A transcriptomic investigation of handicap models in sexual selection

We are grateful to D. Calder and T. Helps for access to study sites, and G. Murray-Dickson and M. Oliver for help with fieldwork and comments on manuscript drafts. This work was funded by NERC grant NE/D000602/1 (SBP), a NERC advanced fellowship (FM) and a BBSRC studentship (MAW)Peer reviewedPostprin

Quality of Life Predictors and Normative Data

Purpose: Identify predictors and normative data for quality of life (QOL) in a sample of Portuguese adults from general population Methods: A cross-sectional correlational study was undertaken with two hundred and fifty-five (N=255) individuals from Portuguese general population (mean age 43yrs, range 25-84yrs; 148 females, 107 males). Participants completed the European Portuguese version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life short-form instrument (WHOQOL-Bref) and the European Portuguese version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Demographic information was also collected. Results: Portuguese adults reported their QOL as good. The physical, psychological and environmental domains predicted 44% of the variance of QOL. The strongest predictor was the physical domain and the weakest was social relationships. Age, educational level, socioeconomic status and emotional status were significantly correlated with QOL and explained 25% of the variance of QOL. The strongest predictor of QOL was emotional status followed by education and age. QOL was significantly different according to: marital status; living place (mainland or islands); type of cohabitants; occupation; health. Conclusions: The sample of adults from general Portuguese population reported high levels of QOL. The life domain that better explained QOL was the physical domain. Among other variables, emotional status best predicted QOL. Further variables influenced overall QOL. These findings inform our understanding on adults from Portuguese general population QOL 2 and can be helpful for researchers and practitioners using this assessment tool to compare their results with normative data

Ion-lithium collision dynamics studied with an in-ring MOTReMi

We present a novel experimental tool allowing for kinematically complete studies of break-up processes of laser-cooled atoms. This apparatus, the 'MOTReMi', is a combination of a magneto-optical trap (MOT) and a Reaction Microscope (ReMi). Operated in an ion-storage ring, the new setup enables to study the dynamics in swift ion-atom collisions on an unprecedented level of precision and detail. In first experiments on collisions with 1.5 MeV/amu O$^{8+}$-Li the pure ionization of the valence electron as well as ionization-excitation of the lithium target has been investigated

Low-energy neutrinos at off-axis from a standard beta-beam

We discuss a scenario to extract up to 150 MeV neutrinos at a standard beta-beam facility using one and two detectors off-axis. In particular we show that the high-energy component of the neutrino fluxes can be subtracted through a specific combination of the response of two off-axis detectors. A systematic analysis of the neutrino fluxes using different detector geometries is presented, as well as a comparison with the expected fluxes at a low-energy beta-beam facility. The presented option could offer an alternative way to perform low-energy neutrino experiments.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

The Impact of the Global Financial Crisis on Poverty in the Philippines

The recent global financial and economic crisis which started in the United States and expanded to other developed countries has, to some extent, affected developing countries as well. Given the vulnerability of most developing countries, it is important to monitor the impact of this global crisis on poverty. This study, therefore, aims to assess the impact of the crisis on poverty in the Philippines. The result of this study would serve as inputs to policymakers in prioritizing mitigating measures that would address the impact of the crisis. In this study, monitoring is done primarily through the conduct of CBMS surveys in selected sentinel sites. Household- and community-level data were collected to capture the different dimensions of poverty. In addition to the CBMS core indicators, specific indicators (including the outcome and impact indicators) were monitored to determine the impact of the global crisis. These indicators were identified based on the relevant key transmission channels for the Philippines including overseas employment and remittances, and local employment. The study also looked at the different coping mechanisms adopted by the households in response to the crisis. The study also attempted to identify who are able to access the programs which were being implemented in the community. Ten barangays all over the Philippines were selected to serve as poverty observatories or sentinel sites for monitoring the impact of the global crisis. Selection of these sites was also based on the relevant transmission channels for the Philippines. Results reveal that although the impact of the crisis is generally minimal, the crisis has affected some specific sectors in the economy. The degree of impact also varies among different groups of households. Hence, policies should be designed to mitigate the impact of the crisis on these affected sectors and groups of households

INTIMATE'96. A shallow water tomography experiment devoted to the study of internal tides

The INTIMATE (INternal Tide Investigation by Means of Acoustic Tomography Experiment) project is devoted to the study of internal tides by use of acoustic tomography. The first exploratory experiment was carried out in June 1996 on the continental shelf off the west coast of Portugal. A towed broadband acoustic source and a 4-hydrophone vertical array were used. Acoustic data were collected for 5 days, including legs where the source ship was moving and legs with the ship on station. The purpose of this paper is to briefly discuss some effects of the environment on acoustic fluctuations.PRAXIS XX

Intimate '96: shallow water tomography in the sea of the condemned

As is well-known, the tidal force of the moon and the sun can cause notable changes in the sea level. Besides this so-called barotropic effect, the tidal force also drives internal waves in a daily rhythm. Thus, the internal wave spectrum is often dominated by a single component with perhaps 10 km from crest to crest. This ‘‘internal tide’’ tends to propagate toward shore and has its greatest height near the shelfbreak

Using the echo pattern to range a sound source

One of the currently exciting areas in SONAR research is in the use of acoustic channel models to improve SONAR systems. In this paper, we use the echo pattern at a single phone to localise a sound source in both range and depth in the ocean. To make the localisation robust, the signal processing is set-up with particular regard to which acoustic features are reliable and clear encoders of the source position. The resulting algorithm was tested using experimental data collected during INTIMATE’96- a shallow water experiment conducted on the Portuguese continental shelf[1]. The results show successful tracking over a period of several days encompassing two fixed 25-hour stations and an 18-hour period of ship manoeuvres.This work was supported in part by ONR Grant N00014-95-0558. One of us (M.B.P) gratefully acknowledges support under the PRAXIS program as a visiting Professor at the Universidade o Algarve and by the New Jersey Institute of Technology under the sabbatical program. The data was collected on a portable array lent to us by the SACLANT Undersea Research Centre

A Conserved Vector Current test using low energy beta-beams

We discuss the possibility of testing the weak currents and, in particular, the weak magnetism term through the measurement of the electron anti-neutrinos capture by protons at a low energy beta-beam facility. We analyze the sensitivity using both the total number of events and the angular distribution of the positrons emitted in a water Cerenkov detector. We show that the weak magnetism form factor might be determined with better than several percent accuracy using the angular distribution. This offers a new way of testing the Conserved Vector Current hypothesis.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure