Decorrelating a compressible turbulent flow: an experiment

Floating particles that are initially distributed uniformly on the surface of a turbulent fluid, subsequently coagulate, until finally a steady state is reached. This being so, they manifestly form a compressible system. In this experiment, the information dimension D_1, and the Lyapunov exponents of the coagulated floaters, are measured. The trajectories and the velocity fields of the particles are captured in a sequence of rapidly acquired images. Then the velocity sequence is randomly shuffled in time to generate new trajectories. This analysis mimics the Kraichnan ensemble and yields properties of a velocity correlation function that is delta-correlated in time (but not in space). The measurements are compared with theoretical expectations and with simulations of Boffetta et al., that closely mimic the laboratory experiment reported here.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Exploration of the perceptual-cognitive processes that contribute to in-game decision-making of Australian football umpires

Decision-making is fundamental to officiating in all sports. It is well established in contemporary research that decision-making skills underpin umpire expertise; however, there is little understanding of the cognitive processes that contribute to in-game decision-making. This research implemented an in-depth case study approach, using qualitative methods, to explore the in-game decision-making process of three Australian football umpires. Concurrent and retrospective verbalisation methods were used to obtain verbal reports of the cognitive processes associated with decision-making. Findings identified three salient themes related to both in-game decision-making processes (i.e. decision evaluation, player intention during game-play) and umpire performance (i.e. knowledge of game-play). These themes contributed to the development of decision-making heuristics for Australian football umpires. This study provides initial evidence of the factors that may contribute to and/or affect in-game decision-making processes; however, additional exploration is necessary to further inform training programmes aimed to develop domain-specific decision-making skills and subsequent in-game performance. © 2016 International Society of Sport Psychology

Power-Law Distributions of Particle concentrations in Free-Surface Turbulence

Particles floating on the surface of an incompressible turbulent fluid cluster into intermittent,complex structures. This system is studied experimentally by analyzing the statistics of thecoarse-grained particle concentration, cr, as a function of scale r, in both the inertial anddissipative regimes of the turbulent field. The first moment of the concentration cr exhibits scalefreedependence on the coarse-graining scale r in both the inertial and dissipative ranges, withexponents αi (inertial) and αd (dissipative). The probability density function of the coarse-grainedparticle concentration exhibits a power-law decay over a broad range of values of theconcentration: rr r c c ( ) ~ , where r is approximately independent of scale in the dissipativerange 0.8 0.05 r , and decreases with increasing r in the inertial range. The PDF then fallsoff faster than algebraically at very large values of cr. The observed steep algebraic decay is amanifestation of the broad distribution of particle concentrations produced by surface flowupwellings (sources), which lie between very dense line-like concentrations along surface flowdownwellings (sinks)

WOOD THRUSH MOVEMENTS AND HABITAT USE: EFFECTS OF FOREST MANAGEMENT FOR RED-COCKADED WOODPECKERS

We monitored adult and juvenile breeding-season movements and habitat use of radio-tagged Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge, central Georgia, USA. We investigated the effects that management for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis), thinning and burning \u3e30 year old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) habitat, had on Wood Thrushes, a ground-foraging and midstory-nesting species. Adult Wood Thrush pairs regularly moved long distances between nesting attempts (range 1 to 17,388 m). The only experimental effect we found on adult movements was a decrease in weekly emigration rates (AP) from thinned and burned compartments after silvicultural management. Adult males preferred riparian hardwoods with sparse to moderate cover and those preferences increased following management. Juveniles remained near their nest site (x = 177 m, SE = 113) for an average 24 days (SE = 6.3), and then dispersed a mean 2,189 m (SE = 342). Before dispersal, juveniles preferred upland hardwood-pine mixed habitat (P \u3c 0.05) with moderate overstory cover (P \u3c 0.05). We found no management effects on dispersal distances or predispersal habitat use. However, juveniles from thinned and burned compartments dispersed to hardwood habitats with dense cover, whereas birds from control compartments dispersed to pine-dominated habitats with sparse cover. All juveniles dispersed to areas with habitat similar to what they used before dispersal. Small-scale thinning and burning for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers may have had little effect on Wood Thrush habitat use and movements because typical movements were often larger than the scale (stand or compartment) targeted for management. Monitoreamos con radio-telemetria los movimientos y el uso de habitat durante la 6poca reproductiva de adultos y juveniles de Hylocichla mustelina en el Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Piedmont, en Georgia central, EEUU. Investigamos los efectos que tiene el manejo del bosque (entresaca y quema de hibitat de Pinus taeda con mas de 30 anios de edad) orientado a la conservaci6n de Picoides borealis sobre H. mustelina, una especie que se alimenta en el suelo y que nidifica a media altura del bosque. Las parejas adultas de H. mustelina por lo general se movieron largas distancias entre los intentos de nidificaci6n (rango 1 a 17,388 m). El uanico efecto experimental que encontramos en los movimientos de adultos fue una disminuci6n en las tasas semanales de emigraci6n (T) desde los sectores entresacados y quemados luego del manejo silvicultural. Los machos adultos prefirieron los bosques riberefios con poca a moderada cobertura, y estas preferencias incrementaron luego del manejo. Los juveniles permanecieron cercanos al sitio de nidificaci6n (x = 177 m, ES = 113) por un promedio de 24 dias (ES = 6.3) y luego se dispersaron una media de 2,189 m (ES = 342). Antes de la dispersi6n los juveniles prefirieron habitat no-ribereiio mixto de bosque y pino (P \u3c 0.05) con moderada cobertura del dosel (P \u3c 0.05). No encontramo

