156 research outputs found
Altered brain ion gradients following compensation for elevated CO2 are linked to behavioural alterations in a coral reef fish
Neurosensory and behavioural disruptions are some of the most consistently reported responses upon exposure to ocean acidification-relevant CO2 levels, especially in coral reef fishes. The underlying cause of these disruptions is thought to be altered current across the GABAA receptor in neuronal cells due to changes in ion gradients (HCO3− and/or Cl−) that occur in the body following compensation for elevated ambient CO2. Despite these widely-documented behavioural disruptions, the present study is the first to pair a behavioural assay with measurements of relevant intracellular and extracellular acid-base parameters in a coral reef fish exposed to elevated CO2. Spiny damselfish (Acanthochromis polyacanthus) exposed to 1900 μatm CO2 for 4 days exhibited significantly increased intracellular and extracellular HCO3− concentrations and elevated brain pHi compared to control fish, providing evidence of CO2 compensation. As expected, high CO2 exposed damselfish spent significantly more time in a chemical alarm cue (CAC) than control fish, supporting a potential link between behavioural disruption and CO2 compensation. Using HCO3− measurements from the damselfish, the reversal potential for GABAA (EGABA) was calculated, illustrating that biophysical properties of the brain during CO2 compensation could change GABAA receptor function and account for the behavioural disturbances noted during exposure to elevated CO2
The critical amplitude ratio of the susceptibility in the random-site two-dimensional Ising model
We present a new way of probing the universality class of the site-diluted
two-dimensional Ising model. We analyse Monte Carlo data for the magnetic
susceptibility, introducing a new fitting procedure in the critical region
applicable even for a single sample with quenched disorder. This gives us the
possibility to fit simultaneously the critical exponent, the critical amplitude
and the sample dependent pseudo-critical temperature. The critical amplitude
ratio of the magnetic susceptibility is seen to be independent of the
concentration of the empty sites for all investigated values of . At the same time the average effective exponent is found
to vary with the concentration , which may be argued to be due to
logarithmic corrections to the power law of the pure system. This corrections
are canceled in the susceptibility amplitude ratio as predicted by theory. The
central charge of the corresponding field theory was computed and compared well
with the theoretical predictions.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Graviton Resonances in E+ E- -> MU+ MU- at Linear Colliders with Beamstrahlung and ISR Effects
Electromagnetic radiation emitted by the colliding beams is expected to play
an important role at the next generation of high energy e^+ e^- linear
collider(s). Focusing on the simplest process e+e- -> mu+ mu-, we show that
radiative effects like initial state radiation (ISR) and beamstrahlung can lead
to greatly-enhanced signals for resonant graviton modes of the Randall-Sundrum
model.Comment: 20 pages Latex, 7 eps figure
Crossover and self-averaging in the two-dimensional site-diluted Ising model
Using the newly proposed probability-changing cluster (PCC) Monte Carlo
algorithm, we simulate the two-dimensional (2D) site-diluted Ising model. Since
we can tune the critical point of each random sample automatically with the PCC
algorithm, we succeed in studying the sample-dependent and the sample
average of physical quantities at each systematically. Using the
finite-size scaling (FSS) analysis for , we discuss the importance of
corrections to FSS both in the strong-dilution and weak-dilution regions. The
critical phenomena of the 2D site-diluted Ising model are shown to be
controlled by the pure fixed point. The crossover from the percolation fixed
point to the pure Ising fixed point with the system size is explicitly
demonstrated by the study of the Binder parameter. We also study the
distribution of critical temperature . Its variance shows the power-law
dependence, , and the estimate of the exponent is consistent
with the prediction of Aharony and Harris [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 77}, 3700
(1996)]. Calculating the relative variance of critical magnetization at the
sample-dependent , we show that the 2D site-diluted Ising model
exhibits weak self-averaging.Comment: 6 pages including 6 eps figures, RevTeX, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Measurement of the partial widths of the Z into up- and down-type quarks
Using the entire OPAL LEP1 on-peak Z hadronic decay sample, Z -> qbarq gamma
decays were selected by tagging hadronic final states with isolated photon
candidates in the electromagnetic calorimeter. Combining the measured rates of
Z -> qbarq gamma decays with the total rate of hadronic Z decays permits the
simultaneous determination of the widths of the Z into up- and down-type
quarks. The values obtained, with total errors, were Gamma u = 300 ^{+19}_{-18}
MeV and Gamma d = 381 ^{+12}_{-12} MeV. The results are in good agreement with
the Standard Model expectation.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figures, Submitted to Phys. Letts.
