1,385 research outputs found
Memory and mutualism in species sustainability: a time-fractional Lotka-Volterra model with harvesting
We first present a predator-prey model for two species and then extend the
model to three species where the two predator species engage in mutualistic
predation. Constant effort harvesting and the impact of by-catch issue are also
incorporated. Necessary sufficient conditions for the existence and stability
of positive equilibrium points are examined. It is shown that harvesting is
sustainable, and the memory concept of the fractional derivative damps out
oscillations in the population numbers so that the system as a whole settles on
an equilibrium quicker than it would with integer time derivatives. Finally,
some possible physical explanations are given for the obtained results. It is
shown that the stability requires the memory concept in the model
Light bullets in quadratic media with normal dispersion at the second harmonic
Stable two- and three-dimensional spatiotemporal solitons (STSs) in
second-harmonic-generating media are found in the case of normal dispersion at
the second harmonic (SH). This result, surprising from the theoretical
viewpoint, opens a way for experimental realization of STSs. An analytical
estimate for the existence of STSs is derived, and full results, including a
complete stability diagram, are obtained in a numerical form. STSs withstand
not only the normal SH dispersion, but also finite walk-off between the
harmonics, and readily self-trap from a Gaussian pulse launched at the
fundamental frequency.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev. Let
A two-species predator-prey model in an environment enriched by a biotic resource
Classical population growth models assume that the environmental carrying capacity is a fixed parameter, which is not often realistic. We propose a modified predator-prey model where the carrying capacity of the environment is dependent on the availability of a biotic resource. In this model both populations are able to consume the resource, thus altering the environment. Stability, bifurcation and numerical analyses are presented to illustrate the system's dynamical behaviour. Bistability occurs in certain parameter regions. This could describe the transition from a beneficial environment to a detrimental one. We examine special cases of the system and show that both permanence and extinction are possible.
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A novel video-tracking system to quantify the behaviour of nocturnal mosquitoes attacking human hosts in the field
Many vectors of malaria and other infections spend most of their adult life within human homes, the environment where they bloodfeed and rest, and where control has been most successful. Yet, knowledge of peri-domestic mosquito behaviour is limited, particularly how mosquitoes find and attack human hosts or how insecticides impact on behaviour. This is partly because technology for tracking mosquitoes in their natural habitats, traditional dwellings in disease-endemic countries, has never been available. We describe a sensing device that enables observation and recording of nocturnal mosquitoes attacking humans with or without a bed net, in the laboratory and in rural Africa. The device addresses requirements for sub-millimetre resolution over a 2.0 x 1.2 x 2.0 m volume while using minimum irradiance. Data processing strategies to extract individual mosquito trajectories and algorithms to describe behaviour during host/net interactions are introduced. Results from UK laboratory and Tanzanian field tests showed that Culex quinquefasciatus activity was higher and focused on the bed net roof when a human host was present, in colonized and wild populations. Both C. quinquefasciatus and Anopheles gambiae exhibited similar behavioural modes, with average flight velocities varying by less than 10%. The system offers considerable potential for investigations in vector biology and many other fields
Mentoring for Faculty from Working-Class Backgrounds
Faculty mentoring across gender, race, and culture is facilitated by formal mentoring programs. Mentoring across the cultural differences associated with social class, however, represents a largely unaddressed gap in the provision of formal faculty mentoring. Based on a pre-program needs survey, we designed and delivered a pilot program that served working-class faculty with mentoring on career self-efficacy. Assessment showed that working-class faculty mentees made gains in this important construct. Our concluding discussion reflects upon the role of mentoring in the experience of working-class faculty
Polychromatic solitons in a quadratic medium
We introduce the simplest model to describe parametric interactions in a
quadratically nonlinear optical medium with the fundamental harmonic containing
two components with (slightly) different carrier frequencies [which is a direct
analog of wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) models, well known in media
with cubic nonlinearity]. The model takes a closed form with three different
second-harmonic components, and it is formulated in the spatial domain. We
demonstrate that the model supports both polychromatic solitons (PCSs), with
all the components present in them, and two types of mutually orthogonal simple
solitons, both types being stable in a broad parametric region. An essential
peculiarity of PCS is that its power is much smaller than that of a simple
(usual) soliton (taken at the same values of control parameters), which may be
an advantage for experimental generation of PCSs. Collisions between the
orthogonal simple solitons are simulated in detail, leading to the conclusion
that the collisions are strongly inelastic, converting the simple solitons into
polychromatic ones, and generating one or two additional PCSs. A collision
velocity at which the inelastic effects are strongest is identified, and it is
demonstrated that the collision may be used as a basis to design a simple
all-optical XOR logic gate.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted to Phys. Rev.
Using ASCOT in care planning conversations
Report on a joint UK-Australian project which trialled a new and
innovative use of the ASCOT tool in residential aged care planning to
help staff initiate and hold conversations with residents, including those
with dementia, about their emotional and social wellbeing
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