281 research outputs found
Predicting the distributions of under-recorded Odonata using species distribution models
1. Absences in distributional data may result either from the true absence of a species or from a false absence due to lack of recording effort. I use general linear models (GLMs) and species distribution models (SDMs) to investigate this problem in North American Odonata and present a potential solution. 2. I use multi-model selection methods based on Akaike's information criterion to evaluate the ability of water-energy variables, human population density, and recording effort to explain patterns of odonate diversity in the USA and Canada using GLMs. Water-energy variables explain a large proportion of the variance in odonate diversity, but the residuals of these models are significantly related to recorder effort. 3. I then create SDMs for 176species that are found solely in the USA and Canada using model averaging of eight different methods. These give predictions of hypothetical true distributions of each of the 176species based on climate variables, which I compare with observed distributions to identify areas where potential under-recording may occur. 4. Under-recording appears to be highest in northern Canada, Alaska, and Quebec, as well as the interior of the USA. The proportion of predicted species that have been observed is related to recorder effort and population density. Maps for individual species have been made available online () to facilitate recording in the future. 5. This analysis has illustrated a problem with current odonate recording in the form of unbalanced recorder effort. However, the SDM approach also provides the solution, targeting recorder effort in such a way as to maximise returns from limited resources
Deuteron Electroweak Disintegration
We study the deuteron electrodisintegration with inclusion of the neutral
currents focusing on the helicity asymmetry of the exclusive cross section in
coplanar geometry. We stress that a measurement of this asymmetry in the quasi
elastic region is of interest for an experimental determination of the weak
form factors of the nucleon, allowing one to obtain the parity violating
electron neutron asymmetry. Numerically, we consider the reaction at low
momentum transfer and discuss the sensitivity of the helicity asymmetry to the
strangeness radius and magnetic moment. The problems coming from the finite
angular acceptance of the spectrometers are also considered.Comment: 30 pages, Latex, 7 eps figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.C e-mail:
[email protected] , [email protected]
Parity violating target asymmetry in electron - proton scattering
We analyze the parity-violating (PV) components of the analyzing power in
elastic electron-proton scattering and discuss their sensitivity to the strange
quark contributions to the proton weak form factors. We point out that the
component of the analyzing power along the momentum transfer is independent of
the electric weak form factor and thus compares favorably with the PV beam
asymmetry for a determination of the strangeness magnetic moment. We also show
that the transverse component could be used for constraining the strangeness
radius. Finally, we argue that a measurement of both components could give
experimental information on the strangeness axial charge.Comment: 24 pages, Latex, 5 eps figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.
Relativistic description of electron scattering on the deuteron
Within a quasipotential framework a relativistic analysis is presented of the
deuteron current. Assuming that the singularities from the nucleon propagators
are important, a so-called equal time approximation of the current is
constructed. This is applied to both elastic and inelastic electron scattering.
As dynamical model the relativistic one boson exchange model is used.
Reasonable agreement is found with a previous relativistic calculation of the
elastic electromagnetic form factors of the deuteron. For the unpolarized
inelastic electron scattering effects of final state interactions and
relativistic corrections to the structure functions are considered in the
impulse approximation. Two specific kinematic situations are studied as
examples.Comment: (19 pages in revtex + 15 figures not included, available upon
request.) report THU-93-10
Parity-Violating Excitation of the \Delta(1232): Hadron Structure and New Physics
We consider prospects for studying the parity-violating (PV) electroweak
excitation of the \Delta(1232) resonance with polarized electron scattering.
Given present knowledge of Standard Model parameters, such PV experiments could
allow a determination of the N -> \Delta electroweak helicity amplitudes. We
discuss the experimental feasibility and theoretical interpretability of such a
determination as well as the prospective implications for hadron structure
theory. We also analyze the extent to which a PV N -> \Delta measurement could
constrain various extensions of the Standard Model.Comment: 43 pages, RevTex, 8 PS figures, uses epsf.sty, rotate.sty, version to
appear in Nucl. Phys. A, main points emphasized, some typos correcte
Modeling Kelvin wave cascades in superfluid helium
We study two different types of simplified models for Kelvin wave turbulence on quantized vortex lines in superfluids near zero temperature. Our first model is obtained from a truncated expansion of the Local Induction Approximation (Truncated-LIA) and it is shown to possess the same scalings and the essential behaviour as the full Biot-Savart model, being much simpler than the later and, therefore, more amenable to theoretical and numerical investigations. The Truncated-LIA model supports six-wave interactions and dual cascades, which are clearly demonstrated via the direct numerical simulation of this model in the present paper. In particular, our simulations confirm presence of the weak turbulence regime and the theoretically predicted spectra for the direct energy cascade and the inverse wave action cascade. The second type of model we study, the Differential Approximation Model (DAM), takes a further drastic simplification by assuming locality of interactions in k-space via using a differential closure that preserves the main scalings of the Kelvin wave dynamics. DAMs are even more amenable to study and they form a useful tool by providing simple analytical solutions in the cases when extra physical effects are present, e.g. forcing by reconnections, friction dissipation and phonon radiation. We study these models numerically and test their theoretical predictions, in particular the formation of the stationary spectra, and closeness of numerics for the higher-order DAM to the analytical predictions for the lower-order DAM
Students’ attitudes towards science: a long term perspective
In this study the attitudes of four pupils, two boys and two girls, towards science are followed over the course of six years. Data were obtained in two ways. First, and principally, by annual interviews undertaken in the pupils' homes throughout their science education from the ages of 11 to 16 years, and at the age of 17, one year after the ending of their compulsory schooling; secondly, by means of observations made during their science lessons in an English state (non-fee-paying) school from 1994 to 1999. Each pupil's attitudes towards science and their experiences of their school science education are described by means of quotations and episodic biographical vignettes. These allow us to track the ways in which the pupils' attitudes about science developed over the course of the study. The findings help to shed light on the reasons why many pupils lose interest in science during the course of their secondary science education
Superscaling of Inclusive Electron Scattering from Nuclei
We investigate the degree to which the concept of superscaling, initially
developed within the framework of the relativistic Fermi gas model, applies to
inclusive electron scattering from nuclei. We find that data obtained from the
low energy loss side of the quasielastic peak exhibit the superscaling
property, i.e., the scaling functions f(\psi') are not only independent of
momentum transfer (the usual type of scaling: scaling of the first kind), but
coincide for A \geq 4 when plotted versus a dimensionless scaling variable
\psi' (scaling of the second kind). We use this behavior to study as yet poorly
understood properties of the inclusive response at large electron energy loss.Comment: 33 pages, 12 color EPS figures, LaTeX2e using BoxedEPSF macros; email
to [email protected]
Hyaluronic Acid Enhances Gene Delivery into the Cochlea
Abstract Cochlear gene therapy can be a new avenue for the treatment of severe hearing loss by inducing regeneration or phenotypic rescue. One necessary step to establish this therapy is the development of a safe and feasible inoculation surgery, ideally without drilling the bony cochlear wall. The round window membrane (RWM) is accessible in the middle-ear space, but viral vectors placed on this membrane do not readily cross the membrane to the cochlear tissues. In an attempt to enhance permeability of the RWM, we applied hyaluronic acid (HA), a nontoxic and biodegradable reagent, onto the RWM of guinea pigs, prior to delivering an adenovirus carrying enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) reporter gene (Ad-eGFP) at the same site. We examined distribution of eGFP in the cochlea 1 week after treatment, comparing delivery of the vector via the RWM, with or without HA, to delivery by a cochleostomy into the perilymph. We found that cochlear tissue treated with HA-assisted delivery of Ad-eGFP demonstrated wider expression of transgenes in cochlear cells than did tissue treated by cochleostomy injection. HA-assisted vector delivery facilitated expression in cells lining the scala media, which are less accessible and not transduced after perilymphatic injection. We assessed auditory function by measuring auditory brainstem responses and determined that thresholds were significantly better in the ears treated with HA-assisted Ad-eGFP placement on the RWM as compared with cochleostomy. Together, these data demonstrate that HA-assisted delivery of viral vectors provides an atraumatic and clinically feasible method to introduce transgenes into cochlear cells, thereby enhancing both research methods and future clinical application.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98453/1/hum%2E2011%2E086.pd
Strong evidences of hadron acceleration in Tycho's Supernova Remnant
Very recent gamma-ray observations of G120.1+1.4 (Tycho's) supernova remnant
(SNR) by Fermi-LAT and VERITAS provided new fundamental pieces of information
for understanding particle acceleration and non-thermal emission in SNRs. We
want to outline a coherent description of Tycho's properties in terms of SNR
evolution, shock hydrodynamics and multi-wavelength emission by accounting for
particle acceleration at the forward shock via first order Fermi mechanism. We
adopt here a quick and reliable semi-analytical approach to non-linear
diffusive shock acceleration which includes magnetic field amplification due to
resonant streaming instability and the dynamical backreaction on the shock of
both cosmic rays (CRs) and self-generated magnetic turbulence. We find that
Tycho's forward shock is accelerating protons up to at least 500 TeV,
channelling into CRs about the 10 per cent of its kinetic energy. Moreover, the
CR-induced streaming instability is consistent with all the observational
evidences indicating a very efficient magnetic field amplification (up to ~300
micro Gauss). In such a strong magnetic field the velocity of the Alfv\'en
waves scattering CRs in the upstream is expected to be enhanced and to make
accelerated particles feel an effective compression factor lower than 4, in
turn leading to an energy spectrum steeper than the standard prediction
{\propto} E^-2. This latter effect is crucial to explain the GeV-to-TeV
gamma-ray spectrum as due to the decay of neutral pions produced in nuclear
collisions between accelerated nuclei and the background gas. The
self-consistency of such an hadronic scenario, along with the fact that the
concurrent leptonic mechanism cannot reproduce both the shape and the
normalization of the detected the gamma-ray emission, represents the first
clear and direct radiative evidence that hadron acceleration occurs efficiently
in young Galactic SNRs.Comment: Minor changes. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic
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