Measurement of the Strong Coupling alpha s from Four-Jet Observables in e+e- Annihilation
Data from e+e- annihilation into hadrons at centre-of-mass energies between
91 GeV and 209 GeV collected with the OPAL detector at LEP, are used to study
the four-jet rate as a function of the Durham algorithm resolution parameter
ycut. The four-jet rate is compared to next-to-leading order calculations that
include the resummation of large logarithms. The strong coupling measured from
the four-jet rate is alphas(Mz0)=
0.1182+-0.0003(stat.)+-0.0015(exp.)+-0.0011(had.)+-0.0012(scale)+-0.0013(mass)
in agreement with the world average. Next-to-leading order fits to the
D-parameter and thrust minor event-shape observables are also performed for the
first time. We find consistent results, but with significantly larger
theoretical uncertainties.Comment: 25 pages, 15 figures, Submitted to Euro. Phys. J.
A measurement of the tau mass and the first CPT test with tau leptons
We measure the mass of the tau lepton to be 1775.1+-1.6(stat)+-1.0(syst.) MeV
using tau pairs from Z0 decays. To test CPT invariance we compare the masses of
the positively and negatively charged tau leptons. The relative mass difference
is found to be smaller than 3.0 10^-3 at the 90% confidence level.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, Submitted to Phys. Letts.
Measurement of Rb in e+e- Collisions at 182 - 209 GeV
Measurements of Rb, the ratio of the bbbar cross-section to the qqbar cross-
section in e+e- collisions, are presented. The data were collected by the OPAL
experiment at LEP at centre-of-mass energies between 182 GeV and 209 GeV.
Lepton, lifetime and event shape information is used to tag events containing b
quarks with high efficiency. The data are compatible with the Standard Model
expectation. The mean ratio of the eight measurements reported here to the
Standard Model prediction is 1.055+-0.031+-0.037, where the first error is
statistical and the second systematic.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, Submitted to Phys. Letts
Measurement of the B0 Lifetime and Oscillation Frequency using B0->D*+l-v decays
The lifetime and oscillation frequency of the B0 meson has been measured
using B0->D*+l-v decays recorded on the Z0 peak with the OPAL detector at LEP.
The D*+ -> D0pi+ decays were reconstructed using an inclusive technique and the
production flavour of the B0 mesons was determined using a combination of tags
from the rest of the event. The results t_B0 = 1.541 +- 0.028 +- 0.023 ps, Dm_d
= 0.497 +- 0.024 +- 0.025 ps-1 were obtained, where in each case the first
error is statistical and the second systematic.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Lett.
First Measurement of Z/gamma* Production in Compton Scattering of Quasi-real Photons
We report the first observation of Z/gamma* production in Compton scattering
of quasi-real photons. This is a subprocess of the reaction e+e- to
e+e-Z/gamma*, where one of the final state electrons is undetected.
Approximately 55 pb-1 of data collected in the year 1997 at an e+e-
centre-of-mass energy of 183 GeV with the OPAL detector at LEP have been
analysed. The Z/gamma* from Compton scattering has been detected in the
hadronic decay channel. Within well defined kinematic bounds, we measure the
product of cross-section and Z/gamma* branching ratio to hadrons to be
(0.9+-0.3+-0.1) pb for events with a hadronic mass larger than 60 GeV,
dominated by (e)eZ production. In the hadronic mass region between 5 GeV and 60
GeV, dominated by (e)egamma* production, this product is found to be
(4.1+-1.6+-0.6) pb. Our results agree with the predictions of two Monte Carlo
event generators, grc4f and PYTHIA.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, 5 eps figures included, submitted to Physics Letters
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