Adaptive female choice for middle-aged mates in a lekking sandfly

Most theoretical models of age-related mate choice predict that females should prefer older males because they have proven survival ability. An alternative view is that older males represent inferior mates because of negative genetic correlations between early and late fitness components, or because older males have traded off longevity against other fitness components, have accumulated deleterious germ-line mutations, or are less well adapted to current conditions than more recently born individuals. While numerous studies have reported female choice for older males, few have explicitly examined the fitness consequences of such a preference. We present evidence from a lekking sandfly, Lutzomyia longipalpis , showing that choosy females discriminate against older males and gain a fitness benefit from their choice. When permitted free choice from an aggregation consisting of males aged zero to two days (young), four to six days (middle-aged) and eight to ten days (old), females preferentially mated with middle-aged males, but all measures of female reproductive success were independent of male age. In contrast, when a second set of females was randomly assigned single virgin males of known age, the eggs of those paired to old mates exhibited lower hatching success than the eggs of females mated to young or middle-aged males. These results suggest that females avoid mating with older males because they represent poorer quality mates. Age-related differences in male quality may have a genetic basis, but could equally well arise through a phenotypic decline in sperm quality or sperm transfer ability with male age. The lack of evidence of female discrimination against older males from other studies may be because these did not explore the reproductive success of the full age range of males

Ethical theory and stakeholder-related decisions: The role of stakeholder culture

We use convergent elements of major ethical theories to create a typology of corporate stakeholder cultures—the aspects of organizational culture consisting of the beliefs, values, and practices that have evolved for solving problems and otherwise managing stakeholder relationships. We describe five stakeholder cultures—agency, corporate egoist, instrumentalist, moralist, and altruist—and explain how these cultures lie on a continuum, ranging from individually self-interested (agency culture) to fully other-regarding (altruist culture). We demonstrate the utility of our framework by showing how it can refine stakeholder salience theory

Beetroot Juice Does Not Enhance Altitude Running Performance in Well-Trained Athletes

We hypothesized that acute dietary nitrate (NO3-) provided as concentrated beetroot juice supplement would improve endurance running performance of well-trained runners in normobaric hypoxia. Ten male runners (mean (SD): sea level V�O2max 66 (7) mL.kg^-1.min^-1, 10 km personal best 36 (2) min) completed incremental exercise to exhaustion at 4000 m and a 10 km treadmill time trial at 2500 m simulated altitude on separate days, after supplementation with ~7 mmol NO3- and a placebo, 2.5 h before exercise. Oxygen cost, arterial oxygen saturation, heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were determined during the incremental exercise test. Differences between treatments were determined using means [95% confidence intervals], paired sample t-tests and a probability of individual response analysis. NO3- supplementation increased plasma [nitrite] (NO3-, 473 (226) nM vs. placebo, 61 (37) nM, P < 0.001) but did not alter time to exhaustion during the incremental test (NO3-, 402 (80) s vs. placebo 393 (62) s, P = 0.5) or time to complete the 10 km time trial (NO3-, 2862 (233) s vs. placebo, 2874 (265) s, P = 0.6). Further, no practically meaningful beneficial effect on time trial performance was observed as the 11 [-60 to 38] s improvement was less than the a priori determined minimum important difference (51 s), and only three runners experienced a ´likely, probable´ performance improvement. NO3- also did not alter oxygen cost, arterial oxygen saturation, heart rate or RPE. Acute dietary NO3- supplementation did not consistently enhance running performance of well-trained athletes in normobaric hypoxia

Analysis of the vertexes ΞQ∗ΞQ′V\Xi_Q^*\Xi'_Q V, ΣQ∗ΣQV\Sigma_Q^*\Sigma_Q V and radiative decays ΞQ∗→ΞQ′γ\Xi_Q^*\to \Xi'_Q \gamma, ΣQ∗→ΣQγ\Sigma_Q^*\to \Sigma_Q \gamma

In this article, we study the vertexes $\Xi_Q^*\Xi'_Q V$ and $\Sigma_Q^* \Sigma_Q V$ with the light-cone QCD sum rules, then assume the vector meson dominance of the intermediate $\phi(1020)$, $\rho(770)$ and $\omega(782)$, and calculate the radiative decays $\Xi_Q^*\to \Xi'_Q \gamma$ and $\Sigma_Q^*\to \Sigma_Q \gamma$.Comment: 28 pages, 4 tables, revised versio

H I ABSORPTION TOWARD H II REGIONS AT SMALL GALACTIC LONGITUDES

We make a comprehensive study of H I absorption toward H II regions located within |l| < 10°. Structures in the extreme inner Galaxy are traced using the longitude-velocity space distribution of this absorption. We find significant H I absorption associated with the Near and Far 3 kpc Arms, the Connecting Arm, Bania's Clump 1, and the H I Tilted Disk. We also constrain the line-of-sight distances to H II regions, by using H I absorption spectra together with the H II region velocities measured by radio recombination lines

Operational vibration shape measurement of piezoceramic disc actuator using digital image correlation vibrometry with a single reference signal

© Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd. This paper describes the enhancement and application of a digital image correlation (DIC) vibrometry method which avoids the need for high speed cameras. The underlying technique, described earlier by members of the present team (Warburton et al, Exp. Mech. 56(7) 1219-1230), was used to measure the operational vibration shapes of a piezoceramic synthetic jet actuator disc. Following the method previously reported, pairs of images were captured using the Dantec Q-400 hardware at a frequency of 0.25 Hz, with synchronised flash illumination but not synchronised with the excitation signal, which was captured simultaneously with each image pair. The images were processed using the Dantec Istra4D software and were post-processed largely as described by Warburton in order to obtain amplitude and phase maps for each frequency, but instead of using an externally-generated quadrature signal as a reference, an alternative reference was taken from the median displacement over an area of the specimen, in order to resolve the phase position of each image pair. Although the raw measured deflected shapes were generally dominated by the main dishing mode of the actuator, alternative higher order shapes such as asymmetric and trefoil shapes occurred in quadrature with these dishing-mode deflections

Radiative Decays of Decuplet to Octet Baryons in Light Cone QCD

The radiative decays of decuplet to octet baryons are analyzed within the light cone QCD sum rules framework.The electromagnetic transition form factors for these decays are calculated up to twist four accuracy for photon wave functions as well as including first order strange quark mass corrections. A comparison of our results with predictions of lattice theory and existing experimental data is presented.Comment: 43 pages, 30 figures, uses graphicx and amssymb, included a more general analysis, Conclusions change

Results of the First Coincident Observations by Two Laser-Interferometric Gravitational Wave Detectors

We report an upper bound on the strain amplitude of gravitational wave bursts in a waveband from around 800Hz to 1.25kHz. In an effective coincident observing period of 62 hours, the prototype laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors of the University of Glasgow and Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, have set a limit of 4.9E-16, averaging over wave polarizations and incident directions. This is roughly a factor of 2 worse than the theoretical best limit that the detectors could have set, the excess being due to unmodelled non-Gaussian noise. The experiment has demonstrated the viability of the kind of observations planned for the large-scale interferometers that should be on-line in a few years time.Comment: 11 pages, 2 postscript figure

The excitation mechanisms and evolutionary stages of UWISH2 planetary nebula candidates

We present medium-resolution K-band long-slit spectroscopy of 29 true, likely, possible, and candidate Galactic Plane planetary nebulae (PNe) from the UWISH2 survey, many of which have only been recently discovered. These objects are bright in molecular hydrogen (H2) emission, and many have bipolar morphologies. Through the detection of the Brγ emission line, which traces ionized hydrogen, we find that the majority of the candidate PNe are indeed likely to be PNe, while 2 of the targets are more likely young stellar objects (YSOs) or pre-planetary nebulae (pPNe). We detect Brγ in 13 objects which have no detection in IPHAS or SHS Hα surveys. This implies that they are potential members of the little-known optically obscured PN population, hidden from wide-field optical surveys. We use the spatial extent of the H2 1-0 S(1) and Brγ lines to estimate the evolutionary stage of our targets, and find that W-BPNe (bipolar PNe with pinched waist morphologies) are likely to be younger objects, while R-BPNe (bipolar PNe with large ring structures) are more evolved. We use line ratios to trace the excitation mechanism of the H2, and find the 1-0 S(1) / 2-1 S(1) and 1-0 S(1) / Brγ ratios are higher for R-BPNe, implying the H2 is thermally excited. However, in W-BPNe, these ratios are lower, and so UV-fluorescence may be contributing to the excitation of H2

Current Understanding of Structure–Processing–Property Relationships in BaTiO₃–Bi(M)O₃ Dielectrics

As part of a continued push for high permittivity dielectrics suitable for use at elevated operating temperatures and/or large electric fields, modifications of BaTiO3 with Bi(M)O3, where M represents a net-trivalent B-site occupied by one or more species, have received a great deal of recent attention. Materials in this composition family exhibit weakly coupled relaxor behavior that is not only remarkably stable at high temperatures and under large electric fields, but is also quite similar across various identities of M. Moderate levels of Bi content (as much as 50 mol%) appear to be crucial to the stability of the dielectric response. In addition, the presence of significant Bi reduces the processing temperatures required for densification and increases the required oxygen content in processing atmospheres relative to traditional X7R-type BaTiO3-based dielectrics. Although detailed understanding of the structure–processing–property relationships in this class of materials is still in its infancy, this article reviews the current state of understanding of the mechanisms underlying the high and stable values of both relative permittivity and resistivity that are characteristic of BaTiO3-Bi(M)O3 dielectrics as well as the processing challenges and opportunities associated with these materials