2,527 research outputs found
Estimating the active space of male koala bellows: propagation of cues to size and identity in a Eucalyptus forest
Examining how increasing distance affects the information content of vocal signals is fundamental for determining the active space of a given species’ vocal communication system. In the current study we played back male koala bellows in a Eucalyptus forest to determine the extent that individual classification of male koala bellows becomes less accurate over distance, and also to quantify how individually distinctive acoustic features of bellows and size-related information degrade over distance. Our results show that the formant frequencies of bellows derived from Linear Predictive Coding can be used to classify calls to male koalas over distances of 1–50 m. Further analysis revealed that the upper formant frequencies and formant frequency spacing were the most stable acoustic features of male bellows as they propagated through the Eucalyptus canopy. Taken together these findings suggest that koalas could recognise known individuals at distances of up to 50 m and indicate that they should attend to variation in the upper formant frequencies and formant frequency spacing when assessing the identity of callers. Furthermore, since the formant frequency spacing is also a cue to male body size in this species and its variation over distance remained very low compared to documented inter-individual variation, we suggest that male koalas would still be reliably classified as small, medium or large by receivers at distances of up to 150 m
Spin-driven Phase Transitions in ZnCrSe and ZnCrS Probed by High Resolution Synchrotron X-ray and Neutron Powder Diffraction
The crystal and magnetic structures of the spinel compounds ZnCrS and
ZnCrSe were investigated by high resolution powder synchrotron and
neutron diffraction. ZnCrSe exhibits a first order phase transition at
K into an incommensurate helical magnetic structure. Magnetic
fluctuations above are coupled to the crystal lattice as manifested by
negative thermal expansion. Both, the complex magnetic structure and the
anomalous structural behavior can be related to magnetic frustration.
Application of an external magnetic field shifts the ordering temperature and
the regime of negative thermal expansion towards lower temperatures. Thereby,
the spin ordering changes into a conical structure. ZnCrS shows two
magnetic transitions at K and K that are accompanied by
structural phase transitions. The crystal structure transforms from the cubic
spinel-type (space group \={3}) at high temperatures in the paramagnetic
state, via a tetragonally distorted intermediate phase (space group /
) for into a low temperature orthorhombic phase
(space group ) for . The cooperative displacement of
sulfur ions by exchange striction is the origin of these structural phase
transitions. The low temperature structure of ZnCrS is identical to the
orthorhombic structure of magnetite below the Verwey transition. When applying
a magnetic field of 5 T the system shows an induced negative thermal expansion
in the intermediate magnetic phase as observed in ZnCrSe.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures, to be published in PR
Duplication of the gamma-globin gene mediated by L1 long interspersed repetitive elements in an early ancestor of simian primates.
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An ANGPTL4-ceramide-protein kinase Cζ axis mediates chronic glucocorticoid exposure-induced hepatic steatosis and hypertriglyceridemia in mice.
Chronic or excess glucocorticoid exposure causes lipid disorders such as hypertriglyceridemia and hepatic steatosis. Angptl4 (angiopoietin-like 4), a primary target gene of the glucocorticoid receptor in hepatocytes and adipocytes, is required for hypertriglyceridemia and hepatic steatosis induced by the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone. Angptl4 has also been shown to be required for dexamethasone-induced hepatic ceramide production. Here, we further examined the role of ceramide-mediated signaling in hepatic dyslipidemia caused by chronic glucocorticoid exposure. Using a stable isotope-labeling technique, we found that dexamethasone treatment induced the rate of hepatic de novo lipogenesis and triglyceride synthesis. These dexamethasone responses were compromised in Angptl4-null mice (Angptl4-/-). Treating mice with myriocin, an inhibitor of the rate-controlling enzyme of de novo ceramide synthesis, serine palmitoyltransferase long-chain base subunit 1 (SPTLC1)/SPTLC2, decreased dexamethasone-induced plasma and liver triglyceride levels in WT but not Angptl4-/- mice. We noted similar results in mice infected with adeno-associated virus-expressing small hairpin RNAs targeting Sptlc2. Protein phosphatase 2 phosphatase activator (PP2A) and protein kinase Cζ (PKCζ) are two known downstream effectors of ceramides. We found here that mice treated with an inhibitor of PKCζ, 2-acetyl-1,3-cyclopentanedione (ACPD), had lower levels of dexamethasone-induced triglyceride accumulation in plasma and liver. However, small hairpin RNA-mediated targeting of the catalytic PP2A subunit (Ppp2ca) had no effect on dexamethasone responses on plasma and liver triglyceride levels. Overall, our results indicate that chronic dexamethasone treatment induces an ANGPTL4-ceramide-PKCζ axis that activates hepatic de novo lipogenesis and triglyceride synthesis, resulting in lipid disorders
The UK's Global Health Respiratory Network: Improving respiratory health of the world's poorest through research collaborations.