WOOD THRUSH MOVEMENTS AND HABITAT USE: EFFECTS OF FOREST MANAGEMENT FOR RED-COCKADED WOODPECKERS

We monitored adult and juvenile breeding-season movements and habitat use of radio-tagged Wood Thrushes (Hylocichla mustelina) at the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge, central Georgia, USA. We investigated the effects that management for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis), thinning and burning \u3e30 year old loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) habitat, had on Wood Thrushes, a ground-foraging and midstory-nesting species. Adult Wood Thrush pairs regularly moved long distances between nesting attempts (range 1 to 17,388 m). The only experimental effect we found on adult movements was a decrease in weekly emigration rates (AP) from thinned and burned compartments after silvicultural management. Adult males preferred riparian hardwoods with sparse to moderate cover and those preferences increased following management. Juveniles remained near their nest site (x = 177 m, SE = 113) for an average 24 days (SE = 6.3), and then dispersed a mean 2,189 m (SE = 342). Before dispersal, juveniles preferred upland hardwood-pine mixed habitat (P \u3c 0.05) with moderate overstory cover (P \u3c 0.05). We found no management effects on dispersal distances or predispersal habitat use. However, juveniles from thinned and burned compartments dispersed to hardwood habitats with dense cover, whereas birds from control compartments dispersed to pine-dominated habitats with sparse cover. All juveniles dispersed to areas with habitat similar to what they used before dispersal. Small-scale thinning and burning for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers may have had little effect on Wood Thrush habitat use and movements because typical movements were often larger than the scale (stand or compartment) targeted for management. Monitoreamos con radio-telemetria los movimientos y el uso de habitat durante la 6poca reproductiva de adultos y juveniles de Hylocichla mustelina en el Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Piedmont, en Georgia central, EEUU. Investigamos los efectos que tiene el manejo del bosque (entresaca y quema de hibitat de Pinus taeda con mas de 30 anios de edad) orientado a la conservaci6n de Picoides borealis sobre H. mustelina, una especie que se alimenta en el suelo y que nidifica a media altura del bosque. Las parejas adultas de H. mustelina por lo general se movieron largas distancias entre los intentos de nidificaci6n (rango 1 a 17,388 m). El uanico efecto experimental que encontramos en los movimientos de adultos fue una disminuci6n en las tasas semanales de emigraci6n (T) desde los sectores entresacados y quemados luego del manejo silvicultural. Los machos adultos prefirieron los bosques riberefios con poca a moderada cobertura, y estas preferencias incrementaron luego del manejo. Los juveniles permanecieron cercanos al sitio de nidificaci6n (x = 177 m, ES = 113) por un promedio de 24 dias (ES = 6.3) y luego se dispersaron una media de 2,189 m (ES = 342). Antes de la dispersi6n los juveniles prefirieron habitat no-ribereiio mixto de bosque y pino (P \u3c 0.05) con moderada cobertura del dosel (P \u3c 0.05). No encontramo

CATS: CfAO Treasury Survey of distant galaxies, supernovae, and AGN's

The NSF Science and Technology Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO) is supporting a major scientific legacy project called the CfAO Treasury Survey (CATS). CATS is obtaining near-infrared AO data in deep HST survey fields, such as GEMS, GOODS-N, & EGS. Besides summarizing the main objectives of CATS, we highlight some recent imaging work on the study of distant field galaxies, AGNs, and a redshift z = 1.32 supernova. CATS plans the first data release to the community in early 2007 (check http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~irlab/cats/index.shtml for more details on CATS and latest updates).Comment: 2 pages. Proceedings of the IAU Symposium 235, "Galaxy Evolution across the Hubble Time", F. Combes & J. Palous (eds.

Australian Football Skill-Based Assessments: A Proposed Model for Future Research

Identifying sporting talent remains a difficult task due to the complex nature of sport. Technical skill assessments are used throughout the talent pathway to monitor athletes in an attempt to more effectively predict future performance. These assessments, however, largely focus on the isolated execution of key skills devoid of any game context. When assessments are representative of match-play and applied in a setting where all four components of competition (i.e., technical, tactical, physiological, and psychological) are assessed within an integrated approach, prediction of talent is more likely to be successful. This article explores the current talent identification technical skill assessments, with a particular focus on Australian Football, and proposes a 5-level performance assessment model for athlete assessment. The model separates technical game skill on a continuum from Level-1 (i.e., laboratory analysis) to Level-5 (i.e., match-play). These levels, using the assumptions of the expert performance model and representative learning design theory, incorporate a step-wise progression of performance demands to more closely represent match-play conditions. The proposed model will provide researchers and practitioners with a structured framework to consider when assessing, or developing, new assessments of technical game-based skill