422 research outputs found
Elephants can determine ethnicity, gender, and age from acoustic cues in human voices
Animals can accrue direct fitness benefits by accurately classifying predatory threat according to the species of predator and the magnitude of risk associated with an encounter. Human predators present a particularly interesting cognitive challenge, as it is typically the case that different human subgroups pose radically different levels of danger to animals living around them. Although a number of prey species have proved able to discriminate between certain human categories on the basis of visual and olfactory cues, vocalizations potentially provide a much richer source of information. We now use controlled playback experiments to investigate whether family groups of free-ranging African elephants (Loxodonta africana) in Amboseli National Park, Kenya can use acoustic characteristics of speech to make functionally relevant distinctions between human subcategories differing not only in ethnicity but also in sex and age. Our results demonstrate that elephants can reliably discriminate between two different ethnic groups that differ in the level of threat they represent, significantly increasing their probability of defensive bunching and investigative smelling following playbacks of Maasai voices. Moreover, these responses were specific to the sex and age of Maasai presented, with the voices of Maasai women and boys, subcategories that would generally pose little threat, significantly less likely to produce these behavioral responses. Considering the long history and often pervasive predatory threat associated with humans across the globe, it is likely that abilities to precisely identify dangerous subcategories of humans on the basis of subtle voice characteristics could have been selected for in other cognitively advanced animal species
Inelastic Diffraction and Spectroscopy of Very Weakly Bound Clusters
We study the coherent inelastic diffraction of very weakly bound two body
clusters from a material transmission grating. We show that internal
transitions of the clusters can lead to new separate peaks in the diffraction
pattern whose angular positions determine the excitation energies. Using a
quantum mechanical approach to few body scattering theory we determine the
relative peak intensities for the diffraction of the van der Waals dimers
(D_2)_2 and H_2-D_2. Based on the results for these realistic examples we
discuss the possible applications and experimental challenges of this coherent
inelastic diffraction technique.Comment: 15 pages + 5 figures. J. Phys. B (in press
On the Stereochemistry of the Cations in the Doping Block of Superconducting Copper-Oxides
Metal-oxygen complexes containing Cu,- Tl-, Hg-, Bi- and Pb-cations are
electronically active in superconducting copper-oxides by stabilizing single
phases with enhanced , whereas other metal-oxygen complexes deteriorate
copper-oxide superconductivity. Cu, Tl, Hg, Bi, Pb in their actual oxidation
states are closed shell or inert pair ions. Their electronic
configurations have a strong tendency to polarize the oxygen environment. The
closed shell ions with low lying
excitations form linear complexes through hybridization polarizing
the apical oxygens. Comparatively low excitation energies
distinguish from other closed shell
ions deteriorating copper-oxide superconductivity, {\it e.g.} .Comment: 5 pages, uses REVTEX. To be published in: J. Superconductivity, Proc.
Int. Workshop on "Phase Separation, Electronic Inhomogenities and Related
Mechanisms for High T_c Superconductors", Erice (Sicily) 9-15 July 199
Photo- and Electroproduction of Eta Mesons
Eta photo- and electroproduction off the nucleon is investigated in an
effective lagrangian approach that contains Born terms and both vector meson
and nucleon resonance contributions. In particular, we review and develop the
formalism for coincidence experiments with polarization degrees of freedom. The
different response functions appearing in single and double polarization
experiments have been studied. We will present calculations for structure
functions and kinematical conditions that are most sensitive to details of the
lagrangian, in particular with regard to contributions of nucleon resonances
beyond the dominant (1535) resonance.Comment: 24 pages RevTeX/LaTeX2.09, NFSS1, 13 figures (in separate file
(tar,gzip and uue)), accepted for publication in Z. Phys.
Mitochondrial localization of a NADR-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase isoenzyme by using the green fluorescent protein as a marker
To Separate or Not to Separate Investment from Commercial Banking? An Empirical Analysis of Attention Distortion Under Multiple Tasks
The Macroeconomic Effects of the Euro Area's Fiscal Consolidation 2011-2013: A Simulation-Based Approach
The Impact of Social Support Networks on Maternal Employment: A Comparison of West German, East German and Migrant Mothers of Pre-School Children
Self-productivity and complementarities in human development : evidence from MARS
This paper investigates the role of self-productivity and home resources in capability formation from infancy to adolescence. In addition, we study the complementarities between basic cognitive, motor and noncognitive abilities and social as well as academic achievement. Our data are taken from the Mannheim Study of Children at Risk (MARS), an epidemiological cohort study following the long-term outcome of early risk factors. Results indicate that initial risk conditions cumulate and that differences in basic abilities increase during development. Self-productivity rises in the developmental process and complementarities are evident. Noncognitive abilities promote cognitive abilities and social achievement. There is remarkable stability in the distribution of the economic and socio-emotional home resources during the early life cycle. This is presumably a major reason for the evolution of inequality in human development
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