289 research outputs found
Calibration of pelagic stereo-BRUVs and scientific longline surveys for sampling sharks
Our understanding of the ecology of sharks and other highly mobile marine species often relies on fishery-dependent data or extractive fishery-independent techniques that can result in catchability and size-selectivity biases. Pelagic Baited Remote Underwater stereo-Video Systems (pelagic stereo-BRUVs) provide a standardized, non-destructive and fishery-independent approach to estimate biodiversity measures of fish assemblages in the water column. However, the performance of this novel method has not yet been assessed relative to other standard sampling techniques. We compared the catch composition, relative abundance and length distribution of fish assemblages sampled using pelagic stereo-BRUVs and conventional scientific longline surveys. In particular, we focused on sharks of the family Carcharhinidae (requiem sharks) to assess the sampling effectiveness of this novel technique along a latitudinal gradient off the coast of Western Australia. We calibrated the sampling effort required for each technique to obtain equivalent samples of the target species and discuss the advantages, limitations and potential use of these methods to study highly mobile species.The proportion of sharks sampled by pelagic stereo-BRUVs and scientific longline surveys was comparable across the latitudinal gradient. Carcharhinus plumbeus was the most abundant species sampled by both the techniques. Longline surveys selected larger individuals of the family Carcharhinidae in comparison with the length distribution data obtained from pelagic stereo-BRUVs. However, the relative abundance estimates (catch per unit of effort) from the pelagic stereo-BRUVs were comparable to those from 5 to 30 longline hooks. Pelagic stereo-BRUVs can be calibrated to standard techniques in order to study the species composition, behaviour, relative abundance and size distribution of highly mobile fish assemblages at broad spatial and temporal scales. This technique offers a non-destructive fishery-independent approach that can be implemented in areas that may be closed to fishing and is suitable for studies on rare or threatened species
Chiral effective theory predictions for deuteron form factor ratios at low Q^2
We use chiral effective theory to predict the deuteron form factor ratio
G_C/G_Q as well as ratios of deuteron to nucleon form factors. These ratios are
calculated to next-to-next-to-leading order. At this order the chiral expansion
for the NN isoscalar charge operator (including consistently calculated 1/M
corrections) is a parameter-free prediction of the effective theory. Use of
this operator in conjunction with NLO and NNLO chiral effective theory wave
functions produces results that are consistent with extant experimental data
for Q^2 < 0.35 GeV^2. These wave functions predict a deuteron quadrupole moment
G_Q(Q^2=0)=0.278-0.282 fm^2-with the variation arising from short-distance
contributions to this quantity. The variation is of the same size as the
discrepancy between the theoretical result and the experimental value. This
motivates the renormalization of G_Q via a two-nucleon operator that couples to
quadrupole photons. After that renormalization we obtain a robust prediction
for the shape of G_C/G_Q at Q^2 < 0.3 GeV^2. This allows us to make precise,
model-independent predictions for the values of this ratio that will be
measured at the lower end of the kinematic range explored at BLAST. We also
present results for the ratio G_C/G_M.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figure
Radio emission of extensive air shower at CODALEMA: Polarization of the radio emission along the v*B vector
Cosmic rays extensive air showers (EAS) are associated with transient radio
emission, which could provide an efficient new detection method of high energy
cosmic rays, combining a calorimetric measurement with a high duty cycle. The
CODALEMA experiment, installed at the Radio Observatory in Nancay, France, is
investigating this phenomenon in the 10^17 eV region. One challenging point is
the understanding of the radio emission mechanism. A first observation
indicating a linear relation between the electric field produced and the cross
product of the shower axis with the geomagnetic field direction has been
presented (B. Revenu, this conference). We will present here other strong
evidences for this linear relationship, and some hints on its physical origin.Comment: Contribution to the 31st International Cosmic Ray Conference, Lodz,
Poland, July 2009. 4 pages, 8 figures. v2: Typo fixed, arxiv references adde
Radiative corrections to polarization observables in elastic electron-deuteron scattering in leptonic variables
The model--independent QED radiative corrections to polarization observables
in elastic scattering of unpolarized and longitudinally--polarized electron
beam by the deuteron target have been calculated in leptonic variables. The
experimental setup when the deuteron target is arbitrarily polarized is
considered and the procedure for applying derived results to the vector or
tensor polarization of the recoil deuteron is discussed. The basis of the
calculations consists of the account for all essential Feynman diagrams which
results in the form of the Drell-Yan representation for the cross-section and
use of the covariant parametrization of the deuteron polarization state. The
numerical estimates of the radiative corrections are given for the case when
event selection allows the undetected particles (photons and electron-positron
pairs) and the restriction on the lost invariant mass is used.Comment: 43 pages,3 figures. To be published in ZhTEF. revised 14.02.2012.
arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:nucl-ex/0002003 by other author
Deuteron-Proton Elastic Scattering at Intermediate Energies
The deuteron-proton elastic scattering has been studied in the multiple
scattering expansion formalism. The essential attention has been given to such
relativistic problem as a deuteron wave function in a moving frame and
transformation of spin states due to Wigner rotation. Parameterization of the
nucleon-nucleon -matrix has been used to take the off-energy shell effects
into account. The vector, and tensor, , analyzing powers of the
deuteron have been calculated at two deuteron kinetic energies: 395 MeV and
1200 MeV. The obtained results are compared with the experimental data
Influenza nucleoprotein delivered with aluminium salts protects mice from an influenza virus that expresses an altered nucleoprotein sequence
Influenza virus poses a difficult challenge for protective immunity. This virus is adept at altering its surface proteins, the proteins that are the targets of neutralizing antibody. Consequently, each year a new vaccine must be developed to combat the current recirculating strains. A universal influenza vaccine that primes specific memory cells that recognise conserved parts of the virus could prove to be effective against both annual influenza variants and newly emergent potentially pandemic strains. Such a vaccine will have to contain a safe and effective adjuvant that can be used in individuals of all ages. We examine protection from viral challenge in mice vaccinated with the nucleoprotein from the PR8 strain of influenza A, a protein that is highly conserved across viral subtypes. Vaccination with nucleoprotein delivered with a universally used and safe adjuvant, composed of insoluble aluminium salts, provides protection against viruses that either express the same or an altered version of nucleoprotein. This protection correlated with the presence of nucleoprotein specific CD8 T cells in the lungs of infected animals at early time points after infection. In contrast, immunization with NP delivered with alum and the detoxified LPS adjuvant, monophosphoryl lipid A, provided some protection to the homologous viral strain but no protection against infection by influenza expressing a variant nucleoprotein. Together, these data point towards a vaccine solution for all influenza A subtypes
Poincare' Covariant Current Operator and Elastic Electron-Deuteron Scattering in the Front-form Hamiltonian Dynamics
The deuteron electromagnetic form factors, and , and the
tensor polarization , are unambiguously calculated within the
front-form relativistic Hamiltonian dynamics, by using a novel current, built
up from one-body terms, which fulfills Poincar\'e, parity and time reversal
covariance, together with Hermiticity and the continuity equation. A
simultaneous description of the experimental data for the three deuteron form
factors is achieved up to . At higher momentum transfer,
different nucleon-nucleon interactions strongly affect , , and
and the effects of the interactions can be related to -state
kinetic energy in the deuteron. Different nucleon form factor models have huge
effects on , smaller effects on and essentially none on
.Comment: 31 pages + 16 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Exclusive Neutral Pion Electroproduction in the Deeply Virtual Regime
We present measurements of the ep->ep pi^0 cross section extracted at two
values of four-momentum transfer Q^2=1.9 GeV^2 and Q^2=2.3 GeV^2 at Jefferson
Lab Hall A. The kinematic range allows to study the evolution of the extracted
hadronic tensor as a function of Q^2 and W. Results will be confronted with
Regge inspired calculations and GPD predictions. An intepretation of our data
within the framework of semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering has also been
attempted
Climate-driven regime shift of a temperate marine ecosystem.
Ecosystem reconfigurations arising from climate-driven changes in species distributions are expected to have profound ecological, social, and economic implications. Here we reveal a rapid climate-driven regime shift of Australian temperate reef communities, which lost their defining kelp forests and became dominated by persistent seaweed turfs. After decades of ocean warming, extreme marine heat waves forced a 100-kilometer range contraction of extensive kelp forests and saw temperate species replaced by seaweeds, invertebrates, corals, and fishes characteristic of subtropical and tropical waters. This community-wide tropicalization fundamentally altered key ecological processes, suppressing the recovery of kelp forests
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