464 research outputs found
Stable isotopes reveal differences in diet among reed bunting subspecies that vary in bill size
Reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus subspecies vary considerably in bill size and shape and seem to be at an early stage of speciation, in which bill might be indirectly causing reproductive isolation. Hence, we evaluated whether bill size, as well as age and sex, are associated with foraging niche in three west European subspecies of reed bunting: the thin-billed schoeniclus, the intermediate-billed lusitanica and the thick-billed witherbyi. Blood sampling was undertaken at three sites in southwest Europe during the winter (when these subspecies co-occur), and stable isotope analyses (carbon and nitrogen) were performed to assess their foraging niches. Stable isotope analyses of potential food items confirmed uniform baseline isotopic composition among sites. schoeniclus showed a significantly broader isotopic niche than lusitanica and witherbyi, which seemed otherwise similar despite the fact that witherbyi is more divergent in bill traits. Stable isotope ratios were consistent with the latter two subspecies feeding on C3-plant-feeding insects, whereas schoeniclus diet also included C4 plant material. Despite its lower sexual dimorphism, sex and age differences were found only in schoeniclus, but these differences vary between locations in a complex manner. Our results suggest that bill size and shape differentiated between northern, migratory and southern, resident subspecies as a consequence of natural selection through competition during the winter, which is now reflected in isotopic niche divergence between subspecies. The potential roles of sexual selection, reed thickness and summer temperature on the difference in bill size (and greater sexual dimorphism) between lusitanica and witherbyi are discussed
Polycrystalline Ni nanotubes under compression: a molecular dynamics study
Mechanical properties of nanomaterials, such as nanowires and nanotubes, are an important feature for the design of novel electromechanical nano-architectures. Since grain boundary structures and surface modifications can be used as a route to modify nanostructured materials, it is of interest to understand how they affect material strength and plasticity. We report large-scale atomistic simulations to determine the mechanical response of nickel nanowires and nanotubes subject to uniaxial compression. Our results suggest that the incorporation of nanocrystalline structure allows completely flexible deformation, in sharp contrast with single crystals. While crystalline structures at high compression are dominated by dislocation pinning and the multiplication of highly localized shear regions, in nanocrystalline systems the dislocation distribution is significantly more homogeneous. Therefore, for large compressions (large strains) coiling instead of bulging is the dominant deformation mode. Additionally, it is observed that nanotubes with only 70% of the nanowire mass but of the same diameter, exhibit similar mechanical behavior up to 0.3 strain. Our results are useful for the design of new flexible and light-weight metamaterials, when highly deformable struts are required.Fil: Rojas Nunez, J.. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; ChileFil: Baltazar, S. E.. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; ChileFil: Gonzalez, R. I.. Universidad Mayor; ChileFil: Bringa, Eduardo Marcial. Universidad Mayor; Chile. Universidad de Mendoza. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Allende, S.. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; ChileFil: Kiwi, M.. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; ChileFil: Valencia, F. J.. Universidad de Santiago de Chile; Chile. Universidad Mayor; Chil
Aqueous processing of organic semiconductors enabled by stable nanoparticles with built-in surfactants
Lagrangian formulation for noncommutative nonlinear systems
In this work we use the well known formalism developed by Faddeev and Jackiw
to introduce noncommutativity within two nonlinear systems, the SU(2) Skyrme
and O(3) nonlinear sigma models. The final result is the Lagrangian
formulations for the noncommutative versions of both models. The possibility of
obtaining different noncommutative versions for these nonlinear systems is
demonstrated.Comment: 8 pages. Revex 4.
From coinductive proofs to exact real arithmetic: theory and applications
Based on a new coinductive characterization of continuous functions we
extract certified programs for exact real number computation from constructive
proofs. The extracted programs construct and combine exact real number
algorithms with respect to the binary signed digit representation of real
numbers. The data type corresponding to the coinductive definition of
continuous functions consists of finitely branching non-wellfounded trees
describing when the algorithm writes and reads digits. We discuss several
examples including the extraction of programs for polynomials up to degree two
and the definite integral of continuous maps
Ambient temperature and mortality due to acute myocardial infarction in Brazil: an ecological study of time-series analyses
Ambient temperature may lead to decompensation of cardiovascular diseases and deaths by acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Little is known about this relationship in South American countries located in regions of a hot climate. This study aims to investigate the effects of ambient temperature on mortality due to AMI in six Brazilian micro-regions, which present different climates. We analyzed daily records of deaths by AMI between 1996 and 2013. We estimated the accumulate relative and attributable risks with lags of up to 14 days, using distributed non-linear lag model. Micro-regions that were closest to the equator did not show an association between temperature and mortality. The lowest risk temperatures varied between 22 °C and 28 °C, in the Southern region of Brazil and the Midwest region, respectively. Low temperatures associated with the highest mortality risk were observed in the same areas, varying between 5 °C and 15 °C. The number of deaths attributed to cold temperatures varied from 176/year in Brasilia to 661/year in São Paulo and those deaths attributed to hot temperatures in Rio de Janeiro amounted to 115/year. We showed the relative risk and the attributable risk of warmer and colder days in tropical regions. The estimate of the number of deaths due to climate, varying according to each area, is a way of bringing information to those responsible for health policies based on easily-understood measurements
Nonleptonic Weak Decays of Bottom Baryons
Cabibbo-allowed two-body hadronic weak decays of bottom baryons are analyzed.
Contrary to the charmed baryon sector, many channels of bottom baryon decays
proceed only through the external or internal W-emission diagrams. Moreover,
W-exchange is likely to be suppressed in the bottom baryon sector.
Consequently, the factorization approach suffices to describe most of the
Cabibbo-allowed bottom baryon decays. We use the nonrelativistic quark model to
evaluate heavy-to-heavy and heavy-to-light baryon form factors at zero recoil.
When applied to the heavy quark limit, the quark model results do satisfy all
the constraints imposed by heavy quark symmetry. The decay rates and up-down
asymmetries for bottom baryons decaying into and
are calculated. It is found that the up-down asymmetry is negative except for
decay and for decay modes with in the final
state. The prediction for
is consistent with the recent CDF measurement. We also present
estimates for decays and compare with various model
calculations.Comment: 24 pages, to appear in Phys. Rev. Uncertainties with form factor q^2
dependence are discusse
Noncommutative cosmological models coupled to a perfect fluid and a cosmological constant
In this work we carry out a noncommutative analysis of several
Friedmann-Robert-Walker models, coupled to different types of perfect fluids
and in the presence of a cosmological constant. The classical field equations
are modified, by the introduction of a shift operator, in order to introduce
noncommutativity in these models. We notice that the noncommutative versions of
these models show several relevant differences with respect to the
correspondent commutative ones.Comment: 27 pages. 7 figures. JHEP style.arXiv admin note: substantial text
overlap with arXiv:1104.481
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