1,204 research outputs found
Assessing the Consequences of Brood Parasitism and Nest Predation On Seasonal Fecundity in Passerine Birds
Brood parasites and nest predators reduce the seasonal fecundity and, hence, the population growth rates of their victims. However, most field studies do not measure directly how parasites and predators decrease seasonal fecundity, but instead measure the impact of these organisms on individual nesting attempts. Because a female may renest after losing a nest to predation, abandoning a parasitized nest, or successfully fledging a brood, knowing how brood parasites and nest predators reduce the number of offspring fledged from individual nesting attempts is not equivalent to knowing their impact on seasonal fecundity. We address this problem by developing a mathematical model that: estimates several parameters describing the natural history of this system, including the brood-parasitism rate, nest-predation rate, and probability of nest abandonment in response to a parasitism event; and extrapolates to seasonal fecundity from these parameters and others describing the length of the breeding season, the timing of events in the nesting cycle, and the productivity of parasitized and unparasitized nests. We also show how different researchers using different observational methodologies to study exactly the same population likely would arrive at noticeably different conclusions regarding the intensity of brood parasitism, and we provide mathematical formulas for comparing among several of these measures of parasitism. Our procedures extend Mayfield's method for calculating nest-success rates from nest-history data in that we simultaneously estimate parameters describing nest predation and brood parasitism, predict seasonal fecundity from these parameters, and provide confidence intervals on all parameter estimates. The model should make the design and interpretation of logistically difficult empirical studies more efficient. It also can be specialized to species affected by nest predators but not brood parasites. We use the model to analyze prairie Warbler (Dendroica discolor) and Black-capped Vireo (Vireo atricapillus) nesting data. We estimate the model's parameters for these species and use the resulting estimates to predict seasonal fecundity. For both species, the predicted seasonal fecundity closely matches the value measured directly.Integrative Biolog
Matrix isolation technique for the study of some factors affecting the partitioning of trace elements
The factors that affect the preferred positions of cations in ionic solid solutions were investigated utilizing vibrational spectroscopy. Solid solutions of the sulfate and chromate ions codoped with La(+3) and Ca(+2) in a KBr host lattice were examined as a function of the polyvalent cation concentration. The cation-anion pairing process was found to be random for Ca(+2), whereas the formation of La(+3)-SO4(-2) ion pairs with a C2 sub v bonding geometry is highly preferential to any type of La(+3)-CrO4(-2) ion pair formation. The relative populations of ion pair site configurations are discussed in terms of an energy-entropy competition model which can be applied to the partition of trace elements during magmatic processes
Activation volume of selected liquid crystals in the density scaling regime
In this paper, we demonstrate and thoroughly analyze the activation volumetric properties of selected liquid crystals in the nematic and crystalline E phases in comparison with those reported for glass-forming liquids. In the analysis, we have employed and evaluated two entropic models (based on either total or configurational entropies) to describe the longitudinal relaxation times of the liquid crystals in the density scaling regime. In this study, we have also exploited two equations of state: volumetric and activation volumetric ones. As a result, we have established that the activation volumetric properties of the selected liquid crystals are quite opposite to such typical properties of glass-forming materials, i.e., the activation volume decreases and the isothermal bulk modulus increases when a liquid crystal is isothermally compressed. Using the model based on the configurational entropy, we suggest that the increasing pressure dependences of the activation volume in isothermal conditions and the negative curvature of the pressure dependences of isothermal longitudinal relaxation times can be related to the formation of antiparallel doublets in the examined liquid crystals. A similar pressure effect on relaxation dynamics may be also observed for other material groups in case of systems, the molecules of which form some supramolecular structures
Bialoruska autokefaliczna cerkiew prawoslawna na emigracji i udzial w jej dzialalnosci duchowienstwa ukrainskiego (Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in exile and participation in its activity of the Ukrainian clergy )
Po zakończeniu II wojny światowej na Zachodzie znalazła się pewna liczba Białorusinów. Za
sprawą emigrantów białoruskich w 1948 roku na terytorium Niemiec doszło do reaktywacji Białoruskiej
Autokefalicznej Cerkwi Prawosławnej. Jej parafie istniały w krajach Europy Zachodniej, obu Ameryk i
