1,994 research outputs found
Upland aspen/birch and black spruce stands and their litter and soil properties in interior Alaska
Aggregations of the sandy-beach isopod, Tylos granulatus: adaptation or incidental-effect?
Spatial aggregations of organisms are common in nature. Aggregations have often been thought to play important roles in mate-finding, predator avoidance, reduction of water loss, or the acquisition of food and other resources, yet few empirical studies have been done on the processes that lead to aggregation We studied aggregations of the giant isopod Tylos granulatus, which lives as a scavenger in the intertidal zone of sandy beaches on the west coast of South Africa. Individuals emerge with the receding tide leaving exit holes, then forage for about two hours before returning to the vicinity of the high-water mark where they aggregate to bury themselves, leaving behind cone-shaped mounds. Our observations showed there was no correlation between aggregations and the availability of food, and that manipulating the position of food had no effect on the aggregations. Reproduction, which is seasonal and synchronous, also seems unlikely to explain the year-round aggregations. Experiments showed T. granulatus preferentially burrows in existing holes or mounds rather than creating new ones. The advantages of this are analysed in terms of energy conservation, and as a means of reducing risks of exposure to predators or being swept away by the incoming tide. Whatever the benefit, the preferential use of existing holes can incidentally lead to aggregation, which may not itself have any adaptive function
Dynamics of Retinal Studied by 2H NMR Relaxation Underlie Multiscale Conformational Changes in Rhodopsin Activation
Blood polymorphonuclear leukocyte chemotaxis during experimental escherichia-coli bovine mastitis.
The relationship between the severity of experimental Escherichia coli mastitis and the chemotactic response of blood polymorphonuclear leukocytes was investigated before and during mastitis. Experimental E. coli mastitis was induced in 10 healthy cows by inoculation of the rear right quarters with 10(3) cfu of E. coli. Cows were classified into two groups based on the severity of the mastitis. Bacterial growth in the inoculated quarter was used as parameter that indicated severity.
Before and during experimental mastitis, the chemotactic response and the number of circulating polymorphonuclear leukocytes were greater for the moderately diseased cows than for the severely diseased cows. During the first 24 h of the experimental mastitis, the chemotactic response of polymorphonuclear leukocytes decreased in both groups. Recovery of the chemotactic response of white blood cells was more rapid in moderately diseased cows than in severely diseased cows. Possibly, the larger proportion of band neutrophils (the less chemotactically active band neutrophils) partially accounts for the lower chemotactic response of the circulating polymorphonuclear leukocytes during experimental mastitis in the severely diseased cows
Asteroseismology across the HR diagram
High precision spectroscopy provides essential information necessary to fully
exploit the opportunity of probing the internal structure of stars using
Asteroseismology. In this work we discuss how Asteroseismology combined with
High Precision Spectroscopy can establish a detailed view on stellar structure
and evolution of stars across the HR diagramme.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures - to appear in Precision Spectroscopy in
Astrophysics, (Eds) L. Pasquini, M. Romaniello, N.C. Santos, and A. Correia,
ESO Astrophysics Symposia, 200
Quantum cosmological perfect fluid model and its classical analogue
The quantization of gravity coupled to a perfect fluid model leads to a
Schr\"odinger-like equation, where the matter variable plays the role of time.
The wave function can be determined, in the flat case, for an arbitrary
barotropic equation of state ; solutions can also be found for
the radiative non-flat case. The wave packets are constructed, from which the
expectation value for the scale factor is determined. The quantum scenarios
reveal a bouncing Universe, free from singularity. We show that such quantum
cosmological perfect fluid models admit a universal classical analogue,
represented by the addition, to the ordinary classical model, of a repulsive
stiff matter fluid. The meaning of the existence of this universal classical
analogue is discussed. The quantum cosmological perfect fluid model is, for a
flat spatial section, formally equivalent to a free particle in ordinary
quantum mechanics, for any value of , while the radiative non-flat case
is equivalent to the harmonic oscillator. The repulsive fluid needed to
reproduce the quantum results is the same in both cases.Comment: Latex file, 13 page
A QCD Analysis of the Mass Structure of the Nucleon
{}From the deep-inelastic momentum sum rule and the trace anomaly of the
energy-momentum tensor, I derive a separation of the nucleon mass into the
contributions of the quark and gluon kinetic and potential energies, the quark
masses, and the trace anomaly.Comment: 9 pages, MIT-CTP #2368, revtex with 1 tabl
On an asymptotic estimate of the -loop correction in perturbative QCD
A recently proposed method of estimating the asymptotic behaviour of QCD
perturbation theory coefficients is critically reviewed and shown to contain
numerous invalid mathematical operations and unsubstantiated assumptions. We
discuss in detail why this procedure, based solely on renormalization group
(RG) considerations and analyticity constraints, cannot lead to such estimates.
We stress the importance of correct renormalization scheme (RS) dependence of
any meaningful asymptotic estimate and argue that the unambiguous summation of
QCD perturbation expansions for physical quantities requires information from
outside of perturbation theory itself.Comment: PRA-HEP-92/17, Latex, 20 pages of text plus 5 figures contained in 5
separate PS files. Four of them (corresponding to Figs.1,2,3,5) are appended
at the end of this file, the (somewhat larger one) corresponding to Fig.4 can
be obtained from any of the mentioned E-mail addresses upon request. E-mail
connections: J. Chyla - [email protected]) or h1kchy@dhhdesy3 P. Kolar -
[email protected]
Application of Minimal Subtraction Renormalization to Crossover Behavior near the He Liquid-Vapor Critical Point
Parametric expressions are used to calculate the isothermal susceptibility,
specific heat, order parameter, and correlation length along the critical
isochore and coexistence curve from the asymptotic region to crossover region.
These expressions are based on the minimal-subtraction renormalization scheme
within the model. Using two adjustable parameters in these
expressions, we fit the theory globally to recently obtained experimental
measurements of isothermal susceptibility and specific heat along the critical
isochore and coexistence curve, and early measurements of coexistence curve and
light scattering intensity along the critical isochore of He near its
liquid-vapor critical point. The theory provides good agreement with these
experimental measurements within the reduced temperature range
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