Respiratory disorders are responsible for considerable morbidity, health care utilisation, societal costs and approximately one in five deaths worldwide [1-4]. Yet, despite this substantial health and societal burden – which particularly affects the world’s poorest populations and as such is a major contributor to global health inequalities – respiratory disorders have historically not received the
policy priority they warrant. For example, despite causing an estimated 1000 deaths per day, less than half of the world’s countries collect data on asthma prevalence (http://www.globalasthmareport.org/). This
is true for both communicable and non-communicable respiratory disorders, many of which are either amenable to treatment or preventable
Photon number resolution using a time-multiplexed single-photon detector
Photon number resolving detectors are needed for a variety of applications
including linear-optics quantum computing. Here we describe the use of
time-multiplexing techniques that allows ordinary single photon detectors, such
as silicon avalanche photodiodes, to be used as photon number-resolving
detectors. The ability of such a detector to correctly measure the number of
photons for an incident number state is analyzed. The predicted results for an
incident coherent state are found to be in good agreement with the results of a
proof-of-principle experimental demonstration.Comment: REVTeX4, 6 pages, 8 eps figures, v2: minor changes, v3: changes in
response to referee report, appendix added, 1 reference adde
Roaring high and low: composition and possible functions of the Iberian stag's vocal repertoire
We provide a detailed description of the rutting vocalisations of free-ranging male Iberian deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus, Hilzheimer 1909), a geographically isolated and morphologically differentiated subspecies of red deer Cervus elaphus. We combine spectrographic examinations, spectral analyses and automated classifications to identify different call types, and
compare the composition of the vocal repertoire with that of other red deer subspecies. Iberian stags give bouts of roars (and more rarely, short series of barks) that are typically composed of two different types of calls. Long Common Roars are mostly given at the beginning or at the end of the bout, and are characterised by a high fundamental frequency (F0) resulting in poorly defined formant frequencies but a relatively high amplitude. In contrast, Short Common Roars are typically given in the middle or at the end of the bout, and are characterised by a lower F0 resulting in relatively well defined vocal tract resonances, but low amplitude. While we did not identify entirely Harsh Roars (as described in the Scottish red
deer subspecies (Cervus elaphus scoticus), a small percentage of Long Common Roars contained segments of deterministic chaos. We suggest that the evolution of two clearly distinct types of Common Roars may reflect divergent selection pressures favouring either vocal efficiency in high pitched roars or the communication of body size in low-pitched, high spectral density roars highlighting vocal tract resonances. The clear divergence of the Iberian red deer vocal repertoire from those of other documented European red deer populations reinforces the status of this geographical variant as a distinct subspecies
Direct Measurement of the System-Environment Coupling as a Tool For Understanding Decoherence and Dynamical Decoupling
Decoherence is a major obstacle to any practical implementation of quantum
information processing. One of the leading strategies to reduce decoherence is
dynamical decoupling --- the use of an external field to average out the effect
of the environment. The decoherence rate under any control field can be
calculated if the spectrum of the coupling to the environment is known. We
present a direct measurement of the bath coupling spectrum in an ensemble of
optically trapped ultracold atoms, by applying a spectrally narrow-band control
field. The measured spectrum follows a Lorentzian shape at low frequencies, but
exhibits non-monotonic features at higher frequencies due to the oscillatory
motion of the atoms in the trap. These features agree with our analytical
models and numerical Monte-Carlo simulations of the collisional bath. From the
inferred bath-coupling spectrum, we predict the performance of well-known
dynamical decoupling sequences: CPMG, UDD and CDD. We then apply these
sequences in experiment and compare the results to predictions, finding good
agreement in the weak-coupling limit. Thus, our work establishes experimentally
the validity of the overlap integral formalism, and is an important step
towards the implementation of an optimal dynamical decoupling sequence for a
given measured bath spectrum.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure
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