260 research outputs found
Harvest-induced disruptive selection increases variance in fitness-related traits
The form of Darwinian selection has important ecological and management implications. Negative effects of harvesting are often ascribed to size truncation (i.e. strictly directional selection against large individuals) and resultant decrease in trait variability, which depresses capacity to buffer environmental change, hinders evolutionary rebound and ultimately impairs population recovery. However, the exact form of harvest-induced selection is generally unknown and the effects of harvest on trait variability remain unexplored. Here we use unique data from the Windermere (UK) long-term ecological experiment to show in a top predator (pike, Esox lucius) that the fishery does not induce size truncation but disruptive (diversifying) selection, and does not decrease but rather increases variability in pike somatic growth rate and size at age. This result is supported by complementary modelling approaches removing the effects of catch selectivity, selection prior to the catch and environmental variation. Therefore, fishing most likely increased genetic variability for somatic growth in pike and presumably favoured an observed rapid evolutionary rebound after fishery relaxation. Inference about the mechanisms through which harvesting negatively affects population numbers and recovery should systematically be based on a measure of the exact form of selection. From a management perspective, disruptive harvesting necessitates combining a preservation of large individuals with moderate exploitation rates, and thus provides a comprehensive tool for sustainable exploitation of natural resources
Graphene-doped photo-patternable ionogels: tuning of conductivity and mechanical stability of 3D microstructures
This work reports for the first time the development of enhanced conductivity, graphene- doped photo-patternable hybrid organic-inorganic ionogels and the effect of the subsequent materials condensation on the conductivity and mechanical stability of three- dimensional microstructures fabricated by multi-photon polymerisation (MPP). Ionogels were based on photocurable silicon/zirconium hybrid sol-gel materials and phosphonium (trihexyltetradecylphosphonium dicyanamide [P6,6,6,14][DCA] ionic liquid (IL). To optimise the dispersion of graphene within the ionogel matrices, aqueous solutions of graphene were prepared, as opposed to the conventional graphene powder approach, and employed as catalysts of hydrolysis and condensation reactions occurring in the sol-gel process.
Ionogels were prepared via a two step process by varying the hydrolysis degree from 25 to 50%, IL content between 0-50 w/w%, and the inorganic modifier (zirconate complex) concentration from 30 to 60 mol.% against the photocurable ormosil and they were characterised via Raman, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy. MPP was performed on the hybrid ionogels, resulting in three- dimensional microstructures that were characterised using scanning electron microscopy.
It is clearly demonstrated that the molecular formulation of the ionogels, including the concentration of graphene and the zirconate network modifier, play a critical role in the conductivity of the ionogels and influence the resulting mechanical stability of the fabricated three-dimensional microstructures. This work aims to establish for the first time the relationship between the molecular design and condensation of materials in the physico-chemistry and dynamic of ionogels
Evolution of Diverse, Manufacturable Robot Body Plans
Advances in rapid prototyping have opened up new avenues of research within Evolutionary Robotics in which not only controllers but also the body plans (morphologies) of robots can evolve in real-time and real-space. However, this also introduces new challenges, in that robot models that can be instantiated from an encoding in simulation might not be manufacturable in practice (due to constraints associated with the 3D printing and/or automated assembly processes). We introduce a representation for evolving (wheeled) robots with a printed plastic skeleton, and evaluate three variants of a novelty-search algorithm in terms of their ability to produce populations of manufacturable but diverse robots. While the set of manufacturable robots discovered represent only a small fraction of the overall search space of all robots, all methods are shown to be capable of generating a diverse population of manufacturable robots that we conjecture is large enough to seed an evolving robotic ecosystem
Hardware Design for Autonomous Robot Evolution
The long term goal of the Autonomous Robot Evolution (ARE) project is to create populations of physical robots, in which both the controllers and body plans are evolved. The transition for evolutionary designs from purely simulation environments into the real world creates the possibility for new types of system able to adapt to unknown and changing environments. In this paper, a system for creating robots is introduced in order to allow for their body plans to be designed algorithmically and physically instantiated using the previously introduced Robot Fabricator. This system consists of two types of components. Firstly, \textit{skeleton} parts are created bespoke for each design by 3D printing, allowing the overall shape of the robot to include almost infinite variety. To allow for the shortcomings of 3D printing, the second type of component are \textit{organs} which contain components such as motors and sensors, and can be attached to the skeleton to provide particular functions. Specific organ designs are presented, with discussion of the design challenges for evolutionary robotics in hardware. The Robot Fabricator is extended to allow for robots with joints, and some example body plans shown to demonstrate the diversity possible using this system of robot generation
Effects of sizeâ and sexâselective harvesting: an integral projection model approach
Harvesting is often sizeâselective, and in species with sexual size dimorphism, it may also be sexâselective. A powerful approach to investigate potential consequences of sizeâ and/or sexâselective harvesting is to simulate it in a demographic population model. We developed a populationâbased integral projection model for a sizeâ and sexâstructured species, the commonly exploited pike (Esox lucius). The model allows reproductive success to be proportional to body size and potentially limited by both sexes. We ran all harvest simulations with both lower size limits and slot limits, and to quantify the effects of selective harvesting, we calculated sex ratios and the longâterm population growth rate (λ). In addition, we quantified to what degree purely sizeâselective harvesting was sexâselective, and determined when λ shifted from being female to male limited under sizeâ and sexâselective harvesting. We found that purely sizeâselective harvest can be sexâselective, and that it depends on the harvest limits and the size distributions of the sexes. For the sizeâ and sexâselective harvest simulations, λ increased with harvest intensity up to a threshold as females limited reproduction. Beyond this threshold, males became the limiting sex, and λ decreased as more males were harvested. The peak in λ, and the corresponding sex ratio in harvest, varied with both the selectivity and the intensity of the harvest simulation. Our model represents a useful extension of sizeâstructured population models as it includes both sexes, relaxes the assumption of female dominance, and accounts for sizeâdependent fecundity. The consequences of selective harvesting presented here are especially relevant for sizeâ and sexâstructured exploited species, such as commercial fisheries. Thus, our model provides a useful contribution toward the development of more sustainable harvesting regimes
One-neutron removal reactions on light neutron-rich nuclei
A study of high energy (43--68 MeV/nucleon) one-neutron removal reactions on
a range of neutron-rich psd-shell nuclei (Z = 5--9, A = 12--25) has been
undertaken. The inclusive longitudinal and transverse momentum distributions
for the core fragments, together with the cross sections have been measured for
breakup on a carbon target. Momentum distributions for reactions on tantalum
were also measured for a subset of nuclei. An extended version of the Glauber
model incorporating second order noneikonal corrections to the JLM
parametrisation of the optical potential has been used to describe the nuclear
breakup, whilst the Coulomb dissociation is treated within first order
perturbation theory. The projectile structure has been taken into account via
shell model calculations employing the psd-interaction of Warburton and Brown.
Both the longitudinal and transverse momentum distributions, together with the
integrated cross sections were well reproduced by these calculations and
spin-parity assignments are thus proposed for B, C, N,
O, F. In addition to the large spectroscopic amplitudes for
the s intruder configuration in the N=9 isotones,B and
C, significant s admixtures appear to occur in the
ground state of the neighbouring N=10 nuclei B and C. Similarly,
crossing the N=14 subshell, the occupation of the s orbital is
observed for O, F. Analysis of the longitudinal and transverse
momentum distributions reveals that both carry spectroscopic information, often
of a complementary nature. The general utility of high energy nucleon removal
reactions as a spectroscopic tool is also examined.Comment: 50 pages, 19 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
One-neutron removal reactions on neutron-rich psd-shell nuclei
A systematic study of high energy, one-neutron removal reactions on 23
neutron-rich, psd--shell nuclei (Z=5-9, A=12-25) has been carried out. The
longitudinal momentum distributions of the core fragments and corresponding
single-neutron removal cross sections are reported for reactions on a carbon
target. Extended Glauber model calculations, weighted by the spectroscopic
factors obtained from shell model calculations, are compared to the
experimental results. Conclusions are drawn regarding the use of such reactions
as a spectroscopic tool and spin-parity assignments are proposed for 15B, 17C,
19-21N, 21,23O, 23-25F. The nature of the weakly bound systems 14B and 15,17C
is discussed.Comment: 11 pages + 2 figure
The effect of noise and lipid signals on determination of Gaussian and non-Gaussian diffusion parameters in skeletal muscle
This work characterizes the effect of lipid and noise signals on muscle diffusion parameter estimation in several conventional and non-Gaussian models, the ultimate objectives being to characterize popular fat suppression approaches for human muscle diffusion studies, to provide simulations to inform experimental work and to report normative non-Gaussian parameter values. The models investigated in this work were the Gaussian monoexponential and intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) models, and the non-Gaussian kurtosis and stretched exponential models. These were evaluated via simulations, and in vitro and in vivo experiments. Simulations were performed using literature input values, modeling fat contamination as an additive baseline to data, whereas phantom studies used a phantom containing aliphatic and olefinic fats and muscle-like gel. Human imaging was performed in the hamstring muscles of 10 volunteers. Diffusion-weighted imaging was applied with spectral attenuated inversion recovery (SPAIR), slice-select gradient reversal and water-specific excitation fat suppression, alone and in combination. Measurement bias (accuracy) and dispersion (precision) were evaluated, together with intra- and inter-scan repeatability. Simulations indicated that noise in magnitude images resulted in <6% bias in diffusion coefficients and non-Gaussian parameters (α, K), whereas baseline fitting minimized fat bias for all models, except IVIM. In vivo, popular SPAIR fat suppression proved inadequate for accurate parameter estimation, producing non-physiological parameter estimates without baseline fitting and large biases when it was used. Combining all three fat suppression techniques and fitting data with a baseline offset gave the best results of all the methods studied for both Gaussian diffusion and, overall, for non-Gaussian diffusion. It produced consistent parameter estimates for all models, except IVIM, and highlighted non-Gaussian behavior perpendicular to muscle fibers (α ~ 0.95, K ~ 3.1). These results show that effective fat suppression is crucial for accurate measurement of non-Gaussian diffusion parameters, and will be an essential component of quantitative studies of human muscle quality
Practical Hardware for Evolvable Robots
The evolutionary robotics field offers the possibility of autonomously generating robots that are adapted to desired tasks by iteratively optimising across successive generations of robots with varying configurations until a high-performing candidate is found. The prohibitive time and cost of actually building this many robots means that most evolutionary robotics work is conducted in simulation, but to apply evolved robots to real-world problems, they must be implemented in hardware, which brings new challenges. This paper explores in detail the design of an example system for realising diverse evolved robot bodies, and specifically how this interacts with the evolutionary process. We discover that every aspect of the hardware implementation introduces constraints that change the evolutionary space, and exploring this interplay between hardware constraints and evolution is the key contribution of this paper. In simulation, any robot that can be defined by a suitable genetic representation can be implemented and evaluated, but in hardware, real-world limitations like manufacturing/assembly constraints and electrical power delivery mean that many of these robots cannot be built, or will malfunction in operation. This presents the novel challenge of how to constrain an evolutionary process within the space of evolvable phenotypes to only those regions that are practically feasible: the viable phenotype space. Methods of phenotype filtering and repair were introduced to address this, and found to degrade the diversity of the robot population and impede traversal of the exploration space. Furthermore, the degrees of freedom permitted by the hardware constraints were found to be poorly matched to the types of morphological variation that would be the most useful in the target environment. Consequently, the ability of the evolutionary process to generate robots with effective adaptations was greatly reduced. The conclusions from this are twofold. 1) Designing a hardware platform for evolving robots requires different thinking, in which all design decisions should be made with reference to their impact on the viable phenotype space. 2) It is insufficient to just evolve robots in simulation without detailed consideration of how they will be implemented in hardware, because the hardware constraints have a profound impact on the evolutionary space
Coulomb breakup of neutron-rich Na isotopes near the island of inversion
First results are reported on the ground state configurations of the
neutron-rich Na isotopes, obtained via Coulomb dissociation (CD)
measurements as a method of the direct probe. The invariant mass spectra of
those nuclei have been obtained through measurement of the four-momentum of all
decay products after Coulomb excitation on a target at energies of
400-430 MeV/nucleon using FRS-ALADIN-LAND setup at GSI, Darmstadt. Integrated
Coulomb-dissociation cross-sections (CD) of 89 mb and 167 mb up to
excitation energy of 10 MeV for one neutron removal from Na and
Na respectively, have been extracted. The major part of one neutron
removal, CD cross-sections of those nuclei populate core, in its' ground state.
A comparison with the direct breakup model, suggests the predominant occupation
of the valence neutron in the ground state of Na and
Na is the orbital with small contribution in the
-orbital which are coupled with ground state of the core. The ground state
configurations of these nuclei are as Na_{gs (1^+)\otimes\nu_{s,d} and
Na, respectively. The ground state spin
and parity of these nuclei, obtained from this experiment are in agreement with
earlier reported values. The spectroscopic factors for the valence neutron
occupying the and orbitals for these nuclei in the ground state have
been extracted and reported for the first time. A comparison of the
experimental findings with the shell model calculation using MCSM suggests a
lower limit of around 4.3 MeV of the sd-pf shell gap in Na.Comment: Modified version of the manuscript is accepted for publication in
Journal of Physics G, Jan., 201
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