1,117 research outputs found
Abundant variation in microsatellites of the parasitic nematode Trichostrongylus tenuis and linkage to a tandem repeat
An understanding of how genes move between and within populations of parasitic nematodes is important in combating the evolution and spread of anthelmintic resistance. Much has been learned by studying mitochondrial DNA markers, but autosomal markers such as microsatellites have been applied to only a few nematode species, despite their many advantages for studying gene flow in eukaryotes. Here, we describe the isolation of 307 microsatellites from Trichostrongylus tenuis, an intestinal nematode of red grouse. High levels of variation were revealed at sixteen microsatellite loci (including three sex-lined loci) in 111 male T. tenuis nematodes collected from four hosts at a single grouse estate in Scotland (average He = 0.708; mean number of alleles = 12.2). A population genetic analysis detected no deviation from panmixia either between (F(ST) = 0.00) or within hosts (F(IS) = 0.015). We discuss the feasibility of developing microsatellites in parasitic nematodes and the problem of null alleles. We also describe a novel 146-bp repeat element, TteREP1, which is linked to two-thirds of the microsatellites sequenced and is associated with marker development failure. The sequence of TteREP1 is related to the TcREP-class of repeats found in several other trichostrongyloid species including Trichostrongylus colubriformis and Haemonchus contortus
Electronic compressibility and charge imbalance relaxation in cuprate superconductors
In the material SmLaSrCuO with alternating intrinsic
Josephson junctions we explain theoretically the relative amplitude of the two
plasma peaks in transmission by taking into account the spatial dispersion of
the Josephson Plasma Resonance in direction due to charge coupling. From
this and the magnetic field dependence of the plasma peaks in the vortex solid
and liquid states it is shown that the electronic compressibility of the
CuO layers is consistent with a free electron value. Also the London
penetration depth near can be
determined. The voltage response in the -curve of a
BiSrCaCuO mesa due to microwave irradiation or current
injection in a second mesa is related to the nonequilibrium charge imbalance of
quasiparticles and Cooper pairs and from our experimental data the relaxation
time is obtained.Comment: 2 pages, 2 figures, phc-proc4-auth.cls, to be published in Physica C
as a proceeding of M2S-HTSC Rio 200
Reply to ``Comment on `Magnetic field effects on neutron diffraction in the antiferromagnetic phase of '''
Fak, van Dijk and Wills (FDW) question our interpretation of elastic
neutron-scattering experiments in the antiferromagnetic phase of UPt_3. They
state that our analysis is incorrect because we average over magnetic
structures that are disallowed by symmetry. We disagree with FDW and reply to
their criticism. FDW also point out that we have mistaken the magnetic field
direction in the experiment reported by N. H. van Dijk et al. [Phys. Rev. B 58,
3186 (1998)]. We correct this error and note that our previous conclusion is
also valid for the correct field orientation.Comment: 3 page
Subtraction terms at NNLO
Perturbative calculations at next-to-next-to-leading order for multi-particle
final states require a method to cancel infrared singularities. I discuss the
subtraction method at NNLO. As a concrete example I consider the leading-colour
contributions to e+ e- --> 2 jets. This is the simplest example which exhibits
all essential features. For this example, explicit subtraction terms are given,
which approximate the four-parton and three-parton final states in all double
and single unresolved limits, such that the subtracted matrix elements can be
integrated numerically.Comment: 41 page
Damaging 2D Quantum Gravity
We investigate numerically the behaviour of damage spreading in a Kauffman
cellular automaton with quenched rules on a dynamical graph, which is
equivalent to coupling the model to discretized 2D gravity. The model is
interesting from the cellular automaton point of view as it lies midway between
a fully quenched automaton with fixed rules and fixed connectivity and a
(soluble) fully annealed automaton with varying rules and varying connectivity.
In addition, we simulate the automaton on a fixed graph coming from a
2D gravity simulation as a means of exploring the graph geometry.Comment: 6 pages, COLO-HEP-332;LPTHE-Orsay-93-5
Emotional engagements predict and enhance social cognition in young chimpanzees
Social cognition in infancy is evident in coordinated triadic engagements, that is, infants attending jointly with social partners and objects. Current evolutionary theories of primate social cognition tend to highlight species differences in cognition based on human-unique cooperative motives. We consider a developmental model in which engagement experiences produce differential outcomes. We conducted a 10-year-long study in which two groups of laboratory-raised chimpanzee infants were given quantifiably different engagement experiences. Joint attention, cooperativeness, affect, and different levels of cognition were measured in 5- to 12-month-old chimpanzees, and compared to outcomes derived from a normative human database. We found that joint attention skills significantly improved across development for all infants, but by 12 months, the humans significantly surpassed the chimpanzees. We found that cooperativeness was stable in the humans, but by 12 months, the chimpanzee group given enriched engagement experiences significantly surpassed the humans. Past engagement experiences and concurrent affect were significant unique predictors of both joint attention and cooperativeness in 5- to 12-month-old chimpanzees. When engagement experiences and concurrent affect were statistically controlled, joint attention and cooperation were not associated. We explain differential social cognition outcomes in terms of the significant influences of previous engagement experiences and affect, in addition to cognition. Our study highlights developmental processes that underpin the emergence of social cognition in support of evolutionary continuity
Threshold effects of habitat fragmentation on fish diversity at landscapes scales
Habitat fragmentation involves habitat loss concomitant with changes in spatial configuration, confounding mechanistic drivers of biodiversity change associated with habitat disturbance. Studies attempting to isolate the effects of altered habitat configuration on associated communities have reported variable results. This variability may be explained in part by the fragmentation threshold hypothesis, which predicts that the effects of habitat configuration may only manifest at low levels of remnant habitat area. To separate the effects of habitat area and configuration on biodiversity, we surveyed fish communities in seagrass landscapes spanning a range of total seagrass area (2-74% cover within 16 000-m2 landscapes) and spatial configurations (1-75 discrete patches). We also measured variation in fine-scale seagrass variables, which are known to affect faunal community composition and may covary with landscape-scale features. We found that species richness decreased and the community structure shifted with increasing patch number within the landscape, but only when seagrass area was low (<25% cover). This pattern was driven by an absence of epibenthic species in low-seagrass-area, highly patchy landscapes. Additional tests corroborated that low movement rates among patches may underlie loss of vulnerable taxa. Fine-scale seagrass biomass was generally unimportant in predicting fish community composition. As such, we present empirical support for the fragmentation threshold hypothesis and we suggest that poor matrix quality and low dispersal ability for sensitive taxa in our system may explain why our results support the hypothesis, while previous empirical work has largely failed to match predictions
A Mathematical Model of Liver Cell Aggregation In Vitro
The behavior of mammalian cells within three-dimensional structures is an area of intense biological research and underpins the efforts of tissue engineers to regenerate human tissues for clinical applications. In the particular case of hepatocytes (liver cells), the formation of spheroidal multicellular aggregates has been shown to improve cell viability and functionality compared to traditional monolayer culture techniques. We propose a simple mathematical model for the early stages of this aggregation process, when cell clusters form on the surface of the extracellular matrix (ECM) layer on which they are seeded. We focus on interactions between the cells and the viscoelastic ECM substrate. Governing equations for the cells, culture medium, and ECM are derived using the principles of mass and momentum balance. The model is then reduced to a system of four partial differential equations, which are investigated analytically and numerically. The model predicts that provided cells are seeded at a suitable density, aggregates with clearly defined boundaries and a spatially uniform cell density on the interior will form. While the mechanical properties of the ECM do not appear to have a significant effect, strong cell-ECM interactions can inhibit, or possibly prevent, the formation of aggregates. The paper concludes with a discussion of our key findings and suggestions for future work
Pogodnosti i izazovi deterministiÄkog referentnog modela radijskog kanala
The paper introduces a new paradigm for reference channel models. Current reference channel models are designed as platforms that generate radio channels for testing using random values for their parameters. These parameters follow some pre-established distribution based on process called parameterization, i.e. statistical processing of previous real measurements or accurate ray tracing simulations. The paper argues that random generated channels give either no new insight or even delusive information and should be replaced with the initial set of radio channels that was used for parameterization. Therefore a deterministic reference channel model, as an emulator of previously recorded real radio channels, is proposed and its potential elaborated.U radu se uvodi nova paradigma za referentni model radijskog kanala. PostojeÄi referentni modeli radijskog kanala dizajnirani su kao platforma koja generira radio kanale za testiranje pomoÄu sluÄajnih vrijednosti za svoje parametre. Ovi parametri prate neke unaprijed utvrÄene raspodjele koje potjeÄu iz procesa parametrizacije, odnosno statistiÄke obrade prethodnih mjerenja ili toÄnih simulacija metodom slijeÄenja zrake. U radu se tvrdi da sluÄajno generirani kanali ili ne daju nove uvide ili Äak daju obmanjujuÄe informacije i valja ih zamijeniti s poÄetnim skupom radijskih kanala koji je koriÅ”ten za parametrizaciju. Stoga je predložen deterministiÄki referentni model radijskog kanala, kao emulator prethodno snimljenih stvarnih radio kanala, te je njegov potencijal razraÄen
Salt marsh shoreline geomorphology influences the success of restored oyster reefs and use by associated fauna
Restoration is increasingly implemented as a strategy to mitigate global declines in biogenic habitats, such as salt marshes and oyster reefs. Restoration efforts could be improved if we knew how site characteristics at landscape scales affect the ecological success of these foundation species. In this study, we determined how salt marsh shoreline geomorphologies (e.g. with variable hydrodynamic energy, fetch, erosion rates, and slopes) affect the success of restored intertidal oyster reefs, as well as how fauna utilize restored reefs and forage along marsh habitats. We constructed oyster reefs along three marsh shoreline geomorphologies in May 2012: 1) ācreekā (small-fetch, gradual-sloped shoreline), ārampā (large-fetch, gradual-sloped shoreline), and āscarpā (large-fetch, steep-sloped shoreline). Following recruitment, oyster spat density was greatest on ramp reefs; however, 2 years later, the highest adult oyster densities were found on creek reefs. Total nekton and blue crab catch rates in trawl nets were highest in the creek, while piscivore catch rates in gill nets were highest along the scarp shoreline. We found no difference in predation on snails in the salt marsh behind constructed reef and nonconstructed reference sites, but there were more snails consumed in the creek shoreline, which corresponded with the distribution of their major predatorāblue crabs. We conclude that oyster reef construction was most successful for oysters in small-fetch, gradual-sloped, creek environments. However, nekton abundance did not always follow the same trends as oyster density, which could suggest constructed reefs may offer similar habitat-related functions (prey availability and refuge) already present along existing salt marsh borders
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