1,008 research outputs found
Acute and semi-chronic toxicity of vanadium tested on copepods of the species Temora longicornis
Educational recommendations for the conduct, content and format of EULAR musculoskeletal ultrasound Teaching the Teachers Courses
To produce educational guidelines for the conduct, content and format of theoretical and practical teaching at EULAR musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) Teaching the Teachers (TTT) Courses
The Nature of the Near-IR Core Source in 3C 433
We report the analysis of near-infrared imaging, polarimetric and
spectroscopic observations of the powerful radio galaxy 3C433, obtained with
the HST and UKIRT telescopes. The high spatial resolution of HST allows us to
study the near-nuclear regions of the galaxy (<1 kpc). In line with previous
observations, we find that 3C433 has an unresolved core source that is detected
in all near-IR bands, but dominates over the host galaxy emission at 2.05 um.
Our analysis reveals: (1) the presence of a dust lane aligned close to
perpendicular (PA=70\pm5\degr) to the inner radio jet axis
(PA=-12\pm2\degr); (2) a steep slope to the near-IR SED (;
F); (3) an apparent lack of broad permitted
emission lines at near-IR wavelengths, in particular the absence of a broad
Pa emission line; and (4) high intrinsic polarization for the
unresolved core nuclear source ( per cent), with an E-vector
perpendicular (PA=83.0\pm 2.3\degr) to the inner radio jet. Using five
independent techniques we determine an extinction to the compact core source in
the range 3<A_V<67 mag. An analysis of the long wavelength SED rules out a
synchrotron origin for the high near-IR polarization of the compact core
source. Therefore, scattering and dichroic extinction are plausible polarizing
mechanisms, although in both of these cases the broad permitted lines from the
AGN are required to have a width >10^4 km/s (FWHM) to escape detection in our
near-IR spectrum. Dichroic extinction is the most likely polarization mechanism
because it is consistent with the various available extinction estimates. In
this case, a highly ordered, coherent toroidal magnetic field must be present
in the obscuring structure close to the nucleus.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Grooming coercion and the post-conflict trading of social services in wild Barbary macaques
In animal and human societies, social services such as protection from predators are often exchanged between group
members. The tactics that individuals display to obtain a service depend on its value and on differences between individuals in their capacity to aggressively obtain it. Here we analysed the exchange of valuable social services (i.e. grooming and relationship repair) in the aftermath of a conflict, in wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus). The relationship repair function of post-conflict affiliation (i.e. reconciliation) was apparent in the victim but not in the aggressor. Conversely, we found evidence for grooming coercion by the aggressor; when the victim failed to give grooming soon after a conflict they received renewed aggression from the aggressor. We argue that post-conflict affiliation between former opponents can be better described as a trading of social services rather than coercion alone, as both animals obtain some benefits (i.e.
grooming for the aggressor and relationship repair for the victim). Our study is the first to test the importance of social coercion in the aftermath of a conflict. Differences in competitive abilities can affect the exchange of services and the occurrence of social coercion in animal societies. This may also help explain the variance between populations and species in their social behaviour and conflict management strategies
Commensal Rats and Humans: : Integrating Rodent Phylogeography and Zooarchaeology to Highlight Connections between Human Societies
Phylogeography and zooarchaeology are largely separate disciplines, yet each interrogates relationships between humans and commensal species. Knowledge gained about human history from studies of four commensal rats (Rattus rattus, R. tanezumi, R. exulans, and R. norvegicus) is outlined, and open questions about their spread alongside humans are identified. Limitations of phylogeographic and zooarchaeological studies are highlighted, then how integration would increase understanding of species’ demographic histories and resultant inferences about human societies is discussed. How rat expansions have informed the understanding of human migration, urban settlements, trade networks, and intra- and interspecific competition is reviewed. Since each rat species is associated with different human societies, they identify unique ecological and historical/cultural conditions that influenced their expansion. Finally, priority research areas including nuclear genome based phylogeographies are identified using archaeological evidence to understand R. norvegicus expansion across China, multi-wave colonization of R. rattus across Europe, and competition between R. rattus and R. norvegicus
GreenPhylDB: a database for plant comparative genomics
GreenPhylDB (http://greenphyl.cirad.fr) is a comprehensive platform designed to facilitate comparative functional genomics in Oryza sativa and Arabidopsis thaliana genomes. The main functions of GreenPhylDB are to assign O. sativa and A. thaliana sequences to gene families using a semi-automatic clustering procedure and to create ‘orthologous’ groups using a phylogenomic approach. To date, GreenPhylDB comprises the most complete list of plant gene families, which have been manually curated (6421 families). GreenPhylDB also contains all of the phylogenomic relationships computed for 4375 families. A total of 492 TAIR, 1903 InterPro and 981 KEGG families and subfamilies were manually curated using the clusters created with the TribeMCL software. GreenPhylDB integrates information from several other databases including UniProt, KEGG, InterPro, TAIR and TIGR. Several entry points can be used to display phylogenomic relationships for A. thaliana or O. sativa sequences, using TAIR, TIGR gene ID, family name, InterPro, gene alias, UniProt or protein/nucleic sequence. Finally, a powerful phylogenomics tool, GreenPhyl Ortholog Search Tool (GOST), was incorporated into GreenPhylDB to predict orthologous relationships between O. sativa/A. thaliana protein(s) and sequences from other plant species
Error threshold in optimal coding, numerical criteria and classes of universalities for complexity
The free energy of the Random Energy Model at the transition point between
ferromagnetic and spin glass phases is calculated. At this point, equivalent to
the decoding error threshold in optimal codes, free energy has finite size
corrections proportional to the square root of the number of degrees. The
response of the magnetization to the ferromagnetic couplings is maximal at the
values of magnetization equal to half. We give several criteria of complexity
and define different universality classes. According to our classification, at
the lowest class of complexity are random graph, Markov Models and Hidden
Markov Models. At the next level is Sherrington-Kirkpatrick spin glass,
connected with neuron-network models. On a higher level are critical theories,
spin glass phase of Random Energy Model, percolation, self organized
criticality (SOC). The top level class involves HOT design, error threshold in
optimal coding, language, and, maybe, financial market. Alive systems are also
related with the last class. A concept of anti-resonance is suggested for the
complex systems.Comment: 17 page
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