana S. H. Costa (SFRH/BD/2009/61068) and Susana V. Martins (SFRH/BPD/2009/63019). Paula A. Lopes is a researcher from the program ‘‘Ciência 2008’’ from FC

Perturbatively improving renormalization constants

Renormalization factors relate the observables obtained on the lattice to their measured counterparts in the continuum in a suitable renormalization scheme. They have to be computed very precisely which requires a careful treatment of lattice artifacts. In this work we present a method to suppress these artifacts by subtracting one-loop contributions proportional to the square of the lattice spacing calculated in lattice perturbation theory.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, LATTICE 201

Statistical analysis of Ni nanowires breaking processes: a numerical simulation study

A statistical analysis of the breaking behavior of Ni nanowires is presented. Using molecular dynamic simulations, we have determined the time evolution of both the nanowire atomic structure and its minimum cross section (Sm(t)). Accumulating thousands of independent breaking events, Sm histograms are built and used to study the influence of the temperature, the crystalline stretching direction and the initial nanowire size. The proportion of monomers, dimers and more complex structures at the latest stages of the breaking process are calculated, finding important differences among results obtained for different nanowire orientations and sizes. Three main cases have been observed. (A) [111] stretching direction and large nanowire sizes: the wire evolves from more complex structures to monomers and dimers prior its rupture; well ordered structures is presented during the breaking process. (B) Large nanowires stretched along the [100] and [110] directions: the system mainly breaks from complex structures (low probability of finding monomers and dimers), having disordered regions during their breakage; at room temperature, a huge histogram peak around Sm=5 appears, showing the presence of long staggered pentagonal Ni wires with ...-5-1-5-... structure. (C) Initial wire size is small: strong size effects independently on the temperature and stretching direction. Finally, the local structure around monomers and dimmers do not depend on the stretching direction. These configurations differ from those usually chosen in static studies of conductance.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figure

Modelos simplificados para a avaliação de estruturas existentes de B.A. e optimização do seu reforço

O estudo e desenvolvimento de metodologias simplificadas para a análise nãolinear dinâmica de estruturas irregulares, e, o desenvolvimento de ferramentas numéricas para a optimização de reforço têm um papel principal na avaliação e reforço de estruturas. Neste artigo é proposta uma metodologia simplificada para a análise dinâmica não-linear de edifícios baseada no cálculo espectral multi-modal da resposta sísmica. Esta metodologia simples fornece bons resultados, mesmo na análise de estruturas irregulares e constitui-se como uma ferramenta essencial para a optimização do reforço de edifícios existentes

Far Infrared Slab Lensing and Subwavelength Imaging in Crystal Quartz

We examine the possibility of using negative refraction stemming from the phonon response in an anisotropic crystal to create a simple slab lens with plane parallel sides, and show that imaging from such a lens should be possible at room temperature despite the effects of absorption that are inevitably present due to phonon damping. In particular, we consider the case of crystal quartz, a system for which experimental measurements consistent with all-angle negative refraction have already been demonstrated. Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of subwavelength imaging from such materials, and show that it should be possible for certain configurations.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure