31,698 research outputs found
Adaptive evolution of molecular phenotypes
Molecular phenotypes link genomic information with organismic functions,
fitness, and evolution. Quantitative traits are complex phenotypes that depend
on multiple genomic loci. In this paper, we study the adaptive evolution of a
quantitative trait under time-dependent selection, which arises from
environmental changes or through fitness interactions with other co-evolving
phenotypes. We analyze a model of trait evolution under mutations and genetic
drift in a single-peak fitness seascape. The fitness peak performs a
constrained random walk in the trait amplitude, which determines the
time-dependent trait optimum in a given population. We derive analytical
expressions for the distribution of the time-dependent trait divergence between
populations and of the trait diversity within populations. Based on this
solution, we develop a method to infer adaptive evolution of quantitative
traits. Specifically, we show that the ratio of the average trait divergence
and the diversity is a universal function of evolutionary time, which predicts
the stabilizing strength and the driving rate of the fitness seascape. From an
information-theoretic point of view, this function measures the
macro-evolutionary entropy in a population ensemble, which determines the
predictability of the evolutionary process. Our solution also quantifies two
key characteristics of adapting populations: the cumulative fitness flux, which
measures the total amount of adaptation, and the adaptive load, which is the
fitness cost due to a population's lag behind the fitness peak.Comment: Figures are not optimally displayed in Firefo
Improving green manure quality with phosphate rocks in Ontario Canada
Phosphate rock (PR) was applied to one conventional and two organic dairy fields and planted with buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) as a green manure crop. In total, five types of PR were applied at three application rates in order to determine the yield, concentration of P in the aboveground tissue and the P uptake of buckwheat. It was found that PR of relatively high carbonate substitution and small particle diameter could increase buckwheat tissue concentrations to a quality such that mineralization of the buckwheat mulch could occur. Buckwheat mulch and residual PR increased soil P flux as determined by anion exchange membranes in situ in the following spring. This provides evidence that buckwheat of high P quality has the potential to supply P to a subsequent crop
Effects of geometric constraints on the nuclear multifragmentation process
We include in statistical model calculations the facts that in the nuclear
multifragmentation process the fragments are produced within a given volume and
have a finite size. The corrections associated with these constraints affect
the partition modes and, as a consequence, other observables in the process. In
particular, we find that the favored fragmenting modes strongly suppress the
collective flow energy, leading to much lower values compared to what is
obtained from unconstrained calculations. This leads, for a given total
excitation energy, to a nontrivial correlation between the breakup temperature
and the collective expansion velocity. In particular we find that, under some
conditions, the temperature of the fragmenting system may increase as a
function of this expansion velocity, contrary to what it might be expected.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
Development of electroluminescent diode nd: yag lasers suitable for space use. GaAlAs diode development
Statistical multifragmentation model with discretized energy and the generalized Fermi breakup. I. Formulation of the model
The Generalized Fermi Breakup recently demonstrated to be formally equivalent
to the Statistical Multifragmentation Model, if the contribution of excited
states are included in the state densities of the former, is implemented. Since
this treatment requires the application of the Statistical Multifragmentation
Model repeatedly on the hot fragments until they have decayed to their ground
states, it becomes extremely computational demanding, making its application to
the systems of interest extremely difficult. Based on exact recursion formulae
previously developed by Chase and Mekjian to calculate the statistical weights
very efficiently, we present an implementation which is efficient enough to
allow it to be applied to large systems at high excitation energies. Comparison
with the GEMINI++ sequential decay code shows that the predictions obtained
with our treatment are fairly similar to those obtained with this more
traditional model.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figure
Dynamics and structure of an aging binary colloidal glass
We study aging in a colloidal suspension consisting of micron-sized particles
in a liquid. This system is made glassy by increasing the particle
concentration. We observe samples composed of particles of two sizes, with a
size ratio of 1:2.1 and a volume fraction ratio 1:6, using fast laser scanning
confocal microscopy. This technique yields real-time, three-dimensional movies
deep inside the colloidal glass. Specifically, we look at how the size, motion
and structural organization of the particles relate to the overall aging of the
glass. Particles move in spatially heterogeneous cooperative groups. These
mobile regions tend to be richer in small particles, and these small particles
facilitate the motion of nearby particles of both sizes.Comment: 7 pages; submitted to Phys. Rev. E. Revised with 1 new figure,
improved tex
Coupling and higher-order effects in the 12C(d,p)13C and 13C(p,d)12C reactions
Coupled channels calculations are performed for the 12C(d,p)13C and
13C(p,d)12C reactions between 7 and 60 MeV to study the effect of inelastic
couplings in transfer reactions. The effect of treating transfer beyond Born
approximation is also addressed. The coupling to the 12C 2+ state is found to
change the peak cross-section by up to 15 %. Effects beyond Born approximation
lead to a significant renormalization of the cross-sections, between 5 and 10 %
for deuteron energies above 10 MeV, and larger than 10 % for lower energies. We
also performed calculations including the remnant term in the transfer
operator, which has a small impact on the 12C(d,p)13C(g.s.) and
13C(p,d)12C(g.s.) reactions. Above 30 MeV deuteron energy, the effect of the
remnant term is larger than 10 % for the 12C(d,p)13C(3.09 MeV) reaction and is
found to increase with decreasing neutron separation energy for the 3.09 MeV
state of 13C. This is of importance for transfer reactions with weakly bound
nuclei.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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