947 research outputs found
Does the Mediterranean Sea influence the European summer climate? The anomalous summer 2003 as a testbed
The European summer 2003 presents a rare opportunity to investigate dynamical interactions in the otherwise variable European climate. Not only did air temperature show a distinct signal, but the Mediterranean sea surface temperature (SST) was also exceptionally warm. The traditional view of the role of the Mediterranean Sea in the climate system highlights the influence of the atmospheric circulation on the Mediterranean Sea. The question of whether the Mediterranean Sea feeds back on the atmospheric dynamics is of central importance. The case of the extremely anomalous summer 2003 allows for investigating the issue under realistic boundary conditions. The present study takes advantage of a newly developed regional coupled atmosphereocean model for this purpose. Experiments with prescribed historical versus climatological SST suggest that the local atmospheric circulation is not strongly sensitive to the state of the Mediterranean Sea, but its influence on the moisture balance and its role in the regional hydrological cycle is substantial. Warmer Mediterranean SSTs lead to enhanced evaporation and moisture transport in the atmosphere. Results of regional coupled simulations with different ocean initial conditions imply that because of the strong stratification of the surface waters in summer, the response time of the upper layers of the Mediterranean Sea to atmospheric forcing is rather short. It can be concluded that the role of the Mediterranean Sea in the European summer climate is mostly passive. In winter, however, since the upper layers of the Mediterranean Sea are well mixed, the memory of the Mediterranean SSTs stretches over longer time scales, which implies a potential for actively governing regional climate characteristics to some extent. © 2012 American Meteorological Society
Dolbeault and J-Invariant Cohomologies on Almost Complex Manifolds
In this paper we relate the cohomology of J-invariant forms to the Dolbeault cohomology of an almost complex manifold. We find necessary and sufficient condition for the inclusion of the former into the latter to be true up to isomorphism. We also extend some results obtained by J. Cirici and S. O. Wilson about the computation of the left-invariant cohomology of nilmanifolds to the setting of solvmanifolds. Several examples are given
Application of novel techniques for interferogram analysis to laser-plasma femtosecond probing
Recently, two novel techniques for the extraction of the phase-shift map
(Tomassini {\it et.~al.}, Applied Optics {\bf 40} 35 (2001)) and the electronic
density map estimation (Tomassini P. and Giulietti A., Optics Communication
{\bf 199}, pp 143-148 (2001)) have been proposed. In this paper we apply both
methods to a sample laser-plasma interferogram obtained with femtoseconds probe
pulse, in an experimental setup devoted to laser particle acceleration studies.Comment: Submitted to Laser and Particle Beam
Evolution of Cooperation and Coordination in a Dynamically Networked Society
Situations of conflict giving rise to social dilemmas are widespread in
society and game theory is one major way in which they can be investigated.
Starting from the observation that individuals in society interact through
networks of acquaintances, we model the co-evolution of the agents' strategies
and of the social network itself using two prototypical games, the Prisoner's
Dilemma and the Stag Hunt. Allowing agents to dismiss ties and establish new
ones, we find that cooperation and coordination can be achieved through the
self-organization of the social network, a result that is non-trivial,
especially in the Prisoner's Dilemma case. The evolution and stability of
cooperation implies the condensation of agents exploiting particular game
strategies into strong and stable clusters which are more densely connected,
even in the more difficult case of the Prisoner's Dilemma.Comment: 18 pages, 14 figures. to appea
Network Automata: Coupling structure and function in real-world networks
We introduce Network Automata, a framework which couples the topological
evolution of a network to its structure. It is useful for dealing with networks
in which the topology evolves according to some specified microscopic rules
and, simultaneously, there is a dynamic process taking place on the network
that both depends on its structure but is also capable of modifying it. It is a
generic framework for modeling systems in which network structure, dynamics,
and function are interrelated. At the practical level, this framework allows
for easy implementation of the microscopic rules involved in such systems. To
demonstrate the approach, we develop a class of simple biologically inspired
models of fungal growth.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, 1 tables. Revised content - surplus text and
figures remove
Mammalian models of extended healthy lifespan
Over the last two centuries, there has been a significant increase in average lifespan expectancy in the developed world. One unambiguous clinical implication of getting older is the risk of experiencing age-related diseases including various cancers, dementia, type-2 diabetes, cataracts and osteoporosis. Historically, the ageing process and its consequences were thought to be intractable. However, over the last two decades or so, a wealth of empirical data has been generated which demonstrates that longevity in model organisms can be extended through the manipulation of individual genes. In particular, many pathological conditions associated with the ageing process in model organisms, and importantly conserved from nematodes to humans, are attenuated in long-lived genetic mutants. For example, several long-lived genetic mouse models show attenuation in age-related cognitive decline, adiposity, cancer and glucose intolerance. Therefore, these long-lived mice enjoy a longer period without suffering the various sequelae of ageing. The greatest challenge in the biology of ageing is to now identify the mechanisms underlying increased healthy lifespan in these model organisms. Given that the elderly are making up an increasingly greater proportion of society, this focused approach in model organisms should help identify tractable interventions that can ultimately be translated to humans
Interpersonal sensorimotor communication shapes intrapersonal coordination in a musical ensemble
Social behaviors rely on the coordination of multiple effectors within one’s own body as well as between the interacting bodies. However, little is known about how coupling at the interpersonal level impacts coordination among body parts at the intrapersonal level, especially in ecological, complex, situations. Here, we perturbed interpersonal sensorimotor communication in violin players of an orchestra and investigated how this impacted musicians’ intrapersonal movements coordination. More precisely, first section violinists were asked to turn their back to the conductor and to face the second section of violinists, who still faced the conductor. Motion capture of head and bow kinematics showed that altering the usual interpersonal coupling scheme increased intrapersonal coordination. Our perturbation also induced smaller yet more complex head movements, which spanned multiple, faster timescales that closely matched the metrical levels of the musical score. Importantly, perturbation differentially increased intrapersonal coordination across these timescales. We interpret this behavioral shift as a sensorimotor strategy that exploits periodical movements to effectively tune sensory processing in time and allows coping with the disruption in the interpersonal coupling scheme. As such, head movements, which are usually deemed to fulfill communicative functions, may possibly be adapted to help regulate own performance in time
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