Australii. Niebagatelny udział zarówno w reaktywacji, jak i dalszej działalności BAPC wzięło duchowieństwo
ukraińskie. Przede wszystkim w działania na rzecz BAPC czynnie zaangażował się biskup Sergiusz
(Ochotenko), którego działalność jest oceniana bardzo różnie w dostępnej literaturze przedmiotu (After World War II, in the West was a number of Belarusians. Thanks to Belarusian emigrants in 1948,
in Germany came to a reactivation of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. Its parishes were
in Western Europe, America and Australia. A substantial share in both reactivation as well as further
activities of the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church took Ukrainian clergy. First of all, Bishop
Sergij (Ochotenko) was actively involved to actions for the Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church
with whose activity is assessed very differently in the available literature
Direct vs. indirect optical recombination in Ge films grown on Si substrates
The optical emission spectra from Ge films on Si are markedly different from
their bulk Ge counterparts. Whereas bulk Ge emission is dominated by the
material's indirect gap, the photoluminescence signal from Ge films is mainly
associated with its direct band gap. Using a new class of Ge-on-Si films grown
by a recently introduced CVD approach, we study the direct and indirect
photoluminescence from intrinsic and doped samples and we conclude that the
origin of the discrepancy is the lack of self-absorption in thin Ge films
combined with a deviation from quasi-equilibrium conditions in the conduction
band. The latter is confirmed by a simple model suggesting that the deviation
from quasi-equilibrium is caused by the much shorter recombination lifetime in
the films relative to bulk Ge
Yukawa potentials in systems with partial periodic boundary conditions II : Lekner sums for quasi-two dimensional systems
Yukawa potentials may be long ranged when the Debye screening length is
large. In computer simulations, such long ranged potentials have to be taken
into account with convenient algorithms to avoid systematic bias in the
sampling of the phase space. Recently, we have provided Ewald sums for
quasi-two dimensional systems with Yukawa interaction potentials [M. Mazars,
{\it J. Chem. Phys.}, {\bf 126}, 056101 (2007) and M. Mazars, {\it Mol. Phys.},
Paper I]. Sometimes, Lekner sums are used as an alternative to Ewald sums for
Coulomb systems. In the present work, we derive the Lekner sums for quasi-two
dimensional systems with Yukawa interaction potentials and we give some
numerical tests for pratical implementations. The main result of this paper is
to outline that Lekner sums cannot be considered as an alternative to Ewald
sums for Yukawa potentials. As a conclusion to this work : Lekner sums should
not be used for quasi-two dimensional systems with Yukawa interaction
potentials.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figures and 1 tabl
Glaucoma: Hot topics in Pharmacology
BACKGROUND: Glaucoma comprises a group of neurodegenerative diseases resulting in retinal ganglion cell death within the optic nerve head. It is projected to affect almost 80 million people worldwide by 2020. The condition's asymptomatic nature translates to over half of glaucoma sufferers being unaware of their condition. By the time of diagnosis, irreversible blindness is likely to have occurred. Prime areas of glaucoma research therefore include identification and optimization of risk factors for the disease, accurate and early diagnostic tools and novel therapeutic methods. METHODS: The goal of this review was to summarize main areas of latest glaucoma research into risk factors of glaucoma, diagnostic tools and treatments. PubMed was used to search for terms including glaucoma risk factors, glaucoma diagnostics, glaucoma treatment, glaucoma drug delivery and glaucoma IOP. RESULTS: The evidence for risk factors of low CSF pressure, IOP, smoking, vascular risk factors and light toxicity is described. Latest diagnostic and monitoring techniques for glaucoma include SD-OCT, DARC and IOP telemetry. Current and emerging medical and surgical treatments in glaucoma are discussed. Rho kinase inhibitors have the potential to both lower IOP and also provide neuroprotection, several of which are in clinical trials. Several other new medical treatments such as calcium channel blockers and neurotrophic agents also have the capacity to provide neuroprotection. Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS) devices provide an improved safety profile compared to traditional trabeculectomy; the latest ab interno and ab externo devices are described. Novel drug delivery methods, including punctual plugs and contact lenses, help overcome the challenges with patient adherence. CONCLUSION: The ultimate goals are to reduce the individual patient risk factors associated with glaucoma, diagnose the condition early and to find treatments that not only reduce IOP but also reverse neurodegeneration of RGCs. The usage of combinations of novel medical and surgical treatments may help maximize IOP reduction and neuroprotection
A Historical Perspective Leading Up to and Including the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks
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