125 research outputs found
Size, shape and sex differences in three subspecies of Black-tailed Godwits <i>Limosa limosa</i>
Capsule: Black-tailed Godwits Limosa limosa show sexual size dimorphism and size differences between the subspecies. The shape varies slightly between the subspecies, but not between the sexes. Aims: To investigate whether and how the three subspecies of Black-tailed Godwits, and the sexes of these subspecies, differ in size and shape. Methods: We collected body dimensions (lengths of the bill, total head, tarsus, tarsus-toe and wing) of adult Black-tailed Godwits from three locations (Iceland, the Netherlands and northwest Australia) corresponding to the breeding or wintering grounds of three known subspecies (islandica, limosa and melanuroides, respectively). Determining sex by molecular assays, we computed degrees of sexual size dimorphism. Using principal component analysis (PCA), we compared differences in size and shape among the different subspecies. Results: The limosa subspecies was the largest and also showed the most significant sexual size dimorphism. Sexual size dimorphism was smallest for wing length and largest for bill length. The first two axes of the PCA that included all subspecies of both sexes explained 94% of the total variation. Most body dimensions were highly correlated with each other, but wing length varied independently of the other dimensions. Males and females differed only in size (the first axis). However, one of the two small subspecies, islandica, also differed in shape (the second axis) from limosa and melanuroides. Conclusions: In all three subspecies of Black-tailed Godwits, females are larger than males. The fact that subspecies differed in the degree of size dimorphism and slightly in shape hints at sex-related differences in the ecological selection pressures between the different flyways
Nonadiabatic effects in a generalized Jahn-Teller lattice model: heavy and light polarons, pairing and metal-insulator transition
The ground state polaron potential of 1D lattice of two-level molecules with
spinless electrons and two Einstein phonon modes with quantum phonon-assisted
transitions between the levels is found anharmonic in phonon displacements. The
potential shows a crossover from two nonequivalent broad minima to a single
narrow minimum corresponding to the level positions in the ground state.
Generalized variational approach implies prominent nonadiabatic effects:(i) In
the limit of the symmetric E-e Jahn- Teller situation they cause transition
between the regime of the predominantly one-level "heavy" polaron and a "light"
polaron oscillating between the levels due to phonon assistance with almost
vanishing polaron displacement. It implies enhancement of the electron transfer
due to decrease of the "heavy" polaron mass (undressing) at the point of the
transition. Pairing of "light" polarons due to exchange of virtual phonons
occurs. Continuous transition to new energy ground state close to the
transition from "heavy" polaron phase to "light" (bi)polaron phase occurs. In
the "heavy" phase, there occurs anomalous (anharmonic) enhancements of quantum
fluctuations of the phonon coordinate, momentum and their product as functions
of the effective coupling. (ii) Dependence of the polaron mass on the optical
phonon frequency appears.(iii) Rabi oscillations significantly enhance quantum
shift of the insulator-metal transition line to higher values of the critical
effective e-ph coupling supporting so the metallic phase. In the E-e JT case,
insulator-metal transition coincide with the transition between the "heavy" and
the "light" (bi)polaron phase at certain (strong) effective e-ph interaction.Comment: Paper in LaTex format (file jtseptx.tex) and 9 GIF-figures
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Arbitrary Choice of Basic Variables in Density Functional Theory. II. Illustrative Applications
Our recent theory (Ref. 1) enables us to choose arbitrary quantities as the
basic variables of the density functional theory. In this paper we apply it to
several cases. In the case where the occupation matrix of localized orbitals is
chosen as a basic variable, we can obtain the single-particle equation which is
equivalent to that of the LDA+U method. The theory also leads to the
Hartree-Fock-Kohn-Sham equation by letting the exchange energy be a basic
variable. Furthermore, if the quantity associated with the density of states
near the Fermi level is chosen as a basic variable, the resulting
single-particle equation includes the additional potential which could mainly
modify the energy-band structures near the Fermi level.Comment: 27 page
Phase Diagram of Diluted Magnetic Semiconductor Quantum Wells
The phase diagram of diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum wells is
investigated. The interaction between the carriers in the hole gas can lead to
first order ferromagnetic transitions, which remain abrupt in applied fields.
These transitions can be induced by magnetic fields or, in double-layer systems
by electric fields. We make a number of precise experimental predictions for
observing these first order phase transitions.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures include
Study of a Nonlocal Density scheme for electronic--structure calculations
An exchange-correlation energy functional beyond the local density
approximation, based on the exchange-correlation kernel of the homogeneous
electron gas and originally introduced by Kohn and Sham, is considered for
electronic structure calculations of semiconductors and atoms. Calculations are
carried out for diamond, silicon, silicon carbide and gallium arsenide. The
lattice constants and gaps show a small improvement with respect to the LDA
results.
However, the corresponding corrections to the total energy of the isolated
atoms are not large enough to yield a substantial improvement for the cohesive
energy of solids, which remains hence overestimated as in the LDA.Comment: 4 postscript figure
First-Principles Dynamical Coherent-Potential Approximation Approach to the Ferromagnetism of Fe, Co, and Ni
Magnetic properties of Fe, Co, and Ni at finite temperatures have been
investigated on the basis of the first-principles dynamical CPA (Coherent
Potential Approximation) combined with the LDA (Local Density Approximation) +
Hamiltonian in the Tight-Binding Linear Muffintin Orbital (TB-LMTO)
representation. The Hamiltonian includes the transverse spin fluctuation terms.
Numerical calculations have been performed within the harmonic approximation
with 4th-order dynamical corrections. Calculated single-particle densities of
states in the ferromagnetic state indicate that the dynamical effects reduce
the exchange splitting, suppress the band width of the quasi-particle state,
and causes incoherent excitations corresponding the 6 eV satellites. Results of
the magnetization vs temperature curves, paramagnetic spin susceptibilities,
and the amplitudes of local moments are presented. Calculated Curie
temperatures () are reported to be 1930K for Fe, 2550K for Co, and
620K for Ni; for Fe and Co are overestimated by a factor of 1.8,
while in Ni agrees with the experimental result. Effective Bohr
magneton numbers calculated from the inverse susceptibilities are 3.0 (Fe), 3.0 (Co), and 1.6 (Ni), being in
agreement with the experimental ones. Overestimate of in Fe and Co
is attributed to the neglects of the higher-order dynamical effects as well as
the magnetic short range order.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figure
Scientific merits and analytical challenges of tree-ring densitometry
R.W. was supported by NERC grant NE/K003097/1.X-ray microdensitometry on annually-resolved tree-ring samples has gained an exceptional position in last-millennium paleoclimatology through the maximum latewood density parameter (MXD), but also increasingly through other density parameters. For fifty years, X-ray based measurement techniques have been the de facto standard. However, studies report offsets in the mean levels for MXD measurements derived from different laboratories, indicating challenges of accuracy and precision. Moreover, reflected visible light-based techniques are becoming increasingly popular and wood anatomical techniques are emerging as a potentially powerful pathway to extract density information at the highest resolution. Here we review the current understanding and merits of wood density for tree-ring research, associated microdensitometric techniques, and analytical measurement challenges. The review is further complemented with a careful comparison of new measurements derived at 17 laboratories, using several different techniques. The new experiment allowed us to corroborate and refresh ?long-standing wisdom?, but also provide new insights. Key outcomes include; i) a demonstration of the need for mass/volume based re-calibration to accurately estimate average ring density; ii) a substantiation of systematic differences in MXD measurements that cautions for great care when combining density datasets for climate reconstructions; and iii) insights into the relevance of analytical measurement resolution in signals derived from tree-ring density data. Finally, we provide recommendations expected to facilitate future inter-comparability and interpretations for global change research.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Reconstructing 800 years of summer temperatures in Scotland from tree rings
We thank The Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland for providing funding for Miloš Rydval’s PhD. The Scottish pine network expansion has been an ongoing task since 2007 and funding must be acknowledged to the following projects: EU project ‘Millennium’ (017008-2), Leverhulme Trust project ‘RELiC: Reconstructing 8000 years of Environmental and Landscape change in the Cairngorms (F/00 268/BG)’ and the NERC project ‘SCOT2K: Reconstructing 2000 years of Scottish climate from tree rings (NE/K003097/1)’.This study presents a summer temperature reconstruction using Scots pine tree-ring chronologies for Scotland allowing the placement of current regional temperature changes in a longer-term context. ‘Living-tree’ chronologies were extended using ’subfossil’ samples extracted from nearshore lake sediments resulting in a composite chronology > 800 years in length. The North Cairngorms (NCAIRN) reconstruction was developed from a set of composite blue intensity high-pass and ring-width low-pass chronologies with a range of detrending and disturbance correction procedures. Calibration against July-August mean temperature explains 56.4% of the instrumental data variance over 1866-2009 and is well verified. Spatial correlations reveal strong coherence with temperatures over the British Isles, parts of western Europe, southern Scandinavia and northern parts of the Iberian Peninsula. NCAIRN suggests that the recent summer-time warming in Scotland is likely not unique when compared to multi-decadal warm periods observed in the 1300s, 1500s, and 1730s, although trends before the mid-16th century should be interpreted with some caution due to greater uncertainty. Prominent cold periods were identified from the 16th century until the early 1800s – agreeing with the so-called Little Ice Age observed in other tree-ring reconstructions from Europe - with the 1690s identified as the coldest decade in the record. The reconstruction shows a significant cooling response one year following volcanic eruptions although this result is sensitive to the datasets used to identify such events. In fact, the extreme cold (and warm) years observed in NCAIRN appear more related to internal forcing of the summer North Atlantic Oscillation.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Multiplicity of cerebrospinal fluid functions: New challenges in health and disease
This review integrates eight aspects of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulatory dynamics: formation rate, pressure, flow, volume, turnover rate, composition, recycling and reabsorption. Novel ways to modulate CSF formation emanate from recent analyses of choroid plexus transcription factors (E2F5), ion transporters (NaHCO3 cotransport), transport enzymes (isoforms of carbonic anhydrase), aquaporin 1 regulation, and plasticity of receptors for fluid-regulating neuropeptides. A greater appreciation of CSF pressure (CSFP) is being generated by fresh insights on peptidergic regulatory servomechanisms, the role of dysfunctional ependyma and circumventricular organs in causing congenital hydrocephalus, and the clinical use of algorithms to delineate CSFP waveforms for diagnostic and prognostic utility. Increasing attention focuses on CSF flow: how it impacts cerebral metabolism and hemodynamics, neural stem cell progression in the subventricular zone, and catabolite/peptide clearance from the CNS. The pathophysiological significance of changes in CSF volume is assessed from the respective viewpoints of hemodynamics (choroid plexus blood flow and pulsatility), hydrodynamics (choroidal hypo- and hypersecretion) and neuroendocrine factors (i.e., coordinated regulation by atrial natriuretic peptide, arginine vasopressin and basic fibroblast growth factor). In aging, normal pressure hydrocephalus and Alzheimer's disease, the expanding CSF space reduces the CSF turnover rate, thus compromising the CSF sink action to clear harmful metabolites (e.g., amyloid) from the CNS. Dwindling CSF dynamics greatly harms the interstitial environment of neurons. Accordingly the altered CSF composition in neurodegenerative diseases and senescence, because of adverse effects on neural processes and cognition, needs more effective clinical management. CSF recycling between subarachnoid space, brain and ventricles promotes interstitial fluid (ISF) convection with both trophic and excretory benefits. Finally, CSF reabsorption via multiple pathways (olfactory and spinal arachnoidal bulk flow) is likely complemented by fluid clearance across capillary walls (aquaporin 4) and arachnoid villi when CSFP and fluid retention are markedly elevated. A model is presented that links CSF and ISF homeostasis to coordinated fluxes of water and solutes at both the blood-CSF and blood-brain transport interfaces
A synthesis of approaches for modelling coupled thermal–hydraulic–mechanical–chemical processes in a single novaculite fracture experiment
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